The Manchurian Candidate (DVD, Special Edition)

Classic movie. This movie has been remade it is so good. Great actors play a scary role in this classic. Not for young people. They won't understand many of the references made till later on in the movie. Many didn't know we were ever at war with north Korea, and get lost. I loved it

Each Hollywood Star Played His & Her Role Independently, At First The Audience Is Confused, But As Each Part Melds With Each Other, The Audience Is Brought Up To Speed And Comes To The Realization Of Why Each Character's Flashback Memory Event Is Tied To Every Other Characters Role, And Ultimately The Puzzle Comes Together Beautifully.

In Today's Political Environment, May Not Be So Far Fetched...

WOW, this one will have you looking at a deck of cards and wondering if its real or not! Make sure that your sound is up and there are no lights on, makes it that much more exciting.

very good to do business with. the product arrived fast and on time and it was in very good condition.

Denzel Washington is in this suspensful thriller of a conspiracy. This film was made well and compares to the Minority Report and the Bourne Ultimatum.
Try it out.

5 out 5

Thank you for voting on the effectiveness of this review

A excellant movie, the cast is superb Frank Sinatra, Lawrence Harvey, and Angela Landsbury. It is so much better than the newer version with Denzel Washington that came out several years ago. Its a WOW movie, and will keep you hanging on til the end. The acting is wonderful and it should have gotten the Oscar! Worth your time, WATCH IT!!!!!!!

Directed by John Frankenheimer ("Ronin," "Raindeer Games), "The Manchurian Candidate" (1962) is an excellent suspense/political thriller and some crafty twists and turns leading up to a thrilling conclusion!

Laurence Harvey plays a soldier Raymond Shaw returning from the Korean War, not knowing that he has been brainwashed by the enemy. Frank Sinatra plays a fellow soldier Bennet Marco, whose head was also messed with, and he must figure out what the enemy is planning and how to prevent it.

Sinatra and Angela Lansbury (who plays Raymond's mom and was only three years older than Harvey!) turn in superb acting performances, but the best acting performance in the film is by Harvey.

Janet Leigh ("Psycho"}, Leslie Parrish, and character actor James Gregory have short but memorable roles in the film

Along with the fine acting, there are some unpredictable twists in this film, which will have you guessing until the suprise ending! Suspense film buffs will love this film!

The film could have been edited a little bit better, as there are two or three scenes with extremely long dialog, but this is just a nitpick, and doesn't distract the viewer from enjoying this extraordinary film!

Rated PG-13

Special Features on "The Manchurian Candidate: Special Edition" DVD include:

Widescreen 1.75:1 B&W
Audio Commentary by John Frankenheimer
Interview with Frank Sinatra, George Axelrod, and John Frankenheimer
"A Little Solitaire" featurette with William Friedkin
"Queen Of Diamonds" featurette with Angela Lansbury
Photo Gallery
Original Theatrical Trailer
Subtitles: English, Spanish, French


Fans of classic "Black & White" films and suspense thrillers should definitely add this DVD to their collection. Everyone else should see this film, but would be satisfied with a rental.

I bought this for my husband for Christmas. I had never seen the movie and we watched the end on tv not long ago. He commented that it was a favorite movie he had not seen in a long time so I located it on Ebay and purchased it for him. Great product.

I decided to buy The Manchurian Candidate because my boyfriend loves Frank Sinatra and this movie was one of the movies my boyfriend wanted that Frank Sinatra was in. I was happy to see that the movie was still in its original wrapping and was brand new.

There are two film versions of The Manchurian Candidate, Richard Condon's paranoid Cold War novel. While Jonathan Demme's 2004 movie is entertaining, John Frankenheimer's 1962 film is a classic.

The Manchurian Candidate (1962, 126 min.) “Raymond Shaw is the kindest, bravest, warmest, most wonderful human being I’ve ever known,” says Major Marco (Frank Sinatra). What makes him speak so affectionately about a man no one likes? The answer is Cold War paranoia, but darn entertaining. Using striking photography and almost no soundtrack, Frankenheimer spins a tense tale about the capture and programming of American soldiers during the Korean War, an ironically red-baiting politician, his steely wife, and political ambition that dwarfs All the King’s Men. Sinatra is natural in his role as the soldier whose nightmares about Raymond Shaw (Laurence Harvey) don’t quite jibe with reality. Angela Lansbury dominates her scenes as one of the least maternal mothers you will ever see (despite being only 37; Harvey was 34). As the Queen of Diamonds in a murderous game of solitaire, she makes Lady MacBeth seem like an underachiever. John McGiver hits the right notes as her political victim. Other key characters give performances that might ordinarily be criticized, yet work in the movie's surreal context. Harvey plays the cold Shaw with wooden acting and a European accent, but they fit his robotic character. James Gregory’s Sen. Iselin is hardly plausible as a blustery, over-the-top demagogue, yet he has remarkable presence. Janet Leigh plays Sinatra’s love interest with an odd, knowing mysteriousness that doesn’t make much sense, yet it adds to the uncanny tone of the film. Even the goofy fight between Sinatra and the Korean spy works, although the spy doesn’t look Korean, punches don’t quite land, and furniture breaks too easily. The story is taut and, despite paranoid overstatement, surprisingly real. Its pace is sure and its humor wry.

The Manchurian Candidate (2004, 130 min.) Obey your mother. Demme makes some changes in updating Frankenheimer’s mind-control classic. It begins in Kuwait, rather than Korea; makes Shaw (Liev Schreiber) a candidate for the vice presidency, rather than his father; places Shaw on the floor of the convention, rather than in the eaves; and changes Marco’s (Denzel Washington) role in the climactic scene. Otherwise, it apes the 1962 thriller’s major details faithfully, although not as convincingly. As in the original, Marco was Shaw’s superior officer when his patrol was ambushed. Neither has a clear recollection of what happened next, except that Shaw returns to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor, and Marco becomes a career military officer with bad dreams. Meryl Streep takes over Lansbury's part as a driven political mother (she’s a Senator here). The main failing of Demme’s version is that it plays things totally straight, lacking the original’s dark humor. The absence of the Sen. Iselin character here leaves a void. While the original had flaws, its odd logic worked as entertainment. Here, Demme gives us some new dramatic—and entertaining—episodes, but they sometimes weaken the story’s appeal. E.g., Marco dramatically removes his implant with a knife and bites out Shaw’s, yet it has no adverse effect on the mind control of either. Also, Demme gives us a back story about the mysterious woman who is interested in Marco, giving the movie a more conventional feel.

There are many classics in cinema and Manchurian Candidate stands among them, the story is centered around a war hero who is the greatest, kindest, most wonderful man you'll ever meet. It's brainwashing and intrigue at it's best and the "SE (special edition)" complements the movie nicely with a commentary and interviews...some reasons why this movie is worth the money:

Angela Lansberry (pardon the spelling), I was so accustomed to seeing her as this kind woman solving murders or nursing a cipped cup (Beauty & Beast, lol) but in this flick she is one nasty, conniving woman who you don't want to cross!

The movie itself was out of circulation for a few years due, I believe, to the subject material presented. Considering the time it was made, it echos closely to JFK and McCarthyism vividly.

I highly recommend this film and allow you to be the judge, especially if you've seen the recent version with Denzel Washington--which was good, but doesn't stand next to the classic.