I've watched this terrific action-packed Western a couple of times in the past via my full-frame VHS and therefore I'll definitely upgrade now that this release is on its way. I'm certainly glad that Columbia has proved me wrong because I never thought they'd do it given that it's already available as a barebones disc.
Anyway, the fact that THE PROFESSIONALS is indeed something special is borne out by all the major awards (listed below) it was nominated for at the time of its original release and which are not commonly bestowed on this type of genre picture: Best Direction (Richard Brooks) Academy Awards; Best Adapted Screenplay (Richard Brooks) Academy Awards; Best Motion Picture Drama Golden Globes; Best Direction (Richard Brooks) Directors Guild Of America; Best Written American Drama (Richard Brooks) Writers Guild Of America
Featuring a great cast (Burt Lancaster, Lee Marvin, Robert Ryan, Jack Palance, Woody Strode, Ralph Bellamy and Claudia Cardinale), beautiful camera-work and a typically fine Maurice Jarre score, the film is highlighted by Richard Brooks' witty script and Lancaster's boisterous performance. It's worth noting here that Brooks had already directed Lancaster towards his only ever Academy Award in ELMER GANTRY (1960) and that the former made two other excellent Westerns in his career THE LAST HUNT (1956) and BITE THE BULLET (1975).
While THE PROFESSIONALS rarely crops up when classic Westerns are discussed, I'd say it lies somewhere between THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN (1960) where a bunch of "experts" on the fringes of the law are recruited for a seemingly impossible mission and THE WILD BUNCH (1969) where these same people realize they're getting on in their years and ultimately find themselves out of touch with the times they're living in.
