does the music annoy anyone else?
To me it sounds like it's trying too hard to be 'western-y'.
ugh.
Nobody likes a blonde in a hamster ball.
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MovieChat Forums > Quigley Down Under (1990) Discussion > does the music annoy anyone else?
I like the score, and it's very well integrated into the feel and character of the film. It's not "trying" to be anything, it is what it is.
shareI felt that the background score was too loud for some of the scenes. I think that was my main annoyance with it.
Nobody likes a blonde in a hamster ball.
I love the score. It is similar to the Lonesome Dove soundtrack.
shareWhat's wrong with Basil Poledouris's score?
As it would turn out, the choice of Poledouris for Quigley Down Under was fantastic, and the composer would produce an upbeat, solid Western score with the same vigor and outlaw style that fans clamored to hear in Cherry 2000. The opening clarinet solo would set the pace for the entire score, performing a dancing, Western-style theme that eventually grows to encompass the entire orchestra. The woodwinds continue to portray the happy go lucky attitude of the film and its characters through the very end, when the same clarinet bounces along as the score fades away. In between, however, is a hidden gem of the 1990's and a generally undiscovered score in Poledouris' career.
The title theme that Poledouris creates for Quigley Down Under is a slight mutation of a Western theme to include an Australian swing (or, in other words, a touch of funk). A decade after its composition, the theme ranks with Bruce Broughton's Silverado fanfare among the best of modern Western scores. Its clunky banjo and percussion add spirit to a theme that is already heavy on grand French horn performances. Poledouris then adds a dominant secondary theme for Rickman's thugs, a little reminisicent of his future effort on Starship Troopers. This secondary theme is also heavy on the French horns, and its minor key power yields to major key heroism as Quigley blows them away one by one. It engages the viewer so well that it could very serve as an excellent primary theme for another entire film. The remainder of the score features solid Western underscore, with a tender subtheme for the love interest in the film. The clarinet and banjo from the title themes add accent to the score, as does a playful rhythm for brass that hails back to the days of 1950's Westerns. In the end, however, the title theme is what sells Quigley Down Under, both in the film and on album. For Poledouris and Western fans alike, and even for the general film music collector who enjoys quirky, noble themes, Quigley Down Under is a safe choice.
The soundtrack is top notch. One of the better western soundtracks. Poledouris also fif Lonesome Dove, the GREATEST western of all time.
shareI LOVE this film, it's a real classic, and the music score is brilliant and one of my favorite Western movie scores. Selleck does his best John Wayne, but is still doing his best Selleck, which makes his character work so well. A great cast also, excellent in all departments, except for some obvious goofs in the continuity and effects work relative to the Sharps rifle effects.
The music score reminds me of classic scores by Henry Mancini, Elmer Bernstein, Jerry Goldsmith, Max Steiner, etc. from the classic Hollywood era. It sets a mood, more than defining dramatic underscore such as Morricone or John Barry would have done.
It's a memorable score with a pleasant, enjoyable, unique theme that keeps running through your mind long after the film is over and you've left the theater. This is the mark of a truly great music score.
How many films or TV shows have you seen where you don't remember any of the music after the film is over?
Dejael
I'm in complete agreement with indyjonesandy. Great movie. Outstanding soundtrack. Basil Poledouris may have borrowed ever so slightly from Elmer Bernstein's composition for "The Magnificent Seven," (also referred to as the Marlboro theme), but it's still an original and can easily stand on its own merit. I can hear echoes of his "Lonesome Dove" music in this - but I love that soundtrack equally well. I think it's just a signature of Basil's style. "Lonesome Dove" is indeed the GREATEST western of all time. That opinion is shared by millions of us Western flick aficionados.
shareby kevinsmithf1master02
What's wrong with Basil Poledouris's score?
As it would turn out, the choice of Poledouris for Quigley Down Under was fantastic, and the composer would produce an upbeat, solid Western score with the same vigor and outlaw style that fans clamored to hear in Cherry 2000. The opening clarinet solo would set the pace for the entire score, performing a dancing, Western-style theme that eventually grows to encompass the entire orchestra. The woodwinds continue to portray the happy go lucky attitude of the film and its characters through the very end, when the same clarinet bounces along as the score fades away. In between, however, is a hidden gem of the 1990's and a generally undiscovered score in Poledouris' career.
The title theme that Poledouris creates for Quigley Down Under is a slight mutation of a Western theme to include an Australian swing (or, in other words, a touch of funk). A decade after its composition, the theme ranks with Bruce Broughton's Silverado fanfare among the best of modern Western scores. Its clunky banjo and percussion add spirit to a theme that is already heavy on grand French horn performances. Poledouris then adds a dominant secondary theme for Rickman's thugs, a little reminisicent of his future effort on Starship Troopers. This secondary theme is also heavy on the French horns, and its minor key power yields to major key heroism as Quigley blows them away one by one. It engages the viewer so well that it could very serve as an excellent primary theme for another entire film. The remainder of the score features solid Western underscore, with a tender subtheme for the love interest in the film. The clarinet and banjo from the title themes add accent to the score, as does a playful rhythm for brass that hails back to the days of 1950's Westerns. In the end, however, the title theme is what sells Quigley Down Under, both in the film and on album. For Poledouris and Western fans alike, and even for the general film music collector who enjoys quirky, noble themes, Quigley Down Under is a safe choice.
I agree!
One of my favorite touches is the use of "Pretty Little Horses" at perfect times, starting with Cora telling Quigley why she is in Australia and showing us why she is "Crazy Cora".
It's one of my favorite folk songs and lullabies. When I play it on the bowed psaltery, people react so strongly to it, even when they do not know the title or even the lyrics. It's a wonderful addition to the brilliant score.
I'm not sure if it tops "Conan the Barbarian" for me, but it might be second in line. Each time I watch it, I can barely wait till the theme starts, as it puts me in the mood for the adventure to follow.
Growing up with a film buff father who especially loved Westerns, I, too, am a big fan of the genre. I'm a female in my 60s who regularly watches Encore Western channel. This is on a different Encore channel, but here I am! I even passed up tonight's "Columbo" movie in favor of watching "QDU" for the third time this year.
(W)hat are we without our dreams?
Making sure our fantasies
Do not overpower our realities. ~ RC share
luci-trulove said:
> I love the score. It is similar to the Lonesome Dove soundtrack.
Similar? I'd say the main theme music in QDU is nearly identical to a piece used in Lonesome Dove. I really like the music but to blatantly use a very recognizable piece from movie to movie is kinda tacky, even if it's Basil Poledouris' own work.
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I love the music. It's not just a soundtrack, it was a symphony.
shareNope - loved it.
shareIt was evocative of and similar to the best Western soundtracks of Moross and Bernstein, even Tiomkin. Now that everyone expects music like Morricone's (and morally ambiguous characters like Leone's), this movie being a throwback to Ford, Hawks, Hathaway and Sturges deserved a throwback score
shareLove the music and it seems to fit quite nicely to me. Since the dialogue is so interesting, the music never overwhelmed it for me. the characters of Cora and Marsden are just so interesting.
shareI enjoyed it very much - it captured the classic western but also incorporated the huge expanse that is Australia. At that time period, also very young and brash.
"Time is a confidence game invented by the Swiss." Remo Williams, the Adventure Begins
no where near a good as THE GOOD THE BAD AND TEH UGLY.
dolph is duke nukem http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHg5SJYRHA0
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Oh Hell no, I tink it's appropriate... Maybe heavy on the main theme, but effective. Kinda like "The Marlborough Man" down unda. You can also call the moosic for "The Magnificent Seven" annoying as well.. Well do ya punk? :p
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