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The Manchurian Candidate
1962
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 | |
| 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 |
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Critics' reviews (2)
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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
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Insanely plotted but brilliantly handled spy thriller, a mixture of Hitchcock, Welles and All the King's Men.
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Most helpful member's review
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14 out of 15 people found this review helpful
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. -
Most recent members' review
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2 out of 2 people found this review helpful
Bona Fide classic
Forget the upcoming remake, this taut tale of political intrigue and brainwashing is Frank Sinatra at his finest.
The set pieces are fantastic, the dream sequence especially the way it merges reality with hallucination and differs depending upon who's dreaming it, is so ahead of it's time.
The cinematography is also highly accomplished making full use of monochrome.
Angela Lansbury's performance is excellent, playing against type here as a character so ice cold it's chilling.
Not only that but the director does a commentary so even if you've seen it, you can watch it again and see exactly what was intended.
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News and features
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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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