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The Professionals (1966)

post #1 of 13
8/12/05 at 1:31am
Thread Starter 
I saw this movie a few nights ago and have not found much about it on the boards so I wanted to draw some attention to it. I've recently been seeing many more older films and have been loving every minute of it. The Professionals was like a gift from the movie gods. During my time watching older films I had started to love actors like Lee Marvin, Burt Lancaster and Robert Ryan and The Professionals brought them together. I can't believe that I hadn't heard of this movie before. It is an almost perfect combination of actors, story and action. Unfourtunately it came out at a time where the old fashioned westerns were dying and the new spaghetti westerns were gaining in popularity and has been overlooked for years. If any of you like "men on a mission" movies, buddy movies, and westerns then I think you'll be highly satisfied by this movie, it's available in a new special edition dvd. If any of you have seen it then I would like to discuss it with you.
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post #2 of 13
8/12/05 at 5:08am
I agree. A nice tough guy Western in the classic mode. Well worth watching.
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post #3 of 13
8/12/05 at 8:55am
When people talk about films not being as entertaining as they used to be, The Professionals is what they are talking about. Its steeped in its era, but its every bit as entertaining as ANYTHING in theatres today. Its like the Western version of Flight of the Phoenix. Good simple storytelling, leaving room for character and great dialogue. And there's enough rootin-tootin' action along the way (including that great skirmish when they find Raza) to keep anyone happy.

First and foremost, the great thing about films like this, and The Wild Bunch, The Dirty Dozen, Flight, The Great Escape, all those late sixties yarns, is its cast. You simply cannot fault the cast in The Professionals. Lee Marvin, Robert Ryan, Burt Lancaster, Jack Palance, Claudia Cardinale (even yummier than she is in Once Upon a Time in the West), Woody Strode and Ralph Bellamy. I hate to sound like an old stick in the mud (i'm only 24) but we don't have stars like that anymore. We have stars and we have great actors, but the two don't really crossover. I love Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt as much as anyone, but i'm talking about Bill Macy or Phil Hoffman being marquee names, you know? That's what it used to be like. And there just aren't FACES like Ryan and Marvin anymore.

Gotta just say a word about Burt Lancaster. When I first saw this film, I didn't really know who he was, he was just a name that my mum bandied around (I guess I was about 14) and I thought he was one of the old school charmers like Cary Grant or Clark Gable. He is such a... well, I guess rascal or scoundrel would do it... in this that I defy you not to love him and his relationship with Marvin. Great stuff. I've since seen a lot mroe of his work, but The Professionals seems to be the most fun.

Favourite lines: "People. We just killed ten men, nobody bats an eye. But when it comes to one of God's most stupid animals . . . ";

"There's only been one revolution since the beginning - the good guys versus the bad guys. The question is - who are the good guys?";

Rico: "You won't lose your pants. Your life maybe but, what's that?"
Bill Dolworth: "Hardly anything at all." ;

J.W. Grant: "You bastard."
Rico: "Yes sir. In my case an accident of birth. But you, you're a self-made man."

Great stuff. Good call, this film is awesome. I really need to pick it up on DVD as soon as possible.
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post #4 of 13
8/12/05 at 9:28am
Thread Starter 
Couldn't agree with you more, sackley. It's funny that you consider yourself an old stick in the mud at 24 but I'm 23 and I feel the same way you do. Watching this movie made me yearn for more movies like this with this caliber of actors. Lee Marvin and Robert Ryan are two actors that I've been coming across more and more while I've been watching older films and I'm loving every part they play. Those two men were considered leading man material back then and because of their looks they'd be considered character actors today. Even Lancaster wouldn't be thought of as all that handsome today. Another interesting note is that this was one of the first films, I believe, where an African-American was portrayed as an equal with his white counterparts. Woody Strode played his part with a quiet dignity. His character was not used as comic relief but as a man who you could trust to watch your back in a tight spot. I can't help but think that if this movie was remade today (god forbid) his role would be recast with Chris Rock, with Rock making fun of the horses and of Raza's accent. Films like this one are an art form long forgotten and beyond Tarantino's "Ingloious Bastards" (if he ever does it) I don't see Hollywood bringing this type of film back.
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post #5 of 13
8/12/05 at 1:45pm
The last time The Professionals was released on home video, it was a censored print that superimposed an extremely fake "shadow" across Claudia Cardinale during the campfire scene. Can anyone confirm that the new SE provides unobstructed Claudia?
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post #6 of 13
8/12/05 at 4:36pm
Thread Starter 
I'm pretty sure that the shadow is still there on the new dvd, I think I would remember if I got a glimpse of a nude Claudia Cardinale. In one of the documentaries it is explained that Cardinale was uncomfortable with doing the nudity so director Richard Brooks convinced her to do it by promising to cover her up in post production. A sad loss to the film world.
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post #7 of 13
8/12/05 at 8:24pm

Titty

Is that better, guys?
LL
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post #8 of 13
8/12/05 at 11:49pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by sackley
Is that better, guys?
Seen it, but thanks.
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post #9 of 13
10/29/05 at 7:23am
I managed to see this the other and I agree with everything that's been said. It's one of those underrated westerns that was buried at the time.

It has some superb cinematography by Conrad Hall. A rousing score by Maurice Jarre and great performances from the cast. Claudia Cardinale looks so hot in this film. I loved the fact that Woody Strode strangles a man with his bow.

It's wonderfully paced. It also has short intro's for each actor, I miss those.
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post #10 of 13
10/29/05 at 11:05am
Yeah, Claudia Cardinale's blur was a condition of her contract. I think on the Once Upon a Time in the West commentary she is proud of never "doing that."

If I remember correctly:

People standing outside train, gunmen hiding within.
Robert Ryan, standing on edge of boxcar, making small talk. Then: I got those upside down crosses you wanted.

Boom, violence and gunshots.
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post #11 of 13
11/4/05 at 5:10pm
Very entertaining film.
And one of all time favorite closing lines: Marvin's "That's right; I am a bastard. But with me it is an accident of birth but you are a self made man".
You also gotta love Lancaster's "We've Been Had".....
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post #12 of 13
11/8/05 at 4:35am
I need to track this sucker down ASAP.
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post #13 of 13
11/8/05 at 10:08am
Thread Starter 
I've seen this movie recently on the shelf at Wal-Mart for $9.88 or something like that. I've seen it at more than one so it might be a national thing. If any of you are looking for it then that's a good place to look. Ten bucks for this classic is a no-brainer.
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