The ProfessionalsRating:
Release Date: 13 July, 1999 Retail Price: $14.94 Sorry, this product is not currently available. Cast: Complete Cast (11 total) |
The Professionals Reviews
Four soldiers of fortune on a rescue mission...with a professional code of honour!
The Professionals
I recently watched a rerun of this entertaining action-packed movie on cable TV. I remember I had watched it in the theatre during the late 60's while I was still a young college student. It was my second movie with Lee Marvin in the lead cast. The first was Point Blank. Since then, I have always been impressed by him & have seen most of his action movies, including The Dirty Dozen.
The Professionals is definitely one kind of a movie about which I can truly say: They don't make them like this anymore! Yes, to me, it is a truly great Western classic.
It has a relatively simple plot with a terrific story, even though there were some twists & surprises right through the very end: Four solders of fortune, each was regarded as a specialist in his own chosen field, were hand-picked by a rich Texan businessman to rescue his wife, who had been captured by Mexican rebels. The ransom was US$100,000. The setting was the aftermath of the Mexican revolution.
The four soldiers of fortune were Rico (Lee Marvin), a cool & principled tactician & gunnery expert (he was really cool with his pump shot-gun); Bill (Burt Lancaster), a wise-cracking adventurer & dynamite expert; Hans (Robert Ryan), a sensitive & compassionate wrangler; Jake (Woody Stroke), a sharp scout/tracker & archery expert. It was obvious that these were brave men who lived by their tactical expertise & sharp instincts. They were paid handsomely - US$10,000 per head - to carry out the mission.
The vast scenery in the movie was magnificent: colourful rocks, barren desert & rugged terrains. Against this enchanting backdrop, many of the action sequences took place, as the four specialists had to skillfully out-manoeuvre a bunch of Mexican desert marauders &/or rebels.
The dialogue was often crisp & witty. There were some very memorable lines e.g. as Bill was putting a load of dynamite on the rock, he said to the others: "You light this fuse, you got thirty seconds to run like hell, & then dynamite - not faith - will move mountains into this pass. Peace! Brothers."
The most cruel scene was when the four specialists witnessed a gang of Mexican rebels, led by Raza (Jack Palance) massacred a train load of Mexican soldiers. [In the movie, Bill had explained to Hans the rationale of the rebels' merciless attack. The soldiers were sadistic torturers.]
The most exciting part of the movie was probably the surprise attack, planned with military precision, on Raza's fortress & the rescue of Mrs Grant (Claudia Cardinale). It was at this scene that Rico & Bill, seemingly bewildered, began to realise that something was wrong. To their astonishment, Mrs Grant turned out to be Raza's mistress. They were caught in a moral dilemma: Rico & Bill had apparently fought alongside Raza during the Mexican revolution. Both had respected Raza for his ideals. On the other hand, they had to honour their contract to the letter from the rich Texan businessman, Mr Grant (Ralph Bellamy). Rico quickly stopped Bill from killing Raza & eventually rescued Mrs Grant, with Raza & his rebels hot on their heels. The ensuing scenes were beautifully choreographed as Bill set out a diversionary measure to slow down their pursuit, while Rico, Hans & Jake with the rebellious Mrs Grant took off for Texas via a different route.
The most touching & climactic scene in the movie was actually the closing scene, when Rico, Hans, Jake & Mrs Grant eventually crossed the border into Texas for a rendervous with Mr Grant & his men. The next scene showed Bill appeared out from a trail of dust at the rendervous with the wounded Raza. Mrs Grant rushed forward with Raza falling into her embrace. Mr Grant then told Rico, Bill, Hans & Jake that they had fulfilled their contract & asked them to leave. Instead, amidst a short scuffle with Mr Grant's men, they quickly put the wounded Raza on to a wagon with Mrs Grant taking off into Mexico. They then rode off into the sunset, with their professional code of honour intact.
I have really enjoyed watching this entertaining action-packed movie once again. The four specialist-characters played very well in the movie, especially Lee Marvin as Rico & Burt Lancaster as Bill who stood out. Jack Palance, a fine actor (I enjoyed watching him in the Bronk TV series), as Raza did his part well too. Claudia Cardinale as Mrs Grant provided some eye candy to the movie.
The Professionals 1966 (Special Edition)
THE PROFESSIONALS. Four soldiers of fortune are hired by a wealthy Texas oil baron (Ralph Bellamy 1904-1991) to rescue his kidnnaped wife (Claudia Cardinale 1938- ) who?s been spirited across the Mexican border by a band of mercenaries led by Jesus Raza (Jack Palace 1919- ). The four rugged professional are each regarded as a specialist in his selected field -an expert marksman and tracker (Woody Strode 1914-1994) , the explosives (Burt Lancaster 1913-1994) , a horse handler (Robert Ryan 1909-1973) and one skilled in tactics and weaponry (Lee Marvin 1924-1987) . They make their way across the treacheros landscape to retrieve the beautiful kidnnapee , but discover all is not what it seems in the explosive climax . With exellent performances from an all-star cast . Maurice Jarre (1924- ) haunting musical score and surprising plot twints make THE PROFESSIONAL a true Classic and a true Recommendation . High Quality digital transfer . Recommended
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