Viewed today 'The Manchurian Candidate' still stands out as a brilliant film. John Frankenheimer directed some very good films but this is his masterpiece, with a great screenplay by George Axelrod from Richard Condon's book. It is almost like a black comedy but of the darkest kind. The politics, the paranoia, the pathos and the power plays are effectively brewed together to make a heady experience. It is also brave enough to have a bleak ending. The film doesn't lift your heart. It is an insight into the grim undercurrents of life, still relevant after forty years.
There are some justly celebrated sequences that still take the breath away. The dream segment is amazing. The camera movement, the cutting, the decor are all superb. It is a chilling scene because it takes normality and twists it slowly until the two moments of violence almost become acceptable. There is a great fight scene later between Sinatra and Henry Silva that still thrills. The ending of the film at the convention is staged magnificently. One runs out of superlatives.
The same could be said for the acting. Sinatra is believable as the intelligent and haunted major. The possible doubtful casting of Laurence Harvey as Raymond Shaw pays off, even with his accent. His account of his love affair is very moving. He is a rounded character. Angela Lansbury as his mother is amazingly good. She has played unsympathetic roles but never like this. She is unforgettable. And scary! I'm not sure that the Janet Leigh character works but apart from her the smaller roles are well played. Khigh Dhiegh as the smiling Dr. Yen Lo epitomises the ambiguity and treachery of the people in power.
The only very minor quibble is the portentous narration at the beginning which I thought could be dispensed. A magnificent film and unsurpassed.
From IMBd it appears that a re-make is in the offing. Why?
There are some justly celebrated sequences that still take the breath away. The dream segment is amazing. The camera movement, the cutting, the decor are all superb. It is a chilling scene because it takes normality and twists it slowly until the two moments of violence almost become acceptable. There is a great fight scene later between Sinatra and Henry Silva that still thrills. The ending of the film at the convention is staged magnificently. One runs out of superlatives.
The same could be said for the acting. Sinatra is believable as the intelligent and haunted major. The possible doubtful casting of Laurence Harvey as Raymond Shaw pays off, even with his accent. His account of his love affair is very moving. He is a rounded character. Angela Lansbury as his mother is amazingly good. She has played unsympathetic roles but never like this. She is unforgettable. And scary! I'm not sure that the Janet Leigh character works but apart from her the smaller roles are well played. Khigh Dhiegh as the smiling Dr. Yen Lo epitomises the ambiguity and treachery of the people in power.
The only very minor quibble is the portentous narration at the beginning which I thought could be dispensed. A magnificent film and unsurpassed.
From IMBd it appears that a re-make is in the offing. Why?