Customer Reviews

The Professionals (Special Edition)

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3 star:		(2)
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Look...let me cut right to the chase on this film.
It's an ignored classic.
Why...?...I do not know.
I even looked up Lee Marvin under Ask Jeeves and there was a Bio... very detailed... that I pulled up that did not even mention this film.
I think it to be Marvin's best.
Yes...better that the Dirty Dozen which has become a Mantra title for some Marvin fans.
The performances of Marvin and Lancaster are impeccable and charged with a timeless charisma that is also exhibited by Woody Strode and Robert Ryan as well.
I have seen this movie now several times now and could sit down and watch it again and still enjoy it.
Everything about this movie works at just the right time and in just the right way.
This is one of the great films to ever come out of the 1960's and certainly a "have to own" item for any Lancaster, Marvin, Strode or Ryan fan.
Oddly...few people, who love westerns, admire Marvin, Lancaster, Strode or Ryan...have ever heard of it.
Pass the word.....

Given the credentials of the people involved in bringing The Professionals (1966) to the screen, written and directed by Richard Brooks, who also did The Killers (1946), Key Largo (1948), Elmer Gantry (1967), and In Cold Blood (1967), starring Lee Marvin, Burt Lancaster, Robert Ryan, Woody Strode, and Jack Palance (Believe it....or not!), you would have thought I would have heard about it before now, but I didn't, and there you go...

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

Ever since Sam Peckinpah made The Wild Bunch in 1969, he has received credit for creating a unique, poetic western masterpiece about the passing of a certain time (the late 19th century), place (the "West," specifically the American Southwest and Mexico), and type of man (a criminal or gunslinger with a code of honor). And The Wild Bunch IS a masterpiece - but it is not unique.

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.

this film was always a favoriite of mine due to the fact it's storey is around world war 1, and the introduction of the horsless carraige and the introduction of modern weapons such as the water cooled machine gun. lee marvin, and burt lancaster are great, always standing in as a support character is skinny robet ryan, whose schedule should have been busy, as most of these actors were doing other films as well. jack palance, get special mention as well. not a academy award winner, but a darn good action packed movie.

The Professionals is a very entertaining western that does not receive the same hype as many other westerns made during the same time period. It is an excellent story with an even better cast. The story is about the efforts of four men to rescue a railroad tycoon's wife from the Mexican revolutionaries she was kidnapped by. They must travel deep into Mexico to rescue her battling bandits, the weather, and themselves all the way. The film is very good at dealing with the friendships between the men as the time and the land changes much as the Wild Bunch or Big Jake did. How can these men change their lives as the world around them changes? These men won't go along quietly is all I can say.

Burt Lancaster gives another excellent performance as the explosives expert, Lee Marvin as the leader of the men and also a munitions expert, Robert Ryan as the horse wrangler who cares so much for his horses, and Woody Strode as the adept tracker who dispatches his enemy with bow and arrow. All four give great performances. How could you go wrong with such a cast. Jack Palance is very good as Raza, the leader of the revolutionaries\bandits. Ralph Bellamy plays the husband who desperately wants his wife back, played by Claudia Cardinale who looks beautiful. The DVD is very good with widescreen and fullscreen presentations offered, theatrical trailer, and rather extensive filmographies of the cast. Check out this western if you haven't seen it before! The Professionals is an excellent western with a perfect twist at the end. Do not miss!

Also, if you like the movie check out the novel by Frank O'Rourke, also called a Mule for the Marquesa.

This film was just a couple of miscasts short of being a real classic. Why Jack Palance and Claudia Cardinale as the Mexican couple at the center of the plot? There must have been thousands of English-speaking Mexican actors who could have made them more credible. That said, though, writer and director Richard Brooks misses mighty few other beats in this often riveting and fast-paced tale of four hired guns tricked into a morass of extortion and revolutionary politics along the Mexican border. Lee Marvin, Burt Lancaster and Robert Ryan were never better.

This review refers to the Columbia Western Classics DVD edition of "The Professionals".....

A wealthy Texas oilman's beautiful young wife has been kidnapped and is being held across the border in Mexico. There has been a ransom demand for 100,00 dollars. Four men who have just the right skills needed are hired at great cost to save her from the
hands of "Raza", the merciless captain of the revolution!

"The Professionals" are Lee Marvin, whose expertise would lead the crew through the harsh landscapes, Robert Ryan who is an expert with horses, Woody Strode an excellent scout and never misses his mark and last but certainly not least Burt Lancaster(who has a bit of a problem hanging on to his clothes), is our explosives expert. Scorching deserts, bulletts flying, sand storms, lame horses..none of this will keep our guys from their mission.

It's more than just your run of the mill, save the fair maiden story though. There are several plot twists, lots of action, suspense and adventure to keep you totally involved. And the big question these guys want to know is "what kind of woman is worth that kind of money?"(well, you know this was a long time ago) So what kind of woman....The Claudia Cardinale kind! She is stunning, and fiesty. But what is her part in all this?

The cast seems to get better with every scene. In addition to the legendary actors mentioned above(who all turn in great performances),you'll also find Ralph Bellemy as the rich Texan, and the great Jack Palance is absolutely convincing as Raza. Expert cinematography by Conrad Hall takes in all the desert vistas perfectly, and a teriffic score by Maurice Jarre adds just the right flavor. Richard Brooks directs a real treat for the western lover.

So when I first saw the price of this DVD, I balked. I thought it was a little high and was I was a little worried about how the transfer would be of this 1966 technicolor film. But I love this film, and consider it a Western Classic and being the western lover I am, I had to have it. Well I took a chance and was pleasently surprised at the view. Although the colors seem slightly dated, they were still good and the picture itself in widescreen(full screen on side b if you prefer) was sharp and clear at all times. The remastered audio is in Stereo and sounds great considering the age of this film. The explosions,the galloping of the horses, the dialouge, all distinct. I'm a happy cowgirl with this DVD! There are filmographies, subtitles in several languages, and a theatrical trailer. No other special features though.Just good old western fare.

It is rated PG-13, but may not be suitable for younger views as there are some brief scenes of partial nudity.

So saddle up and enjoy......Laurie

Another western. This has the promising markings of a pleasantly formulaic film -- four men, each a specialist in his field, are hired to do a big job in Zapata-era Mexico. Unfortunately, the movie is plodding and emotionally uninvolving. Robert Ryan was too old for his role; Lee Marvin, Woody Strode and Burt Lancaster are all adequately cool, but nothing really catches fire here. It's kind of nice to see the aged, yet ever-oily Ralph Bellamy in a later role as the tycoon who sends the heroes off on their mission; Claudia Cardinale also stars as a Raquel Welch wannabee. Some stuff blows up and todos los banditos hablan espanol. But no big whoop, really.

One of my favorites, Apart from being the title, "The Professionals" could just as easily refer to the cast and crew. It has all the elements of a great movie of any genre. Great actors - well written script with some surprises - good action scenes - a complementry musical score - good direction and cinematography - one could not ask for more from a genuinely entertaining movie. Even the viewers that do not like Westerns will enjoy this film.
Note: Lee Marvin's closing line is a classic example of Marvin at his best. In a few simple words it conveys a wide range of emotions and confirms the character's personna.

If you are looking for a classic western, this is it. You get good guys, bad guys, burning sun, tequila, and the Mexican Revolution for the backdrop. It also contains one of the best closing lines in the movies.