Critic Reviews
Manchurian Candidate, The (1962) Rank 3 Reviews
Expert Review Summary
based on (92) reviews
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Apollo Movie Guide (Dan Jardine)
Based on the Richard Condon novel, this political thriller/ satire about Korean War shenanigans and resulting impact in America was directed by John Frankenheimer and stars Frank Sinatra and Angela Lansbury. ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at Apollo Movie Guide (Dan Jardine)
DVD Times
John Frankenheimer, who died last weekend, had a patchy career but was, at his best, one of the true greats of American filmmaking. In a filmography which includes great thrillers such as Seven Days In May, Seconds and French Connection 2, he constantly ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at DVD Times
Doug Pratt's Laserdisc Review
John Frankenheimer is a wonderful director, but he has no story sense whatsoever. It is only when an excellent script is handed to him that he fashions a superb film. Fortunately, that was the case with The Manchurian Candidate. It was instantly ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at Doug Pratt's Laserdisc Review
Doug Pratt's DVD Review
Frankenheimer also provides a commentary. It is a bit sporadic, but he does have some interesting stories about the production (including a valid explanation as to why Sinatra prefers single takes) and some of the choices he made. The film was instantly ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at Doug Pratt's DVD Review
Q Network Film Desk (James Kendrick)
"The Manchurian Candidate" is mostly a cinematic backlash against the absurdities of the McCarthy hearings and the anti-Communist feeding frenzy of the fifties. The story concerns a group of American soldiers during the Korean War who are ambushed and ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at Q Network Film Desk (James Kendrick)
That Cow (B. Kiefer)
John Frankenheimer has had a long and storied career. He did this film near the beginning. Starring Frank Sinatra, (and thankfully, not another member of the Rat Pack), Angela Lansbury, and Janet Leigh. This movie has a lot of critical plot twists that ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at That Cow (B. Kiefer)
txreviews.com (Curtis Edmonds)
Major credit, however, must go to Frankenheimer -- at the time a wunderkind from the live-television "Playhouse 90" crowd, who would later make "Birdman of Alcatraz," "Seven Days in May" and "Seconds" before fading exponentially. "Manchurian," ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at txreviews.com (Curtis Edmonds)
Exclaim!
In its day, The Manchurian Candidate was a shockingly timely film, but it was actually yanked from circulation for almost 25 years for being too prescient. When it was released in 1962, it was a scathing critique of McCarthyism and the idea that there ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at Exclaim!
Almost Fabulous Movie Reviews
Brilliant performances by Harvey, Lansbury, and Sinatra. Particularly Lansbury who plays perhaps the scariest mother ever seen on film. Certain aspects of the story are dated but the movie itself is not. It's fascinating, very well made, and there are ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at Almost Fabulous Movie Reviews
LowComDom Online Film Reviews
The Manchurian Candidate plays on Cold War paranoia that those clever Communists could subvert our valiant soldiers to take over the good old US of A. This premiss seems very dated almost 40 years later. We all know that to subvert Americans you need ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at LowComDom Online Film Reviews
dvdfuture.com (George Castillo)
A movie that both captivates and holds you in suspense till the thrilling end, "The Manchurian Candidate" was ominous at the time. It was both shocking and troubling during the sixties, but the movie is just as suspenseful now as it was then. This film ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at dvdfuture.com (George Castillo)
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) (Ken Hanke)
A volatile work, part thriller, part quasi-science fiction, part vicious satire. ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) (Ken Hanke)
TV Guide's Movie Guide (--)
A nerve-beating masterpiece, and more timely now than then. Frankenheimer's tightrope walk between campy political satire and suspenser is flawlessly rendered. Based on Richard Condon's paranoid novel.
Harvey returns from the Korean War a superhero ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at TV Guide's Movie Guide (--)
New York Times (Bosley Crowther)
WITH the air full of international tension, the film "The Manchurian Candidate" pops up with a rash supposition that could serve to scare some viewers half to deathâthat is, if they should be dupes enough to believe it, which we solemnly trust they ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at New York Times (Bosley Crowther)
Qwipster's Movie Reviews (Vince Leo)
During the Korean War of the 1950s, a platoon of American soldiers are snared and taken away for three days, where they are apparently brainwashed with ideas and instructions they have but the vaguest recollection of. Flash forward to the United States ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at Qwipster's Movie Reviews (Vince Leo)
Cinema Source (Jennifer Krieger)
DVD Journal
John Frankenheimer's vivid adaptation of Richard Condon's arch Cold War thriller spent 25 years on the shelf, after star Frank Sinatra withdrew the 1962 movie from circulation following the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. During that time, ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at DVD Journal
Andrew Hicks (Andrew Hicks)
culturevulture.net (Arthur Lazere)
Films which are based on topical political subject matter run a considerable risk of becoming dated. Politics in itself is never out-of-date--it's too much a part of the human condition in all times and places. Look at films like the classic Mr. Smith ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at culturevulture.net (Arthur Lazere)
The City Review (Carter B. Horsley)
This thriller about a brainwashed assassin is a spectacular movie that is full of surprises, suspense and great sophistication. Based on Richard Condon's book of the same title, it is a devastating attack on the politics of the Cold War and the McCarthy ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at The City Review (Carter B. Horsley)
Qwipster's Movie Reviews (Vince Leo)
During the Korean War of the 1950s, a platoon of American soldiers are snared and taken away for three days, where they are apparently brainwashed with ideas and instructions they have but the vaguest recollection of. Flash forward to the United States ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at Qwipster's Movie Reviews (Vince Leo)
ComingSoon.net (--)
A psychological thriller, "The Manchurian Candidate" stars Denzel Washington as Army Major Bennett Marco, a career soldier who grows suspicious about his experience in Desert Storm after Squad Sergeant Raymond Shaw (Schreiber), son of the powerful ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at ComingSoon.net (--)
Cinema Laser (Derek M. Germano)
Despite having been made nearly four decades ago, THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE remains one of the most powerful political thrillers ever committed to film. Based upon the novel by Richard Condon, THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE is the story of a Korean War era ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at Cinema Laser (Derek M. Germano)
BBC Films
Frank Sinatra plays Major Marco a true-blue veteran who can't shake disturbing nightmares about his time in Korea - nightmares that hint at the brainwashing of American troops and hypnotised killers at large in the USA. Increasingly convinced that his ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at BBC Films
Teen Movie Critic (Roger Davidson)
One of the most influential films of the 1960's, this is also one of the greatest examples of the political paranoia at this time. It introduces us to a Korean war hero (Laurence Harvey), who has been brainwashed by the communists to commit unspeakable ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at Teen Movie Critic (Roger Davidson)
DVD Town (John J. Puccio)
Mystery drama. Cold-War political farce. Spine-tingling thriller. Read it how you will, 1962's "The Manchurian Candidate" takes us for a wild, Wonderland ride through the mother of all conspiracy theories. ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at DVD Town (John J. Puccio)
Parent Previews
So what makes this movie worth watching? Perhaps it is Major Marco's changing opinion of his former superior. At first critical of his cold heartedness, Marco's primary objective is to root out the dark secret that connects him to Sgt. Shaw. But ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at Parent Previews
Jude Wanniski
Continuing with the "movie list," here is number nine of the ten films that most shaped my life. These are not my favorite films. They are the movies I've seen that have had the greatest influence on my thinking, my character, my life. Some are ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at Jude Wanniski
Apollo Guide (Dan Jardine)
The Manchurian Candidate â based on the novel by Richard Condon â is one of filmâs great political satires. What appears to be a creepy exploration of the world of post-hypnotic suggestion, in reality is a dead-on target criticism of⦠well I ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at Apollo Guide (Dan Jardine)
The Spinning Image (Graeme Clark)
During the Korean War, a patrol of Major Marco (Frank Sinatra) was ambushed and taken hostage for three days. Now they are back home in America, they begin to suffer terrifying nightmares and near-nervous breakdowns. One of their number, Raymond Shaw ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at The Spinning Image (Graeme Clark)
DVDnett.no
John Frankenheimer (1930-2002) er en av de mest politisk orienterte amerikanske filmregissører i siste halvdel av forrige århundre. Som mange andre filmarbeidere i sin generasjon hadde han bakgrunn fra militæret, og senere fjernsynsproduksjon. Han ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at DVDnett.no
Regis M. Donovan
We are introduced to the members of a Korean War US Army unit, including the remarkably unpopular Sgt. Raymond Shaw (Laurence Harvey). Then, Shaw's patrol is ambushed in Korean territory, loaded onto what appear to be Soviet helicopters, and flown off ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at Regis M. Donovan
Washington Post (Hal Hinson)
Twenty-five years after its original release, John Frankenheimer's "The Manchurian Candidate" is back, and the mysteries surrounding the film as it returns to theaters are almost, though not quite, as compelling and bizarre as the movie itself. ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at Washington Post (Hal Hinson)
Brilliant Observations on 1173 Films (Clayton Trapp)
An important film, more than a great one. It's a lot of fun though, it's provocative, it's so far ahead of its time as to appear to be sci-fi forty years later, its star is a cultural icon for the kind of people who need to watch it, and John ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at Brilliant Observations on 1173 Films (Clayton Trapp)
DVD Review e-zine
In time with the theatrical release of a remake, MGM Home Entertainment is bringing the original 1962 version of "The Manchurian Candidate" to DVD. Starring Frank Sinatra and Janet Leigh in a super-charged political thriller, this film is certainly one ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at DVD Review e-zine
PreViewed DVD
Recently, I read a review in the Chicago Reader of Jonathan Demme's remake of The Manchurian Candidate that discussed the overall concept of remaking classic movies. The author's premise was that he used to hate remakes, but now he sees real value in ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at PreViewed DVD
Draxblog Movie Reviews
There are instances when history can play cruel tricks on films. Some titles destined for greatness may sink into insignificance because some trivial event that makes them irrelevant to the public. But there are other examples - films that reached ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at Draxblog Movie Reviews
DVD MovieGuide
Ask Major Bennet Marco and he'll say that Sgt. Raymond Shaw is a hero worthy of the Medal Of Honor. But despite what he says, Marco suspects otherwise. A bizarre, recurring nightmare gives him teh uneasy feeling that Shaw is something far less heroic ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at DVD MovieGuide
Natural Born Viewers
I don't know, maybe if I watched "The Manchurian Candidate" back in 1962, I would have found it brilliant. Now I just find it incredibly silly and sometimes even hilarious. But well, that's just me. I don't think it ages too well, and it has too ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at Natural Born Viewers
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