Review of Quigley Down Under (1990) by Rocknroll C — 02 Mar 2017

This movie is a lot better than most would imagine - I've seen it a few times, and it still holds up. But you know what prevented it from being better reviewed and more popular? THE MUSIC.

Speaking as a professional musician who dabbles with soundtracks a bit, the music can make a film fly or die. All the classic films have one thing in common: great music beds and scores. This one didn't.

It was almost like the director just gave up and let the composer pull out every cliche "epic western theme" and plugged it in wherever, with no sense of driving the scenes or building tension, tenderness or excitement.

So if you watch this movie (I hope you do), imagine if a truly quality composer like a Bernstein or Ennio Morricone or Thomas Newman or John Williams had done this music - totally different film.