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It was pretty early on in the film where I figured I was going to like The Manchurian Candidate. It was when the brainwashed soldiers were being displayed to other soldiers about how obedient they can be. The intercutting between what we see, what the soldiers see and what actually happened is quite impressive. Not once was I lost in the chaos of the sequences as it was edited superbly and displayed.
A soldier returns home from the Korean War only to have recurring nightmares that one of his squad members might be a sleeper agent. Simple enough concept and The Manchurian Candidate plays with the consequences rather well. Slowly our protagonist realizes what is happening as the picture becomes clearer in his head he takes it upon himself to try and stop something that he doesn't really understand. What is the ultimate mission of Shaw? We don't know, but we're along for the ride to find out.
Believe it or not, but I think this is my first Frank Sinatra picture that I've seen. He does well for himself as does the more difficult role given to Laurence Harvey. We get a glimpse into the minds of these gentlemen, both gone to the breaking point. Angela Lansbury plays a wickedly delicious role of a very assertive mother and Janet Leigh pops up in a few scenes but feels somewhat underused.
It's interesting when I watch a film like this, I instantly want to watch the remake and see how they handled the material. I can already tell that it won't be as successful, but I will be checking that one out sooner rather than later.
The Manchurian Candidate
It was pretty early on in the film where I figured I was going to like The Manchurian Candidate. It was when the brainwashed soldiers were being displayed to other soldiers about how obedient they can be. The intercutting between what we see, what the soldiers see and what actually happened is quite impressive. Not once was I lost in the chaos of the sequences as it was edited superbly and displayed.
A soldier returns home from the Korean War only to have recurring nightmares that one of his squad members might be a sleeper agent. Simple enough concept and The Manchurian Candidate plays with the consequences rather well. Slowly our protagonist realizes what is happening as the picture becomes clearer in his head he takes it upon himself to try and stop something that he doesn't really understand. What is the ultimate mission of Shaw? We don't know, but we're along for the ride to find out.
Believe it or not, but I think this is my first Frank Sinatra picture that I've seen. He does well for himself as does the more difficult role given to Laurence Harvey. We get a glimpse into the minds of these gentlemen, both gone to the breaking point. Angela Lansbury plays a wickedly delicious role of a very assertive mother and Janet Leigh pops up in a few scenes but feels somewhat underused.
It's interesting when I watch a film like this, I instantly want to watch the remake and see how they handled the material. I can already tell that it won't be as successful, but I will be checking that one out sooner rather than later.