Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

Quigley Down Under 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

"God created all men. Sam Colt made them equal. More or less."

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown March 15, 2024

My third parent was film. A quick explanation. My father worked three hours from home, meaning, rather than commute six hours, he often had to stay out-of-town at an apartment during the weeks of my formative years. My mother, anxious to ensure I wasn't feeling as much of his absence, transformed Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays into evenings filled with cooking, reading and, naturally, movie-watching. It was in those years, in those long-ago weekday nights, that I came to love film. And not just the usual kiddie fare. Dazzling sci-fi stories, far-flung fantasy worlds, tear-wrenching dramas, classics of the past, and her father's favorite genre, the Western. It's been at least thirty years since I watched Quigley Down Under, but it was in regular rotation in the early '90s. I thought I had completely forgotten it. Imagine my surprise when, upon re-watching it for this review, I found memories of every scene streaming back. (The only thing I had really forgotten was that Alan Rickman played the film's villain. What a fantastic surprise that was!) Quigley is a delightful little Western in the vein of a Kevin Costner epic, albeit with a decidedly more intimate (and welcome) small scale and less bluster; a mano y mano throwback genre pic of the best sort, with a dash of Unforgiven and social commentary for good measure.

"This ain't Dodge City. And you ain't Bill Hickok."

Director Simon Wincer and screenwriter John Hill's Quigley Down Under manages to perfectly capture Australia in all its wildness and even savagery, giving us an apt history lesson in the process, without ever being didactic or dull. Tom Selleck's Matthew Quigley, a wild west sharpshooter, comes to Australia at the behest of ranch owner Elliott Marston (Alan Rickman), who hopes Quigley can rid him of his "Aboriginal problem." Along the way Quigley interacts with a rather eclectic array of both Aussies and expats, including a possibly insane Texas woman the locals have charmingly nicknamed Crazy Cora (Laura San Giacomo). The film also features an early appearance by Ben Mendelsohn.

Click here to read Jeffrey Kauffman's 2011 review of the film, which he calls "a rather surprising screed for understanding and tolerance a la Dances with Wolves", adding "it may not be a masterpiece, but it's solidly crafted, has interesting, well-drawn characters, and its heart is in the right place. Personally, I'll take something like Quigley over the high-falutin' pretensions of [similar westerns] any day of the week."

Quigley Down Under 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Released first in 2011 by MGM and later in 2018 by Shout, Quigley Down Under hasn't had the easiest time earning a proper high definition release. Previously, Shout didn't have access to the film's elements, nor could the distributor create a new scan. Fans were marginally pleased with the results, but the new 2-disc remastered edition -- which offers a fresh and fantastic 4K scan of the original camera negative via two presentations: a 2160p/4K beaut and a subsequent 1080p/AVC Blu-ray encode -- puts all past releases to shame. Colors have been enriched and rejuvenated, with strikingly natural skin tones, vivid primaries, deep black levels and perfectly balanced contrast leveling. Just the sight of the earthy desert hues colliding with the bold blue Australian skies is enough to elicit a grin; seeing Quigley's denim and red clothing set against a ruddy cliff-face even more so. Detail, though, is where you'll find the most obvious improvements. In 4K, the film's grainfield is clean, consistent and wonderfully resolved (the only knock against the 1080p presentation is that grain is sometimes a touch problematic during nighttime sequences); edge definition is crisp and free of any sign of artificiality like haloing, and fine textures are revealing and precise. The only softness that rears its head is optical, tracing back to the original photography (as is the case during the opening credits), and there aren't any anomalies to speak of, with things like banding and artifacting thankfully MIA. You might not think an oft-forgotten, underappreciated gem like Quigley wouldn't warrant such tender loving care, but it's clear someone at Shout thought otherwise. This isn't just the definitive version of the film to own, it's one of the better 4K catalog transfers I've seen from Shout and its ilk.

Quigley Down Under 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

If there will be any disappointment with the AV presentation in some fans' minds, it will be that Quigley Down Under hasn't been granted a 5.1 lossless remix of the original audio. I'll admit to a brief shoulder shrug myself, as I was eager to explore the film's aboriginal Outback with LFE support and rear speaker engagement. But that was soon laid to rest when I sat back and allowed myself to embrace Shout's faithful DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track, which proves itself more than capable and involving. Dialogue is clear and intelligible, prioritization is without significant flaw, ADR is kept to a bare minimum (a miracle for a '90s film), and the score, by Basil Poledouris (responsible for some of my favorite scores, from RoboCop to The Hunt for Red October and Conan the Barbarian) is exceptionally light on its feet and effective.

Quigley Down Under 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

"You know your weapons. It's a lever-action, breech loader. Usual barrel length's thirty inches. This one has an extra four. It's converted to use a special forty-five caliber, hundred and ten grain metal cartridge, with a five-hundred forty grain paper patch bullet. It's fitted with double set triggers, and a Vernier sight. It's marked up to twelve-hundred yards. This one shoots a mite further."

• This One Shoots a Mite Further (Disc 2, HD, 23 minutes) - A (much) "closer look at the Sharps rifle", with the film's master armorer Mike Tristano. It's a lengthier deep-dive than I expected, that's for sure, and worth watching. It just would've been nice had more behind-the-scenes time been devoted elsewhere to more central aspects of the film and its production.

• Finding Crazy Cora (Disc 2, HD, 18 minutes) - Now we're talkin'. This newer retrospective interview with actress Laura San Giacomo offers a more personal take on the film and its story, through the lens of Cora.

• Rebirth of the Western (Disc 2, SD, 7 minutes) - An older studio EPK.

• Two TV Spots (Disc 2, SD, 1 minute)

• Theatrical Trailer (Disc 2, HD, 2 minutes)

Quigley Down Under 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Quigley Down Under could have simply remained an imperfect Blu-ray relic of 2011 and 2018, but someone, somewhere decided it was well worth further effort. And God bless 'em for it. The film is a breath of nostalgic air, despite its occasional '90s trappings and flaws, and features Tom Selleck in a Western that suggests his big screen stardom should have equaled that of Kevin Costner, who has less charm, ease and skill on screen than the original Magnum P.I. Shout's new 4K release is excellent, with a striking 4K remaster and 2160p presentation (as well as a near-perfect 1080p transfer), a solid lossless track, and a small but decent trio of extras. I do wish Quigley had received a more expansive supplemental package, complete with a filmmakers' commentary or retrospective and perhaps even something with Selleck, but so it goes. This one is a cinch to recommend.