The defence The Prestige Tourist
“Form is the argument.”
Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.
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The Manchurian Candidate
Thriller · Drama · 1962
Near the end of the Korean War, a platoon of U.S. soldiers is captured by communists and brainwashed. Following the war, the platoon is returned home, and Sergeant Raymond Shaw is lauded as a hero by the rest of his platoon. However, the platoon commander, Captain Bennett Marco, finds himself plagued by strange nightmares and soon races to uncover a terrible plot.
Movie details
The Manchurian Candidate
“When you've seen it all, you'll swear there's never been anything like it!”
1962 Thriller · Drama 2h 6m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
7.5 / 10
Community rating
Near the end of the Korean War, a platoon of U.S. soldiers is captured by communists and brainwashed. Following the war, the platoon is returned home, and Sergeant Raymond Shaw is lauded as a hero by the rest of his platoon. However, the platoon commander, Captain Bennett Marco, finds himself plagued by strange nightmares and soon races to uncover a terrible plot.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over The Manchurian Candidate?
For the defence
The Prestige Tourist
“You like your greatness pre-approved.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
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Marathon Man
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A graduate student and obsessive runner in New York is drawn into a mysterious plot involving his brother, a member of the secretive Division.
Backstabbing for Beginners
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Charm City Kings
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Mouse desperately wants to join The Midnight Clique, the infamous Baltimore dirt bike riders who rule the summertime streets. When Midnight’s leader, Blax, takes 14-year-old Mouse under his wing, Mouse soon finds himself torn between the straight-and-narrow and a road filled with fast money and violence.
Blood Ties
Thriller · 2013
Two brothers, on either side of the law, face off over organized crime in Brooklyn during the 1970s.
Pork Chop Hill
Drama · 1959
Korean War, April 1953. Lieutenant Clemons, leader of the King company of the United States Infantry, is ordered to recapture Pork Chop Hill, occupied by a powerful Chinese Army force, while, just seventy miles away, at nearby the village of Panmunjom, a tense cease-fire conference is celebrated.
The Manchurian Candidate
Thriller · 2004
Years after his squad was ambushed during the Gulf War, Major Ben Marco finds himself having terrible nightmares. He begins to doubt that his fellow squad-mate Sergeant Raymond Shaw, now a vice-presidential candidate, is the hero he remembers him being. As Marco's doubts deepen, Shaw's political power grows, and, when Marco finds a mysterious implant embedded in his back, the memory of what really happened begins to return.
Leave the World Behind
Drama · 2023
A family's getaway to a luxurious rental home takes an ominous turn when a cyberattack knocks out their devices—and two strangers appear at their door.
Gorky Park
Thriller · 1983
Police Inspector Renko tries to solve the case of three bodies found in Moscow's Gorky Park but finds his attempts to solve the crime impeded by his superiors. Working on his own, Renko seeks out more information and stumbles across a conspiracy involving the highest levels of the government.
Suburbicon
Thriller · 2017
In the quiet family town of Suburbicon during the 1950s, the best and worst of humanity is hilariously reflected through the deeds of seemingly ordinary people. When a home invasion turns deadly, a picture-perfect family turns to blackmail, revenge and murder.
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
John Frankenheimer
Written by
George Axelrod
Frank Sinatra
Capt./Maj. Bennett Marco
Laurence Harvey
Raymond Shaw
Angela Lansbury
Mrs. Iselin
Janet Leigh
Eugenie Rose Chaney
James Gregory
Sen. John Yerkes Iselin
Henry Silva
Chunjin
Leslie Parrish
Jocelyn Jordan
Court is in session
Put The Manchurian Candidate on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“Technique in search of a pulse.”
Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.