The Professionals (1966)

Before The Wild Bunch, there was The Professionals, Richard Brooks's marvelous ode to friendship, loyalty, and disillusionment. It may not have the stylistic bravado or fatalistic doom of the legendary Sam Peckinpah film, but Brooks's storytelling is simple and steady and just as insightful. The difference is Brooks is a lot more optimistic. Lee Marvin and Burt Lancaster are buddies who have drifted into oblivion after fighting together in the Mexican Revolution. Marvin, the principled loyalist and munitions expert, lost his wife and his heart. Lancaster, the dynamite expert and unprincipled adventurer, keeps losing his pants. They team up with wrangler Robert Ryan and archer Woody Strode to rescue the beguiling Claudia Cardinale, who has been kidnapped by their old revolutionary buddie Jack Palance. So it's back into bloody Mexico they go on a "mission of mercy" for railroad tycoon Ralph Bellamy, who's paying handsomely for the return of his wife.

But nothing is what it seems in this exciting, existential adventure, which was beautifully shot by Conrad Hall. Sarcastic quips, philosophical musings, and heart-rending reversals underlie Brooks's humanistic sentiments. These are tired, world-weary men who somehow find the strength and the will to pull together for the sake of love and commitment. Through it all, Brooks seems to be lamenting a decline in professionalism much deeper than his story. He's decrying Hollywood and the society at large, anticipating Peckinpah's later strategy. --Bill Desowitz Amazon.com

A classic Western beautifully presented on Blu-ray!

I bought this after reading about it on the net, having never seen the movie. This is a man movie, make no mistake. Burt Lancaster. Lee Marvin. Jack Palance. What more needs to be said? The characters are cool, the action is well scripted, the dialog near-perfect, and the cinematography is beautiful. The sound is surprisingly good for a 40+ year old flick. Sony did this Blu-ray right...no nasty DNR to smear away details and remove grain here...you will believe you are watching film. I didn't notice any video artifacts on my 50" Sony A3000 SXRD HDTV. Lee Marvin's line at the end of the movie is priceless. And it's only $19.95 on Amazon. Great movie, great Blu-ray transfer, great price. Buy it. August 31, 2008

The Professionals

Dear Amazon:
The classic western "The Professionals" in Blu-Ray was so clear and great sound quality for an old classic. The vivid colors and effects were so nice to see in this classic. Please continue your restoration process in making the classics available in the Blu-Ray mode.
The actors, the plot and the special touch of the classic western movie makes this movie a collector's dream.
Sincerely,
Mario C.
Concord, CA. August 23, 2008

A classic film and a great Western

The Professionals not only has a great cast, but each actor gives one of their best career performances. Combined these performances with an exceptional script and a talented director (Richard Brooks) and you have a classic.

Some compare The Professionals (1966) to The Magnificent Seven (1960) and The Wild Bunch (1969) and find it lacking when stacked against these other two classics. All three stories are about mercenaries on a mission inside Mexico and each portrays comradeship, disillusionment, and a lament for a fading era. Each film, however, is a distinct work. The Professionals fits between these other two films, both stylistically and chronologically. All three films broke new ground within the genre and each deserves to be judged on its own merits. Every Western library should include all three and they're fun to watch sequentially.
The Shopkeeper
The Shut Mouth Society
August 23, 2008

Leading actors great even behind scenes

Have fond memories of most of
leading actors in THE PROFESSIONALS
since they stayed in our hotel
near shooting site. Robert Ryan,
now deceased, was our absolute
and personably favorite star.
Marvin, of course, was true to life.
This is a classic movie on my list. July 30, 2008

Brooks' Professionals

This action packed western set in the early 1900's boasts a star cast of he-men only rivaled by "The Dirty Dozen"(which Marvin was also in) and "The Wild Bunch" (Robert Ryan). Along with Ryan and Marvin for the ride is Woody Strode, Burt Lancaster, Ralph Bellamy and Jack Palance as the former buddy of Lancaster & Marvin, now a wanted bandido. Also the luscious Claudia Cardinale is the crew's bounty and she still looks great in her '60s or early 70's (she's featured in interview section on Special Features). The plot may be old-hat but the execution by director Richard Brooks isn't. There's plenty of room for some character development and also some tart dialogue--things that are missing from a lot of the action movies nowadays --particularly Bruokheimer's and Bay's films. Cardinale has been kidnapped by Palance and it's up to the Marvin-Lancaster-Ryan-Strode team to get her back and deliver her to her husband (Bellamy). But all is not what it seems to be for this quartet and treachery abounds along the way. I saw this flick back in '65 while en route to the military (Air Force) and it's been shown countless times on TCM. This film still holds up and I strongly recommend this to all action addicts since the Blu-ray version will be out as June 10th. Definitely put this on your "must have" list!! Also though Lancaster is billed ahead of Marvin in the credits it's Marvin who is the prime mover in this flick just as he was in "Dozen"--he'll be missed as well as Ryan, Lancaster & Strode (the mysterious gunman in "Once Upon a Time in the West"). So go see it for these heroic men of honor!! As a further update on this review, I've already viewed the new Blu-ray edition of this action classic--and like it's heroes--it delivers with a great picture!! June 3, 2008

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