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Manchurian Candidate, The (1962) Rank 4 Reviews

Expert Review Summary
Movie critics combined give Manchurian Candidate, The (1962) a score of 3.4174 out of 4
based on (92) reviews
Click on the numbers to the right of the graph to see reviews of that rating
Excellent
4
Excellent
(50)
Very Good
3
Very Good
(39)
Good
2
Good
(1)
Fair
1
Fair
(1)
Poor
0
Poor
(1)
Reviews by Score:
Manchurian Candidate, The (1962) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for SeattleMovieCritic.com (Jeff Walls)SeattleMovieCritic.com (Jeff Walls)
...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at SeattleMovieCritic.com (Jeff Walls)
Manchurian Candidate, The (1962) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for Three Movie Buffs (Patrick Nash)Three Movie Buffs (Patrick Nash)
The dialogue is memorable for its chilling simplicity. 'Why don't you pass the time by playing a little solitaire?' and 'Raymond Shaw is the kindest, bravest, warmest, most wonderful human being I've ever known in my life.' These seemingly innocuous ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at Three Movie Buffs (Patrick Nash)
Manchurian Candidate, The (1962) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for Classic Film GuideClassic Film Guide
The fact that this drama was released the year before President John F. Kennedy's assassination makes it all the more chilling today. ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at Classic Film Guide
Manchurian Candidate, The (1962) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for Perihelion Journal (Jay Antani)Perihelion Journal (Jay Antani)
With spry editing and camerawork, [Frankenheimer] fuses together a documentary-like realism and more expressive stylizations to create a hybrid thriller-satire ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at Perihelion Journal (Jay Antani)
Manchurian Candidate, The (1962) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for SF, Horror and Fantasy Film ReviewSF, Horror and Fantasy Film Review
In the 1960s, John Frankenheimer emerged out of television into feature films and became a director of considerable acclaim in a very short period of time, with the likes of the gang drama The Young Savages (1961), the family comedy All Fall ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at SF, Horror and Fantasy Film Review
Manchurian Candidate, The (1962) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for Time OutTime Out
Korean War veteran Major Marco (Sinatra) is troubled by a recurring nightmare in which Congressional Medal of Honor hero Raymond Shaw (Harvey) carries out Communist instructions to shoot fellow American PoWs. Working for Intelligence, Marco unravels a ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at Time Out
Manchurian Candidate, The (1962) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Here is a movie that was made more than 25 years ago, and it feels as if it were made yesterday. Not a moment of "The Manchurian Candidate" lacks edge and tension and a cynical spin. And what's even more surprising is how the film now plays as a ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Manchurian Candidate, The (1962) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for Reel.com DVD review (Pam Grady)Reel.com DVD review (Pam Grady)
With his work in television and film spanning more than 40 years, John Frankenheimer is one of the few working directors whose career dates back to the Golden Age of Hollywood. And with three of his movies — Ronin, The Holcroft Covenant, and The Train ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at Reel.com DVD review (Pam Grady)
Manchurian Candidate, The (1962) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for filmcritic.com (Christopher Null)filmcritic.com (Christopher Null)
Possibly John Frankenheimer's finest film, The Manchurian Candidate speaks to the Red Scare, the horrors of war, paranoid fears of brainwashing -- all tied in with the game of Solitaire. Frankenheimer owes a lot to George Axelrod's script and Richard ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at filmcritic.com (Christopher Null)
Manchurian Candidate, The (1962) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for CultureDose.net (John Nesbit)CultureDose.net (John Nesbit)
With elaborate conspiracy theories widely popular during the 2004 election year, it was inevitable that The Manchurian Candidate resurface in a modern update, presumably with more violence and sexual content and less Cold War politics. Early buzz ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at CultureDose.net (John Nesbit)
Manchurian Candidate, The (1962) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for DVD BreakdownDVD Breakdown
When The Manchurian Candidate was re-released theatrically in the late 1980s, audiences were able to see Frankenheimer's legendary masterpiece for the first time in over twenty years. The film was pulled from theatrical release following the JFK ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at DVD Breakdown
Manchurian Candidate, The (1962) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for DVD Movie CentralDVD Movie Central
If one is to ever think of a single motion picture to be made ahead of its time, John Frankenheimer’s masterful The Manchurian Candidate can easily be noted as such. Perhaps one of the first films to ever usher in an effect of extreme paranoia, the ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at DVD Movie Central
Manchurian Candidate, The (1962) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for EyeCraveDVD.com - DVD Review (Jonathan)EyeCraveDVD.com - DVD Review (Jonathan)
Once in a while a film comes along that’s a situation of art imitating life in which life then goes on to imitate art again. So is the case for The Manchurian Candidate. Based on the book by Richard Condon, the movie made its debut in 1962 to critical ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at EyeCraveDVD.com - DVD Review (Jonathan)
Manchurian Candidate, The (1962) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for Austin Chronicle (Marjorie Baumgarten)Austin Chronicle (Marjorie Baumgarten)
Angela Lansbury's frighteningly in-check performance is alone worth the trip. ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at Austin Chronicle (Marjorie Baumgarten)
Manchurian Candidate, The (1962) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for Creative Loafing (Matt Brunson)Creative Loafing (Matt Brunson)
It's heady stuff in a nail-biting chiller that still has the power to make viewers perspire profusely. ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at Creative Loafing (Matt Brunson)
Manchurian Candidate, The (1962) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for eFilmCritic.com (David Cornelius)eFilmCritic.com (David Cornelius)
People have called The Machurian Candidate the greatest political thriller ever made. People would be right. ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at eFilmCritic.com (David Cornelius)
Manchurian Candidate, The (1962) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for Netflix (James Rocchi)Netflix (James Rocchi)
Cold War thriller still packs a punch 40 years later. ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at Netflix (James Rocchi)
Manchurian Candidate, The (1962) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for eFilmCritic.com (Justin Helmer)eFilmCritic.com (Justin Helmer)
The world of John Frankenheimer’s “The Manchurian Candidate” seems somewhat far removed today. Set in the years of the ‘red scare’ that swept through America in the 1950’s, it presents a world where there is a bad guy lurking under every bed. ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at eFilmCritic.com (Justin Helmer)
Manchurian Candidate, The (1962) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for DVD Savant (Glenn Erickson)DVD Savant (Glenn Erickson)
Still the most sophisticated paranoid thriller, The Manchurian Candidate is the link between film noir and the later conspiracy-minded movies of the 1970s. Predating the first Kennedy assassination, the film weirdly predicts an entire culture of distrust ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at DVD Savant (Glenn Erickson)
Manchurian Candidate, The (1962) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for Jerry SaraviaJerry Saravia
It turns out that Raymond is a trained, brainwashed assassin, and when he plays Solitaire and he sees the Queen of Diamonds, he is instantly in a robotic, killing phase. To add even more complexity, Ray's mother, Mrs. Iselin, is behind it all she wants ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at Jerry Saravia
Manchurian Candidate, The (1962) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for Washington Post (Desson Thomson)Washington Post (Desson Thomson)
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 Washington Post (Desson Thomson)
Manchurian Candidate, The (1962) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for filmsgraded.com (Brian Koller)filmsgraded.com (Brian Koller)
At first viewing, "The Manchurian Candidate" is a tense drama. Subsequent viewings transform the film into a black comedy, with Shaw and his Senator stepfather the most humorous characters. Shaw is stolid but bewildered, almost sympathetic in his ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at filmsgraded.com (Brian Koller)
Manchurian Candidate, The (1962) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for filmcritic.com (Christopher Null)filmcritic.com (Christopher Null)
Possibly John Frankenheimer's finest film, The Manchurian Candidate speaks to the Red Scare, the horrors of war, paranoid fears of brainwashing -- all tied in with the game of Solitaire. Frankenheimer owes a lot to George Axelrod's script and Richard ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at filmcritic.com (Christopher Null)
Manchurian Candidate, The (1962) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for Goatdog's Movies (Michael W. Phillips, Jr.)Goatdog's Movies (Michael W. Phillips, Jr.)
Angela Lansbury, though, takes the cake as the most effective actor among a troupe of memorable roles. The sly, subtle transformation of her character from an opportunistic but seemingly well-meaning nag into one of the most evil non-supernatural ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at Goatdog's Movies (Michael W. Phillips, Jr.)
Manchurian Candidate, The (1962) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for Orbital Reviews Orbital Reviews
Sergeant Raymond Shaw (Laurence Harvey) returns from Korea in 1952 a hero, awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for "Displaying valor above and beyond the call of duty [that] did single-handedly save the lives of nine members of his patrol, ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at Orbital Reviews
Manchurian Candidate, The (1962) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for digitallyOBSESSED.com (Jon Danziger)digitallyOBSESSED.com (Jon Danziger)
In these days of terrorism, of beheadings on the web, of vengeance perpetrated seemingly at random in the name of the deity of one's choice, there's something almost downright quaint and old-fashioned about Cold War paranoia. Even political ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at digitallyOBSESSED.com (Jon Danziger)
Manchurian Candidate, The (1962) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for Montreal Film Journal (Kevin N. Laforest)Montreal Film Journal (Kevin N. Laforest)
Raymond Shaw ain't a bad guy. Events made him one. His mother is such an evil bitch than he might have been better off with Norman Bates's! Manipulative, cold-hearted and senseless, all she's ever wanted is power. Being a woman, she can't really ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at Montreal Film Journal (Kevin N. Laforest)
Manchurian Candidate, The (1962) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
The title of "The Manchurian Candidate" has entered everyday speech as shorthand for a brainwashed sleeper, a subject who has been hypnotized and instructed to act when his controllers pull the psychological trigger. In the movie, an American patrol is ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at Chicago Sun-Times (Roger Ebert)
Manchurian Candidate, The (1962) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for Planet Sick-Boy (Jon Popick)Planet Sick-Boy (Jon Popick)
John Frankenheimer’s The Manchurian Candidate was released just 13 months before President Kennedy was assassinated. The film, which was not instantly touted as a masterpiece, was yanked from theatres out of respect for Kennedy, especially since Lee ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at Planet Sick-Boy (Jon Popick)
Manchurian Candidate, The (1962) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for MovieFreak.com (Chris T. Bryan)MovieFreak.com (Chris T. Bryan)
My first real knowledge of The Manchurian Candidate, I am ashamed to admit, came from hearing about a remake involving Denzel Washington and Meryl Streep. I have heard an overwhelming number of complaints as to why anyone would ever remake such a ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at MovieFreak.com (Chris T. Bryan)
Manchurian Candidate, The (1962) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for Film Freak CentralFilm Freak Central
Pulled in direct response to JFK's assassination, The Manchurian Candidate was revived to much ballyhoo in the late-'80s after being out of U.S. circulation for over two decades, and it's easy to see how the film's prescience could push a studio to ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at Film Freak Central
Manchurian Candidate, The (1962) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for ToxicUniverse.com (John Nesbit)ToxicUniverse.com (John Nesbit)
A suspense-thriller in the same vein as Hitchcock's The Thirty-Nine Steps and The Man Who Knew Too Much (both versions), The Manchurian Candidate culminates in a similar large crowd scene. Only this ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at ToxicUniverse.com (John Nesbit)
Manchurian Candidate, The (1962) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for DVD Verdict (Dennis Prince)DVD Verdict (Dennis Prince)
Whether you're a devout conspiracy theorist, a die-hard political thrill-seeker, or a just a lover of classic and classy cinema, The Manchurian Candidate is required viewing. Plainly put, this spellbinding picture is also a required addition to any ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at DVD Verdict (Dennis Prince)
Manchurian Candidate, The (1962) scores a combined 4.00 out of 4 stars for TV Guide Entertainment Network, Movie GuideTV Guide Entertainment Network, 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 and ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at TV Guide Entertainment Network, Movie Guide
Manchurian Candidate, The (1962) scores a combined 3.75 out of 4 stars for DVD MovieGuideDVD MovieGuide
In 1962’s The Manchurian Candidate, we find a film that was ahead of its time. The story looks at a group of Korean War veterans who all have recurring nightmares about their involvement in that conflict. More specifically, they imagine that they’ve ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at DVD MovieGuide
Manchurian Candidate, The (1962) scores a combined 3.75 out of 4 stars for Ozus' World Movie Reviews (Dennis Schwartz)Ozus' World Movie Reviews (Dennis Schwartz)
A fascinating political conspiracy theory satire about the Cold War. It's a film that JFK encouraged to be made. The film is based on the Richard Condon novel and scripted by George Axelrod, and despite its flaws it delivers an intelligent response to ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at Ozus' World Movie Reviews (Dennis Schwartz)
Manchurian Candidate, The (1962) scores a combined 3.75 out of 4 stars for Edinburgh U Film Society (Stephen Townsend)Edinburgh U Film Society (Stephen Townsend)
John Frankenheimer's The Manchurian Candidate is a film about political extremism. It was born out of the McCarthy period in the USA when the Far Right jostled with the Far Left, leaving a comparative political vacuum in the middle. ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at Edinburgh U Film Society (Stephen Townsend)
Manchurian Candidate, The (1962) scores a combined 3.75 out of 4 stars for The Greatest Films (Tim Dirks)The Greatest Films (Tim Dirks)
The Manchurian Candidate (1962) is director-producer John Frankenheimer's prophetically tragic, chilling, brilliant, blackish (film-noirish) Cold War thriller about brain-washing, conspiracy, the dangers of international Communism, McCarthyism, ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at The Greatest Films (Tim Dirks)
Manchurian Candidate, The (1962) scores a combined 3.50 out of 4 stars for not coming to a theater near you (Rumsey Taylor)not coming to a theater near you (Rumsey Taylor)
This line, noticeably repeated in The Manchurian Candidate, becomes further contradictory with each utterance it receives. At first it seems befitting, as it describes a man receiving the Medal of Honor for his examples of courage in the Korean War. ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at not coming to a theater near you (Rumsey Taylor)
Manchurian Candidate, The (1962) scores a combined 3.50 out of 4 stars for Doug Pratt's Laserdisc ReviewDoug Pratt's Laserdisc Review
Based upon a political thriller by Richard Condon, which, like many Condon stories, verges on satire, it brilliantly straddles a fine line between absurdity and drama. Its most exaggerated moments successfully raise the film's emotional impact instead ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at Doug Pratt's Laserdisc Review
Manchurian Candidate, The (1962) scores a combined 3.50 out of 4 stars for The BigScreen Cinema Guide - Reader ReviewsThe BigScreen Cinema Guide - Reader Reviews
...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at The BigScreen Cinema Guide - Reader Reviews
Manchurian Candidate, The (1962) scores a combined 3.50 out of 4 stars for DVD Authority.com (Christopher Bligh)DVD Authority.com (Christopher Bligh)
The year was 1962 and director John Frankenheimer was about to be at the center of controversy. Before this film, he cut his teeth directing live TV. He had gotten wide acclaim and much respect in the industry. His project at hand was a tale of veteran ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at DVD Authority.com (Christopher Bligh)
Manchurian Candidate, The (1962) scores a combined 3.50 out of 4 stars for DVDBeaver DVDBeaver
6 years after this landmark film (awarded the British Oscar equivalent in 1962 ) on June 5, 1968, when Senator Robert Kennedy was shot at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, it was his good friend, director John Frankenheimer, who had personally driven ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at DVDBeaver
Manchurian Candidate, The (1962) scores a combined 3.50 out of 4 stars for Fulvue Drive-inFulvue Drive-in
John Frankenheimer had some of the best live TV ever made under his belt when the networks turned on him, then luckily for us, he turned to motion pictures and we saw one of the greatest careers in American filmmaking take off. Freed from the confines ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at Fulvue Drive-in
Manchurian Candidate, The (1962) scores a combined 3.50 out of 4 stars for The Dual Lens (Ian Whitney)The Dual Lens (Ian Whitney)
Political Thriller. The genre’s name resonates with importance, combining excitement and the weight of politics. With an exhilarating frosted side and a pensive whole-wheat side, it’s a genre good for the whole family. ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at The Dual Lens (Ian Whitney)
Manchurian Candidate, The (1962) scores a combined 3.50 out of 4 stars for Not Coming to a Theater Near You (Matt Bailey)Not Coming to a Theater Near You (Matt Bailey)
The Manchurian Candidate, a total flop in its own time, has become a prescient standard-bearer of paranoia and political intrigue. It was kept off movie screens for years by Frank Sinatra (who bought the rights to the movie in 1972) in honor of his ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at Not Coming to a Theater Near You (Matt Bailey)
Manchurian Candidate, The (1962) scores a combined 3.50 out of 4 stars for Reel Movie Critic (Shelley Cameron)Reel Movie Critic (Shelley Cameron)
Lawrence Harvey is perfectly cast as the exquisitely unlikable Raymond Shaw, Korean War hero who is brainwashed and conditioned to operate as a trained killer in the US for the communist Russians and Chinese. Angela Lansbury, only three years Harvey's ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at Reel Movie Critic (Shelley Cameron)
Manchurian Candidate, The (1962) scores a combined 3.50 out of 4 stars for Big House Film (Roger Westcombe)Big House Film (Roger Westcombe)
The Manchurian Candidate is a compelling viewing experience in its own right, but one enhanced by its incredible backstory. Remember this is 1962, a year before Dealey Plaza. We have actor Laurence Harvey, whose very name makes him sound like Lee Harvey ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at Big House Film (Roger Westcombe)
Manchurian Candidate, The (1962) scores a combined 3.50 out of 4 stars for Brian W. Fairbanks ReviewBrian W. Fairbanks Review
There is a moment in The Manchurian Candidate when Frank Sinatra, playing a major in the United States Army, wakes from a nightmare and screams twice. His face beaded with perspiration, Ol’ Blue Eyes offers what may be the most unbelievable moment in ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at Brian W. Fairbanks Review
Manchurian Candidate, The (1962) scores a combined 3.50 out of 4 stars for Combustible Celluloid (Jeffrey M. Anderson)Combustible Celluloid (Jeffrey M. Anderson)
John Frankenheimer's The Manchurian Candidate was released in 1962, disappeared from circulation for several years, and was re-released in 1987. The reasons for its disappearance range from remorse over Kennedy's assassination in 1963 to money disputes ...read the complete Manchurian Candidate movie review at Combustible Celluloid (Jeffrey M. Anderson)
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Manchurian Candidate, The (1962) Reviews
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Ratings and rankings are based on number of movie, review scores, awards & other criteria.
Overall Rating:
3.5363
Manchurian Candidate, The (1962) is ranked overall as out of 4 stars
Avg Critic Score:
3.4174
Manchurian Candidate, The (1962) is ranked overall as out of 4 stars
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