The Professionals

This is one of those great, all-star movies where what happens is almost inconsequential because getting there is so much fun. Marvin and Lancaster give sharp-edged, self-assured performances, Palance is delightful as always, and the rest of the cast does their job in yeoman fashion. It has the edge and cynicism that marked the decline of western movie production, but it has enough fun with the audience, and itself to stand out from other westerns made at the same juncture. Richard Brooks deserves a lot of credit for keeping the genre going because few westerns made around this time were or are memorable. This movie is not always mentioned with the all-time great westerns...but it should be.

Based on novel by Frank O'Rourke titled ¨A mule for the Marquese¨ and screen-written with fine eye by Richard Brooks ; it deals about some aging mercenaries who get chance redeem themselves . A wealthy magnate named Grant (Ralph Bellamy) employs a group of expert mercenaries, as the title characters, to rescue his wife (Claudia Cardinale), from the clutches of Raza (Jack Palance)who allegedly abducted her . The bunch (Woody Strode, Robert Ryan) is led by Fardan(Lee Marvin) and Dodworth(Burt Lancaster). The two mercenaries (Marvin,Lancaster) and Raza (Palance) had previously fought in Mexican Revolution and entering in City of Mexico along with Pancho Villa and Emilio Zapata.

A kidnapping and its rescue is the subject of this stunning adventure , an epic in every sense of word. Exciting, funny and well acted , especially by Burt Lancaster as tough soldier-of-fortune. It was deservedly nominated to Academy Award for direction, screenplay, cinematography and score. Photographed in Technicolor and Panavison by Conrad Hall in Valley of Fire State Park and its Coyote Pass and Deah Valley (Nevada) where was built a Mexican headquarter for the Mexican guerrilla. Exceptional soundtrack by Maurice Jarre, now classic, with Mexican and military music. Directed and screen-played with magnificent style by Richard Brooks (Elmer Gantry, In cold blood, lord Jim) who subsequently directed another good Western titled ¨Bite the bullet¨ with Gene Hackman and Candice Bergen .The ¨Professionals¨ is an authentic must see, not to be missed for buffs of the genre. A successful movie during its theatrical release because of its awesome acting, dialog, score are world class.

Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for the film, writer and director Richard Brooks, and cinematographer Conrad L. Hall. A western that is beautifully done, and seems to have been overlooked by those who rate Westerns.

A splendid cast with Lee Marvin (Cat Ballou), Burt Lancaster (Elmer Gantry, From Here to Eternity), Jack Palance (City Slickers, Claudia Cardinale (A Girl in Australia, Il giorno della civetta), and Robert Ryan (Crossfire). Also, of note is Marie Gomez, who got a Golden Globe nomination for her role as Chiquita.

Great action and an excellent script. An enjoyable western classic.

I've watched this terrific action-packed Western a couple of times in the past via my full-frame VHS and therefore I'll definitely upgrade now that this release is on its way. I'm certainly glad that Columbia has proved me wrong because I never thought they'd do it given that it's already available as a barebones disc.

Anyway, the fact that THE PROFESSIONALS is indeed something special is borne out by all the major awards (listed below) it was nominated for at the time of its original release and which are not commonly bestowed on this type of genre picture: Best Direction (Richard Brooks) – Academy Awards; Best Adapted Screenplay (Richard Brooks) – Academy Awards; Best Motion Picture Drama – Golden Globes; Best Direction (Richard Brooks) – Directors Guild Of America; Best Written American Drama (Richard Brooks) – Writers Guild Of America

Featuring a great cast (Burt Lancaster, Lee Marvin, Robert Ryan, Jack Palance, Woody Strode, Ralph Bellamy and Claudia Cardinale), beautiful camera-work and a typically fine Maurice Jarre score, the film is highlighted by Richard Brooks' witty script and Lancaster's boisterous performance. It's worth noting here that Brooks had already directed Lancaster towards his only ever Academy Award in ELMER GANTRY (1960) and that the former made two other excellent Westerns in his career – THE LAST HUNT (1956) and BITE THE BULLET (1975).

While THE PROFESSIONALS rarely crops up when classic Westerns are discussed, I'd say it lies somewhere between THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN (1960) – where a bunch of "experts" on the fringes of the law are recruited for a seemingly impossible mission – and THE WILD BUNCH (1969) – where these same people realize they're getting on in their years and ultimately find themselves out of touch with the times they're living in.

By 1966, westerns were changing. The rise of the spaghetti western had introduced a grittier image of the old west than people had seen in John Wayne's movies. "The Professionals" still has traces of the old-style westerns - namely in the casting of Jack Palance as a Mexican - but leans more towards the new direction that the genre was taking. It was especially surprising to see a Hollywood western wherein two of the white protagonists fought under Pancho Villa's command, since the US was used to seeing Villa not as a principled revolutionary but rather as a wild bandit.

Richard Brooks's movie is not a masterpiece to the degree of "Once Upon a Time in the West", "Little Big Man" or "McCabe and Mrs. Miller" (which showed how the conglomerates in the old west had no qualms about crushing anyone who stood up to them), but it's certainly an impressive piece of work: the acting, direction, cinematography, editing and score all added up to some fun. And besides, how can you not admire the sight of Claudia Cardinale?