A case of smart and talented people trying to jam a Cold War square into a Gulf War circle.
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07/30/04
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The Manchurian Candidate (2004)
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Reviews Counted:195
Fresh:159
Rotten:36
Average Rating:7.2/10
Consensus: While not the classic its predecessor is, this update is well-acted and conjures a chilling resonance.
Theatrical Release:Jul 30, 2004 Wide
Box Office: $65,898,487
Synopsis: Jonathan Demme updates the original 1962 John Frankenheimer classic with plenty of new paranoid twists: This time a sinister Halliburton-style corporation is behind the brainwashing of a Gulf War... [More]
Starring: Liev Schreiber, Meryl Streep, Denzel Washington, Jon Voight
Director: Jonathan Demme
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Reviews for The Manchurian Candidate
Top CriticA fine and thought-provoking film in its own right.
07/30/04
This one plays more like a contemporary techno-thriller with ultra-clammy '70s conspiracy thriller overtones, and Demme milks the atmosphere of pervasive, sleep-deprived dread beautifully.
07/30/04
Top CriticWhile Demme's Manchurian Candidate may be unnecessary, it's a worthy homage to the original; lacking the first film's spark but containing smarts of its own.
07/30/04
The remake shakes down as a conventionally plotted thriller. It's the performances that make it exceptional.
07/30/04
Top CriticFrankenheimer's film was prophetic of the Age of Assassinations. Demme's is a warmed-over casserole of anxiety.
07/30/04
Demme's variation on Condon's work emerges as little more than a craftsmanlike film with occasional flashes of intelligence and brilliance.
07/30/04
As welcome and as frightening today as it was when Frank Sinatra played Washington's role in the '62 version.
07/30/04
A movie that's not only unnecessary but distressingly inactive and prone to the preposterous.
07/30/04
Given a story with meat and purpose and importance, Demme delivers a masterfully cast and smartly constructed film of devastating effectiveness.
07/30/04
A crackerjack thriller, full of great performances and different enough from its source material to keep educated viewers on their toes.
07/30/04
Still works as a scary thriller, and if this version no longer seems absurdly impossible -- well, that's scarier still.
07/30/04
Top CriticIn movie heaven, the original is still the one for all time. Still, this update is remarkable for its performances, resolve and timeliness, and could well revive the snoozing political-thriller genre.
07/30/04
Top CriticMaybe half the film the original was. But in the current movie climate, half a classic is nothing to sneer at.
07/30/04
The less one knows or remembers about the original, the more likely Demme's The Manchurian Candidate will work its chilling, thrilling magic.
07/30/04
So how does Demme's version stand up just on its own? Reasonably well.
07/30/04
An even more powerful comment on its time than the movie on which it's based.
07/30/04
Top CriticThe rare remake that takes on its own times and spirit. It's not better than the original -- in some areas it's weaker -- but it is its own movie.
07/30/04
It should come as no surprise that the real scene-stealer here is Streep, who appears to be paying tribute to Angela Lansbury's performance in the original, as well as mimicking Hillary Rodham Clinton.
07/30/04
This is an intelligent and detailed work, full of fine performances.
07/30/04
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