I have to be straight up honest here. I have never seen a true western movie. When I say true western, I am speaking about westerns that took place at the height of the western movie making era of the 50′s and 60′s. The Professionals would be my first movie and I have to say right away, after watching the film, my interest is definitely peaked.
The Professionals stars Lee Marvin (Henry ‘Rico’ Fardan), Burt Lancaster (Bill Dolworth), Woody Strode (Jake Sharp) and Robert Ryan (Hans Ehrengard) as four men that are hired to find the kidnapped wife of Mr. Joe Grant (Ralph Belamy.)

These four men, professionals in their own area of expertise, are sent across the US border into Mexico, forced to fight off everyone they come in contact with. They are on the hunt for Jesus Raza (Jack Palance) as he is the one who has kidnapped Mrs. Grant (Claudia Cardinale.)

As the foursome reach their destination and attempt to rescue the kidnapped Mrs. Grant, they realize that their travels might have been for another reason than the one given to them. They are in for the fight of their lives and there is no guarantee they will make it back to the United States alive.

Video

The 2.35:1 high definition transfer for The Professionals looks amazingly good. No signs of softness or dirt on the print. Grain is present but not enough to be bothersome. It is seen mostly in the sky. For its age, the film looks pretty spectacular. Skin tones looks real and not glossed over at all.

There are times during the dark scenes where you can see shimmering of the picture. Again, given its age, that is pretty much to be expected.

Overall, Sony Pictures did a really top notch job on the Blu-ray disc.

Some of the other reviews make mention of edge enhancement. I for one, and maybe it is due to not having the best eye sight, never noticed any, although many have mentioned it can “clearly” be seen in the first 10 minutes of the film. So, I went back and watched the first ten minutes once again. I watched from about 3 feet away to see if I noticed anything, and I can safely say I did not. Personally, I think this really all depends on ones TV setup. I am sure some will disagree with me and that is fine. But from my 33 year old eyes, I did not spot any edge enhancement.

Audio

The audio choices available are English and French Dolby TrueHD 5.1. For the majority of the film, all sound seemed to come from the center channel. Given the age of the film, 1966, you are not going to get blow me away sound. I thought the audio was actually very good. The bass did kick in on occasion but even during some explosions, not much was to be felt. The dialogue was very clear and easy to understand.

The surrounds did come into play at times and when they did, it was very subtle, at least to my ears.

There are plenty of subtitles available on this disc. You have a choice between English, French, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Chinese, Thai and Bahasa.

Special Features

All of the special features are in standard definition.

The Professionals: A Classic

• This is a short 6 minute look back at the film. Claudia Cardinale, Joanna Lancaster, Paul Brodsky and others discuss why the film was as good as it was and why no other film today can have the same great cast of actors and have it work so well.

Burt Lancaster: A Portrait

• As the title suggests, this is a look back on the career of Burt Lancaster and what made him the actor he was. His daughter as well as his Biographer gives their thoughts on him. This is a 12 minute Featurette.

Memories from: The Professionals

• Claudia Cardinale and others look back at their memories from The Professionals and speak about all of the characters from the film as well as the filming locations.

Final Thoughts

Up until watching The Professionals, the only westerns I have ever viewed were The Unforgiven, 3:10 to Yuma and Tombstone, just to name a few. I had always heard how good many westerns were but never bit the bullet and watched one of the classics. I am extremely happy The Professionals came my way for review. A true eye opener to what a good western can be with a great cast and great story. No doubt I will do my best to view any and all westerns that come out on Blu Ray.

The Professionals is a fantastically acted film that kept my attention throughout. Standout performances by both Lee Marvin and Burt Lancaster made the film extremely enjoyable. Given that this was my first time watching Lee Marvin in a film, it was a real treat. The film was beautifully shot and was extremely pleasing to the eyes.

With it low MSRP and bargain price at Amazon, this should be an easy purchase for anyone.