Manchurian Candidate

UPC: 027616911131

Studio: MGM

MPAA Rating: PG13   Contains:[Not For Children]

Summary: 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 bone-headed 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 onscreen demeanor was rarely used to s better advantage than as Raymond Shaw; James Gregory is great as the oft-befuddled Senator Iselin; 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 '60s. Entertaining yet unsettling, both films indicate that things in the '60s were not what they seemed, with a resonance that still echoes uncomfortably in the present. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Category: Thriller

Awards: Best Film - Any Source – British Academy of Film and Television Arts U.S. National Film Registry – Library of Congress 100 Greatest American Movies – American Film Institute Best Director – Directors Guild of America Best Supporting Actress – null Best Director – null Best Editing – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Supporting Actress – Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Supporting Actress – National Board of Review Best Director – Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Moti – Hollywood Foreign Press Association

Features: ccInterview with Frank Sinatra, George Axelrod, and John Frankenheimer
Audio commentary by John Frankenheimer
"Queen of Diamonds" featurette with Angela Lansbury
"A Little Solitaire" featurette with William Friedkin
Original theatrical trailer
Photo gallery

Manchurian Candidate

Format: DVD

Release Date: 07/13/2004

Aspect Ratio: 1.75:1 Disney

Audio: DD1 Dolby Digital Mono, DD5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1

Runtime: 127 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English,Spanish

Subtitles: English,French,Spanish

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: Side #1 --
1. Old Saint Raymond [1:53]
2. Through Quicksand [2:21]
3. Main Title [1:38]
4. Hail Our Hero, Full of Hate [4:48]
5. Manchurian Garden Club [6:29]
6. "The Kindest, Bravest..." [1:56]
7. X Number of Communists [3:02]
8. Death of a Mascot [3:38]
9. A Little Solitaire [3:56]
10. "American" Symptoms [4:55]
11. Trial Assassination [3:06]
12. "It's Just Not True!" [4:09]
13. More or Less Rosie [5:56]
14. Cook and Valet [2:41]
15. Card-Carrying Ketchup Reds [1:50]
16. Marco a Mano [2:51]
17. "They Could've Asked Me" [2:01]
18. Dream Matchers [3:05]
19. Positive ID [2:14]
20. "I am Not Lovable" [3:43]
21. Love By Snakebite [5:29]
22. Mother Knows Best [2:50]
23. Power of Submersion [3:45]
24. The Queen of Diamonds [1:29]
25. A Gracious Reintroduction [3:13]
26. Dressed Up & Unmasked [2:46]
27. "Will You Block Us?" [:47]
28. A Forced Deck [2:49]
29. The Luckiest, Sickest Man [1:56]
30. The Family Plot [5:37]
31. Unlocking the Doors [3:52]
32. ...Like a Traitor Scorned [8:47]
33. Stupidity Officer [3:44]
34. Conventional Time Bomb [4:02]
35. Stopping the Unstoppable [3:32]
36. Eulogy for a Hero [3:21]

Rebecca Flint Marx

A brilliant Cold War satire, The Manchurian Candidate is a chilling commentary on political power, international conspiracy, and the gullibility of the American people. A paean to paranoia, it was ahead of its time yet reflected the tensions of its era, and modern-day viewers can use it as a guide to the political and moral climate of the early years of Cold War America. One doesn't have to look hard to find a thinly veiled Senator Joseph McCarthy in zealous anti-Communist Senator Iselin or fears of female dominance in Angela Lansbury's megalomaniacal Mrs. Iselin. In addition to its status as one of the great political satires, The Manchurian Candidate remains a classic for its sharp, often hilarious script, for John Frankenheimer's fine-tuned direction, and for its uniformly excellent performances. Though Laurence Harvey, Frank Sinatra, and Janet Leigh are all thoroughly effective, and James Gregory is pricelessly stupid as Senator Iselin, the film belongs to Lansbury. Her Mrs. Iselin remains one of the screen's most terrifying maternal presences, a queen bee intent on clearing the hive of anyone who stands in her way. Like her clueless husband, the audience can only react dumbly to her, marveling at her single-minded rampage towards world domination. Unavailable for years due to a dispute between Sinatra and United Artists, The Manchurian Candidate is a film that should not be missed. Equal parts satire, political thriller, sly commentary, and history lesson, it has become a terrifying postcard from a time that should not be forgotten. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Mimi Dillard  Actor 
Maye Henderson  Actor 
Tom Lowell  Actor 
Irving Steinberg  Actor 
Robert Burton  Actor 
Richard Le Pore  Actor 
Tom Harris  Actor 
Robert Riordan  Actor 
Joe Adams  Actor 
Mickey Finn  Actor 
John Indrisano  Actor 
Estelle Etterre  Actor 
Margaret Mason  Actor 
Whit Bissell  Actor 
Lee Tung Foo  Actor 
Helen Kleeb  Actor 
Karen Norris  Actor 
James Yagi  Actor 
Joan Douglas  Actor 
Richard Norris  Actor 
Mary Benoit  Actor 
Bess Flowers  Actor 
Reggie Nalder  Actor 
William Thourlby  Actor 
Merritt Bohn  Actor 
John Lawrence  Actor 
Nicky Blair  Actor 
John Francis  Actor 
Miyoshi Jingu  Actor 
Khigh Dhiegh  Actor 
Julie Payne  Actor 
Anna Shin  Actor 
Harry Holcombe  Actor 
Michael Masters  Actor 
Ray Spiker  Actor 
Frances E. Nealy  Actor 
Raynum K. Tsukamoto  Actor 
David Amram  Composer (Music Score) 
George Axelrod  Producer 
George Axelrod  Screenwriter 
John Frankenheimer  Director 
John Frankenheimer  Producer 
Howard W. Koch  Executive Producer 
Frank Sinatra  Actor 
Laurence Harvey  Actor 
Janet Leigh  Actor 
Angela Lansbury  Actor 
Henry Silva  Actor 
James Gregory  Actor 
Leslie Parrish  Actor 
John McGiver  Actor 
James Edwards  Actor 
Douglas Henderson  Actor 
Albert Paulsen  Actor 
Barry Kelley  Actor 
Lloyd Corrigan  Actor 
Madame Spivy  Actor 

Country: USA