With contemporary politicians unwisely flirting with "anti-American" Cold War language in their headline-grabbing rants, THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE exposes such extreme rhetoric as vapid wordplay compared to the film's gripping, darkly satiric content on the subject. Frankenheimer and screenwriter George Axelrod creatively transfer Condon's cracking novel to the screen in an adaptation that's politically savvy and dramatically suspenseful on levels few films have attempted before or since. For a story so specific to its time of post-1950s unrest in American culture — the national psyche still reeling from the hysteria of Joseph McCarthy's Congressional witch hunts yet suffering from relentless unease over mounting US-Russian tensions — the film owes much of its longevity to its unflinching exploration of the vulnerable human mind and fragile heart enduring such trials. The fickle waves of politics may ebb and flow across our nation, but Axelrod and Frankenheimer root their excellent adaptation in the tragic rise and fall of a Korean War veteran betrayed by those he trusts most: an everyman who succumbs to the voices of political paranoia undermining his own morals for the sake of power.
 Laurence Harvey plays Raymond Shaw, the captured Army solider brainwashed by Korean and Soviet operatives into serving as a covert assassin under their control and returned to America as a Medal of Honor war hero. The brilliance of Harvey's performance shines due to his uncanny talent for skating the line between battle-damaged victim and cold-hearted misanthrope. Then his his utter transformation into a whole, happy man when in love with Jocelyn Jordan (ever alluring Leslie Parrish) becomes all the more enjoyable and heartbreaking. As Shaw's fellow soldier, Frank Sinatra delivers one of his finest screen performances as Major Bennett Marco, another brainwashing survivor who struggles with nightmares which revisit their mentally-repressed programming by Communist agents. Marco engages in some troubling detective work, slowly peeling away the layers of his own damaged mind to recall how Shaw and their squad were retrained to become enemies to their own state as guiltless murderers.
 A brilliant casting stroke maximizes the nature of Shaw's mother Eleanor Shaw Iselin, a domineering Lady Macbeth of the Beltway wielding her ruthless influence on the upcoming presidential election. Angela Lansbury earned an Academy Award nomination and won the Golden Globe for her chilling portrayal of Eleanor, a master manipulator of both her son and amoral husband, Senator John Iselin (James Gregory), whom she exploits coldly in her quest for power. As her Eastern accomplices, Khigh Dhiegh as Dr. Lo and and Albert Paulsen as Zilkov make cinema's most delightful and insidious Commie agents, perfectly capturing Condon's edge of geopolitical satire while imposing quite subversive menace as supporting villains. Henry Silva adds danger as the Army squad's betrayer imported to pose as Shaw's valet to monitor the unwitting asset. In a role which still provokes conspiracy theories, Janet Leigh meets Sinatra's Marco on a train to New York, quickly insinuating herself in his life. Their awkwardly-worded introduction led viewers to suspect her character as a Commie spy tweaking Marco's mind, engaging a fun guessing game throughout the film.
From the surreal scene of Shaw and his troops being programmed at a ladies gardening club to the film's suspenseful climax, THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE boasts a string of clever plot twists and surprising revelations without sinking to cliched gimmicks, enough indeed to hold viewers' attentions captive for decades now. Whether you're a devoted fan or a new initiate to Frankenheimer's masterful Cold War classic, don't miss adding this Blu-ray edition for your video library.
BLU-RAY PRESENTATION
This Blu-ray release preserves the film's original 1.75:1 widescreen aspect ratio, so you may notice very slight 'pillarboxing' on the sides, depending on your HDTV's penchant for overriding this effect for full 16x9 (1.78:1) viewing. Minute technicalities aside, Lionel Lidon's cinematography gets the respect its due in a transfer that delivers inky, rich black levels without blowing out the highlights. Contrast levels and monochromatic tones remain largely consistent through the film, though some scenes vary considerably in their source scenes. Generally this 1080p resolution shows off the detail depths of Lidon's shot framing, excepting one notable take on Sinatra's attempt to deprogram Shaw in which the actor is woefully out of focus (Frankenheimer opted to include this take due to the actor's unrepeatable performance in it), and audiences swept up in the scene went so far as to attribute this production error as a deliberate stylistic choice symbolizing Shaw's hypnotized point-of-view. Suffice it to say this is the best THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE has looked in decades, and certainly since its 2004 DVD release.
Likewise, the film received an English 5.1 Dolby Digital enhancement of its original audio soundtrack in 2004, which is now bumped up into a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix for Blu-ray presentation. While this brings the film's audio quality into the digital HD era, the source film's deliberately stark, impacting soundtrack isn't the logical candidate for such powerful surround sound design. Still this mix gives the production some added sound field depth just to give your side/back channels some attention, and thankfully the audio wasn't overmixed to distract from the visuals and main channels' impact. Otherwise dialogue remains sharply defined overall, and moments like Marco's karate fight with Chunjin play out dynamically considering the source material's sound design and age. It may not be the most impressive lossless DTS-HD audio track you'll play, but it definitely helps avoid dating the film as a flat-eared experience.
BLU-RAY BONUS FEATURES
While originally produced for the DVD release, viewers will still enjoy six standard-definition Bonus Features offering some rare interviews with the filmmakers and cast which are indeed treasures capturing behind-the-scenes info reflecting on THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATES' lasting appeal:
The Audio Commentary by John Frankenheimer raises the bar for such feature-length tracks as the director expertly blends discussion of his film's difficult production genesis, details of on-set memories with the cast, and larger story themes which he and writer George Axelrod explored both in and out of Condon's novel. Frankenheimer's commentary is a prime example of how insightful such audio bonus features can be, adding depth to the viewing experience for audiences eager to expand their understanding of a film already deemed great on its own artistic merits. It's certainly a standout commentary among films produced in the 1960s and enjoying longevity on home video in the 21st century. Watch and enjoy the film itself first, but don't skip this commentary track on a subsequent viewing.
Another gem in the collection is the rare 1988 Interview with Frank Sinatra, George Axelrod and John Frankenheimer, an eight-minute chat between the three collaborators who each played crucial roles in getting THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE produced. While the stories they share with each other may be oft-told tales of their experience, viewers may be startled how informal and unlike their conversation is compared to today's slickly produced electronic press kit videos. Star, screenwriter and director document their stories and opinions reflecting on the film while exchanging well-earned compliments for their work in a format which seems utterly raw by current EPK standards.
Angela Lansbury takes center stage in a slightly more contemporary featurette Queen of Diamonds, a 2004 reflection by the actress on her experiences and approach to playing Eleanor Shaw Iselin in the film. Only three years older than Laurence Harvey yet cast to play his mother, Lansbury discusses how she exhibited Eleanor's age through physical and mental attitude from the character without any reliance on makeup to enhance her appearance. Perhaps most interesting is Lansbury's revelations about how she approached playing one of the most evil females in motion picture history while keeping the character identifiable and believable to audiences.
A Little Solitaire is a thirteen-minute love letter from film director William Friedkin, expressing his admiration for the THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE's filmmaking team and cast, speaking from his own wealth of knowledge about the movie. His praise is blended with some point-on analysis of the film's genesis from Condon's novel through Frankenheimer and Axelrod's own interpretation of this dark satire. Pay close attention to Friedkin's insights on Raymond Shaw's character and deep-seated traumatic issues regarding women, which peel back yet another layer of this great film's complexity.
Two brief segments follow: How to Get Shot is a light-hearted, truncated outtake with Lansbury from her larger featurette discussing her technique to simulate the shocking action in the film's climax. Likewise, Phone Call is merely a humorous 'blooper' cut from Friedkin's interview during which an office phone rings, and he plays it off as if that's his Manchurian cue to play a game of Solitaire. Why Friedkin's talking about staging an opera, we may never know.
Lastly, the Bonus Features include the film's original Theatrical Trailer, which in itself is a nifty time capsule of how feature films were marketed and sold to audiences in the early 1960s. A narration-free montage of film clips, title cards and graphics, the trailer boasts "when you've seen it all, you'll swear there's never been anything like it." A couple of loose movie connections worth noting: compare how the trailer's graphic design bears a strong resemblance to those of the titles for Sidney Lumet's Cold War thriller FAIL-SAFE released in 1964, and viewers with sharp ears may notice that the trailer uses one cue from a stock music library track that also appears in the score of George Romero's 1968 horror classic NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD.
REVIEW SUMMARY
A testament to its lasting greatness, THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE remains an undeniably controversial and influential political thriller and social satire even in the 21st Century. While the historical contexts may change and the candidate names vary, this film's outrageous fictions also underscore some currents still running deep in American politics, keeping it as relevant today as it ever was. Better still, it's a gripping dramatic thriller which keeps viewers on the edge of their couches from its nightmarish set-up to its shocking finale. Fox/MGM's Blu-ray edition available now polishes up the renowned cinematic merits of THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE, allowing John Frankenheimer's Cold War gem to shine now and for years to come. FilmEdge happily gives this Blu-ray edition our highest 5-star rating for its best-yet presentation of an American movie classic and its vintage bonus features which so rarely collects many of the principal players who fought to bring this film to the screen.
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