Movie Sixty Three
I have yet to see the remake of The Manchurian Candidate, which I have heard good things about. If it’s even half as good as the original Manchurian Candidate it is probably an amazing film.
The Manchurian Candidate is a film that depends on cold war hysterics over communism. Sen. Joseph McCarthy likely played a large role in creating the story, likely unknowingly. The plot surrounds a group of POW soldiers returning from Korea. One is awarded the esteemed medal of honor (Laurence Harvey) and several others (one of which is Frank Sinatra) have the same recurring nightmare. The nightmare is about them being brainwashed by communists. We soon learn that the dream was reality and the soldier played by Harvey has been brainwashed to become an assassin.
Other than the communist angle, it’s amazing how little politics have truly changed in 50 years but I would hesitate to call this a political film. Without knowing anything about the Manchurian Candidate, I had always assumed it was a political film and was turned off by that. It wasn’t until I was reading a collection of noir short stories that The Manchurian Candidate came up and my interest piqued. A noir? Count me in.
I am interested in seeing the remake starring Denzel Washington in place of Frank Sinatra. I am curious how much of the communist witch-hunt is there or if that aspect has been more modernized. Still, The Manchurian Candidate has aged well and is highly recommended.
I give it 4 queen of diamonds out of 5.
Links:
Totally Totally.
Saw This One About 15 Years Ago With My Grandpa.
He Said It Was An Important Film, and One I Really Needed To Watch.
I Was Almost Blown-Away By It.
Loved The Acting, But The Plot and How It All Panned-Out in The Ending, That Was The Master Stroke.
Great Film, Fo SHO!
Nice Choice!
-BRAD
Yeah, the ending blew me away.
Oddly, my main frame of reference for the film was an episode of the Simpsons (Day of the Jackanapes) so I was definitely blown away by the actual plot.
Thanks for reading!
Not A Prob, Bob…er uh… Andy.
I Enjoy What I Read Here 🙂
Keep Pluggin’ Away, Pilgrim.
I’ll Keep Comin’ Back Fo MO!
hehehe
😉
-BRAD
You know, Frank Sinatra is one of my favorite singers but I’ve actually never seen one of his movies! I need to fix that soon.
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Excellent review, haven’t seen it in ages. The thing that had a huge impact on me was Lansbury, she was so sinister and completely different to her usual nice lady persona.
Yeah, she was totally unexpected for me. I had only really seen her in Murder, She Wrote so her performance totally blew me away.
I read somewhere that she was only a few years older than Harvey even though she was playing his mother.
Wow, yup! She was only 3 years older
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001450/
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0002131/