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Updating a Cold War thriller to reflect 21st-century geopolitics is tricky business, but director Jonathan Demme reworks Richard Condon’s pulpy page-turner rather neatly, owing to particularly deft scripting and some noteworthy performances. Top-billed Denzel Washington brings feverish intensity to his characterization of Major Ben Marco, a career officer haunted by dreams of his days as a captive during the Gulf War. Everybody knows that Marco was rescued by one of his sergeants, Raymond Shaw (Liev Schreiber), who parlayed his heroism into a distinguished political career that’s earned him his party’s nomination for vice president. Yes, everybody knows -- but is that what really happened? Did Shaw really save his commanding officer, or was he just a pawn in a larger game? Tackling the role played by Frank Sinatra in John Frankenheimer’s 1962 version, Washington makes Marco a borderline paranoiac who risks his career and even his life in an obsessive quest for the truth, and the actor conveys that zeal so convincingly that he’ll give you goose bumps. Schreiber, a sensational actor who seems to have a particular affinity for tightly wound characters, brings maturity and affability to Shaw while at the same time suggesting the inner conflict that threatens to unhinge him. But the real acting honors go to Meryl Streep, whose bravura characterization of Raymond’s mother -- herself a ruthless U.S. senator inflamed with the desire to see her son installed in the White House -- is unlike anything she’s ever done on film. Her scenes crackle with near-demonic energy, and she constantly drags Momma Shaw right to the precipice of believability, only to pull back before going over the edge. Without Communists to pick on, Demme and his screenwriters assign the primary villainy to monstrously large multinational Manchurian Global, and one can easily draw correlations to the current administration's ties to the corporate world. Ultimately, the story may be preposterous, but Demme keeps the tension ratcheted so that you won't notice such things until after the credits roll. Ed Hulse

All Movie Guide

Jonathan Demme directed this updated remake of John Frankenheimer's 1962 cult favorite The Manchurian Candidate, a pioneering examination of political conspiracy and psychological reconditioning. Major Bennett Marco (Denzel Washington) and Sergeant Raymond Shaw (Liev Schreiber) are two soldiers who served in the same company during Operation Desert Storm, but their paths following their tours of duty have been very different. Shaw, the son of powerful congresswoman Eleanor Shaw (Meryl Streep), has used his reputation as a war hero to quickly scale the ladder of American politics, and with the help of his mother earns the Vice Presidential nomination. Marco, on the other hand, has been troubled with mental illness, and is convinced that something strange happened to him and his compatriots during the war. As Marco struggles to find the truth behind his nightmares and emotional torment, he unearths some disturbing facts about how his mind and body have been reworked by shadowy forces, as well as those of his fellow soldiers -- including Raymond Shaw. Featuring a stellar supporting cast (including Jon Voight, Miguel Ferrer, Ted Levine, and Dean Stockwell), The Manchurian Candidate credits George Axelrod's screenplay for the 1962 film as its source, as opposed to Richard Condon's 1959 novel from which Axelrod adapted his script. Mark Deming

Los Angeles Times

The strength of sensational material joined to excellent acting, superior filmmaking and uncanny political relevance has made The Manchurian Candidate into exceptionally intelligent entertainment and a high point of director Jonathan Demme's career. Kenneth Turan

Product Details

• UPC: 097363368946
• Source: PARAMOUNT
• Region Code: 1
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Language: English
• Editions: Special Edition
• Time: 2:09:00
• Sales Rank: 15,156

This DVD is also available as part of a box set:

• Into the Wild/Virtuosity/Manchurian Candidate

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