"In this desert, nothing's harmless until it's dead.", July 12, 2004

Fans of great westerns will love this movie. I consider it one of the best ever made. Being a fan of movies like "The Magnificent Seven", "The Wild Bunch", "Once Upon a Time in the West", "Hombre", "Valdez is Coming", and "El Dorado", I think this one is a keeper too.By far one of Lee Marvin's and Burt Lancester's best movies. Fine performances are turned in by Robert Ryan, Woody Strode, Jack Palance, and Ralph Bellamy too. Claudia Cardinale is decent but nothing to write home about. She is much better in "Once Upon A Time in the West".The action is excellently paced and the direction is masterful. Add in beautiful scenery and good music and you have a winner. The story of men rescueing someone from overwhelming odds is not new, but this is a magnificent rendition of it. This DVD is well priced and I highly recommend it.

I thoroughly enjoyed viewing The Professionals on DVD, with one exception...during a seduction scene between Lancaster and Cardinale, a black band is artificially placed across Cardinale's chest so that the viewer cannot see her in her topless glory. Wait a second, didn't I buy this disc? Why is this film being censored in this fashion? Viewers should be notified of this travesty before deciding whether to purchase an otherwise worthwhile film.

Given the credentials of the people involved in bringing The Professionals (1966) to the screen, written and directed by Richard Brooks, who also did The Killers (1946), Key Largo (1948), Elmer Gantry (1967), and In Cold Blood (1967), starring Lee Marvin, Burt Lancaster, Robert Ryan, Woody Strode, and Jack Palance (Believe it....or not!), you would have thought I would have heard about it before now, but I didn't, and there you go...