We have seen many remakes (or revisions) over the years and every time another surfaces so does a certain degree of skepticism. "It can't be better than the original" and "They're letting that Director work on it?" tend to be common complaints among fans. Fortunately in the case of The Manchurian Candidate the naysayers were proved wrong and though the 2004 release may not better than the 1962 original it is still an entertaining and through-provoking movie.

Directed by Jonathan Demme (Silence of the Lambs) the 2004 Manchurian Candidate brings many changes to the table but doesn't really compromise (much) on the quality. In the 1962 film the original cast included Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey, and Angela Lansbury as the big three. In the 2004 version Denzel Washington, Liev Schreiber, and Meryl Streep play as those same exact characters. Those three are arguably not on the same level as the original trio but they do a respectable job just the same.

The biggest change that is in Demme's version involves the plot. Originally the big brainwashing threat was from communism but in Demme's version it is from a company called Manchurian Group. Other changes are afoot but I won't get too involved because I don't like to spoil things. At any rate the 2004 Manchurian Candidate is a fun redo for fans of the original and newcomers alike.

During the Gulf War Ben Marco (Denzel Washington) is entrenched and leading his men through potentially hostile territory one night. His squad is ambushed and they fall victim to the onslaught, except one man. Raymond Shaw (Shreiber) single handedly fights off the enemy unit and rescues his fellow soldiers. This act of heroism earns Shaw all sorts of medals and makes him a national hero on the political stage.

Years later Shaw is gunning for the Vice Presidency and finds himself on the winning side of that battle as well. This is mostly thanks to the silver tongue devil he calls a mother, Senator Eleanor Shaw (Streep) but partly because he's a smooth talker and can work a crowd. Marco, however, has seen better days. He spends his life alone in an apartment reminiscing about the glory days and how his life was saved by Shaw. One day he bumps into one of his old soldiers who spouts off about having weird dreams with visions and whatnot. This begins a spiral of events that extend beyond Marcos control and leaves him to discover implants and question his own sanity.

Marco's entire squad had been brainwashed and for some reason they are all led to believe that Shaw was the greatest guy of all time. Terrifying flashbacks and fake memories begin to surface through Marco as he goes out of his way to discover the truth about what happened. This once proud soldier has been reduced to a gibbering malcontent who comes across as being a few bananas short of a bunch. Marco's transformation and journey of discovery are what makes Manchurian Candidate so memorable.

Unfortunately I found the ending of the film to be kind of contrived. I get that parts of it were inevitable and that it had to follow a certain path but it didn't feel like there was much of a climax to the picture. Things get wrapped up for sure but things along the way just didn't click with me. Even so I have to say that Demme's version of The Manchurian Candidate isn't entirely bad even though it carries a few flaws. Sure it's not quite as good as the original but as a revision I suppose it really doesn't have to be. Flaws aside this is still a prominent thriller where paranoia is the plot's number one enemy.

The Manchurian Candidate is presented on Blu-ray with a 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer. The disc also retains a full 1080p High Definition output with MPEG-2 compression on a 50GB disc. The end result is a picture that looks comparable to, and only slightly better than, the HD-DVD release in many regards.

The transfer remains sharp and clean the entire way through with flaws being mostly attributed to the source material. In many scenes there is a bit of seemingly intended film grain and softness that can be kind of distracting when you get right down to it. Shadows also don't have the depth that you would expect them to and because of this many sequences come across more muted than they should be. Contrast is another area where the movie alternates its presentation. Some scenes look vibrant while others have a desaturated appearance. Like I said, these tidbits felt like they were intended as part of the aesthetic but the end result leaves The Manchurian Candidate not looking as sharp as other high definition releases.

As far as the audio for The Manchurian Candidate is concerned there are two 5.1 tracks available here: Dolby Digital and DTS. With a higher bit-rate the DTS track was arguably the better of the two with more presence on the soundstage. Granted the diversity of both tracks was a little on the lacking side but there were times that the rear channels gave off a decent sense of immersion. Paranoid thrillers really need to draw you in and The Manchurian Candidate only does that in a few particular instances. This is still a decent sounding disc but just like the video quality you won't find yourself testing your system to this one.

It's always nice to see a Blu-ray disc with bonus material even if it has just been ported over from the standard DVD release of the feature. In the case of The Manchurian Candidate we get quite a few meaty morsels that are worth taking a gander at.

An Audio Commentary is included with Director Jonathan Demme and Screenplay Co-writer Daniel Pyne. Both commentators bring a lot to this track and provide a lot of information regarding the filming of this movie. Their insight and banter keeps it entertaining the whole way through which is a rarity among commentaries. Up next is a featurette entitled "The Enemy Within" where a few aspects of the film are discussed and many people chime in. Clocking in at fourteen minutes this feature provided a good amount of detail but nowhere near as much as the commentary track yielded.

Another featurette is on the disc that takes a look at the cast of the film. Unfortunately this is little more than fluff material with everyone more or less patting each other on the back. There is also a selection of five deleted/extended scenes and outtakes each with optional commentary by Demme and Pyne. The deleted scenes are definitely worth taking a look at and the commentary helps put everything in context. The outtakes are short but sweet though I still don't understand why they needed to have a commentary track. Remaining on the disc is a screen test with Liev Schreiber and a kind of boring Political Pundits feature.

I had a good time watching The Manchurian Candidate. It's an interesting attempt at redoing a classic and though it's not entirely faithful Demme did a wonderful job directing it. The film itself has a few flaws but they are nothing that really detracts from the experience. As far as the technical merits of the Blu-ray disc are concerned this isn't a showpiece for your home theater to be sure. There were a few annoyances in the video and the audio was not as immersive as I had hoped. Even so this is still a decent treatment for the film and is comparable to the HD-DVD release.

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