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The Manchurian Candidate (1962), a review by Antares

The Manchurian Candidate





Year: 1962
Film Studio: United Artists, M.C. Productions
Genre: Suspense/Thriller
Length: 126 Min.

Director
John Frankenheimer (1930)

Writing
Richard Condon (1915)...Novel
George Axelrod (1922)...Screenplay

Producer
George Axelrod (1922)
John Frankenheimer (1930)
Howard W. Koch (1916)

Cinematographer
Lionel Lindon (1905)

Music
David Amram (1930)...Composer

Stars
Frank Sinatra (1915) as Maj. Bennett Marco
Laurence Harvey (1928) as Raymond Shaw
Janet Leigh (1927) as Eugenie Rose Chaney
Angela Lansbury (1925) as Mrs. Iselin
Henry Silva (1928) as Chunjin
James Gregory (1911) as Sen. John Yerkes Iselin
Leslie Parrish (1935) as Jocelyn Jordan
John McGiver (1913) as Sen. Thomas Jordan

Review
       John Frankenheimer had spent his first decade as a director doing live dramas on television, most notably on Playhouse 90. His transition to mainstream film brought him quick acclaim following his success with The Birdman of Alcatraz. The Manchurian Candidate would prove that Frankenheimer would be a force to be reckoned with as a filmmaker and innovator over the next decade of his career. Based on the novel by Richard Condon, the plot revolves around a platoon of G.I.'s captured by the Communists during the Korean War. In a span of just one week they are brainwashed by a Chinese doctor, menacingly portrayed by Khigh Dhiegh, who is best remembered as the sinister Wo Fat from Hawaii 5-O. One of the soldiers (Laurence Harvey) has been programmed to kill on command and the platoon is returned to the front lines, with a pre-planted story to explain their disappearance for the previous week.

       After the war, Major Marco (Frank Sinatra) is having nightmares about the week in captivity, although he has no true memory of the brainwashing. He contacts Sergeant Shaw (Harvey) and learns that another soldier in the platoon has contacted Shaw about similar nightmares. Will Marco unravel the mystery before Shaw is triggered by his Communist handlers to perform the assassination that he has been programmed to complete? You'll have to watch the movie to find the answer.

       One interesting side note; this movie was released just one year before the assassination of President Kennedy, the one time Senator from Massachusetts. In one scene in the film, Shaw (Harvey) as the assassin is in Madison Square Garden prior to a political party convention. As he is walking across the convention floor with his hidden rifle, we can see the placards of the State delegations. It's a tracking shot of Shaw as he makes his way to complete his mission. Just as he passes below the Massachusetts placard and as the other state placards disappear from the shot, the scene changes. Was it prophetic or just coincidence?


Review Criterion4 Stars - Historically important film, considered a classic.

(From The Manchurian Candidate (1962) on July 1st, 2010)

Oz the Great and Powerful, a review by GSyren

Title	Oz the Great and Powerful (8-717418-393489)
Director	Sam Raimi
Actors	James Franco, Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz, Michelle Williams, Zach Braff
Produced	2013 in United States
Runtime	130 minutes
Audio	English DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1, Audio Descriptive Dolby Digital 2-Channel Stereo, Italian DTS 5.1, Russian Dolby Digital 5.1, Other Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles	English, Italian, Other, Lithuanian, Russian, Greek, Estonian, Latvian
Overview
My thoughts
My rating	4 out of 5

(From Reviews and ramblings by Gunnar on August 7th, 2013)

Tom's Glee Marathon, a review by Tom

Glee
Season 1.16 Home
Writer: Ryan Murphy (Created By), Brad Falchuk (Created By), Ian Brennan (Created By), Brad Falchuk (Writer)
Director: Paris Barclay
Cast: Dianna Agron (Quinn Fabray), Chris Colfer (Kurt Hummel), Jessalyn Gilsig (Terri Schuester), Jane Lynch (Sue Sylvester), Jayma Mays (Emma Pillsbury), Kevin McHale (Arty Abrams), Lea Michele (Rachel Berry), Cory Monteith (Finn Hudson), Matthew Morrison (Will Schuester), Amber Riley (Mercedes Jones), Mark Salling (Noah "Puck" Puckerman), Jenna Ushkowitz (Tina Cohen-Chang), Jonathan Groff (Jesse St. James), Kristin Chenoweth (April Rhodes), Mike O'Malley (Burt Hummel), Romy Rosemont (Carole Hudson), Michael Benjamin Washington (Tracy Pendergrass), Naya Rivera (Santana Lopez), Heather Morris (Brittany Pierce), Harry Shum, Jr. (Mike Chang), Dijon Talton (Matt Rutherford), Noel Arthur (Guy), Earnestine Phillips (Nurse), Lauren Potter (Becky Jackson)

In this episode, April returns. And I am already tired of her character. First time around she was fun, now she is just grading.
There is a scene in this episode, where Quinn and Mercedes talk about weight and being home in their bodies. Generally the message they are conveying in this dialogue is great, but I think it is unfortunate, because in my opinion Mercedes should loose some weight to be healthy.

Brittana:
Santana putting her head on Brittany's shoulder during Kurt's song.

Favorite Scenes:
The scenes with Kurt's dad are again the highlight of an episode. The Kurt/Burt/Finn/Carol storyline is the saving grace of the episode.

Notable Songs:
No notable songs. Glee club plays second fiddle to April.

Rating:

(From Tom's Glee Marathon on September 15th, 2012)