Manchurian Candidate 9/10

Manchurian Candidate (PG-13)
Reviewer’s Tilt (8)
Thriller-129min
Special DVD Features worth a look-None

"You gotta give it everything . . . and sometimes that's not even enough." director John Frankenheimer was quoted as saying. The Manchurian Candidate embodies this mantra and, at least in this instance, demonstrates that “everything” is more than enough. This magnificent film stands toe to toe with the greatest thrillers of all time. Screenwriter George Axlerod artfully crafts Richard Condon’s novel into a heart-pounding screenplay. The direction and source material wring once-in-a-lifetime performances from Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey and Angela Lansbury. The story focuses on Raymond Shaw (Harvey), an army sergeant who single-handedly saves his military patrol from certain death. Awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his valor, events surrounding his heroism have left him strangely cold and distracted.

Even the vice-presidential campaign of his Joe McCarthesque stepfather (James Gregory) fails to invigorate the war-ravaged veteran. When another soldier in his outfit, Maj. Bennett Marco (Sinatra) begins to have startling visions of what actually happened, a riveting cold war cloak and dagger drama begins to unravel. The film marks America’s abrupt transition from naiveté to paranoia. Wedged between the height of McCarthyism and the slaying of JFK, the Manchurian Candidate played the then rudderless country for all it was worth. Although many scenes in the film might have qualified as hyperbole prior to the Assassination of JFK, the chill and paranoia engendered in that single act have left us a country fearful of faceless foreign enemies and distrustful of our leaders’ ability to keep them in check.

Not surprisingly, the hyperparanoia angle plays even better today, heightened by America’s post 9-11 xenophobia. The political backdrop of the last three decades, however, does temper some of the black comedy. Ridiculously vacuous politicians and fatal foreign conspiracies of recent memory transform much of the film’s satire. Viewed through millennium colored glasses, the intentionally satirical scenes often play more as Oliver Stone type docuconspiracy than comedy noir. For these reasons, the film is even more powerful and revered today than it was upon its debut. If that still does not convince you, be advised that the subtleties Angela Lansbury infuses into her a “mother” character are more perverted than anything that lurks in the darkest of children’s nightmares. Her performance alone merits a rental.

Format: B&W, Pan and scan and widescreen, Closed captioned.
Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo, Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo (French), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo (Spanish)
Extras: Director commentary, Interviews with Frankenheimer, Axelrod and Sinatra. Trivia, Production notes, Trailer.