Comments

ADDITION: Sony REGION FREE Blu-ray - July 08: NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were ripped directly from the Blu-ray disc.

I can't speak too much on the colors. I kind of liked the original DVD and maybe less so the SE and its brightness boosting but I do think the Blu-ray (the film takes up a whopping 31Gig) represents the film far more faithfully. The subdued contrast in lower light doesn't seem to affect the colors which certainly hold more brilliance in day lit scenes. I think the comparison of the three now indicates that the brighter image, of the original, is not accurate to the theatrical intent of the film. In fact we've compared only to the SE in most of the other image captures below. 

Two of the larger issues will be detail - and the Blu-ray is tremendous in that area. The other is the cropping of the SDs in comparison to the Blu-ray. The 1080P issue shows more information in the top/bottom and two side edges. You can read more on the Blu-ray in our solo review HERE as well as many more linkable full resolution captures.

On the audio we wrote "This might have been originally in 3.0 channel so although the 5.1 TrueHD audio is a bump (read somewhere though taken from existing elements) - it had some decent separation. Nothing grandiose but some occasionally gunshots etc. hitting the rears. I wouldn't get your hopes to high in this department and I'd prefer if the original was available as an option but I certainly wasn't unhappy with how the sound presented itself through my system. Only so much could be done I'm sure. Most of the time though the HD audio offering is unremarkable. The center channel dialogue is supported by subtitles available in English (CC and standard), French, Spanish, Portuguese, Bahasa, Chinese, Korean and Thai in a medium white font with a black border."

On the extras - Nothing new as the Blu-ray has the same three featurettes (all in 480i) by Laurent Bouzereau from the Special Edition SD in 2005 - Burt Lancaster: A Portrait (12:37) has the actors daughter and a couple of others giving input - nothing too deep. The other two - Memories from The Professionals (23:19) and The Professionals--A Classic (6:26) - have input from Cardinale and discussion of the underrated cameraman Conrad Hall. All three are worth watching for 40 minutes of education and appreciation of the film but mostly it's surface stuff. Beyond that some Blu-ray promos which, fortunately, are not overly intrusive prior to the start of the feature.

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ON THE TWO SD EDITION: I wasn't overly disappointed in this initial release when I saw it years ago. The new edition is cropped on all four edges (zoomed in) compared to the old anamorphic release. Most decided difference is in color. The original release has an orange/sepia tinge to it, is darker and it does appears sharper, but has some edge enhancement. We consider the colors in the new release to be more accurate, although we have no proof that it wasn't intended to have the sepia look to it. I'm disappointed in the amount that has been cropped in the new release. The extras on the new edition are obviously superior to the text screen of the old. Ditto for the audio. One point - the Special Edition menus are animated but teeming with combing (non-progressive transfer), so Columbia scrimped on them. Overall the new release is a disappointment - no edge enhancement but cropped and soft. Maybe next time around (HD?) Columbia will get this DVD right...

Gary W. Tooze

NOTE: you can see the amount that is removed in the Full Screen release on the opposirte side of the old edition (4th large capture).