:
Frank Sinatra,
Frank Sinatra,
Laurence Harvey,
more...
:
John Frankenheimer,
John Frankenheimer
see all cast/crew...
: 
: MGM
: Political Thriller
: 129 min.
: English, Spanish, French
: English, Spanish, French
see additional details...
|
|
An unusually tense and intelligent political thriller, The Manchurian Candidate was a film far ahead of its time. Its themes of thought control, political assassination, and multinational conspiracy were hardly common currency in 1962, and while its outlook is sometimes informed by Cold War paranoia, the film seemed nearly as timely when it was reissued in 1987 as it did on its original release. It opens with a group of soldiers whooping it up in a bar in Korea as their commander, Sgt. Raymond Shaw (Laurence Harvey), arrives to inform them that they're back on duty. These men obviously have no fondness for Shaw, and he feels no empathy for them. While on patrol, Shaw and his platoon are ambushed by Korean troops. Months later, Shaw is receiving a hero's welcome as he returns to the United States to accept the Congressional Medal of Honor, and several of the soldiers who served under Shaw repeatedly refer to him as "the bravest, finest, most lovable man I ever met." It soon becomes evident that after their capture by the Koreans, Shaw and his men were subjected to an intense program of brainwashing prior to their release. While several are troubled by bad dreams and inexplicable behavior, it's Capt. Bennett Marco (Frank Sinatra) who seems the most haunted by the experience. In time, Marco is able to piece together what happened; it seems Raymond Shaw was programmed by a shadowy cadre of Russian and Chinese agents into a killing machine who will assassinate anyone, even a close friend, when given the proper commands. On the other side of the coin, Shaw is also used for political gain by his harridan mother (Angela Lansbury), who guides the career of her second husband, John Iselin (James Gregory), a boneheaded congressman hoping to win the vice-presidential nomination through a campaign of anti-Communist hysteria. The Manchurian Candidate features a host of remarkable performances, several from actors cast cleverly against type. Frank Sinatra's edgy, aggressive turn as Marco may be the finest dramatic work of his career; Laurence Harvey's chilly on-screen demeanor was rarely used to better advantage than as Raymond Shaw; James Gregory is great as the oft-befuddled Senator Iselan; and Angela Lansbury's ultimate bad mom will be a shock to those who know her as the lovable mystery writer from Murder, She Wrote. George Axelrod's screenplay (based on Richard Condon's novel) is by turns compelling, witty, and horrifying in its implications, and John Frankenheimer's direction milks it for all the tension it can muster. While Frankenheimer's career has had its ups and downs, The Manchurian Candidate and Seconds (1966) suggest that he deserves to be recognized as one of the most brilliantly paranoid American filmmakers of the 1960s. Entertaining yet unsettling, both films indicate that things in the 1960s were not what they seemed, with a resonance that still echoes uncomfortably in the present. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
|
| i always knew angela lansbury was a beeyatch
by alexjb
November 28, 2005 - 9:36 PM PST
|
|
|
1 out of 1 members found this review helpful
|
i decided to check out the Manchurian Candidate to plug a little gap in my cultural knowledge. i was pleasantly surprised by the film's watchability, though not overwhelmed.
it's relatively unsophisticated by today's standards, but not wholly transparent in terms of plot twists. frank sinatra performed better than i expected him to, though he's clearly the weak link of the male primaries (even the insultingly stereotypical chinese brainwashing expert delivers better). i found laurence harvey's performance convincing, with the exception of his british accent which is distractingly out of place on an All-American Boy. angela lansbury is excellent as the controlling mother figure, but none of the other women could act their way out of a paper bag.
there's also some really cool visual/audio cuts in the scenes where we first learn of the brainwashing- morphing between a ladies sewing circle and a lab full of commie brass. plus, we get a much cleaner ending, story-wise, than we would get out of hollywood nowadays.
|
| A Summer of Déja Vu
by itchy008
September 1, 2004 - 11:20 PM PDT
|
|
|
2 out of 3 members found this review helpful
|
After watching Jonathan Demme's remake, I decided to revisit the original. Guess where the climatic political convention takes place. That's right. Madison Square Garden.
A choice line from the presidential candidate during the acceptance speech:
"It is with a full awareness that the four years that lie ahead for this country are, in a sense, the crucial years."
Sounds familiar? I guess every acceptance speech sounds like that.
Some things I remember from the first time I saw this:
* There is an awful lot of sweating in this movie;
* Laurence Harvey is really creepy as Sgt. Shaw.
Some things I had forgotten:
* Sinatra's fight with Henry Silva is so funny in a PINK PANTHER kind of way;
* the head brain washer from the Pavlov Institute has some of the best lines. My favorite: "Since there is nothing more I can do until my specialists arrive I thought to spend the afternoon at Macy's. Madame Yen has given me the most appalling list."
|
| Even Frankie is good in this pic
by jogilvy
July 10, 2002 - 11:23 AM PDT
|
|
|
5 out of 6 members found this review helpful
|
never mind the cheesy vegas crooner stuff- sinatra rocks in this pic as the junkie sap, and angela lansbury gives a chilling performance as the most frightenting mom post crawford
|
|
|
GreenCine Member Rating
(Average 7.68)
444 Votes
add to list 
|
|
|
Your cart
jacklalley
beretta
© 2006 All Media Guide, LLC. Portions of content provided by All Movie Guide®,
a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC.