The Professionals [Blu-ray]

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

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, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: ABC
• Number of Discs: 1
• Audio: Dolby Digital Stereo
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 (Cinemascope)
• Screen: Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV
• Features:
  • The Professionals - a classic
  • Burt Lancaster: a portrait
  • Memories from the Professionals

AWARDS

• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

•     Nominated Best Adapted Screenplay - 1966 (Richard Brooks)
•     Nominated Best Color Cinematography - 1966 (Conrad L. Hall)
•     Nominated Best Director - 1966 (Richard Brooks)

• Directors Guild of America

•     Nominated Best Director - 1966 (Richard Brooks)

• Hollywood Foreign Press Association

•     Nominated Best Picture - Drama - 1966
•     Nominated New Star of the Year - Female - 1966 (Marie Gomez)

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Burt Lancaster - Bill Dolworth
       Lee Marvin - Rico (Henry Fardan)
       Robert Ryan - Hans Ehrengard
       Jack Palance - Capt. Jesus Raza
       Claudia Cardinale - Maria Grant
       Ralph Bellamy - J.W. Grant
       Woody Strode - Jake Sharp
       Joe de Santis - Pasual Ortega
       Rafael Bertrand - Fierro
       Jorge Martinez de Hoyos - Eduardo Padillia
       Marie Gomez - Chiquita
       Jose Chavez - Revolutionary
       Carlos Romero - Revolutionary
       Vaughan Taylor - Banker
       Foster Hood
       Jorge Marchegiant - Eduardo Padilla
       Dirk Evans - Man at Door
       Roberto Contreras
       Elizabeth Campbell - Mexican Girl
       Edward Little Sky - The Prisoner
       Leigh Chapman - Lady
       David Cadiente
       Darwin Lamb - Hooper
       Don Carlos - Bandit
       Henry O'Brien
       John R. McKee - Sheriff

• Director:

  Richard Brooks

• Producer:

  Richard Brooks

• Screenwriter:

  Richard Brooks

• Book Author:

  Frank O'Rourke

• Cinematographer:

  Conrad L. Hall

• Composer (Music Score):

  Maurice Jarre

• Musical Direction/Supervision:

  Maurice Jarre

• Editor:

  Peter Zinner

• Art Director:

  Edward S. Haworth

• Set Designer:

  Frank A. Tuttle

• Costume Designer:

  Jack Martell

• Makeup:

  Robert J. Schiffer

• Special Effects:

  Willis Cook

• First Assistant Director:

  Tom Shaw

• Sound Special Effects:

  Kay Rose

REVIEW:

• Much like star Lee Marvin's later success, 1967's The Dirty Dozen, The Professionals is a finely crafted action picture with an impressive and entertaining ensemble cast. Marvin was in the most successful period of his career, and his performance in The Professionals -- along with his turns in Dozen and Point Blank the following year -- conveyed his distinctive tough persona better than any of his other work. Produced, written, and directed by Hollywood veteran Richard Brooks, the movie also features notable supporting work by Burt Lancaster, Robert Ryan, and Jack Palance. Brooks and cinematographer Conrad Hall would re-team for the stark crime story In Cold Blood. ~ Brendon Hanley, Rovi