The Manchurian Candidate

Angela Lansbury, Frank Sinatra, Henry Silva

A US Army hero returns to New York from Korea, but has been mysteriously programmed by Communists to assassinate a presidential nominee, but when his Army buddy becomes suspicious of the goings on, he...( read more  read more... ) is on the trail to stop him.

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90% liked it

Critics

98% liked it

PG-13, 2 hrs. 6 min.

Directed by: John Frankenheimer

Released: January 1, 1962

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DVD Released: May 15, 2001

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Top Flixster Reviews


  • April 30, 2009
    John Frankenheimer's The Manchurian Candidate, based on Richard Condon's novel, follows the lives of a group of Korean War veterans as they discover that their subconscious has been 'altered' in a covert mind-control experiment. Using a fictitious U.S. Senator (played by... ...( read more )
  • February 1, 2009
    Awesome cold war/communist paranoia film. Everyone gives great performances and this has some great character subtext (surprisiingly mature) and violence (surprisingly graphic) that bellies its time period. Once thought of as a lost treasure after the film disappeared for a time ... ...( read more )
  • April 20, 2008
    best story line. best casting. so amazing.
  • March 25, 2008
    One of the all time great thrillers and Frank Sinatra's finest performance
  • February 18, 2008
    Mrs. Iselin: Why don't you pass the time with a game of solitaire?

    A political thriller, set during the 50s involving an assassin who is trained to forget what he is doing, serving as a pawn for communists.

    A group of soldiers in Korea are suddenly kidnapped by a mysterious gr... ...( read more )
  • April 21, 2009
    A very entertaining political drama, Laurence Harvey gives a stunning performance and Sinatras was not that bad either.

Critic Reviews


View more The Manchu... reviews at RottenTomatoes.com
January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

Not a moment of The Manchurian Candidate lacks edge and tension and a cynical spin. full review

Comments


  • itbegins2005
    April 7, 2008
    Well, I posted a pretty bizarre first comment- might as well follow it up with a couple more:

    - I had no idea Frank Sinatra could karate chop through a solid oak tabletop. That guy is an ass-kicker.

    - Is it just me, or does Sinatra have some amazing power over the ladies- like, a literal superpower, to force a woman in his vicinity to fall in love with him in record time? 'Cause it's either that, or Janet Leigh is way easy. Sinatra wasn't even looking at her half the time on that train, and she gave up her name, address, and phone number.

    - Wow. Raymond Shaw was apparently the model for Stewie Griffin from Family Guy- rude, snobby, inexplicably British, and filled with hatred for his mother. Try watching the movie again, especially during the drunken Christmas scene with Sinatra, and tell me you don't see it.
  • itbegins2005
    April 7, 2008
    HEINZ KETCHUP?!? The number of commies comes from Heinz ketchup?

    This is so surreal... I was just involved in the Heinz commercial contest, and I saw a lot of entries- and that's EXACTLY the kind of stupid joke I would expect to have found in the competing videos.

    Personal note: it is IMPOSSIBLE to make a good, enticing, funny (without being cute or idiotic) commercial for a product like ketchup. It's a f%$#ing condiment. It has no potential entertainment value whatsoever. And if I EVER hear another "ketch up!" pun in my life, I swear to GOD I'll slit my own wrists.

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