“The Manchurian Candidate” is a the story of a Gulf War veteran experiencing terrible nightmares. He begins to doubt that his fellow squad member, now a candidate for U. S. Vice President, is the hero that people remember him being. The political and psychological drama continues from there, well-assembled by director Jonathan Demme (“Married to the Mob” 1988) with the lucid screenplay penned by Daniel Pyne and Dean Georgaris. It was adapted from the 1959 novel by Richard Condon and the 1962 film directed by John Frankenheimer and penned by George Axelrod.
The cast turned out solid performances including Denzel Washington in the lead role of Marco, Liev Schreiber as his V. P. candidate friend, Meryl Streep as Schreiber’s U. S. Senator mother, and Jon Voight as another U. S. Senator. (Schreiber and Voight were later reunited on the popular television series “Ray Donovan,” 2013-2020.) The supporting cast includes Kimberly Elise, Vera Farmiga, Jeffrey Wright, Simon McBurney, Miguel Ferrer, Dean Stockwell, Ann Dowd, Anthony Mackie, Charles Napier, and Jude Ciccolella. Cameo appearances were made by Gayle King, Al Franken, Sidney Lumet, Anna Deavere Smith, Roy Blount Jr., and independent movie director Roger Corman as the Secretary of State.
“The Manchurian Candidate” was only a modest success at the box office for producers Tina Sinatra and Jonathan Demme, Scott Rudin Productions, and Paramount Pictures. Sinatra’s father, Frank Sinatra, portrayed Washington’s role of Bennett Marco in the original 1962 production, and also owned the film’s distribution rights. The novel and 1962 film storyline was set in the Korean War with a Cold War background.
The Manchurian Candidate (2004)
cinema
My Review
“The Manchurian Candidate” is a the story of a Gulf War veteran experiencing terrible nightmares. He begins to doubt that his fellow squad member, now a candidate for U. S. Vice President, is the hero that people remember him being. The political and psychological drama continues from there, well-assembled by director Jonathan Demme (“Married to the Mob” 1988) with the lucid screenplay penned by Daniel Pyne and Dean Georgaris. It was adapted from the 1959 novel by Richard Condon and the 1962 film directed by John Frankenheimer and penned by George Axelrod.
The cast turned out solid performances including Denzel Washington in the lead role of Marco, Liev Schreiber as his V. P. candidate friend, Meryl Streep as Schreiber’s U. S. Senator mother, and Jon Voight as another U. S. Senator. (Schreiber and Voight were later reunited on the popular television series “Ray Donovan,” 2013-2020.) The supporting cast includes Kimberly Elise, Vera Farmiga, Jeffrey Wright, Simon McBurney, Miguel Ferrer, Dean Stockwell, Ann Dowd, Anthony Mackie, Charles Napier, and Jude Ciccolella. Cameo appearances were made by Gayle King, Al Franken, Sidney Lumet, Anna Deavere Smith, Roy Blount Jr., and independent movie director Roger Corman as the Secretary of State.
“The Manchurian Candidate” was only a modest success at the box office for producers Tina Sinatra and Jonathan Demme, Scott Rudin Productions, and Paramount Pictures. Sinatra’s father, Frank Sinatra, portrayed Washington’s role of Bennett Marco in the original 1962 production, and also owned the film’s distribution rights. The novel and 1962 film storyline was set in the Korean War with a Cold War background.