Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Binding: VHS Tape
EAN: 9786301395397
Format: NTSC
ISBN: 6301395395
Label: Goodtimes Video/Direct Only
Manufacturer: Goodtimes Video/Direct Only
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Goodtimes Video/Direct Only
Release Date: 1989-06-14
Studio: Goodtimes Video/Direct Only
Theatrical Release Date: 1966-11-02

Before The Wild Bunch, there was The Professionals, Richard Brooks's marvelous ode to friendship, loyalty, and disillusionment. It may not have the stylistic bravado or fatalistic doom of the legendary Sam Peckinpah film, but Brooks's storytelling is simple and steady and just as insightful. The difference is Brooks is a lot more optimistic. Lee Marvin and Burt Lancaster are buddies who have drifted into oblivion after fighting together in the Mexican Revolution. Marvin, the principled loyalist and munitions expert, lost his wife and his heart. Lancaster, the dynamite expert and unprincipled adventurer, keeps losing his pants. They team up with wrangler Robert Ryan and archer Woody Strode to rescue the beguiling Claudia Cardinale, who has been kidnapped by their old revolutionary buddie Jack Palance. So it's back into bloody Mexico they go on a "mission of mercy" for railroad tycoon Ralph Bellamy, who's paying handsomely for the return of his wife.

But nothing is what it seems in this exciting, existential adventure, which was beautifully shot by Conrad Hall. Sarcastic quips, philosophical musings, and heart-rending reversals underlie Brooks's humanistic sentiments. These are tired, world-weary men who somehow find the strength and the will to pull together for the sake of love and commitment. Through it all, Brooks seems to be lamenting a decline in professionalism much deeper than his story. He's decrying Hollywood and the society at large, anticipating Peckinpah's later strategy. --Bill Desowitz

Customer Rating:
Summary: The Professionals
Comment: A thinking man's western. Good and Bad, Truth and Lies are not that easily distinguishable when hero and villain are in one continuum. Sent out to rescue the kidnapped wife of a rich ranch owner the 4-man team (each an expert in his discipline) realise the mission is not that simple as it appears. There is a revolution and in the unrest who is really rescuing whom? Tremendous dialogues between the 'cynical' professionals and the 'true' believers in the dignity of the individual.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: One of the best
Comment: Burt Lancaster, Lee Marvin, Robert Ryan and Woody Strode make this flick great. Hired by a train baron to bring back his kidnapped wife, they soon find that all is not what it seems. The acting is terse and intense and, for all the twists and turns, you're still left wondering what happens next when the movie ends. Not a lot of gunfights and explosions, although there's enough to satisfy. Instead, it's the mental game of cat and mouse that takes the forefront here and delivers pretty good.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: The Professionals - Blu-ray Info
Comment: Version: U.S.A / Region A, B, C
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
MPEG-4 AVC BD-50
Running time: 1:57:29
Movie size: 31,73 GB
Disc size: 35,48 GB
Average video bit rate: 26.06 Mbps
Dolby TrueHD 5.1 48Khz/24-bit English / French
Subtitles: English SDH, English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Bahasa, Chinese, Korean, Thai

#Blu-ray promos
#Featurettes:
--The Professionals--A Classic (6m:26s)
--Burt Lancaster: A Portrait (12m:37s)
--Memories from The Professionals (23m:19s)

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Customer Rating:
Summary: A classic Western beautifully presented on Blu-ray!
Comment: I bought this after reading about it on the net, having never seen the movie. This is a man movie, make no mistake. Burt Lancaster. Lee Marvin. Jack Palance. What more needs to be said? The characters are cool, the action is well scripted, the dialog near-perfect, and the cinematography is beautiful. The sound is surprisingly good for a 40+ year old flick. Sony did this Blu-ray right...no nasty DNR to smear away details and remove grain here...you will believe you are watching film. I didn't notice any video artifacts on my 50" Sony A3000 SXRD HDTV. Lee Marvin's line at the end of the movie is priceless. And it's only $19.95 on Amazon. Great movie, great Blu-ray transfer, great price. Buy it.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: The Professionals
Comment: Dear Amazon:
The classic western "The Professionals" in Blu-Ray was so clear and great sound quality for an old classic. The vivid colors and effects were so nice to see in this classic. Please continue your restoration process in making the classics available in the Blu-Ray mode.
The actors, the plot and the special touch of the classic western movie makes this movie a collector's dream.
Sincerely,
Mario C.
Concord, CA.

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