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The Manchurian Candidate
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A brilliant Cold War satire, The Manchurian Candidate is a chilling commentary on political power, international conspiracy, and the gullibility of the American people. A paean to paranoia, it was ahead of its time yet reflected the tensions of its era, and modern-day viewers can use it as a guide to the political and moral climate of the early years of Cold War America. One doesn't have to look hard to find a thinly veiled Senator Joseph McCarthy in zealous anti-Communist Senator Iselin or fears of female dominance in Angela Lansbury's megalomaniacal Mrs. Iselin. In addition to its status as one of the great political satires, The Manchurian Candidate remains a classic for its sharp, often hilarious script, for John Frankenheimer's fine-tuned direction, and for its uniformly excellent performances. Though Laurence Harvey, Frank Sinatra, and Janet Leigh are all thoroughly effective, and James Gregory is pricelessly stupid as Senator Iselin, the film belongs to Lansbury. Her Mrs. Iselin remains one of the screen's most terrifying maternal presences, a queen bee intent on clearing the hive of anyone who stands in her way.
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"The Manchurian Candidate" isn't some slow-paced poke through tired material. Although much of it is dialogue-driven and paying attention to the details are vital, every scene comes alive with an unrelenting pace and stylish expertise of the genre, working up a mixture of tension and brains that would do Alfred Hitchcock proud. The climax, set at a presidential victory party and involving an assassination that isn't the one most viewers might expect, is deliciously agonizing as it races past its natural stopping point, refusing to relieve the palpable disquiet of the moment until at its ultimate peak. When it comes, the reasoning behind one particular action is the sole development that could have used further illumination, but it doesn't hinder the gripping, thought-provoking results. "The Manchurian Candidate," a layered, ideal thriller of both ideas and aesthetic grandeur, is genuinely electrifying, a return to prime form for director Jonathan Demme. A second viewing is not only warranted, but fully welcome.
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![The Manchurian Candidate [1962]](http://retrieverimages.lycos.com/images/t/h/e/the-manchurian-candidate/i/002.jpg)
More than forty years after its original release, The Manchurian Candidate has lost none of its edge. Unlike many classics it is good not just retrospectively and for its time, but will captivate the modern, jaded cinema goer even today - the mark of a real classic. With a plot that leaves the audience guessing and confused through much of the film, The Manchurian Candidate manages to keep the viewer in suspense until the very end. Nothing is what it seems in this groundbreaking story about Raymond Shaw, a US soldier brainwashed in the Korean War. Frank Sinatra puts in a stellar performance as the man trying to get to the bottom of a series of mysterious events, and Angela Lansbury, despite being only two years older than the actor who plays Raymond, is utterly convincing as his mother.
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The Manchurian Candidate contains Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks in both English and French with optional subtitles in English and Spanish. The audio presentation for the DVD is near reference quality featuring clear dialogue from the centre channel and an immersive sound field from all other speakers. Although not an action oriented mix, the film’s sound design deftly emulates the overload of information from background noise such as newscasts and crowds of people that the characters themselves must be sensing at all times during the film; the best examples of which can be heard during any of the convention scenes in the film. The score by Rachel Portman featuring songs by Wyclef Jean is excellent and heightens the tension in the film at just the right moments.
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John Frankenheimer’s legendary 1962 political thriller, "The Manchurian Candidate" is probably considered one of the greatest political thrillers ever made. It is always compared to when another assassination film, brainwashing film or conspiracy film is made. Films like 1976’s "Marathon Man" and 1997’s "Conspiracy Theory" are examples of some of the successes and failures of trying to live up to Frankenheimer’s classic vivid thriller.
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John Frankenheimer’s The Manchurian Candidate was released just 13 months before President Kennedy was assassinated. The film, which was not instantly touted as a masterpiece, was yanked from theatres out of respect for Kennedy, especially since Lee Harvey Oswald was rumored to have watched Candidate before heading off to the book depository.
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The Manchurian Candidate