Australian Cinema
Assignment 2 -  Quigley 1991

By Charles Watling

 

Part One

Quigley
Also Known As:
Quigley (Australia)
Quigley Down Under (Australia)

Produced By MGM studios
Runtime: 119 min
Country: Australia / USA
Language: English
Color: Color
Sound Mix: Dolby SR
Certification: Australia:M / Sweden:15 / USA:PG-13

Official Site http://actionadventure.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.mgm.com/dvd


List of Principal Cast and Crew

 

Director

Simon Wincer  (1943 - )
Australian director who began working in TV in his homeland. Directed the horror flick Snapshot, before heading to Hollywood scoring a hit with the sci-fi adventure D.A.R.Y.L. Wincer had success on the small screen with the award-winning western Lonesome Dove and The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles, and on the big screen directed the likes of Free Willy, Quigley Down Under and The Phantom.

Contemporary filmography
The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: Daredevils of the Desert (1992) (V)
Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man (1991)
Quigley Down Under (1990)
... aka Quigley (Australia)
... aka Quigley Down Under (Australia)
"Lonesome Dove" (1989) (mini) TV Series
Bluegrass (1988) (TV)

Simon Wincer full filmography
http://www.reel.com/filmography.asp?SFor=3&NMID=97544

 

 

 

 

Writing credits (WGA)

John Hill

 

(written by)

John Hill contemporary filmography
Quigley Down Under (1990) (written by)
... aka Quigley (Australia)
... aka Quigley Down Under (Australia)
"Quantum Leap" (1989) TV Series (writer) (episode 1.04 "Right Hand of God, The - October 24, 1974")
Little Nikita (1988)

Cast

Tom Selleck

....

Matthew Quigley/Roy Cobb

Laura San Giacomo

....

Crazy Cora

Alan Rickman

....

Elliott Marston, Owner Marston Waters Ranch

Chris Haywood

....

Major Ashley-Pitt

Ron Haddrick

....

Grimmelman

Tony Bonner

....

Dobkin

Jerome Ehlers

....

Coogan

Conor McDermottroe

....

Hobb

Roger Ward

....

Brophy

Ben Mendelsohn

....

O'Flynn

Steve Dodd

....

Kunkurra

Karen Davitt

....

Slattern

Kylie Foster

....

Slattern

William Zappa

....

Reilly

Jonathan Sweet

....

Sergeant Thomas

Tom Selleck 87-92 filmography
Folks! (1992) .... Jon Aldrich
3 Men and a Little Lady (1990) .... Peter Mitchell
... aka Three Men and a Little Lady (USA: poster title)
Quigley Down Under (1990) .... Matthew Quigley/Roy Cobb
... aka Quigley (Australia)
... aka Quigley Down Under (Australia)
An Innocent Man (1989) .... Jimmie Rainwood
Her Alibi (1989) .... Phil Blackwood
Three Men and a Baby (1987) .... Peter Mitchell

Laura San Giacomo 89 – 91 filmography
Under Suspicion (1991) .... Angeline
Once Around (1991) .... Jan Bella
Quigley Down Under (1990) .... Crazy Cora
... aka Quigley (Australia)
... aka Quigley Down Under (Australia)
Vital Signs (1990) .... Lauren Rose
Pretty Woman (1990) .... Kit De Luca
Sex, Lies, and Videotape (1989) .... Cynthia
... aka Sex, Lies... (USA: short title)

Alan Rickman 88 – 91 filmography
Closet Land (1991) .... Interrogator
Quigley Down Under (1990) .... Elliott Marston, Owner Marston Waters Ranch
... aka Quigley (Australia)
... aka Quigley Down Under (Australia)
January Man (1989) .... Ed
... aka The January Man (USA: poster title)
Revolutionary Witness (1989) (TV) .... Jacques Roux (segment "The Preacher")
Spirit of Man (1989) (TV) .... Israel Yates (segment "From Sleep and Shadow")
Die Hard (1988) .... Hans Gruber
Interesting Fact : Originally the film was to have been Steve McQueen's follow-up to The Hunter (1980), but he fell ill shortly after filming The Hunter (1980) , so the project was scrapped.

Produced by

Stanley O'Toole

....

producer

Alexandra Rose

....

producer

Megan Rose

....

co-producer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Original Music by

Basil Poledouris

 

 

Cinematography by

David Eggby

 

 

Production Companies

Distributors

 

Release Dates

Country

Date

USA

19 October 1990

 

France

16 January 1991

 

Australia

13 June 1991

 

Sweden

14 June 1991

 

 

Box Office                                                Rated                           Release       0pening        $AUD

 

QUIGLEY 

M

GU

13/06/91

126,427

399,617

Rated 229th most profitable Australian Film

Budget
$20,000,000 (estimated)
Gross
$21,413,105 (USA)

 

Awards for Quigley Down Under (1990)

London Critics Circle Film Awards

Year

Result

Award

Category/Recipient(s)

1992

Won

ALFS Award

British Actor of the Year
Alan Rickman
Also for Truly Madly Deeply (1991), Close My Eyes (1991) and Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991).

 

Motion Picture Sound Editors, USA

Year

Result

Award

Category/Recipient(s)

1991

Won

Golden Reel Award

Best Sound Editing - Foreign Feature
Tim Chau

 

Political Film Society, USA

Year

Result

Award

Category/Recipient(s)

1991

Nominated

PFS Award

Human Rights

 

 

Interview (cast and crew) Bibliography
N/A

 

Journal Database Bibliography

Cinema papers. Vol9 n90 .June 1991 p. 63
Cinema papers .Vol 9 n86 .September 1990 p. 86

 

Electronic Database Bibliography
Australian Feature Films (Informit)
Film Index International
Internet Movie Database

 

Electronic Reviews

http://www.channel4.com/film/reviews/film.jsp?id=107415

http://www.filmcritic.com/misc/emporium.nsf/84dbbfa4d710144986256c290016f76e/0ced400aa20584cb88256aba001e2445?OpenDocument

www.rottentomatoes.com/m/quigley_down_under

http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0102744/

http://ofcs.rottentomatoes.com/click/movie-1031735/reviews.php?critic=movies&sortby=default&page=1&rid=1314623

http://electronics.bestgiftshopping.com/quigley-down-under_B00005LOL0_Review-1.htm

http://electronics.bestgiftshopping.com/quigley-down-under_B00005LOL0_Review-2.htm

 

Printed Media Reviews
Fabre, Patrick. In: Première (France). (MG), February 1991, Pg. 20

 

Quigley’s Online Presence

The information found on the web is limited and difficult to find.
One website in particular, provided a comprehensive breakdown of pre- and post-production information, and numerous links to other sources.  Although, superficially there appeared to be a significant amount of valuable information present, the site lacked depth.

Overall the web proved to be an excellent source of reviews only. Personal information on the cast and crew was plentiful, however, actually discovering their thoughts on the movie, in one on one interview summaries, proved to be impossible.
The strongest source of information was, by far, the Internet. 

The literature available in the Murdoch on-line library on Australian cinema was diverse and proved a good source for comparing the movies monetary successes and failures with other movies produced during the same season.

The Internet movie database is a valuable site that contains much information and would be perhaps the most referenced. However, additional sites are also valuable and a selection is listed below:

www.urbancinefile.com

www.puk.ac.za.com

www.blockbuster.com

www.hollywood.com

www.eonline.com

www.allmovie.com

 

Research Methodology

Having viewed the DVD version of the movie, I took some additional time to review the "The Rebirth of a Western" featurette.  A seven minute section was all that proved marginally valuable but consisted primarily of some behind the scenes observations and anecdotes from the cast and crew. There was no interview with the director or producer or for that matter even a historical photo gallery.

I began my search for information concerning the movie in the Australian Cinema/Film section in Murdoch University Library.  In terms of movie specifics, only one journal proved useful for providing box office figures as well as movie expectations. Cinema Papers volume 9 1990-91. Several local libraries failed to contain any information at all. This is probably because maintaining a film section in a small to medium sized library is an extremely costly and unprofitable undertaking especially given competition from the internet. This aspect is particularly true for films as the audio/visual elements of film lend themselves to internet presentation more appropriately than they do to a print media format.

The next obvious approach was to search the Internet.  Keywords such as: Quigley, ‘Quigley down under’, ‘Simon Wincer’s Quigley’, ‘Tom Selleck in Quigley’, ‘Quigley 1991’, ‘Westerns / Quigley’ and many more were entered into various search-engines (ie.  AltaVista and Yahoo).  In all, some twenty sites were searched. However, the majority of information contained in each site was identical each differing only in some small specific aspect. Incorporating these small aspects into a cumulative synopsis was therefore possible, if laborious, and indicated the need for a fully comprehensive Quigley information site.

I also tried to search newspaper archives by referencing historical micro-fiche in an attempt to find reviews and information relating to the release of the movie in 1990. This proved difficult to accomplish on two counts, both financial. Firstly a budget of $0.00 was limiting and secondly, the movie was over fifteen years old and the relevant information was archived and only available to bona fide investigators and at a significant cost.

Part 2

 

Synopsis and personal review

Quigley
Matthew Quigley, a rifleman of some distinction, arrives in Australia a world away from his home in the old west. He is answering the call for work, employment that will utilise his unique skills as a marksman. However, things don't go according to plan and his potential employer is destined to become his arch enemy in this western with a difference.

Made in 1990, when the western was going through yet another downturn, Quigley has an interesting premise, transporting the archetypal hero of the old west to another new frontier, that of the Australian outback. Quigley’s arrival sets the tone perfectly, coming into conflict with an uncouth local before he has even set foot on Australian soil! This cowboy is in the chivalrous knight mould, a man who will not hesitate to come to the rescue of a lady in distress. Indeed this is how he goes about meeting Crazy Cora, a fellow American who, deluded by madness, believes Quigley to be Roy, a man she once loved. Together they find themselves crossing the expansive outback to get to the property of Elliott Marston. After a showy display of his talents Quigley discovers to his horror that it is not dingo’s that he has been hired to eliminate but Aborigines, it seems that residents of this new frontier are no different in their treatment of the native population as their counterparts in the old west.

So the scene is set for a conflict between two men and two attitudes. With two completely different types of actor each complementing the other. Tom Selleck is excellent in the role of Quigley, unashamedly enjoying the chance to play a classic cowboy character he looks the part and exudes natural charm and geniality. His opposite number, the Wild West obsessed Marston is brought to the screen by Alan Rickman, in a slightly tongue-in-cheek characterisation that he would exploit fuller in his role as the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves three years later. He is the classic bad guy, arrogant, over talkative and also looks the part in the traditional black clothes of the villain. Laura San Giacomo creates the most three dimensional character in the film, on first impression a mad woman, but she has her own tragic past which slowly comes to the surface throughout the film as of course does the romance between Quigley and herself. She is probably the only concession to modern cinema; her complex female character would not have existed in the classic Hollywood western.

Director Simon Wincer, who went on to work on the award winning western mini series Lonesome Dove, creates some stunning visuals, making the most of the expansive Australian landscapes. He is also a dab hand at directing all the required elements, the shoot outs, the horse chases, and the fist fights. As well as these traditional set pieces Wincer convincingly brings the mystical Aboriginal element to the screen during Quigley and Cora’s encounters with the native people of Australia. The pace of the film never lags and the score assists the movies old fashioned feel, with composer Basil Poledouris capturing the atmosphere created by the likes of Elmer Bernstein (The Magnificent Seven). The costumes also help, with Quigley looking as if he has just stepped out of a technicolour movie of the fifties, classically dressed with saddle over shoulder, spurs, and chaps, not forgetting the white hat! A complete contrast to the mismatched garb worn by his enemies apart from his nemesis of course, the classic bad guy in black.

Quigley is a western that forgoes any modern ironic or revisionist interpretation and returns to a more innocent cinematic depiction of the age of the cowboy. A wild west with clear cut good guys and bad guys, in which “a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do”, before the rebirth of the genre kick-started by the Spaghetti Westerns. It's a shame though, that more wasn't made of the Australian setting, an interesting idea that isn't fully developed in the movie. There could have been greater exploration of the parallels between the Aborigine and the Native American for example. But this is a minor flaw in an otherwise entertaining movie with Tom Selleck perfectly suited to the role of the sharp shooting moral hero who speaks more in action than words. Indeed if westerns were more in vogue he would be the perfect choice to take up the mantle of the likes of John Wayne and Gary Cooper.

The competition – significant US movies of 1990           


Gross $US

 

Film

285,761,243

 

Home Alone (1990)

217,631,306

 

Ghost (1990)

184,208,848

 

Dances with Wolves (1990)

178,406,268

 

Pretty Woman (1990)

135,270,000

 

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)

120,709,868

 

The Hunt for Red October (1990)

119,394,840

 

Total Recall (1990)

117,541,000

 

Die Hard 2 (1990)

103,738,726

 

Dick Tracy (1990)

91,457,688

 

Kindergarten Cop (1990)

Significant Movies of 1991

Gross

 

Movie

204,843,350

 

Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

165,500,000

 

Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991)

130,742,922

 

The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

124,033,791

 

City Slickers (1991)

119,654,900

 

Hook (1991)

113,502,000

 

The Addams Family (1991)

101,580,000

 

Sleeping with the Enemy (1991)

89,325,780

 

Father of the Bride (1991)

86,930,411

 

The Naked Gun 2 1/2: The Smell of Fear (1991)

80,100,000

 

Fried Green Tomatoes (1991)

Critique

Quigley highlights the differences between American and Australian Westerns. However, it also highlights similarities. It shows that an American cowboy can survive in an equivalent environment in Australia and that the Australian West is very similar to the American West. Our hero is at home in both environments, essentially because, although different they are, in some ways, very much the same, and while he has to learn to adapt to local differences, the American cowboy can morph with his Australian counterpart in an almost seamless blending. 

This film has many ideologies in common with the more traditional Western with the notion of good versus evil, right versus wrong and, of course, the hero and the villain, being plainly apparent. This tried and true formula, which had worked so well in America, received mixed reviews in Australia. Most people enjoyed the film and its quirkiness, a typical feature of most modern day Australian films. The story incorporated all the winning elements for a hit movie, such as a high profile star (Tom Selleck), a love interest and good triumphant over evil. However, the film depicts horrifying images of the torture and oppression of Aboriginals. This sidesteps away from the traditional family western (rated PG) with fake wounds and a liberal sprinkling of tomato sauce, and was not really seen in such intensity again until “the Tracker” (Rolf de Heer - 2002).  It is for this reason that the viewing communities are quite divided as to the overall appeal of this film. In hindsight most recent reviews after 2000 hardly mention the graphic scenes illustrating our desensitised acceptance of this once shocking and rare phenomenon. That year Quigley was in direct competition with “Dances with Wolves” (more of a period western than a thematic western), in America, while in Australia in 1991 its direct competition, for the western genre, was “CitySlickers” a Western Comedy.

Simon Wincer produced “Crossfire Trails”, again with Tom Selleck, in 2001.  However, this film contained less harrowing scenes of violence. Although this later film contained very similar elements to Quigley it had the advantage of being set in the American west, which should have ensured a greater level of acceptance with the public. Nevertheless, it received much worse reviews polling 5/10 instead of the 6.5/10 for Quigley, possibly highlighting a modern requirement for sometimes shocking visual sequences to ensure commercial viability.