John Frankenheimer's 1962 film The Manchurian Candidate is an amazing piece of Cold War era filmmaking, encapsulating all of the paranoia and fear that seems to have been so common in the America of that day. The story follows a group of soldiers who have returned home from the Korean War, primarily Raymond Shaw (Laurence Harvey), whose memory seems to be slipping. He knows he's a decorated war hero but he can't remember why and something doesn't seem to be completely right in his head. A few other members of Shaw's troop, chiefly Major Bennett Marco (Frank Sinatra), are also having recurring nightmares. What's going on here?

We learn that while overseas, this group of soldiers were brainwashed by a Chinese hypnotist whose grip on the men is so powerful he's able to convince one man to kill another without so much as batting an eye. Marco decides to meet up with Shaw to talk about what happened to them and to see if they can figure out what's going on while Shaw's mother, Eleanor (Angela Lansbury), and step-father, John Iselin (James Gregory), try to bring him back into society. Things become even more complicated when John gets the Republican nomination for run for President. While Shaw's life starts to spiral, Marco and his girlfriend, Eugenie (Janet Leigh) find themselves deeply involved a deadly conspiracy theory.

One of those rare films where EVERYTHING comes together, The Manchurian Candidate is pretty much a flawless film from start to finish. From the opening scenes in Korea (look for a young Henry Silva playing a Korean man named Chunjin!) through to the return to American soil the film is gripping, tense, exciting and incredibly suspenseful. Frankenheimer's direction is spot on, allowing the audience to put the pieces of the puzzle together only as quickly as the characters in the film itself. This, for lack of a cornier cliché to use, keeps us on the edge of our seats throughout and by mixing in some well played dramatic moments and a few scenes of genuine horror into the pot, we wind up with a movie that really does keep you guessing.

Performance wise, the film makes great use of its top notch case. Sinatra is great here, tough enough to work in the storyline and dashing enough to deserve to hook up with foxy blonde Janet Leigh. They make a good fit here and look great together but don't for a minute think that their relationship is simply another typical Hollywood romance. Nothing in this film is typical. Laurence Harvey is also great in his part, playing his increasingly confused character while supporting efforts from Gregory and Lansbury as high society stuffed shirt types round out the core cast members really, really well. It's hard for some of us not to associate Lansbury with Murder She Wrote but here she plays a perfect bitch so far removed from her Jessica Fletcher character that it's hard to believe it's the same actress.

Fantastic black and white cinematography helps add a noirish feel to the movie, while attention to detail is outstanding. Little moments, like a scene where Sinatra's character is so wracked that he can't even light his cigarette from trembling, help to ratchet up the suspense and keep you paying close attention. The conspiracy theory elements and the way in which the government's side is twisted into the plot are surprisingly envelope pushing for their time, though there are moments where Frankenheimer is definitely going for satire. Regardless, the film is just as good as its sterling reputation would have you believe, a genuine classic if ever there was one.

Video:

The Manchurian Candidate arrives on a 50GBBlu-ray framed at 1.75.1 widescreen in AVC encoded 1080p high definition. The transfer is taken from a new 4k restoration and it looks excellent. Contrast is spot on, the image is more or less immaculate and there are no problems with any compression artifacts or edge enhancement. Noise reduction is never obvious if it's been applied, and there's a nice amount of natural looking film grain present. There's very good depth, detail and texture evident throughout the entire movie and deep, solid black levels as well.