Surprisingly, it turned out to be a very good film. And a global conspiracy and saving the greatness of the American nation. No matter how tired it is, but the film is quite good. Even for 2020. I recommend it. There is nothing about the coronavirus ;
Still "Manchurian Candidate" Jonathan Demme from the series of films that are especially good for perception in adolescence or young age, when meticulously personal impressions of world conspiracies and secret experiments can reach light colossal proportions. I can’t imagine how this is possible, because people live in a civilized world. Even if this happens in their great America, it remains to be dull.
But as you get older and feel the world, you look at another variation of large-scale crimes with a smile or humor. In principle, you can not refuse entertainment. The remake of the classic film with Larushka Misha Skikne liked it more because there are no random elements in the history. Everything has a reason, every character has a motivation. For example, the appearance in the plot of a black saleswoman next to Denzel Washington.
As if by accident a phrase, a train, an invitation to visit your home. And then, you know, it turns out that Vasya is Absent today. Unlike the classics on the front line, only a senator mother and a war hero son without fathers, stepfathers and fathers for rent. Although, ah, the conflict between relatives was more acutely felt in the black and white film. In such a relationship between Meryl Streep and Liv Schreiber, the writers decided to add even an inappropriate nuance. Close your eyes.
So modern history is more cheerful, sharper and more creepy. Paranoia captures the main character completely. It's hard for everyone to relax in the bathroom. In general, this is one of the varieties of modern phobias, when the desired fear appears groundlessly. I want, and, less glow in different institutions, leave data in forms, share with the phone number with the organizers of the action. You can't hide anyway. The houses will be reached by any means necessary. "Black Mirror."
The Manchurian Candidate has a pretty strong ending. Sooner or later, the game of cat and mouse had to end. Heroes Denzel Washington and Liv Schreiber were tightly in a losing position, but Americans will always find a way out of any situation. Therefore, a bright good movie that you can watch one evening to remember your youth and naive attitude to the world. And to see the young Vera Farmiga, which is fresh.
The remake of the 1962 film, directed by John Frankenheimer, somewhat alters the original picture and novel by Richard Condon, because the main villains there were Soviet soldiers who set their experiments, and here, in the film with Denzel Washington in the title role, the fate of the bad guys is assigned to the Iraqis. Needless to say, time dictates its conditions. One way or another, the plot of “Manchurian Candidate” is not very different from what was released more than 50 years ago.
Operation Desert Storm. A platoon of American soldiers is ambushed and Sgt. Raymond Shaw (Liv Schreiber) rescues all his comrades, single-handedly dealing with the enemy. A hero, no other way. Shaw receives a medal, encouraged by his mother-senator a few years later goes into politics. It seems that life has succeeded and Shaw has something to dream about and strive for. Only those whom he saved doubt that the events of the night when the platoon was ambushed were exactly as they were imprinted in their memory. As if from the distant past, memories pop up in their heads that make it clear that the participants in those actions were kidnapped by a mysterious enemy. Similar memories have settled in the head of detachment commander Ben Marco (Denzel Washington), who is trying to unravel the mystery of his dream and understand who this Raymond Shaw really is. A hero or a traitor?
Personally, I consider Manchurian Candidate 2004 one of the best films in the directorial career of Jonathan Demme, who died in April 2017. The first place in the best works is the Silence of the Lambs, the second is Philadelphia, the third is the Manchurian Candidate. Let the director and embodied on the screen what was already filmed before him, still make a remake, and one that will be good and watchable, you must be able to. Demme showed that he can do it.
The Manchurian Candidate, as the political detective it is, develops in a leisurely manner, occasionally encouraging audience interest with vivid scenes relating to murders, shootings, or anything else. Despite this, it is interesting to watch the movie, because the plot contributes to this, and the cast has it, and the intrigue is so twisted that the person who included the “Candidate” can’t wait to see how global the plan that came up / and the villain / and is.
In addition to Washington and Schreiber, the film was attended by Hollywood acting guru Meryl Streep and John Voight, and also starred in supporting roles of Jeffrey Wright, Vera Farmiga and Anthony Mackie.
The subject that is raised in the "Manchurian Candidate" is very interesting and certainly takes place. In the war, as you know, all means are good and various techniques to improve the qualities of their soldiers in films were played out more than once. In The X-Files, for example, in the first season, there was a series in which former members of the Vietnam War cut out a piece of brain so that they could not sleep and were ready to go into battle regardless of the time of day. Subordination of the will of people to themselves and their plans, roughly speaking, zombification and programming for the implementation of certain actions is a topic that could be developed in cinema and enjoyed great success. In particular, in the genre of political thriller or detective. Something similar, by the way, is played in the “Big Game” with the participation of Ben Affleck and Russell Crowe.
The modern development of science, technology and medicine makes it possible to do something like this, subordinating the will of a person or a group of people and, to be honest, watching it through feature films, becomes somewhat creepy from the fact that something like this will ever happen or is already happening somewhere. If one day you can stop being your own boss, what can you do and will you remember it or regret it?
The substitution of memories in general is inherent in the human brain: something in memory is erased and goes away irretrievably, something takes a slightly different shade over time, but what is shown in the Candidate looks like a deliberate distortion of events in order to achieve their interests through a long and ingeniously conceived plan.
But look at you. I do not impose my opinion on anyone.
To shoot remakes of certain paintings has always been a matter of extreme gratitude. After all, almost always, fans give out odes to the original tapes and willingly crucify numerous remakes. Especially if it’s the “Manchurian Candidate” of John Frankenheimer, who, even 64 years after his release on the wide screens, willingly holds the laurels of immortal classics. Classics, which are willingly reviewed and quoted not only by ordinary viewers, but also by eminent directors. So to surpass the original film directed by John Frankenheimer, alas, the Oscar-winning director Jonathan Demma failed, but to shoot a really strong and original project - with ease.
As long as there is a world, there is as much talk in society about numerous conspiracy theories and other hidden from prying eyes games of governments and the powerful world of everything. Secretly and covertly manipulating the lives of mere mortals and worse. All of this came up in a decent number of different films. But the director Jonathan Demme approached this topic in a different way. Not without the influence of the original film by John Frankenheimer.
The creators of the tape made several visible changes. In particular, replacing the Korean War with an equally controversial war in the history of the American state - Operation Desert Storm. At the same time, retaining all the main plot directions and moves of the original film by John Frankenheimer. But despite this, the film willingly looks with great interest and fading heart.
Skillfully manipulating the emotions and consciousness of the audience, the director of the film Jonathan Demme built on the screen a truly magnificent example of a political and detective thriller. Moreover, only increasing the intensity of passion and pressure from each new scene. In many ways, due to a truly filigree and skillfully built atmosphere, which literally turns out to be a concentration of tension, sharpness and complete suspense. Willfully reinforcing the impression of magnificently staged and implanted in the narrative scenes of crazy nightmares performed in the best traditions of “Jacob’s Staircase” by Adrian Lyne.
The story itself develops in the best traditions of the detective canvas and fully promotes the theme of conspiracy theories and “brainwashing” on the screen. Thus, holding to the last intrigue as to whether the theory of the protagonist of the picture is true, or is it all the result of his insane consciousness? The culmination of the picture turned out to be truly strong, shocking and provoking many thoughts.
Special attention deserves a truly magnificent cast. Denzel Washington masterfully played his role and fully revealed himself on screen as a dramatic actor. Literally blurring the lines between reality and the madness of his character. Maryl Streep, who, in principle, does not know how to play poorly, and once again proves this with her magnificently played character. Not bad at all, Liv Schreiber. Even if it seems that he could not open to full force. Happily pleased with the presence in the picture of such actors as Jeffrey Wright, John Voight, Kimberly Elise and Vera Farmiga. Even in second roles and rather as a decoration of the picture.
8 out of 10
The Manchurian Candidate is a truly magnificent example of a political and detective thriller. Significantly inferior to its more famous predecessor, but nevertheless causing only the most positive impressions when viewing. Heavy, intriguing and exciting film that keeps in suspense at the very end and becomes an impressive food for thought.
Continuing the marathon of film reviews with Denzel Washington.
I remember very well when I sat down for the first time to familiarize myself with the filmography of Denzel Washington, The Manchurian Candidate seemed to me the most obscure film of all its huge filmography. And this feeling remained until recently, when I again decided to reconsider.
Now I can say that he is not so cloudy, rather cloudy. It’s just that the story itself, the underlying film, which in turn is a novel by Richard Condon, is quite complex and confusing, but at the same time no less interesting. The difficulty lies in such a topical, but rarely raised theme in cinema as "Brainwashing", which makes the film itself difficult to watch. The very idea of what can be created, such as this "candidate", and then ... (I will not spoil), of course, deserves the attention of the audience and their interest. The film is in no hurry to lay out all the cards on the table, and as if playing with the viewer, gradually, piecemeal unravels a complex and unusual story, where over time everything falls into place. It may be a bit boring to watch the movie at first, but as soon as there are any outlines of the devil happening here with these poor soldiers, you no longer notice how unceasingly you follow everything that happens on the screen.
"Manchurian Candidate" it is difficult to call a film aimed at a wide mass of viewers, and probably such a goal, during the creation of the picture, the authors did not set themselves. In this regard, there is nothing that the modern mass viewer likes, but there is everything else. A good, unusual and really strong story, in fact, this is the strongest plus of the picture, as well as an excellent cast.
In this film, it is difficult to single out any particular actor. Here everyone played very cool, creating an interesting acting ensemble on the screen. I will not say anything about Denzel Washington, as is usually cool. I’ll say a few words about the others. Liv Schreiber It’s really cool. For some reason in this film and in this role, Schreiber looked damn convincing and organic. Maryl Streep caused a lot of conflicting emotions with her character, and the ending of the film, and therefore, the ending of the story of her character turned out as it should be. The truth here is no longer emotions, everything is right and fair.
In general, for those who wander on the Internet in search of films with an interesting plot and their excellent implementation, the “Manchurian Candidate” should not be overlooked, because this is a really interesting political and psychological thriller.
7 out of 10
The Manchurian Candidate is a 2004 American, fantasy, political, detective thriller directed by Jonathan Demme. The film turned out to be unusual, foggy with a double bottom. I was frightened by the history of this picture, because if you assume that this can be in fact, it is scary, and such top-secret secrets can only be in one country - America.
We see a sergeant who saved his squad in the war. His mother is a well-known and powerful senator. She promotes her son as a candidate for the highest political level, and he is loved by the people, but no one knows what terrible secrets are hidden behind it. The soldiers who served with this hero have nightmares, and there is a terrible assumption that everything was on the battlefield as they remember that they were brainwashed by a doctor of the American government.
The film is disturbing and profound. He immerses the viewer in his tense story, in the abyss, and when watching you realize that this is a double-bottom movie and the mystery will soon be revealed. The film is political, but it is not boring and does not inspire anguish like films of this genre. His story is powerful and violent, murky and shocking. Denzel Washington is a talented American actor, and I’ve loved him for a long time. Denzel plays clean and believable, and along with his character, the viewer is immersed in this unbearable story, the finale of which will be shocking. Liv Schreiber is a hardworking actor who takes on any role and dreams of deserved fame. He also played well and conveyed all the incomprehensibility and doubts of his hero, who became a pawn in a large-scale political game. What impressed me about this film was Meryl Streep. She's an amazing actress and woman. She always plays clean and enthusiastic, and I want to watch her all the time. Meryl is not afraid of roles, and with this negative role coped with hurrah, shocking the viewer with several moments related to incest. Meryl, you're always great! In small roles, it was nice to see Vera Farmiga and Angelina Jolie's father John Voight.
“The Manchurian Candidate” is not for everyone, it is for those who love disturbing, ambivalent stories, the outcome of which is impossible to predict.
This movie scared me.
This strange type of Jonathan Demme: for the time being, few people know about his paintings, but he suddenly finds himself in the chair of the commander-in-chief in the production of “Silence of the Lambs” and with this psychological thriller triumphantly marches at the Oscars award ceremony and still “Silence of the Lambs” – a classic film. It was difficult to keep the bar taken unexpectedly for many, but three years later he again explodes the cinema with applause with the social drama “Philadelphia”. Of course, the actors took part in this success of the director’s films, but still competently providing them with territory for searching and expressing the image is an important merit of the director. And now it's time for Demme to return eleven years later with a picture that will again attract the attention of both audiences and critics - a remake of the film "The Candidate from Manchuria" in 1962, based on the novel by Richard Condon with Frank Sinatra himself in the title role.
Having slightly revised the plot, those who were familiar with the original are now transferred to the layer of the plot basis not for the Korean War, but for the war in Iraq during Operation Desert Storm. As for the fact that Demme again attracted viewers to his film, it was due to the participation in the shooting of Denzel Washington (by the way, who worked with the director in Philadelphia) and Meryl Streep. Such a tempting video with the genre of a post-war thriller could not go unnoticed and yet this tape, unfortunately, is a head weaker than the works I mentioned by Demme.
What's that got to do with it? Initially, this is the choice of the main character. This is not about Denzel Washington, because another main character was supposed to be the hero of Liv Schreiber. The actor has a nice appearance, just such that he can play politicians and suddenly he does it out of hand. No matter how they tried to push from the screen that his hero is a symbol of America, it was so hard to believe that I did not believe it at all. Schreiber clearly did not understand the dual image of his character, that very soon there was confusion, where he was a dramatic hero, a victim of circumstances, and where the evil alter-ego burst out of him. By all indications it became clear - Schreiber hardly manages to embody the image and soon he turns into a static unit.
Much less criticism earned Denzel Washington and Meryl Streep, but they and the actors of the first tier, the megastars of Hollywood Olympus, but even their efforts were not enough to pull the picture to a high level. In the course of the action, the tape clearly sagged, there was a lack of stability, tension, and in scenes of memorable brightness. Perhaps, I can remember only a couple of these scenes that fully correspond to a strong thriller: a silent scene when Meryl Streep, playing the mother of Liv Schreiber, subduing him, looks at him with an obviously unambiguous hint, and in the finale to the rattling music show us that the triumph of justice is not always so legal, and what the finale was – you will find out for yourself, if you still want to see the “Manchurian Candidate”.
Not all fans of the genre will be satisfied with what they see, but they can still watch it, as well as fans of the actors involved in the film, although they are also unlikely to call the role of favorites in it one of the best, as well as the picture itself.