The Manchurian Candidate

Rating:
Summary: A Great Old Movie!!!!!!
Review: I am a 14-year-old girl who saw the trailer for the new version starring Denzel Washington and was mildly interested. I told my dad 'cause he likes those kind of movies, and he went out and rented this (the old one) for me. I LOVED IT. It was a little hard for hyper ol' me to sit through, and it was thoroughly confusing for my fizzed-out teenage brain, but at the end, I got it. And, I LOVED IT. It was truly terrific. I can't really describe it; I can't give as great information on it as the other reviewers have. All I can say is GO OUT AND RENT IT, OR EVEN BUY IT! YOU WON'T BE DISAPPOINTED.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best movies ever...
Review: This is Sinatra's best movie. There is a great deal of folklore that's grown up around this. For the record, NO it wasn't taken out of distribution because of the Kennedy assassination: Frank Sinatra owned the rights and withdrew it after a feud with United Artists - eventually forgetting he owned it and was preventing his own best work from being shown.

This is another great film the way they used to make them. The black & white photography is beautiful. Frank Sinatra plays Ben Marco, a Korean War vet who is plagued by the same nightmare night after night. Soon, he discovers his whole platoon is having the same nightmare that he is. The standout performance is Angela Lansbury as Mrs. Iselin - the mother of a brainwashed assassin.

Everything about this film is spot-on - the performances, the direction by John Frankenheimer, and the script by George Axelrod. It is the best, scariest political thriller ever made and it is just as timely as ever. Watch the interview with Sinatra and Frankenheimer included as a bonus feature


Rating:
Summary: Unconscious Prophet of Future Assassinations
Review: Richard Condon gained fame with this 1959 novel, which was adapted into a film in 1962 (scenes were shot in Manhattan). This story seemed like science fiction, until we learned about Government experiments in the 1970s. Could a person be hypnotized and made to commit murder? I think the answer is "yes". But I doubt that the fiction of this film could ever become fact. You should look upon this story as a fable and satire about politics and life.

The opening scenes telegraph that there is something wrong with Raymond Shaw. The scene with the gardening ladies symbolizes use of the military for the wishes of the ruling class. The nightmare of Major Marko tells you that all plans have their faults in the real world. The truth is that the military does teach its recruits to kill on command, and not to suffer guilt afterwards. But it doesn't always work; post-traumatic stress syndrome is the result. Humans aren't machines. Showing traveling by train really dates this film!

The idea behind this film is that of subversion: the leading anti-communists are really Communist agents! Certainly there have been examples of high-level officials who were found to be spies; but they were usually working in the background, avoiding publicity. Marko's attack on Chong-Jee shows how military conditioning can be carried over into civilian life. Eugenia's pickup of Major Marko suggests an E. Phillips Oppenheim story; an intelligence officer should be suspicious of a friendly stranger on a train.

There is symbolism that is troubling. Raymond's mother and step-father are assassinated at the end, but they are Communist spies so its all right. But it raises a question: if a high government official is regarded as a Communist, does this justify killing him? JFK's policies, or sympathies, made some regard him as an agent of Communism. JFK wanted to end the 27.5% oil depletion allowance, advance civil rights, have peaceful relations with the Soviet Union, issue $100 Treasury Notes, etc. Some members of the ruling classes hated him for this. After 11-22-1963 this film was considered "too controversial" to be seen by the public. This novel will be filmed again; I wonder how the story will be changed for modern times?

The costume party shows how opposing politicians can get together and socialize in their spare time. Is politics just another play put on to amuse and distract the voting public? This film portrays politicians as prime movers, not as puppets beholden to their political bosses. [The final scene in the convention auditorium was repeated in "The Parallax View".] Could a politician sacrifice a child for votes? Dashiell Hammett's "The Glass Key" suggests this could happen. Another troubling feature is placing the solution in the hands of the military ("Seven Days in May"]. Using a foreign-made rifle for the assassination must have put an idea into somebody's future plan.


Rating:
Summary: A great classic worth your while
Review: I rented this flick last night b/c I plan on seeing the remake coming out this Friday, and I wanted to compare & contrast. Anyway, all you psych majors out there will love this movie. It's Freudian and it's about psycholgical manipulation. Angela Lansbury does a great job playing the role of a crazy, controlling mother. However, Sinatra was okay. His performance is similar to the way he executes his songs: without much emotion. He seems like kind of a hollow vessel of a man. Just my opinion, but he's a bit overrated. BOTTOM LINE: A BLACK-AND-WHITE CLASSIC WORTH YOUR WHILE. GRADE: B+.