ign logo IGN.com | AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | GameSpy | FilePlanet | TeamXbox | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | Direct2Drive

RottenTomatoes.com

RT Bug Squash
Home Movies DVD Celebrities News Critics Photos & Trailers The Vine Forums
Box Office | Best Of | Certified Fresh | Showtimes
Register for free site & special features! | Log In | What is RT?
                       
MOVIES / ON DVD / THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE
The Manchurian Candidate

Rate This Movie

Write a Review
Share This Movie
Add to List
Buy Poster

Bookmark and Share

The Manchurian Candidate (2004)

82%
100%
78%
N/A
N/A
N/A
82 %
Reviews Counted: 191 Fresh: 157  Rotten:34 Average Rating: 7.2/10
 
Consensus: While not the classic its predecessor is, this update is well-acted and conjures a chilling resonance. While not the classic its predecessor is, this update is well-acted and conjures a chilling resonance. more
 
Rated: 15
Runtime: 2 hrs 10 mins
Theatrical Release: 19-11-2004
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 hero turned vice presidential nominee, Raymond Shaw (Liev Schreiber). Shaw's old unit... [More]
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 hero turned vice presidential nominee, Raymond Shaw (Liev Schreiber). Shaw's old unit commander Ben Marco (Denzel Washington) recommended him for the National Medal of Honor, though he can't remember exactly why, and his recurring nightmares drive him to uncover a massive conspiracy. Sinister forces at work include shifty-eyed bodyguards, a love interest with questionable motives (Kimberly Elise), and Raymond's domineering senator mother (Meryl Streep). Demme infuses the proceedings with enough paranoia and uncomfortable close-ups to rival his 1991 Oscar-winner, SILENCE OF THE LAMBS. Layered sound, overlapping dialogue, and creepy cinematography by Tak Fujimoto (who also worked on LAMBS) further heighten the uneasiness. Demme regulars Roger Corman, Charles Napier, Paul Lazar, and Tracey Walter show up in bit parts as usual. Comedian Al Franken is a welcome face as a TV correspondent, and quirky indie rocker Robyn Hitchcock plays one of the brainwashing specialists. Needless to say, Denzel is superb. Streep is terrifying and hilarious as the maniacal Mrs. Shaw. As with the original (which focused on communist instead of terrorist fear-mongering), the events depicted here are doubly unsettling considering their uncanny resemblance to real-life politics at the time of this film's theatrical release. [Less]

Genre: Dramas

Starring: Denzel Washington, Liev Schreiber, Meryl Streep, Jon Voight, Kimberly Elise

Director: Jonathan Demme
Screenwriter: George Axelrod, Daniel Pyne, Dean Georgaris
Producer: Scott Rudin, Jonathan Demme, Ilona Herzberg, Tina Sinatra
Composer: Rachel Portman, Wyclef Jean

DVD Info

Release:

Nov 1, 2008

[DVD Details]

HD-DVD Features:

  • Elite Red HD Case
  • Widescreen - 1.85

Audio:

  • Dolby Digital Plus - English
  • DTS 5.1 - English, French, Spanish
  • Subtitles - English, French, Spanish - Optional
  • Closed Captioned - English - Optional

Additional Release Material:

  • Commentaries - 1. Jonathan Demme - Director, Daniel Pyne - Screenwriter
  • Featurettes - 1. Behind the Scenes
  • 2. Deleted/Extended Scenes
  • 3. Outtakes
  • 4. "Liev Schreiber Screen Test: A Political Pundits Feature, with Director Commentary"

Reviews

 
T-Meter Critics
 
 
Top Critics
 
 
RT Community
 
 
My Critics
 
 
My Friends
 
 
DVD
 
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Arrange By: Name | Fresh | Rotten | Date | Source
 
 
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review | Comment
06/24/06 03:30 AM
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

Click to read the article

Full Review | Comment
04/01/06 03:34 AM
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

An intelligent, provocative blockbuster that succeeds on its own merits.

Full Review | Comment
12/07/04 10:15 PM
Stephen Dalton
Sight and Sound
Ratings Image

A polished remake of a 60s classic.

Full Review | Comment
11/16/04 10:26 PM
Nev Pierce
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

Demme’s film is far from perfect and decidedly out-of-date, but it’s a fantastic cast that make this version so successful.

Full Review | Comment
11/14/04 04:24 AM
Joe Utichi
FilmFocus
Ratings Image

Click to read the article

Full Review | Comment
10/23/04 10:27 PM
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon
Ratings Image

This solid thriller only works if you're unfamiliar with the 1962 original, one of the best films ever made.

Full Review | Comment
09/19/04 04:34 AM
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall
Ratings Image

...an above-average contemporary remake...

Full Review | Comment
04/26/08 06:46 AM
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews
Ratings Image

Click to read the article

Full Review | Comment
12/27/07 03:15 AM
Joe Lozito
Big Picture Big Sound
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review | Comment
11/01/07 03:15 AM
David Ansen
Newsweek
Ratings Image

Demme's filmmaking has lost none of its jazz.

Full Review | Comment
09/27/07 05:36 PM
Rob Gonsalves
eFilmCritic.com
Ratings Image

With an inchoate admonition implanted in its aggrieved, post-modern heart, Demme's Manchurian Candidate is blippy and fractured and smeared with color.

Full Review | Comment
09/09/07 07:06 AM
Philip Martin
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Ratings Image

The movie is playing with ideas, and they're important enough to bear thinking about now. What it's playing on are our fears. And they're real enough, and worth addressing.

Full Review | Comment
09/27/06 12:29 PM
Ron Reed
Christianity Today
Ratings Image

This humorless and nonsensical so-called thriller--a total misread of Frankenheimer's classic original--never quite engages...

Full Review | Comment
08/27/06 03:33 PM
Jay Antani
Perihelion Journal
Ratings Image

A superb piece of filmmaking by directing icon Jonathan Demme that surpasses the John Frankenheimer original in ways I didn't think possible.

Full Review | Comment
01/11/06 12:27 AM
Oz
eFilmCritic.com
Ratings Image

Click to read the article

Full Review | Comment
12/06/05 07:42 PM
Film Threat
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

the ending is mother of all disappointments

Full Review | Comment
08/12/05 12:41 PM
Dragan Antulov
Draxblog Movie Reviews
Ratings Image

This is a good old-fashioned thriller, nothing less, and nothing more.

Full Review | Comment
06/21/05 09:20 AM
Bill Clark
FromTheBalcony
Ratings Image

An exhilarating, if politically wishy-washy, modern-day reimagining of Frankenheimer’s gem.

Full Review | Comment
05/04/05 11:53 AM
Nick Schager
Lessons of Darkness
Ratings Image

Click to read the article

Full Review | Comment
04/02/05 10:51 PM
Garth Franklin
Dark Horizons
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
See More Topics...

Related Forums

could have been a lot better
by: thefastcook 4/13


this side of paradise
Absolutely horrible
by: this side of paradise 3/8/07


this side of paradise
Absolutely horrible
by: this side of paradise 3/8/07


this side of paradise
Absolutely horrible
by: this side of paradise 3/8/07


timtak
Mummy in the head. Was it in the original?
by: timtak 12/27/05
all

Pictures

all

Videos

The Manchurian Candidate Trailer
Watch Now >>
all

News

Critical Consensus: "Halls" Spreads Little Cheer; "Déjà Vu" Intrigues; "The Fountain" Overflows; "Pick" Is Mixed
posted by Tim Ryan November 21, 2006
This week at the movies, we've got holiday mischief ("Deck the Halls," starring Matthew Broderick and...


Critical Consensus: "Superman" And "Devil" Are Certified Fresh
posted by Tim Ryan June 29, 2006
This week's wide releases both involve publishing. In "The Devil Wears Prada," the setting is a fashion...


Critical Consensus: "Inside Man" is Certified Fresh, Second Best-Reviewed Wide Release Of
posted by Tim Ryan March 23, 2006
Tension: it's the key to many a film, and this week's wide releases bring three variants on that theme. We've got a...


Splinter Cell to Operate at a New Studio
posted by Gareth J. Von Kallenbach August 15, 2005
Back in December 2004 it was announced that Peter Berg would be helming the videogame adaptation "Splinter...

Around the Network

• The Manchurian Candidate at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Manchurian Candidate at IGN
• The Manchurian Candidate at AskMen
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | ModCenter | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive

By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2008, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.