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The Professionals | Year: 1966 Classification: Western Directed: - Richard Brooks Actors/Actresses: - Burt Lancaster - Lee Marvin - Robert Ryan CLINT ' S SHADOW In the sixties, Howard Hawks, Richard Brooks, Sam Peckinpah and a few other american directors tried to challenge the -spaghetti- westerns filmmakers who were following the steps of an inspired Sergio Leone. Richard Brooks's THE PROFESSIONALS is, in my opinion, one of the last masterpieces Hollywood has produced in this very peculiar genre : the Western. With a legend of the screen, Burt Lancaster, three first-class actors of the Dream Factory's golden era, Robert Ryan, Jack Palance and Lee Marvin and, at last, an italian star, Claudia Cardinale, Richard Brooks had all the living material to build a solid western. And he did it. THE PROFESSIONALS is not a lyric movie nor a nostalgic one. Robert Ryan and Lee Marvin don't regret their past, they only try to survive with their particular skills in the 1915-1920 America. They don't feel outcasted by the new century because they have something to believe in : friendship, respect and compassion. The pathetic couple Jack Palance-Claudia Cardinale has the terrible task to symbolize the ineluctable destiny of all revolutions ; pure in their beginnings, they become soon the whore of all human lowest vices and passions. In this perspective, THE PROFESSIONALS is one of the most realistic movies I've had the opportunity to see. It's also clearly a very personal movie of director Richard Brooks, a director who should absolutely be rediscovered one of these days. The choice between the wide-screen and the standard (beurk !) version, a trailer, different subtitles and rather extended filmographies as bonus features. Perfect sound and above-average images, even in the multiple night scenes. A DVD for your library. It's no "Magnificent Seven..." 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. "In this desert, nothing's harmless until it's dead." 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 th Buy The Professionals at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.com Jamster - the latest ringtones for your phone!  Search with Walhello on the Internet on The Professionals Search with the Priority Search Engine on The Professionals This page in other languages: Suomeksi | Nederlands | Deutsch
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