Search - The Professionals on DVD

MPAA Rating: PG-13 Content Advisory: Violence, Brief Nudity, Adult Situations, Not For Children Movie Release: 1966 DVD Release: 07/13/1999 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV,Pan and Scan Audio Tracks: English Subtitles: English, Korean, Spanish, Thai SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 57 mins Studio: Columbia TriStar Members Wishing: 6 Genres: Adventure, Western, Outlaw (Gunfighter) Film, Modern Western See Also: The Professionals [Special Edition], The Professionals [Blu-ray]

Grant (Ralph Bellamy) is a wealthy rancher who hires four mercenaries to retrieve his wife, Maria (Claudia Cardinale), from the clutches of the desperado Raza (Jack Palance) in this Western adventure set in 1917. Dolworth (Burt Lancaster) is a munitions expert who joins gunslinger Fardan (Lee Marvin), horse trainer Hans Ehrengard (Robert Ryan), and longbow master Jake (Woody Strode) when the men are offered 10,000 dollars apiece for the safe return of Grant's kidnapped wife. The cadre travels 100 miles into Mexico to retrieve the woman, whom they later discover wants to remain with Raza, but they decide to nab Maria anyway to make good on the money. Soon Fardan, Hans, and Jake are chased across the border by the enraged Raza and his equally deadly female accomplice Chiquita (Marie Gomez), while Dolworth stays behind to fight off Raza's Mexican banditos. The film received Academy Award nominations for Best Direction (Richard Brooks), Best Screenplay (Brooks again), and Best Cinematography (Conrad L. Hall). ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

Burt Lancaster - Bill Dolworth
Lee Marvin - Rico (Henry Fardan)
Robert Ryan - Hans Ehrengard
Jack Palance - Capt. Jesus Raza
Claudia Cardinale - Maria Grant
Woody Strode - Jake Sharp

A critical and commercial success in 1966, The Professionals seems to be largely forgotten once The Wild Bunch hit theaters. The movie deserves to have its diminished reputation restored with this Columbia TriStar DVD release. A gritty, violent, and unsentimental Western that preceded (and survives comparisons to) The Wild Bunch, the movie is almost equally hard-hitting. Conrad Hall's rich color cinematography is finally properly showcased in this disc's widescreen anamorphic transfer. Famed for his decades of striking camera work (from Cool Hand Luke to American Beauty), Hall's location lensing adds real depth and atmosphere to the picture. The audio track is presented in a Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo mix that balances the dialogue and music tracks well. Besides better than average filmographies and the original trailer, there aren't any meaningful extras on the disc. ~ Nick Dedina, All Movie Guide