Quigley Down Under (1990) User Reviews

It's Tom Selleck at his leading-man finest

[Nazi_Fighter_David · 8/10 · 19 November 2007]

Matthew Quigley, a stoic rifleman arrives in Australia in the 1860s a world far away from his home Wyoming… He is answering an ad from a British landowner who will use his talents as an expert marksman…

But things don't go according to plan and, at supper, and after we hear these words, "Nobody knocks me out of my own house," Elliott Marston becomes his arch enemy…

Quigley's arrival sets the tone of the motion picture perfectly, coming into a fight with an evil plantation owner before he has even set foot on Australian soil where some genuinely funny moments happened especially when he met Crazy Cora right off the ship…

After a showy display of his talents (continuously hitting a bucket at about a thousand yards) Quigley discovers to his horror that he has been hired for sniping Aborigines encouraged by the local authorities…

Tom Selleck is excellent in the role of a cowboy, exuding natural charm, cool spirit and dignity… He perfectly suited to the role of the finest sharp shooter hero with a moral… There is a moment when he teaches local Aborigines a secret, and it hits the correct note...

Alan Rickman is perfect as Marston, the arrogant, clever bad baron who thinks himself the fastest six-gun…

Laura San Giacomo believes Quigley to be a man she once loved and whose name is Roy… She has her own tragic past as obviously her romance between Quigley and herself… San Giacomo proves to be a lovable heroine…

Director Simon Wincer creates outstanding scenery with the desolate Australian landscapes...

You sure look pretty in the morning sun.

[cutter-12 · 8/10 · 31 October 2001]

Underseen western which , after a few theatrical misfires (though I also enjoyed him in High Road to China), gave Tom Selleck a role which suited him perfectly. A role which, as a previous comment stated, John Wayne would have been right at home in. It can be argued that this is just a politically correct revisionist western wherein the American witnesses injustices on aborginals in a foreign land and is outraged to action despite the utter mistreatment of native Indians during this same period back home. Some may say it is so, but I prefer to think of Quigley as a man who came to Australia BECAUSE of the injustices he's known back home and is looking perhaps for something better. Selleck represents, as did John Wayne, the decent and noble side of America, and there is no doubt that this is a man given to stand up and do the right thing no matter where he is, Wyoming or Fremantle.

This aside, Quigley succeeds most as a light romance amidst the traditional shoot em up scenario. In fact, the love story is what drives it along most and provides it's most special moments. During a heartfelt speech beside the campfire, Cora relates how heartbreaking it was for her to have her Husband Roy, who blamed her for the death of their child, put her on a ship to Australia and walk away from her life not looking back. This is what matters to her most, as it matters to Quigley that she call him by his right name or he won't share his bed. When presented with their first parting, Quigley leaves Cora and the Aborigine baby in the cave and though assuring her he will return for her he rides away, without stopping to look back.

This is mere oversight on his part and it leads to the most moving scene in the film, one which never fails to bring a tear to my eye - when they are again about to be parted she asks him "I'll never see you again, Will I". He can't say because of what's ahead for him, but he puts his hand on her cheek and says "You sure look pretty in the morning sun". As he mounts his horse and rides off Cora watches after him wondering, as we are wondering, if he'll stop and look back. And then he does. It's one of the most thoughtful and emotionally fleeting moments in movie history. Too bad it hasn't been seen and appreciated by more people.

The musical score, by Basil Poledouris, is also a treat and it hits all the right notes. His score for Conan the Barbarian is an acknowledged classic but here I think he goes a step better. It truly is a nice piece of music to hear amid the action and quieter moments.

Quigley is a very good modern day western. It won't fail to entertain and it must surely be a film which both men and women can enjoy together. If they made more of these kinds of movies I definitely wouldn't complain.

Shooting Aborigines Down Like Game

[bkoganbing · 8/10 · 7 August 2008]

The sad thing about Quigley Down Under is that had this been done thirty years earlier the film would have warranted a major release the way a John Wayne or a James Stewart western would have had. Personally when I look at Tom Selleck and the way he plays the title character, I think James Garner. Selleck plays Matthew Quigley in the same dry, laconic manner that Garner patented.

This western is about as southwest as you can get without dealing with penguins and icebergs. Selleck has come to western Australia in answer to an advertisement by a local rancher requiring a skilled marksman with a rifle. He takes the three month voyage from San Francisco and arrives at Alan Rickman's local Ponderosa.

Remember this is Australia, a place settled by convict labor. On Rickman's spread it's mostly Scotch and Irish. But Rickman's problem isn't with them, it's with the aborigines.

Which brings us to why he wants Selleck's services with a long rifle. Essentially he wants Selleck to hunt them down and kill them at a distance, a bit of ethnic cleansing.

Fighting Indians was up close and personal at times. But just shooting people down like game, rubs Selleck the wrong way. He tells Rickman no with vigor. And that vigorous no gets Selleck and Laura San Giacomo a woman not playing with a full deck beaten up and thrown out in the outback with no means of survival.

Of course they survive and we learn a lot about San Giacomo. The reason for her insanity, it's more of a defense mechanism to keep out the world, because she's done something terrible that her conscience won't leave alone. It's a beautiful performance, probably the acting highlight of Quigley Down Under.

Of course there's plenty of action to satisfy any western fan on any continent. Alan Rickman is an especially loathsome villain, he makes his Sheriff of Nottingham in Kevin Costner's Robin Hood film look like a Girl Scout.

And the aborigines do learn to appreciate Selleck and the payback he exacts. They come through for him at critical times in the film.

Tom Selleck is a perfectly cast western hero, the kind I used to spend Saturday afternoon's watching.

Tom Selleck: man with a big gun

[DarthBill · 9 April 2004]

Lately I've come to the conclusion that the role Tom Selleck was born to play he was born too late in the world to play: the noble cowboy.

Tom plays the title character, Matthew Quigley, an American cowboy come to the land down under at Alan Rickman's invitation. Rickman (under used here)intends to use Quigley's abilities as a long distance sharpshooter to kill the Aborigines and keep them off his lands. Tom refuses and a battle of wills ensue as the two men try to kill each other and cause a lot of havoc in the process.

Despite a first rate performance by Tom, possibly his best, and critical praise, the film was ignored at the box office. I imagine that had it starred the likes of Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson or Tom Cruise it would have been a hit, but Tom serves the film well and he looks good in cowboy garb. Besides, it's an interesting idea of taking the cowboy out of his natural environment and placing him in a variation of his natural environment: the outback.

A classic Western that is back on the saddle again.

[emm · 7/10 · 9 March 1999]

Those who haven't grown up with Wayne or Eastwood should take a fair glance at QUIGLEY DOWN UNDER, an excellent recreation of vintage cowboy movies with brilliant qualities that make a traditional standard among others. With modern styling, this will grow on you if Westerns haven't been your brand. It deserves high merits for top-notch costuming, make-up, and scenery that gets all dusty and brown. Acting is extremely well done, considering the late stage it's in. "Crazy Cora" is a cheerful rendition to lady-pokes everywhere in Western cinema, and one who keeps calling "Roy" all the time, plus Tom Selleck shows us what a true cowboy should be like. The orchestrated music will stick to your mind in years to come. One familiar old problem that Westerns would normally have is being more like the rest of them, but then again, this film provides testimony that there is great need of reviving the Western genre, which would still be hard to appease today. Highly recommended!

Tom Selleck is very nice as a Western rifleman who moves to Australia in search of employment

[ma-cortes · 7/10 · 29 December 2021]

Attractive and enjoyable western with good performance by the protagonist trio : Tom Selleck , Laura San Giacomo and Alan Rickman . Here Tom Selleck plays Matthew Quigley , an expert cowboy and sharpshooter from America . Quigley's weapon of choice is a 1874 Sharps Buffalo Rifle that's also main starring in the movie . Decent Western in which the fine protagonist Tom Selleck takes short time to decide to end up in the arms with a merciless enemy : Alan Rickman as the landowner heavy . As Quigley Down answers enemies with a special talent in long distance shooting with four words: "M. Quigley 900 yards" . When he arrives in Australia, he is met by employees of the man who contracted him , Elliot Marston (Alan Rickman). Quigley attemps to prevent the men from forcing "Crazy Cora" (Laura San Giacomo) onto their wagon and she continually calls Quigley "Roy", much to his resentment . Later on , Quigley beats the men until they learn that Quigley is the individual they were sent to pick up. Quigley is eventually taken to Marston's Station in the Western Australian outback . To his horror he discovers that he has been hired to kill aborigens , as Quigley leaves him , and the rancher attempts to kill him for refusing, and Quigley gets away into the brush. Quigley returns a previous help, before going on to eliminate enemies. The West was never this far west......in a place it's never been before. There's a price on his head. A girl on his mind. And a twinkle in his eye.

A fine , well plotted Western about an experimented cowboy : Tom Selleck and a lonely mistress : Laura San Giacomo . Simon Wincer's slick direction and predictable action is somewhat redeemed by the terrific chemistry between Selleck as a tough cowboy with a keen eye by wielding a specially modified rifle with which he can shoot accurately at extraordinary distances and San Giacomo as the fierce , independient Crazy Cora , as well as the ordinary agreeable theatrics from the early deceased Alan Rickman . This Quigley Down Under (1990) contains strong performances augmented by blazing guns , and adequate writing . Nevertheless , it doesn't have much interest at times , neither intensity enough , though Tom Selleck captures his role pretty well as two-fisted sharpshooter Matt Quigley hired from Wyoming by an Australian rancher paying a very high price . He's well accopmpanied by a decent and mostly Australian support cast , such as : Chris Haywood , Jerome Ehlers , Ben Mendelsohn , William Zappa, Roger ward and Tony Bonner .

It displays a rousing and thrilling musical score by Basil Poledouris . Equally , colorful and evocative cinematography by David Eggby , showing splendidly the Down Under landscapes . The Emmy Award-winning director of "Lonesome Dove" puts the classic Western back where it was meant to be , on the big screen . Sensational directorial by the notorious filmmaker Simon Wincer , a Western expert , as he emigrated Hollywood from Australia and subsequently directed to Tom Selleck in ¨Monte Walsh¨ , ¨Crossfire trail¨ and ¨Quigley Down Under¨ to Paul Hogan in ¨Relampago Jack¨ and ¨Cocodrile Dundee in L. A.¨ and usually directs episodes for TV mini-series, such as ¨Into the West¨, ¨The Ponderosa¨ , ¨Lonesome Dove¨ and ¨The adventures of young Indiana Jones¨ , among others . Rating : good for the sensitive direction and proficient film-making ; the result is a sort of pacifist-aggressive Western adventure . Worthwhile watching . The pic will appeal to Tom Selleck fans .

Definitely one of the better modern Westerns

[Mr-Fusion · 7/10 · 8 May 2013]

"Quigley Down Under" is one of those movies in which a few seemingly ill-fitting pieces come together and form a pleasing whole. Magnum P.I., Hans Gruber, and that chick from "Pretty Woman" in a Western? In Australia? What brand of voodoo is at work here?

But it works, and as it turns out, it's a fine movie. This is partially due to casting, with Selleck riding comfortably in the saddle as the self-assured title character, Alan Rickman as the sinister Aborigine- hunting smug prick, and Laura San Giacomo who possesses her own daffy likability (which gives way to a very scarred character). But also partially the gorgeous (and well-shot) scenery, the sense of throwback to the really old Hollywood Westerns, and some pretty nice shootouts. It's a thrill to watch Selleck work that enormous Sharps rifle, and Basil Poledouris' heroic score is surprisingly remarkable (probably the most rousing use of the banjo I've ever heard).

I was surprised by how entertaining this movie is.

7.5/10

An overlooked gem

[ericjg623 · 8/10 · 25 March 2002]

This movie isn't the best Western ever made, but it's a solid creative effort that brings out many of that genre's most appealing aspects. It has romance, gunplay, wonderful scenery, and, most importantly, a solid hero and a solid villain. Westerns are, by nature, a morality tale. There's a Good Guy and a Bad Guy, and in the end, the hero prevails through a combination of courage, fair play, and ingenuity. And that's exactly what happens here.

The three principal characters are Quigley, an American sharpshooter hired by an Australian rancher, Marsden, and Crazy Cora, a woman shipped off to Australia by her ex-husband after accidentally suffocating her baby to keep him quiet while hiding from raiding Comanches. Quigley (Tom Selleck) is an expert long range marksman who has been recruited ostensibly to shoot dingoes, but, as he finds out after his first night with Mr. Marsden (Alan Rickman), his real targets are to be local Aboriginies. This leads to a rather violent falling out between the two men, which sets up the basic conflict in the movie. Marsden wants Quigley dead, and has numerous ranchhands to get the job done. Quigley has the shooting skills that allow him to pick off Marden's men pretty much at will. An uncredited "star" of the film is Quigley's Sharp's .45 calibre rifle, a gun so accurate it can kill a man from nearly a mile away.

Anyway, the movie proceeds in a more or less conventional fashion. After a big fistfight at Marsden's ranchhouse, Quigley and Cora are left for dead in the Australian outback. They are rescued by a band of Aboriginies, then quickly return the favor by picking off Marsden's men as they try to massacre more Aboriginies. Along the way, Quigley slowly falls for Cora. She may be nuts, but she's also charming, resourceful, brave, and beautiful.

In the end, Marsden gets what he deserves. Cora regains her sanity. And Quigley gets both the villain and the girl. Like I said, it's a Western in the classic tradition - well told and with great visuals.

8/10

Anyone who believes in magic is crazy.

[lastliberal · 6/10 · 4 November 2007]

I have a thing for Alan Rickman. I have loved him in everything I have seen him in and am certainly looking forward to Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. He does not ever disappoint, and he certainly didn't her in a film I have ignored up to now.

I have to say that Tom Selleck and Laura San Giacomo were also interesting, though Selleck pretty much belongs in the western character he played. Giancomo was superb as a lass that was a couple of beers short of a six-pack, but you really couldn't blame her for why she was off.

There is always a great deal of pleasure in a movie when the racist jerks get what they deserve.

If you like the classic western you will like Quigley

[wlb · 8/10 · 28 June 2008]

It will surprise many Americans but Australia had a "wild west" like America. One can read up on Ned Kelly, for example. And they had a gold rush at Ballarat, in the state of Victoria (near Melbourne, I believe).

Their Outback, which starts just a few miles in from the coast, is the most desolate and hostile terrain one can encounter. And I have been to some deserts around the world. Kudos to the Aborigines for actually knowing how to survive in such a place.

So, add this with a hero (Selleck) who comes from Wyoming answering a somewhat vague ad from our urbane villain (Alan Rickman) who is a station (ranch) owner in the outback. Rickman wants a sharpshooter for a job unspecified. When Selleck learns the true purpose for his hiring he decides to right some wrongs.

It's a classic western of the solitary hero who stands up to evil and defeats it. The Sharps rifle is one of the stars, too.

And to some of our reviewers who think this shooting is a bit unbelievable, there are a handful of people who can shoot some long distances with just iron sights.

I have seen them.

If you like westerns you will like Quigley.

Suffers from being PC, but westerns are in short supply.

[Son_of_Mansfield · 7/10 · 1 March 2005]

Tom Selleck was born to be in westerns. He just fits perfectly as a cowboy. He is the backbone of this movie, making the PC nature a little more palatable. A less actor would come off as preachy or dull. His antagonist is none other than Alan Rickman who always brings depth to villains. His character is underwritten, but Alan matches Tom in presence. Laura San Giacomo receives good reviews for this movie, but she annoys me. There is something fake about her smile to me. She is a convincing wacko though. The score soars thanks to Basil Poledouris who should be more famous. His work brings the movie to life such as after Quigley is dumped in the desert for dead. I love the piece of music that plays as Quigley prepares to fire on his dwindling target. The simple story may bore more elaborate or action minded audiences, but this is a rare western in these days and a keeper in any time.

*Quigley: I said I didn't have much use for one, didn't say I didn't know how to use it.*

Interesting and Memorable Blend

[FiendishDramaturgy · 8/10 · 28 April 2007]

This is a different kind of Western, featuring Tom Selleck as an American cowboy in Australia, Laura San Giacomo as a mentally challenged and emotionally shattered woman Selleck must save, and Alan Rickman as the villain.

This is a general crowd-pleaser as it paces the suspense and action slowly enough to make the movie enjoyable, yet with enough action to keep most people interested. The gentle romantic sub-plot helps smooth the rough edges, and Selleck's ironic wit acts as a cushion to those sometimes gritty scenes wherein the action can get a bit rough.

This film also lends a hand at showing the world that the Australian Aboriginies were (and still are) treated pretty much the same as the Native Americans were.

I enjoyed this one, though there are Westerns out there I like more, but this has a great deal of original creativity, which makes it a must see for fans of the American western, regardless of the fact that this is set in Australia.

It rates a 7.8/10 from...

the Fiend :.

Cute adventure comedy

[HotToastyRag · 6/10 · 20 June 2019]

Tom Selleck stars as a sharpshooter in this adventure western that brings a comic slant to the Australian Outback. When he's hired by Alan Rickman to come to Australia, he thinks it'll be just another job. When he teams up with the wild Laura San Giacomo, who's given a Southern accent rather than an Australian one, nothing goes according to plan. Amidst violence and narrowly squeaking past dangerous situations, there's a bit of romance, since it's Laura San Giacomo. It doesn't matter that they didn't like each other in the beginning; when they're all alone in the middle of the Outback with no other company, they might change their minds.

If you like adventure movies with lots of jokes and tongue-in-cheek acting styles, like Silverado and Indiana Jones, you'll probably like this one. It's not the best movie I've ever seen, but it was entertaining, with fun action scenes and a "dated" feeling that helped the transition between the 1980s and 1990s.

Routinely plotted western, boosted by an unusual locale.

[barnabyrudge · 5/10 · 10 August 2007]

A most curious film to have emerged in the 1990s, Quigley Down Under is an interestingly relocated western which passes a couple of hours harmlessly enough. While the setting is rather unusual for the genre, the story itself sticks generally to formula. In fact, rumours abound that the script had been in existence for the best part of 20 years - originally the film was planned as a Steve McQueen vehicle in the early '70s but for one reason or another never got made. One suspects that the script was hardly changed when the project got the green light in 1990.

In the 1860s sharpshooter Matthew Quigley (Tom Selleck) leaves his home in Wyoming and makes the long voyage to Australia. He is in search of a job and makes the journey in response to an advert placed by a sheep rancher and land baron in the Outback. Upon arriving at the remote home of his new employer Elliot Marston (Alan Rickman), Quigley is shocked to discover that he has been hired to use his long range rifle to wipe out Aborigines in the area. Viewing the work as nothing more than genocide, Quigley refuses to have any part in Marston's dirty scheme. Enraged, Marston has Quigley tied to a crazy woman, "Crazy" Cora (Laura San Giacomo), and exiles the pair of them in the wilderness where they are left to die. Quigley and Cora begin a long and arduous trek through the wilderness, attempting to survive against the hostile environment and its many hazards. After various adventures they make it back to civilisation, where Quigley quickly sets about having his revenge against the ruthless Marston.

Despite the agreeable freshness of the locale, Quigley Down Under remains a very routine western with all the usual elements present and correct. The plot is a barely disguised revenge story of a type seen many times before (Blood On The Moon? The Bravados? Hang 'Em High?) Selleck plays the hero quite well, handling danger with the sort of laid-back resourcefulness that Hollywood demands of its traditional good guys. But the film mainly belongs to Rickman, delivering the bad guy routine with lip-smacking relish while acting his co-stars off the screen. Basil Poledouris adds another rousing score to his oeuvre, and David Eggby's excellent photography captures the vast empty landscapes very effectively. But there's nothing in the story to set it apart from a thousand other genre potboilers, and it's this lack of invention that ultimately hurts the film. Watching Quigley Down Under is not in any way an onerous challenge, but once you've seen it it's hard to think of many reasons that make it worth watching again.

One of the best westerns of modern times

[smokehill · 14 May 2000]

Unlike most "modern" westerns, this one is unburdened by the usual Hollywood flaws: overproduction, overacting and a massive cast of big names demanding their share of "face time." Selleck & San Giacomo do a masterful job of creating honest, three-dimensional characters facing a truly evil antagonist -- a part played with fiendish perfection by the superb Alan Rickman. Even the minor characters on both sides are well-cast and well-acted. Two other "stars" of this exceptionally fine film are Quigley's Sharps rifle and the musical score. The unusual, catchy theme will stick in your mind, and some of the dialogue will pass into screen legend, such as Quigley's remark about the Colt revolvers: "I said I didn't have much use for them. I never said I didn't know how to use one." To be sure, the writers take a few necessary liberties with the plot to make everything work, as in any movie, but it does work well. My wife, who is a gun enthusiast but not a big fan of westerns, has watched "Quigley" 7 or 8 times and never tires of it. There are a few films that will bear watching that often: The Usual Suspects, All About Eve, High Noon, Casablanca -- to name a few. Quigley is one of these.

"Maybe the dingo ate your baby"

[Wuchakk · 7/10 · 22 August 2021]

In the late 1870s, a famous sharpshooter from Wyoming (Tom Selleck) travels to Australia for a gig with a land baron in the Outback (Alan Rickman), but things turn sour when he learns what the job really entails. Laura San Giacomo is also on hand as Crazy Cora.

"Quigley Down Under" (1990) is a Western taking place in the desert wilderness of Australia. The title suggests that Quigley was meant to be a Western character in the manner of Indiana Jones with sequels of him visiting other continents, such as "Quigley in Africa," "Quigley in South America" and so on. Unfortunately, its lack of success at the box office put the kibosh on that.

It's not as goofy as some of the Indiana Jones yarns and I appreciated the realistic vibe behind the typical hero shenanigans. For instance, we know personal hygiene wasn't the best in the late 1800s and, especially, in dry areas of the Old West and most of Australia where washing clothes was infrequent; "Quigley Down Under" shows this reality.

Selleck of course makes for a great Western protagonist, likewise Rickman as the odious antagonist. Meanwhile petite Laura San Giacomo is an amusing spitfire. She was 26 during filming.

The film runs 1 hour, 59 minutes, and was shot entirely in Australia (Warrnambool & Apollo Bay, Victoria, etc.).

GRADE: B/B-

Decent Western

[trav_haines · 7/10 · 9 May 2022]

Loved this movie as a kid but it didn't stand up to the test of time all that well when I rewatched it recently. Some portions are highly entertaining while others are early 90s cheesy cinema.

No man throws me out of my own house!!....

[FlashCallahan · 6/10 · 18 November 2014]

Magnum is hired from America by an Australian rancher so he can shoot aborigines at a distance.

He takes exception to this, so the rancher tries to kill him for refusing, and Quigley escapes into the bush with a woman who calls him Roy and are helped by aborigines.

Quigley returns the help, before heading back to the ranch.....

From the sound of the title, you would think that the makers of this movie were hoping for some sort of franchise opener, and although the film does have the odd flash of genius, it's just overlong, and very dull in places.

Selleck is as good as he ever is, and one thinks that this should have been his Indiana Jones, Quigley does have all the traits, but a few more quips from the titular character wouldn't have hurt the movie.

Rickman steals the film from everybody though, made between Die Hard and Robin Hood: POT, this just goes to show what an impressive screen presence he is.

Australia is wonderful to look at though, but as already stated, it's just a tad too long

Great Movie!

[LebowskiT1000 · 9/10 · 22 July 2002]

I'm not really sure if this falls in the "Western" genre, but I think it's pretty much the closest genre it would fit into. I've never really been into westerns, but there is something about this one. It's a really good movie!

Tom Selleck does a great job as Matthew Quigley. There really isn't enough I can say about Alan Rickman! He always plays the perfect antagonist! Maybe it's his voice, maybe it's the way he acts, I'm not sure, but all I know is that he is a great actor! Laura San Giacomo does a good job in the film too. Her character was a very strange one put in the film, but there is a reason for her strangeness. She does a fine job in the film too.

The story in this film is really quite simple and nothing terribly complicated, but it's really good and has a good moral to it. If you're the type of person that likes Westerns, then I would hope you would like this one too. Not only is it a western, but it's got a good amount of comedy in it too. Anyhow, I would definitely recommend seeing this film if you haven't already. I hope that you like the film as much as I do. Thanks for reading,

-Chris

Magnum Down Under

[seveb-25179 · 7/10 · 31 October 2019]

Despite the unpromising title, this is a pretty decent Western (set so far West it's in West Australia). Featuring some very "confronting" scenes of how badly the Aborigines were sometimes treated back in the day (I don't know enough about it to say how common this sort of atrocity was). I venture to say more confronting than any equivalent American Indian depiction out of Hollywood has dared to be? Fortunately in this case Tom Selleck is on hand to "lay his vengeance upon them" wrong doo-ers with the aid of his "le long carabine". "Them" being the always incomparably fiendish Alan Rickman and his crew of unwashed Australians' sporting various degrees of bad Irish accent. Tom puts in another solid performance, although his American accent is perhaps to East Coast for a cowboy role and he could have done with adding a bit more Southern spice too it, like Laura did. Laura San Giacomo is surprisingly good as the feisty love interest, although she and "le long Tom" make an strange pairing height wise. Of course what little Laura lack in height she makes up for in other areas of her anatomy... The Aboriginals are treated with respect and get to save the day for Tom, when the odds get a bit to long even for him. As usual in Australian movies, the British are all obnoxious and one dimensional. Dingo lovers may also be disappointed at the way their favourite canine friends are depicted.

Can't recommend it too highly.

[rayevans · 10/10 · 21 December 2003]

I've been watching Westerns for some 60 years and Quigley Down Under rates in my top 5 along with Unforgiven, The Wild Bunch, The Outlaw Jose Wales and Once Upon a Time in the West. I've watched it 6 times and haven't tired of it yet. The musical score is superb, great story line and beautiful cinematography. Excellent performances by Selleck, Giacomo and Rickman.

Insofar as Quigley's marksmanship goes, there is nothing in the movie rifle shots that are not realistic as far as I'm concerned. During the Civil War, a Whitworth rifle with a telescopic sight had an effective range of 1800 yards and the exploits of Truman "California Joe" Head with his Sharps were lengendary in his own time. Even the Civil War Enfield was fairly accurate to 1100 yards. Given a Sharps with a custom load to match the rifle, it's a matter of familiarity, eyesight (preferably 20/10 or better), practice and reading the wind, the latter of which was shown prior to Quigley's demonstration to Marston and is by far the biggest variable in long range rifle shots. In short, anyone who is an excellent rifle or pistol shot is unbelievable. Check out Bob Munden's .45 Colt demonstrations. Blink and you've missed some of single or double shot feats. Literally!

That's not to say that Quigley is not a mythical character in the movie but no more so than Wild Bill Hickcok, Wyatt Earp or Bat Masterson came to be, usually for only one incident in their lives.

This is a 5 star Western if there ever was one. Can't recommend it too highly.

One of the Better Australian Westerns

[gavin6942 · 6/10 · 17 August 2009]

Matthew Quigley (Tom Selleck) sails three months to Australia to fill a role as a sharpshooter. But once he finds out that he's been hired to kill off the aborigine population, Quigley turns on his new boss (Alan Rickman) and brings his own particular brand of justice to the outback.

Alan Rickman makes this movie, hands down. Selleck is fine, but Rickman's voice and mannerisms make him the perfect villain. It's no shock he was given such a prominently dark role in the Harry Potter films or presented as the voice of God in "Dogma". I'm not so sure about "Space Quest" (not a fan), but Rickman is the man you want in your film, along with Gary Oldman. Together they would be an unstoppable force, stronger than Pacino and DeNiro.

The biggest complaint is that this film should have been maybe twenty minutes shorter... the end drags on for some time. Okay, so you have thugs attacking you and you're a sharpshooter. I get it. Stop these endless skirmishes and just kill the bad guy. Please.

Those who love Tom Selleck and his mustache should watch this film, perhaps as a double feature with "Gypsy Warrior". But even those who don't particularly care for Selleck may enjoy Rickman's performance as the evil thug master. Aside from his weird snarl, he easily steals the show.

A Memorable Western, Eh Mate?

[ccthemovieman-1 · 8/10 · 14 April 2006]

This is a bit a twist: a western in which the setting is Australia, not the United States. Yet, the film features two American characters, played by Tom Selleck and Laura San Giacomo. It's a simple, well-done revenge story with a nice slow-developing romance as the subplot. Meanhile, Alan Rickman, who was good at this sort of thing, plays the hated, despicable villain.

The movie is appealing because it has a good mixture of action (and that is mixed, too, not just the same kind of fistfights or gun battles), romance, nice scenery and a little comedy thrown in. There's also a little PC thrown in as the good guys help out the downtrodden Aborigines, victims of racism by Rickman and his henchmen.

Warning: this a rough film in parts with a couple of harrowing scenes, such as people being pushed off cliffs, Selleck brutally beaten several times and wild vicious dingoes threatening San Giacamo and a little baby, but the action never goes on too long.

All in all, I found it one of the more memorable westerns I've watched. If for nothing else, the awesome sound of Selleck's Sharp Calibre .44 rifle makes this film hard to forget.

Entertaining Western.

[rmax304823 · 6/10 · 17 August 2015]

Alan Rickman, a British actor of considerable talent, was so effective as the toothy, treacherous villain in "Die Hard" that he gets to play the same role here. This time he owns a huge ranch in Australia, has convict laborers, a gang of henchman, and bothersome Australian Aborigines who butcher an occasional cow. They're savages all right, just like the Comanche, but they're smart enough to stay just out of rifle range.

Rickman is clever. None of these sneering, ruthless villains is ever truly stupid. He hires Matt Quigley, Tom Selleck, as an exterminator, although Selleck didn't know what the job entails. Selleck simply is the best long-distance shooter in the world and has a long, heavy, modified Sharps carbine to prove it. Why, with his supercharged cartridges and his complicated sighting mechanism, he can shoot holes in objects that are so far away that they're beyond the curve of the horizon.

But when Rickman reveals the mission for which Selleck was hired -- namely killing every black man, woman, and child in sight -- he wordlessly scowls and throws Rickman through the dining room window. Now, Selleck is an engaging, lightweight actor, but this part -- the taciturn man of principle with unimaginable skills -- belongs to John Wayne.

Rickman has his goons beat hell out of Selleck. They throw in a beating for Laura San Giacomo, who is there only to prove that Selleck is heterosexual. The two unconscious good people are taken by wagon a day's drive from the ranch and dumped to starve and die of thirst. The last of the two ruffians who have transported San Giacomo and Selleck makes the mistake of getting too close to Tom and bringing that big Sharps rifle. One hooligan down, by force of hidden knife. The other takes off at full speed in the wagon, while Selleck spends an agonizing minute or two getting himself together, loading the rifle, taking aim, almost passing out, and finally firing at a target so far away that it shimmers in the heat, like Omar Sheriff riding out the desert on his camel. Does Selleck hit his mark? Right through the head.

There follows a drawn-out intermittent battle between Selleck and the girl, on the one hand, and Rickman and his snarling gang on the other. At one point, Selleck and San Giacomo fall exhausted into the dust, dying. They are rescued by Aborigines who apparently have the same spiritual healing power as the American Indians.

The Aborigines have made Selleck and his rifle into an icon because he's protecting them from the predations of Rickman's men. Knowing this, Rickman baits a trap for Selleck by herding dozens of Aborigines to the edge of a cliff and kicking them off to their deaths, in hopes that Selleck will show up to rescue them. I realize this is so brutal that it sounds like a contrivance but it isn't. Check the fate of the aborigines in Tasmania, the ones who didn't survive to be kidnapped and transplanted to Flinder's Island, the ones who were rounded up and shot like animals in an attempt to exterminate them.

Well -- why go on. I always get a kick out of a story about a man with almost superhuman skills. I identify with him because I have so many superhuman skills myself. And when Selleck's rocket-powered bullets hit those distant targets, there is a loud WHAP, the victim is yanked from his horse, and is dead before he hits the ground. Of course the bad guys do a lot of shooting too but they always miss.

I don't think I need to tell you how it ends. Guess.

Oh Magnum, what have you done?

[extravaluejotter · 1/10 · 29 January 2006]

I can't believe that this film has an average rating. Poor Tom Selleck smiles grimly as he stars in this predictable plod through cliché, stereotype and mawkish sentimentality.

Laura San Giacommo's character is as 2-dimensional as the paper the script was written on. She tries to compensate for this by overacting wildly, which only makes her character less appealing. In the scene where Cora collapses in the outback, Quigley retrieves the cartridge belt that she was carrying for him then walks off, stops, looks pained and goes back to pick her up. I was willing Quigley to just carry on walking after he'd got his cartridge belt and leave the annoying shouty woman to the dingos.

Alan Rickman has the sole entertaining role in this movie, playing a thoroughly unpleasant rancher. Unfortunately, he's only on screen for about 15 minutes!

Everyone apart from Quigley gets a rough deal in this film. The Irish and Scottish ex-convicts are all mercenary scum, The English are all ruthless imperialists and the Aborigines are all little "Noble Savage" cut-outs.

By the way, I'm no expert but I'm pretty sure that a perfectly circular 3-inch grouping at 900 yards is impossible, whatever rifle you have in your hands. Trying to hit a bucket at about 300 yards is roughly the equivalent of trying to shoot the head off a match at 10 yards. I suppose that's possible if you have a modern sniper rifle with a telescopic sight and a bipod...

You should have ditched "Magnum" and gone for "Raiders of The Lost Ark", Tom.