The Professionals (Special Edition)

Anyway, the film begins with the assemblage of four men by a rich, Texas cattleman named Joe Grant, played by Ralph Bellamy (the old dude who wasn't Don Ameche in the John Landis/Eddie Murphy/Dan Aykroyd movie Trading Places), for the purpose of rescuing his young wife Maria, played by the voluptuous Claudia Cardinale, from the clutches of her kidnapper, a Mexican rebel bandit named Jesus Raza (Palance). Seems Raza has made off with the woman and is now demanding $100,000 for her safe return, an amount Mr. Grant would be willing to pay, except he fears that even after he pays the monies, Raza would still harm his wife. As the men come together with the offer of $10,000 apiece if they're successful, we learn of their particular talents. First there's Henry 'Rico' Fardan (Marvin), a master tactician and someone who actually knows Raza as they served together in the Mexican revolution, followed by Bill Dolworth (Lancaster), who also served with Fardan and Raza, and is an expert with explosives, Hans Ehrengard (Ryan), whose skills involve horse wrangling, and finally Jake Sharp (Strode), an expert with weapons, specifically guns and the bow and arrow, and also an experienced tracker. Given that Raza has a good number of men at his disposal, I'd say maybe close to 200, the task would seem highly unlikely, but the men also must deal with first getting to the camp, which involves trekking through the Mexican desert, where temperatures during the day could fry your face off, while the cold night after the sun drops is nearly enough to freeze your blood, but $10,000 is a lot of money, and the group, being men of honor, did give their word, fully aware of the dangers involved, and the probability of success.

While the story may not be highly original, the elements that make it up work very well to make this a highly enjoyable movie. Marvin is great as the brains behind the operation, carefully planning everything, knowing exactly what he has to work with and also having the confidence in the men to perform their tasks, keeping things simple, and avoiding complexities that would normally foul things up. He pulls off his character well, an intelligent man would understands the value in proper preparation especially when the odds are high. Lancaster is also wonderful, presenting a highly likeable character with color, one whose priorities seem simple enough in money and women, but who also exhibits more depth as the film unfolds. Ryan (a highly under-rated actor, in my opinion) and Strode are also quite good, despite the lack of character development given to Marvin and Lancaster, which isn't a negative as we are given just enough to endear the characters to the audience, but not so much to bog the film down, and all four displayed a level of credibility respective to the skills each possessed. Claudia Cardinale was certainly nice to look at, and she was capable, but if I had to choose a weak link in the film, it would probably be her, but given how well all the other elements of the film worked, this was entirely a minor issue. Now when I heard Jack Palance was going to be playing a Mexican, I had my doubts as I just couldn't see it, but he pulled it off. We didn't see much of him in the first half, but in the last half his character really came to life, giving us more than just a character motivated by greed, but one driven by his ideology, in doing what he has to to survive and further his cause. The expansive desert scenes throughout the film are really beautiful, giving a wonderful backdrop to the story, providing a realism you just can't get shooting on a studio backlot. There were a number of twists and turns within the story, as very little is as it seems, and while some of it was predictable, this did little to take away from the film. I also enjoyed the study of the motivations of the various characters, their questioning of the moralism in past and present actions. The film could have gotten mired within this element, but, as with other elements of the movie, there was just enough present to keep things interesting and add a bit of welcome diversity while not taking away from the overall story. The movie does run just under 2 hours, but rarely slows down, as the excellent direction by Brooks keeps things fairly balanced and moving along at a good pace.

The digitally remastered picture here looks amazing, available in both wide screen and full screen formats, and I thought the audio was also very good, being very crisp and clear. With regards to special features, there is any number of subtitles (including English) available, along with an original theatrical trailer and somewhat comprehensive, yet concise, biographies of the talent, including selected filmographies. Also included on the insert in the DVD case are production notes which detail the people involved, the locations the film was shot, along with information about the original release date and the various awards nominations the film received. All in all an excellent film, maybe not the quintessential western of Sam Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch (1969), but certainly required viewing for fans of western films and certainly worth looking into for anyone just interested in a good film in general.

Cookieman108

Its ballet of slow-motion blood came from Arthur Penn's 1967 instant classic, Bonnie and Clyde. And much, much more, in terms of story, place, and atmosphere - hard men hired to go on a violent mission to Mexico - came from this 1966 movie, which Richard Brooks directed and wrote, based on Frank O'Rourke's novel, A Mule for the Marquesa. An honest assessment of either movie requires that one discuss the other. Of The Wild Bunch, because it owes so much to The Professionals; of The Professionals, because it has largely, and unfairly, been relegated to obscurity, due to the legendary status of The Wild Bunch.

The Professionals has a dream cast - the four men of the title are played by Burt Lancaster, Lee Marvin, Robert Ryan and Woody Strode. But there's so much more - in those politically incorrect days, Italian star Claudia Cardinale could play a Mexican spitfire ("Maria Grant"), while Jack Palance could portray a Mexican revolutionary ("Raza"). Ralph Bellamy plays railroad tycoon "J.W. Grant," whose Mexican wife, Maria, has been kidnapped, and Marie Gomez plays yet another spitfire ("Chiquita"). (Note that the spitfires are both handy with six-shooters.) The story unfolds ca. 1920, under the shadow of Pancho Villa and the recently concluded Mexican Revolution.

The four men of the title - experts in explosives (Lancaster, as "Bill Dolworth"), weapons (Marvin, as leader "Rico Fardan"), horses (Ryan, as "Hans Ehrengard"), and tracking and using a bow and arrow (Strode, as "Jacob Sharpe") - are hired to rescue the tycoon's wife, whose captor demands $100,000 ransom. The tycoon will pay the men $10,000 each, should they successfully complete their mission. But they must brave the searing heat of the Mexican desert going in and returning, and best a gang that outnumbers them over 30-1. Note that Dolworth and Fardan were expressly chosen for the mission, because they had long fought alongside Raza, for Pancho Villa.

Brooks, a onetime newspaperman and novelist who had an eclectic, successful career writing, helming, and sometimes producing social dramas (Blackboard Jungle, Something of Value, Elmer Gantry), westerns (The Last Hunt, Bite the Bullet), psychological stories (Lord Jim, In Cold Blood) and female-centered pictures, particularly based on Tennessee Williams plays (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Sweet Bird of Youth, Looking for Mr. Goodbar), packs enough movie into The Professionals for two and a half hours, rather than the hour-fifty it runs. (I expect that he was under strict instructions regarding length.) The story opens by deftly sketching each character in about thirty seconds, has several excellent action set-pieces -- Lancaster insisted on doing all his own stunts -- and yet, leaves time for irony, for wistfulness, for gallows humor.

At one point, Burt Lancaster's Bill Dolworth muses, "Maybe there's only been one revolution since the beginning - the good guys versus the bad guys. The question is - who are the good guys?" (...)

The Professionals has several surprises, some humorous and some poignant, and a simpatico, South-of-the-Border-style score by Maurice Jarre. And some great lines(...)

The acting by the four "professionals" is wonderfully natural (especially Marvin's line readings), the work by Palance and Gomez wonderfully over the top.

Like most great movies, particularly westerns, this movie could not be made today. Hispanic ethnic hustlers would demand that mediocre Hispanic actors play the Cardinale and Palance roles. And no black actor today would play the Woody Strode role as written, and no white director would have the nerve to make him do it. Too realistic. At the height of Jim Crow, the railroad tycoon asks Fardan, "Do you have any problem working with a Negro?" And while whites usually address Jacob Sharpe by his first name, he always addresses white men as "Mister," as in "Mr. D," and "Mr. Sheriff." You can hate it all you want, but that's the way it was.

Raza : How do you come to this dirty business?
Dolworth: The usual -- money.
Raza: Everything is as usual. I need guns and bullets -- as usual. The war goes badly -- as usual. Only you -- you are not as usual.

The Wild Bunch cannot be properly measured, without taking into consideration the standing-on-the-shoulders-of-giants factor. And even if one should still conclude that The Wild Bunch is more powerful than The Professionals, in the way that Peckinpah is poetry to Brooks' prose, one still must give Richard Brooks his due.

(The DVD offers both full-screen and widescreen versions, cast information, the theatrical trailer, and scene selections. The sound and color resolution are excellent. Considering the lack of extras, the DVD is pricey ... yet it is worth every cent.)

The Critical Critic, April 7, 2004.