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The Manchurian Candidate Details

1962 Certificate 15
  • Rated:
  • 70
  • from 8311 members

THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE is a complex paranoid political horror story about a brainwashed American platoon and a decorated soldier programmed to assassinate political enemies. The former platoon commander must piece together the clues to discover the killer's identity, his next target, and who is behind this sinister plan. .. Read more

Starring Frank Sinatra, Janet Leigh, Angela Lansbury, Laurence Harvey
Director John Frankenheimer
Genres Drama

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The Manchurian Candidate

THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE is a complex paranoid political horror story about a brainwashed American platoon and a decorated soldier programmed to assassinate political enemies. The former platoon commander must piece together the clues to discover the killer's identity, his next target, and who is behind this sinister plan. Seasoned cast delivers strong performances, with an uncharacteristically hard-bitten Sinatra, a maliciously identifiable Harvey, and a frighteningly overbearing Lansbury. Political juxtaposition and factual plausibility lend terrifying realism. Based on Richard Condon's harrowing novel. Academy Award Nominations: Best Film Editing, Best Supporting Actress--Angela Lansbury.

Starring Frank Sinatra, Janet Leigh, Angela Lansbury, Laurence Harvey, James Gregory, Henry Silva
Director John Frankenheimer
Studio MGM ENTERTAINMENT
Run time DVD: 2 hrs 1 min
Certificate Certificate 15
Collections 100 must-see movies, 100 Top Thrillers
Genres Drama
Language DVD: English
Dubbed French, Italian, Spanish
Hearing-impaired English
Subtitles DVD: Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish
Released DVD: 22 Sep 2004
Production year: 1962
Format DVD
  • Critics' reviews (2) of The Manchurian Candidate

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  • Korean War veteran Major Marco (Sinatra) is troubled by a recurring nightmare in which Congressional Medal of Honor... read more on Time Out

    • Time Out
  • 4 stars out of 4

    Insanely plotted but brilliantly handled spy thriller, a mixture of Hitchcock, Welles and All the King's Men.

    • Halliwell's Film Guide
  • Most helpful member's review of The Manchurian Candidate

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  • 14 out of 15 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 4 stars

    A Memorable and Important Thriller

    This 1962 political and psychological thriller dealing with brainwashing and assassination generally tends to appear on most 'Top 100 Movies of All Time' lists. Frank Sinatra is decent as always, but it's Laurence Harvey as the brainwashed sleeper agent who is the highlight of the movie.

    It features some great performances and memorable sequences, and ultimately it's an important film because of the sensitive issues that it deals with. It's always been a controversial film, banned in all of the 'Iron Curtain' countries and even taken out of circulation in America after John Kennedy's assassination -- on Sinatra's own wishes.

    This is easily John Frankenheimer's best film. And as if it had somehow cursed him, when in 1968 he drove his friend Robert Kennedy to the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, the senator was assassinated there that same day.

      • Noel Clay from Bromsgrove, England
  • Most recent members' review of The Manchurian Candidate

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  • 14 out of 15 people found this review helpful

    Rated - 4 stars

    A Memorable and Important Thriller

    This 1962 political and psychological thriller dealing with brainwashing and assassination generally tends to appear on most 'Top 100 Movies of All Time' lists. Frank Sinatra is decent as always, but it's Laurence Harvey as the brainwashed sleeper agent who is the highlight of the movie.

    It features some great performances and memorable sequences, and ultimately it's an important film because of the sensitive issues that it deals with. It's always been a controversial film, banned in all of the 'Iron Curtain' countries and even taken out of circulation in America after John Kennedy's assassination -- on Sinatra's own wishes.

    This is easily John Frankenheimer's best film. And as if it had somehow cursed him, when in 1968 he drove his friend Robert Kennedy to the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, the senator was assassinated there that same day.

      • Noel Clay from Bromsgrove, England
  • News and features

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    The Manchurian Candidate

    Lansbury slams Manchurian remake

    • 27 Mar 2009

    Angela Lansbury has slammed Denzel Washington's The Manchurian Candidate remake, insisting it was destined to flop. Lansbury was Oscar-nominated for her role as the domineering mother of a brainwashed soldier in the John Frankenheimer film, and she admits she was shocked when the 1962 movie was remade in 2004, starring Washington and Meryl Streep. The new version was warmly received by critics - but Lansbury insists it 'failed' because too many film fans knew about the twist at the end. She... Read more

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Rating breakdown

8,311 Member ratings
  • 100
763
  • 90
803
  • 80
1,638
  • 70
1,525
  • 60
1,509
  • 50
855
  • 40
491
  • 30
332
  • 20
271
  • 10
124

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