User reviews

I didn't know this was a remake of an earlier movie so no comparison here, but for me this is a good movie. Denzel Washington scores high on my list of all time greats and he doesn't dissapoint in this movie. His paranoia, focus and overall likeability keeps the viewer entertained from beginning till the end. The movie itself has a great premise and although it feels farfetch'd with the use of technology it carries an energy of paranoia, suspense and believability throughout. If they've kept it purely with the whole hypnosis thing it would have been more believable I guess. But the script is great, it has some good eery moments and the whole cast with Washington,Streep and Schreiber as the main leads is fantastic. I love this era of moviemaking, where actors were more true actors somehow. The camerawork with its full closeups is also great. I enjoyed this flick and in my opinion it desesrves more then the 6.6 here in iMBD.

Continuing my plan to watch every movie in Denzel Washington's filmography, I come to his second movie of 2004, the remake of The Manchurian Candidate.

As a fan of the original, I skipped this upon release. This was my first time watching and I'm glad I didn't watch the above trailer, as it gives away some big reveals.

This isn't in the same league as the original, but it's a damn good movie, in its own right. It keeps the same plot, but changes key elements, which helped make it seem fresh.

This would be the last time Washington was directed by Jonathan Demme (Philadelphia, Devil In A Blue Dress) who does a great job.

This is superbly acted by a great cast, that includes Meryl Streep, Jon Voight, Liev Schreiber (who worked with Denzel in The Hurricane), Kimberly Elise (who played Washington's wife in John Q), Jeffrey Wright,, Dean Stockwell (Al from Quantum Leap) and Charles Napier (Murdoch from Rambo: First Blood Part 2) pop up, as does Verna Farmiga and Anthony Mackie in one of his first big screen roles.

Random fact 1: Tina Sinatra, who was instrumental in deciding to remake the film, inherited the production rights from her father, Frank Sinatra, who played Bennett Marco in the 1962 version.

Random fact 2: Denzel Washington admitted before making this remake that he had never seen the John Frankenheimer original movie.

The Manchurian Candidate grossed $65 million at the domestic box office and was the 45th highest grossing movie of 2004.

I have not seen the original John Frankenheimer's "The Manchurian Candidate", which is considered one of the best political thrillers ever made. So it was curious that Jonathan Demme (a great director whose previous work included "The Silence of the Lambs") chose to remake the "The Manchurian Candidate". Still basing the story on the novel by Richard Condon, and the 1962 screenplay by George Axelrod, screen writers Daniel Pyne and Dean Georgaris have updated the Cold War political thriller to the global nuclear terrorism threat on our homeland, and introducing the clandestine presence of a ubiquitous corporation like Manchurian Global. Demme along with reinventing a contemporary storyline, assembled a powerful cast, Denzel Washington, Meryl Streep, and Liev Schreiber. Streep as Senator Eleanor Shaw, the mother of Vice Presidential candidate, Raymond Shaw (Schreiber), is absolutely powerful and compelling. She is playing against type-- her Eleanor Shaw is a Machiavellian Lady MacBeth. She is ruthless and smart. Streep's performance is awesome.

During the Gulf War Sgt. Raymond Shaw (Schreiber) saved his fellow soldiers when his CO, Maj. Ben Marco (Washington) is knocked unconscious. Shaw receives the Congressional Medal of Honor for his bravery. Back to the present day, Eleanor Shaw (Streep) imposes her sheer will and brokers the Vice Presidential slot for her son, the War Hero, on her Party's ticket. Eleanor has political ties with the very powerful Manchurian Global corporation. Meanwhile, Maj. Marco is plagued by incoherent memories of what happened in Iraq. Were his memories actually manufactured? His investigation seems to point to brainwashing and a conspiracy. And what is the ultimate goal?

Demme is a good storyteller. He keeps the story taut and paced. He also enlists effective performances from his talented cast. Denzel Washington is good as Marco. He is also playing somewhat against type. His Major Marco is a broken man regaining some of his honor, and he plays it very close to the vest. Marco is a not a charismatic character, but Washington imposes his own force on the character. Schreiber is amazing as Raymond Shaw. Outwardly, he might have played a puppet in an elaborate power play; however, he gives Shaw a strength of character that is riveting with internal conflict. Meryl Streep really steals the movie as Eleanor Shaw. Her performance is so commanding. Even in her ruthlessness and singularity, she can not be dismissed as plain evil, because ultimately her intentions are noble. That conflict embodied in her character makes "The Manchurian Candidate" worth watching.

In the remake of the 1964 thriller, Denzel Washington takes on Frank Sinatra's role as a war veteran drawn into a political web of destruction. The setting is moved to the current time, so instead of being a Korean war veteran, Denzel fought in the Gulf War. His fellow soldier, Liev Schreiber, comes from a political background and is seen as a front-runner for the upcoming election, thanks to his pushy and powerful mother Meryl Streep. While in the original, Angela Lansbury controlled her son, Laurence Harvey, to help her husband's political career, the remake gets another modern touch: Meryl herself is a senator, rather than a housewife.

Meryl's performance in this movie is so chilling, it'll throw you for a greater loop than the story to find out she wasn't nominated for an Academy Award. Taking obvious inspiration from a certain powerful, ruthless female politician of the 1990s, Meryl embodies the bloodsucking, calculating, viscous character in her most realistic performance since The Bridges of Madison County.

The wonderful thing about this story is it's obviously timeless. It was just as relevant and engrossing in 1964 as it was in 2004, and if another remake would be made in 2024, it would be just as well-received. Political power struggle is an unending game, and if you combine a mystery in the movie plot and cast a bundle of powerhouse actors, you've got a guaranteed box office smash. If you've never seen either version, look at the cast list and decide which one you want to start with. They're both very good, suspenseful, and well-acted, but you can only watch it for the first time once. Choose wisely-or Meryl Streep will yell at you.

DLM Warning: If you suffer from vertigo or dizzy spells, like my mom does, this movie might not be your friend. During Denzel Washington's dreams, there are some zooms, swirls, and handheld camera movements that will make you sick. In other words, "Don't Look, Mom!"

I just watched The Manchurian Candidate 1962 and 2004 back-to-back. An interesting exercise. On IMDB 1962 is rated as a 7.9 and 2004 as a 6.6. If you watch them back to back it is easy to see that these are not good ratings. I gave 1962 a 4 and 2004 an 8.

1962 is slow and ponderous. Sinatra is always interesting to watch but he can't drag the whole film by himself. The plot is tough to believe. Hard to understand why the 1962 version got such high ratings.

2004 is a bit more sci-fi and the technical parts of the plot make the whole movie more believable (if you accept sci-fi magic). Streep, who I generally abhor, reminded me SO much of HRC. Denzel and Liev gave great performances. The current featured review of the 2004 version calls the "1964 (sic) version a near perfect masterpiece" Huh??

If you're a student of film give the back-to-back exercise a try ...

It would be more likely for me to get hit by a bolt of lightning on my way to the grocery store, than it would be for a remake to supersedes it's original film. That said, let me start off this review on a positive note. The 2004 version of "The Manchurian Candidate" is better than the 1962 original, directed by the late great John Frankenheimer. Although some will not agree (this is a bold statement), I will stick strongly by this theory. Moving on...

The film very smoothly adapts from 1962 to 2004. Instead of the Korean war, it's Desert Storm. The story of both versions centrals around a squad stationed in a war, and one guy saving everybody. However, he does not. The government brainwashes him (along with everyone else in the squad), makes him look good for the tabloids and cameras, and gets him to run for vice president, so they can get a "sleeper" into the white house. All this is advised by the guy's mother (once played by Murder She Wrote's Angela Lansbury), a harsh senator with ruthless ambition who bares a striking resemblance to that witch Hilary Clinton. However ,the general of the squad starts having nightmares about what really went on that night in battle, and threatens the future presidency of the "brainwashed" and mind-controlled mamma's boy.

One of Manchurian Candidate's strong points is the crisp adapted script. It drags a little in the middle (I half yawned), but those last fifteen minutes of the film will have you admiring every letter the screenwriters typed onto paper. I won't give away the ending to you, but it will definitely surprise you. There is a lot of thrilling moments in Manchurian Candidate, which lacked in the original 1962 version. The dialogue flows exceptionally well, and the direction provided by Jonathon Demme (director of Silence of the Lambs, and brother to the late Ted Demme) is simply marvelous.

The strongest aspect of Manchurian Candidate is the astounding acting. Meryl Streep definitely gives the performance of the film. She does such an admirable job as a cut throat politician, she makes Academy Award Nominee Martin Sheen's performance int he West Wing look like Keanu Reeves' performance in Little Buhda. Streep will definitely receive her eighth Academy Award Nomination for her work in this (books closed). It's utterly amazing how much better she tackles the role of Eleanor Shaw than Angela Lansbury (although she was very good too), it's INCREDIBLE. Denzel Washington gives a better performance than Frank Sinatra in the original by far, and I have to say I was beyond impressed with Liev Shrieber's career groundbreaking performance as vice president nominee Raymond Prentiss Shaw. Only up until three hours ago did I acknowledge him as one of the best 20-something-year-old actors today. Even though Shrieber isn't as excellent as Laurence Harvey (who originally had the role in the 1962 version), he creates this wonderful in depth character, that only truly talented performers can pull off. If Liev Schrieber plays his cards right he may get his first ever Oscar nomination, along with the (in my opinion) most talented actress of all time, Meryl Streep. Denzel Washington will be skipped for a nomination this year, because his work in this is the least impressive out of the three main players.

The supporting cast is mostly strong, with bit parts played by actors like the Midnight Cowboy himself, Jon Voight, and Dean Stockwell as the president of Manchurian Global, the company funding the mind control of Raymond Prentiss Shaw (Live Shrieber's character). The Golden Globe winning Jeffrey Wright from HBO's acclaimed miniseries Angels in America, does a pitch perfect job as a emotionally distressed soldier dealing with the terrors of war. Miguel Ferrer has a tiny part as a anal retentive a-hole (big surprise there) and Vera Farminga is very creepy as the British scientist behind the ghastly plans of Manchurian Global. The only disappointment of the cast is Kimberly Elise (playing the role of Psycho's Janet Leigh in the 1962 original film). She isn't just not good, she's terrible. She is absolutely awful, and almost every scene she is featured in she ruins the dramatic mood, by her dreadful acting skills. Tom Cruise must have taught her to act. They really could of cast any other twenty-something-year old African-American female to do a better job. Hell, even my dog Prudence could have given a better performance that Kimberly Elise. Even though she is surrounded by enormous amounts of talent, she really shits on the movie whenever she can.

So in closing, I highly recommend The Manchurian Candidate, despite it's minimal flaws. So far, Manchurian Candidate is the best film of the summer. I'm really hoping The Village to be good though, we'll see… (review written 7/30/04) Grade: B+ (screened at AMC Deer Valley 30, Phoenix, Arizona)

MADE MY TOP 300 LIST AT #240: (The 24th Best Film of 2004)

The story may seem far fetched at first, but if you take out the sci-fi stuff, the political context is so very real. The Carlyle group kept coming to my mind throughout the movie. Private Equity is going to be a huge political factor undercutting democracy in the coming decades. The sci-fi part was a bit hard to swallow, though. I also liked the fact that they showed Shaw as an heir to a political dynasty. Again, so very real.

Meryl Streep is just stunning. Her part was played to perfection. And even at this age she's so sexy, it's amazing. she had my hormones going quite a bit. She said in the interview that she modeled her character on a real life person. I suspect that is Karen Hughes, the "power behind the throne" to George Bush.

Denzel is one of the best actors today. He keeps proving it time and again.

The Manchurian Candidate is an interesting movie in my opinion. I did not know what to expect because I have not seen the original and I am not a big fan of movies with political agendas. But the good reviews and the star cast made me eventually check this film out.

This is about a group of soldiers who are kidnapped during the first Gulf War and are brainwashed. They were going to be used for political purposes but not in a good way.

Now the acting is just great. Denzel Washington brings out another wonderful performance. But Meryl Streep carries the movie. She really knows how to be evil.

Overall, this is a interesting film. I was confused during some scenes but that is because I'm not a big political guy. Jonathan Demme made another good movie but not up to par with Silence of the Lambs or Philadelphia. I rate this film 8/10.

I saw this movie last night, not ever seeing the original I didn't know what to expect. I must say that the background pictures on the disk where not so inviting. I started to watch it and I thought it didn't look that bad. My little brother was also watching the movie so didn't want him to go cry all night if he saw something. Another problem was that I rented the movie from a cheep corner store that used their own DVD cases so you couldn't even read the back info. Well, better than nothing. When I first saw the guy talking about the nightmares he had been having was when I started to have second thoughts. Although I continued to watch the movie and I turned out to be a very well done movie. It has a very strong storyline and Washington gave a very strong performance. This is a very are type of thriller, one that leaves a lasting impression on the view without scaring them with inhumane images or heartless story lines. This is an excellent political and psychological thriller, worth renting.

Before i say something about this film i would like to acknowledge Jonathan Demme for not being a as they call them "average Hollywood director". Demme's films are usually thought-provoking as well as provocative, and some may not like that but i give him credit in directing 2 perfect films in Philadelphia and The Silence of the Lambs. As for this film, Manchurian candidate is the story of a vice presidential candidate (Schrieber) and the scandal in which he supposively saved his squadron from an Iraqi ambush, that might not have been what it seemed. A captain (Washington), questions the incident when an old major from that operation (Wright) approaches him and tells him of nightmares he has about what really happened in Kuwait. The film is directed well, although a bit long at times, and had some cliché dialogues, it is written and directed well for the most part. The acting is also quite good, especially Denzel and Meryl Streep who both give great Oscar-caliber performances. Only disappointment for me was Liev Schrieber who i found a little bit wooden and thought that character could have been acted better, also Jon Voigt was a bit wasted, although Jeffrey Wright was great for his little screen-time. All-in-all, not a terribly a original thriller, but is a good one, the writing had some glitches, however i assume the 1962 original was written better, anyhow, my rating is 8/10. #164 on my list of all time favorite films

The original Manchurian Candidate was released in 1962 and not only had I not seen it, I hadn't even heard of it. So, unlike recent releases such as Dawn Of The Dead, The Italian Job and Assault On Precinct 13 I had very little idea what to expect on viewing this film. What you do get is a fine blend of Jacobs Ladder style paranoia, conspiracy and US Government post 9/11 anti-terrorist propaganda.

The assembled cast is second to none, Denzil Washington, Jon Voight, Liev Shreiber are all superb but the star of the show is Meryl Streep as the power crazy, control freak mother/Senator Eleanor Shaw: "Make no mistake, the American people are terrified, they know something's coming, they can feel it" Remind you of anyone?

A top quality cast, fine performance's and a fairly riveting plot make The Manchurian Candidate highly recommended viewing.

Anybody who has a problem with this movie missed the whole point of why this movie was made.

It is more than just entertainment, ITS A MESSAGE.

People want remakes to reignite old emotions YET they cannot see that THIS IS A WARNING

Achieved its objective if you paid attention. People can be manipulated for devious purposes, and some will go to great lengths to s satisfy their hunger for power.

Those who made this had to make sure not to go as far as seeming like it has an agenda more than it had a purpose to show us something.

In the history of remakes (or at least the few dozens I've seen), this is a rare one that is superior to the original. FYI My (very short) list goes like this:

1. Nosferatu (Herzog, 1979)

2. Manchurian Candidate (Demme, 2004)

3. Three's Company (1977 remake of the British sitcom "Man About the House")

Every other remake I've ever seen has stunk. I watched this film expecting it to stink as well, but I was pleasantly surprised. A lot of loose ends, present in the original, were wrapped up neatly in this version. A lot of the plot made more logical sense. The modern context is much more digestible than the standard "faceless Russian commie threat" of the original. The acting of Denzel Washington is superior to that of Frank Sinatra. And although Meryl Streep's portrayal is not quite as chilling as Angela Lansbury's, it's much more believable and practical.

Unless you enter into this movie with a total fanatical prejudice against remakes (which we all have to a certain degree), you will enjoy this film.

As an avid lover of the original 1962 version of The Manchurian Candidate starring Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey and Angela Lansbury I was very, very hesitant to see this But I'm proud to say I was proved wrong, this remake and Adaption of the popular cold war novel is nothing short of breath taking and brilliant.

This 2004 reboot staring Denzel Washington, Liev Schreiber, Meryl Streep and Jon Voight is much more chilling and paranoiac than the '62 version, it pulls absolutely no punches in giving the meaning paranoid suspicions a whole new out look. This film plays on your emotion' s and your thoughts sort of like someone sticking a wire into your ear and poking your brain over and over again. It's like a monkey you've got on your back that you just can't shake. It's diabolical as it is malicious and it moves along like a evil little spider across the screen. Trying to draw you in and take you to a realm of chaos, paranoia, madness and depravity.

Denzel Washington turns in a fine performance as Major Ben Marco and Liev Schreiber does just as well If not better as Raymond Prentiss Shaw, Meryl Streep is a little lacking in the conviction and emotion department and her performance was sort of annoying as the overly patriotic and narcissistic mother of Ray Shaw. Jon Voight does relatively well in the few scenes he's in, but it's nothing Oscar worthy or amazing, but he is good none the less. All in all the cast holds up very well and makes this a very watchable and exceedingly good movie.

The Manchurian Candidate is something of a revelation in movies, It's like your conscious warning you that not everything in life is what it seems. And that people, people you trust with your life or people you know can be manipulated into mind puppets and use for a corrupt and evil system. The moral undertones of this movie were astounding and eye opening, It brings to light whether or not who can be trusted? Or for that matter if where you are right now is even safe? It's a very good political thriller that moves along at a relatively good pace , it's story flows off the screen and embeds itself into your mind like a micro processor that keeps feeding you your worst nightmares over and over and over again until it drives you mad. The Manchurian Candidate is that film, and though it is not the original it does live up to it's reputation well. And on some levels even surpasses it. All in all The Manchurian Candidate is one wild and thought provoking ride you don't want to miss.

*** Denzel Washington, Meryl Streep, Liev Schreiber, Jon Voight, Kimberly Elise, Jeffrey Wright, Ted Levine, and Bruno Ganz. Directed by Jonathan Demme.

Remakes are all the rage now one would assume due to the remake of George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead and Tobe Hooper's old Texas Chainsaw Massacre (A poorly acted and inexpensively made old film). This is a remake of John Frankenheimer's old Manchurian Candidate with Frank Sinatra and Laurence Harvey the old black and white 1962 version is highly different from this one. Ben Marco (Washington) an ex- marine who served in the war the Korean War with Raymond Shaw (Schreiber) has discovered a terrible government conspiracy that involves Raymond. His mother Eleanor Shaw (Streep) has had Ray get mind control device put in him to brain wash him and his other troops to believe that he did something extraordinary at Korea.Now that Ben has found this out he must put a stop to Ray and his mommy before something bad happens. Manchurian Candidate is a brilliant thriller and perfectly done by Jonathan Demme (Silence of the lambs). If you are going to vote this year vote for Manchurian Candidate. A hell of a remake. My rating 8/10.