peter-goggins anyone else see the link between this film and Spielberg's Indiana Jones movies ??? or is it just my imagination ? this film is one of those that you seen when you were a kid and remember bits of it..lovely cinematography , and has that timeless feel to it .. Burt Lancaster is the perfect lead man with a rather beautiful female to boot.. anyone else see the link between this film and Spielberg's Indiana Jones movies ??? or is it just my imagination ? this film is one of those that you seen when you were a kid and remember bits of it..lovely cinematography , and has that timeless feel to it .. Burt Lancaster is the perfect lead man with a rather beautiful ..

SnoopyStyle During the Mexican Revolution, rancher Grant hires four men to rescue his wife Maria (Claudia Cardinale) from bandit Jesus Raza (Jack Palance). Raza is demanding an $100k ransom. Henry Fardan (Lee Marvin) is the leader, Bill Dolworth (Burt Lancaster) is the explosives expert, Hans Ehrengard (Robert Ryan) is the horse wrangler, and Jake Sharp (Woody Strode) is skilled with the bow and arrow. They find the bandits ruthlessly massacring captured government troops. The four men plan to take on the massive rebel force to take back Maria except things aren't what they seem.This is a well executed movie made by ... (well yes) professionals. Richard Brooks is an expert filmmaker. The leads are all veterans. The action is big and well done. There are plenty of explosions. The location is tough, dusty, and gritty. It is a very solid action movie.

dougdoepke Certainly can't say I was shortchanged in the action department. If it's not dynamite going off, it's a fusillade of rifle or pistol shots, with an occasional machine gun or bow and arrow thrown in. I expect if it were 50-years later, an A-bomb would also appear. Devious rich guy Grant (Bellamy) hires four soldiers of fortune (the four principal actors) to retrieve his kidnapped wife Maria (Cardinale) from Mexican bandito cum revolutionary Raza (Palance). Each hired professional has his military specialty, and between them they blow up half the Mexican countryside getting the wife back. Then too, Raza's no bleeding heart revolutionary as we see him cold-bloodedly execute about 20 captured Federales. So when the professionals, headed by Fardan (Marvin) make a shambles of Raza's base, we figure good riddance.The thing is that this is more than just an action picture with a major twist at the end. In addition, there's a subtle theme playing out in the subtext of a quite clever script. When, at the end, the professionals trail after Raza and and Maria as they head back to Mexico and the revolution, we know the four are not just soldiers of fortune or military professionals, they're idealists, as well. After all, as Raza informs Dolworth (Lancaster), revolution is like a beautiful woman, you are drawn to even though you know the realities will inevitably disappoint. So now, having rejected millionaire Grant and what he represents, the four trail after the beautiful Maria and the wounded Raza. And now we know something more profound has been going on beneath the action filled surface, entertaining though it is.Marvin and Lancaster are excellent in their dominant roles, while Strode gets a fringe role, which for the time period—early 1900's—is not surprising for a black man. Too bad, as others point out, that the superb Robert Ryan is not given more to do, but I guess that was because of health concerns. Fortunately, Palance resists the temptation to over-emote in a role that invites such. However, too many other Mexicans appear stereotyped in boisterous, sneering Hollywood fashion, the movie's biggest failing, in my little book.Anyway, it's an exceptional action movie, well acted, staged, and photographed, with a sneaky script and first-rate direction by writer-director Brooks.

knucklebreather "The Professionals" is one of those westerns made when the genre was getting a little tired, but before it was okay to completely throw out the old rules. The story is simple enough: a wealthy land baron hires four professionals, who are each the best at what they do, to go on a daring mission deep into Mexico, amid a faltering revolution, to bring back his kidnapped wife. Lee Marvin leads the band, playing a grizzled veteran of that revolution, with Burt Lancaster receiving top-billing and playing a dynamite expert who is easily tempted by women and adventure. The crew is rounded out by a bow-and-arrow and tracking expert (Woody Strode) and a veteran horseman (Robert Ryan). This is definitely a movie that hangs its hat on action, with shootouts spaced periodically through the movie to keep the audience awake and a signature raid on the Mexican revolutionaries/kidnappers camp at mid- film that was only a notch or two below similar scenes in more modern films, and was thus very enjoyable. These scenes were fine, albeit a little silly with the Lancaster's bottomless supply of amazing TNT. However, the rest of the movie plods on predictably. There are definitely attempts at character development but perhaps the wooden Lee Marvin as a central character makes the whole thing hard to enjoy except when the bullets (and TNT-laden arrows) are flying. I was definitely disappointed when the spectacular camp raid scene ended too quickly and I realized there were still over 30 minutes of film left with the best scene in the rear-view mirror.I would watch about 20 or 30 other classic westerns before getting to this one. It's not bad, the action sequences were certainly worth the price of admission in 1966, but it shows why the traditional western as a dominant genre was living on borrowed time.