Rating: 
Summary: FIVE BIG STARS!!!
Review: I first saw this film about ten years ago. Since then I have watched it again about five times and it never gets old! There are subtle nuances in the plot that can be easily overlooked on the first and second viewings. The story is about communist brainwashing of a group of American soldiers and the subsequent havoc wreaked by them and their "operatives." Angela Lansbury and James Gregory play their parts to perfection as Mr. and Mrs. John Iselin, the ambitious zealots who are reaching for higher office. Their son, Raymond, played by Lawrence Harvey, wants nothing to do with his parents seeing them as pseudo-conservative, self-serving demagogues. As the story unfolds, you learn some very dark secrets about all three of them that reach all the way to the hallowed halls of the United States government. The twists and turns will literally put you on the edge of your seat and leave you wondering why Hollywood doesn't seem capable of doing anything as good these days. You will talk about this movie for a long time after you see it.
Rating:
Summary: Chilling movie
Review: I watched this movie before all the Clinton fiascos, and I thought "Angela Lansbury reminds me a LOT of Hilary!". After watching this movie, I predicted Hilary would run for office after making herself look like a martyr. And she did! I have one more prediction: After reading this review, you'll discover something about the Manchurian Candidate that you didn't already know. I liked this movie, though some of Sinatra's acting was a bit cheese-filled. And don't ask me why Janet Leigh got so hot for big-eared Sinatra. He was a mess when she was falling for him. I guess she just wanted to take care of a mess. Lots of women with low self esteem have that prob. The DVD has great picture and the special features are pretty cool, though the director's commentary slyly skated over one important snipped of miserable editing that I thought should've been pointed out: In the dinner scene between what's his face, his girlfriend, and her senator father, they're laughing at the table while eating dinner. He picks up a forkful of meat and puts it in his mouth...then the film REWINDS! He takes the fork of food OUT OF HIS MOUTH and it goes back to the plate, then the film FORWARDS again! Once again, the same piece of meat goes back into his mouth! This is clearly a case of wanting to run the scene for about 30 seconds, but they only had 10 seconds worth of film to deal with. I have never been so insulted! Watch that scene if you own the movie. Buy the movie if you don't own it so you can watch that scene. This is a really good movie with a great ending. Very disturbing at times, and interesting throughout. Definitely a classic that should be in every movie library, whether you're a fan of politics or war, or not.
Rating:
Summary: Visciously exciting
Review: This movie is horribly creepy. And it's the worst kind of creepy, involving pscyhological gameplay that could, gasp, really happen. It has to do with soldiers captured and brainwashed in the Korean war to help further a Communist agenda, and one man who is assigned to assasinate the presidential candidate. Sound familiar? This movie makes it terribly close to home and tangible. Or at least that's what the filmmakers of this film want you to believe. The whole idea of using a human being a potentially very destructive weapon for a higher and more sinister power is a hard subject to make a story about without getting ridiculous, but I wouldn't dare call this movie ridiculous. That's because it's realistic, stressing the human qualities of the film instead of what could be an action or superficial spy caper. What makes it such an enthralling film are the constant mysteries being presented to us about our characters and their involvement with each other and the bad guys; and the constant, often chilling or bloody, answers, all revolving around how humans can be cruel to each other and how we react psychologically, emotionally, and physically to those cruelties. And the spy and government brainwashing aspect is absolutely thrilling. It doesn't let up. Frankenheimer's style, cinematography, the score, the impeccable acting by all, Sinatra, Harvey, Leigh, Lansbury, combine together to make a film that keep a thin layer of sweat beading on you for the entire film.
Rating:
Summary: Neuro Classic w/Satire
Review: It just feels good to own this one on DVD. You can watch it
over and over and enjoy it on many different levels. As you
might expect from a vintage film, it does not have much extra
material to dump in. If it did, it would be interesting. Some
of the subplots are a little unintentionally contrived.
Rating: 
Summary: Great, Classic Suspense/Spy Thriller
Review: This really is a great movie. Frank Sinatra is surprisingly good in his lead role. The story is unique and scary and suspenseful. The sound quality on the DVD seemed to me to be a little bit muddled. I was glad that subtitles were available - I had to turn them on more than once to understand certain things that were said. This is a Cold War classic.
Rating:
Summary: check your pulse...
Review: Watch it to see what GREAT movie making is all about but above all else, watch it and bear witmess to Angela Lansbury's performance as, quite possibly the screens most evil villianess this side of Judith Anderson's Mrs. Danvers in "Rebecca"...Miss Lansbury truly walks away with the film!
Rating:
Summary: Chilling and Sophisticated
Review: Usually I find the "plot twists" and "Suspense" of older movies campy compared to modern classics like Usual Suspects or The Game, but Candidate can hang with any movie for chilling drama. This film captures the paranoia of post-Korean War America, when the communist shadow was long and dark. For me, Laurence Harvey steals the show. At times, I could here myself breathing. The films treatment of brainwashing is gripping and believable. One of my 2 favorite of the AFI top 100, along with The Wild Bunch.
Rating:
Summary: Stellar
Review: You know, I could go on and on about how good this movie is, as most of the other reviewers have, but that would be redundant. I just had some things to say about the DVD version. Its very satisfying to have pretty good features on a reasonably priced DVD of a classic. A full length feature commentary by Frankenheimer and a short interview with the main 3 names behind the movie (Frankenheimer, Sinatra, and Axelrod) make this more of a bargain than it already was. Its dissappointing to see so many other older films get put out with a $19.99 price tag, yet only give you the ability to select scenes or read production credits.
One note about the film: I love the sly humor, especially in the snake-bite scene when Jocie is treating Raymond's leg. When she says, "My father is going to be thrilled," (pp) as she takes off her shirt, it is comedic poetry.
Rating:
Summary: Bizarre and weird, but a little too much!!!
Review: First of all I'm a huge Sinatra fan, as can be noticed by my many reviews of his records. MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE is plain a little too outrageous, too many crazy characters, it seems almost more like science fiction than political intrigue. So we start with a McCarthy like senator, the senator's wickedly manipulative wife (yes that's Lansbury), her brainwashed and generally insipid son (Harvey), and the ex- officer(Sinatra) who thinks there's something strange going on with his former army mate (Harvey again), who for some reason received a Medal of Honor in Korea. Then there's a liberal senator, political enemy of the aforementioned McCarthy type,with a cute daughter,who for some unexplained reason falls for the Harvey character. This movie has its moments, some of them very chilling, and no doubt is very well done. The reason it's not a real classic for me is that it's just plain too crazy...Definitely worth a watch, but not for the faint at heart, and very nasty.Unlike any other movie out there except....the earlier political flick Frank was in around 1955 called SUDDENLY. SUDDENLY is more realistic, though all in all not as incredible as MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE, but even more interesting is that each movie shows Sinatra's character in completely opposite roles, like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde!
Rating:
Summary: "A real wallop of a film..."
Review: With a complex plot, executed with marvelous precision, "The Manchurian Candidate" remains of the best American movies, and perhaps the greatest political thriller you'll ever see. It's a satire, thriller, and history lesson all rolled up into one. A real wallop of a film, with excellent performances from Harvey, Sinatra, and Leigh, but Lansbury steals the show. The ultimate dragon lady, she's one of the screens most terrifying matriarcal prescenes.
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