The Professionals (1966)
Runtime: 1 hr 57 mins
Synopsis: A wealthy rancher, Frank Carter (Ralph Bellamy), hires four tough gunslingers to rescue his wife (Claudia Cardinale), who is being held captive by Captain Rasa (Jack Palance), one of Pancho Villa's most desperate revolutionaries, in this dynamic and hard-hitting Western set against the... A wealthy rancher, Frank Carter (Ralph Bellamy), hires four tough gunslingers to rescue his wife (Claudia Cardinale), who is being held captive by Captain Rasa (Jack Palance), one of Pancho Villa's most desperate revolutionaries, in this dynamic and hard-hitting Western set against the backdrop of the Mexican Revolution of 1917. The wild West commando team consists of a dynamite expert (Burt Lancaster), an ex-revolutionary and munitions expert (Lee Marvin), a horse specialist (Robert Ryan), and a tracker (Woody Strode). On their mission to return Carter's highly prized wife, they track the Mexican revolutionaries through rough and rugged desert terrain, determined to outsmart, outshoot, and outride anyone they come across--until they meet the the charismatic Rasa and discover that Carter's seductive wife is in love with the Mexican outlaw and has no intention of returning with the band of "professionals." Based on the novel A MULE FOR THE MARQUESA by Frank O'Rourke, this beautifully rendered Western features a star-studded cast delivering finely crafted and charismatic performances. Burt Lancaster is at his acrobatic and mercurial best as the rowdy gunslinger. [More]
Genre: Westerns
Starring: Burt Lancaster, Lee Marvin, Claudia Cardinale, Jack Palance, Ralph Bellamy
Story: Frank O'Rourke
Screenwriter: Richard Brooks
Producer: Richard Brooks
Composer: Maurice Jarre
DVD Info
Release:
Oct 17, 2006
DVD Features:
- Region ABC
- Anamorphic Widescreen - 2.35
Audio:
- Dolby Digital True HD 5.1 - English, French
- Subtitles - Chinese, English, French, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Thai - Optional
Additional Release Material:
- Featurettes - "Memories From The Professionals"
Buy It On DVD
Reviews
A truly adventuresome, action-filled film that is played more for thrills than for conveying a story.
Exciting explosive sequences, good overall pacing and acting overcome a sometimes thin script.
It was comprehensively eclipsed by Peckinpah's ostensibly similar The Wild Bunch.
Top notch western adventure laden with macho stars Lancaster, Marvin and Palance.
A rock-solid piece of Western Adventure entertainment. Marvin, Lancaster & Palance!
It's a little dated and has a few shot-on-bad-studio-set moments, but on the whole it's an impressive film, even if you don't normally care for Westerns.
It's far too entertaining to be lumped in with portentous epics like Dances With Wolves and How The West Was Won.
It's 'guys on a mission' time in this wonderful but improbable tale.
News
posted by Alex Vo November 10, 2006
Jack Palance, who made a career out of bullying good guys and portraying stern, craggy-faced menaces, died Friday....

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