We’re big on physical media over here at JoBlo, so it’s always great to hear when a movie gets a long-awaited 4K facelift. Shout Factory announced over the weekend that they will be giving the classic Tom Selleck Western Quigley Down Under a 4K release later this year.
Directed by Simon Wincer (Lonesome Dove), Quigley Down Under stars Tom Selleck as sharpshooter Matt Quigley. “Arriving in Australia with nothing more than a saddle and his prized six-foot Sharps rifle, American sharpshooter Matthew Quigley thinks he’s been hired to kill off wild dogs,” reads the description. “But when he realizes that his mission is murder — to eradicate the Aborigines from the property of a wealthy cattle baron — Quigley refuses … and quickly turns from hunter to hunted. Forced to wage a savage war against his former employer, Quigley proves that no one gets the best of a steely-eyed gunfighter — no one, that is, except the mysterious beauty who rides by his side … and captures his heart.” In addition to Tom Selleck, the film also stars Laura San Giacomo and Alan Rickman.
Quigley Down Under was first released on Blu-ray over a decade ago, but Shout Factory actually released their own Blu-ray of the film in 2018. There’s no information on whether this will be a fresh 4K scan of the movie, but as it’s been over five years, one would hope so.
One other title that might just be of interest to you is a Blu-ray release of Stephen King’s The Shining, the TV adaptation directed by Mick Garris (Sleepwalkers). Although the miniseries was written by Stephen King himself, it hasn’t been looked on as favourably as the Stanley Kubrick movie, but it’s still great for fans to be able to add it to their collection.
The Shining stars Steven Weber as Jack Torrance, who moves his family (Rebecca De Mornay and Courtland Mead) into the sprawling, vacant Overlook Hotel to get away from it all. “Away from the alcoholism that derails Jack’s writing career. Away from the violent outbursts that mar Jack’s past. But Jack’s young son Danny knows better. He possesses a psychic gift called the shining — a gift the hotel’s vile spirits desperately want,” reads the description. “In the hands of Stephen King, the ‘dead’ Overlook comes horrifyingly alive. Phantoms lurk, the message ‘redrum’ appears with scary frequency, and even the garden topiary lurches into macabre existence in this atmospheric shocker scripted by King from his own novel and directed by ace King adaptor Mick Garris.“
In the age of streaming, it’s easy to assume that you’ll be able to find whatever you want on one service or another. However, we’ve seen too many streaming titles slip between the cracks and become damn-near impossible to find, making physical media all the more important. Some may say that physical media is dying, but when you have boutique labels such as Shout Factory, Arrow, Kino Lorber, Criterion, Severin, Vinegar Syndrome, Synapse, and more continuing to put out some amazing titles, you’ll realize that it’s simply taken on a new form more catered to collectors.
Quigley Down Under will be released on 4K Blu-ray on March 12th, with Stephen King’s The Shining hitting shelves on the same day.