The Professionals (Blu-Ray) (1966)

Director: Richard Brooks Starring: Jack Palance, Claudia Cardinale, Robert Ryan, Lee Marvin, Burt Lancaster Genres: Action-Adventure, US Classics, Western Origin: USA Certificate: PG Running Time: 112 min

synopsis

Burt Lancaster and Lee Marvin headline Richard Brooks' top-notch, rip-roaring Western action/adventure The Professionals. Four soldiers of fortune are hired by a wealthy Texan oil baron (Ralph Bellamy) to rescue his kidnapped wife (Claudia Cardinale), who's been spirited across the Mexican border by a band of mercenaries led by Jesus Raza (Jack Palance). The four rugged professionals, each regarded as a specialist in his selected field - an expert marksman and tracker (Woody Strode), the explosives master (Lancaster), horse handler (Robert Ryan) and one skilled in tactics and weaponry (Marvin) - make their way across the treacherous landscape to retrieve the beautiful kidnappee, but discover all is not what it seems in the explosive climax. Excellent performances from an all-star cast, Maurice Jarre's haunting musical score and surprising plot twists make The Professionals a true classic. The movie garnered three 1966 Academy Award nominations - two for Richard Brooks (Best Direction and Best Adapted Screenplay) and another for gifted cinematographer Conrad Hall (Cool Hand Luke, Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid, American Beauty)

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