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The Manchurian Candidate

Play trailer 2:24 Poster for The Manchurian Candidate R Released Jul 30, 2004 2h 10m Mystery & Thriller Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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79% Tomatometer 208 Reviews 63% Popcornmeter 50,000+ Ratings
Years after his squad was ambushed during the Gulf War, Major Ben Marco (Denzel Washington) finds himself having terrible nightmares. He begins to doubt that his fellow squad-mate Sergeant Raymond Shaw (Liev Schreiber), 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.
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The Manchurian Candidate

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Critics Consensus

While not the classic its predecessor is, this update is well-acted and conjures a chilling resonance.

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Critics Reviews

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Will Self London Evening Standard Good as the players are, they can't make this hokum remotely believable. Dec 21, 2017 Full Review Nell Minow Common Sense Media Sleek remake is more violent than original. Rated: 4/5 Dec 28, 2010 Full Review David Ansen Newsweek Jonathan Demme's new Manchurian Candidate is a gourmet-popcorn movie--a hugely entertaining thriller shot through with dark shards of agony and paranoia. It takes nothing away from the original while delivering pleasures all its own. Jul 6, 2010 Full Review Eddie Harrison film-authority.com …In 2004, it seemed like a vanilla cop-out for Demme’s updated thriller not to pick political sides, not putting blame on right or left, but on the oligarchical monied elite, but in retrospect, his Manchurian Candidate was on the money…. Rated: 4/5 Mar 8, 2025 Full Review David Walsh World Socialist Web Site And yet the film as a whole fails to move deeply. One questions whether it will have a profound impact on its viewers. Feb 15, 2021 Full Review Norman Wilner NOW Toronto Demme's 2004 remake, which moved the action into the present day and cast Denzel Washington, Liev Schreiber and Meryl Streep in the key roles...tweaked the ending just enough to make things feel even more hopeless. Nov 10, 2020 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Blu B It's pretty much exactly what I figured it would be and for better or worse, this is probably the best product you could hope to come up with. Good choice for Demme in the director chair for this idea with such a distinct style. I will say though his direction here isn't bad but it's significantly weaker than his early 90's work. Sometimes you can see and feel it, and other times it feels like it just disappears because the subject matter is so abstract and surreal he doesn't know how to do it as well. The acting isn't bad but again it's a mixture of surreal, subdued, and wooden. Sinatra was better in the role than Washington is even though he has his moments. Harvey I felt was about the same as the actor here for what it's worth. Music isn't bad but a bit on the generic side. Editing is good and everything else is half decent. Like it's previous one it jumps around between the two main characters as the mystery unravels for the most part well. I will say if there is one place this had an opportunity to improve on it's the shaky first 30-40 minutes or so. However this one is just as shaky if not a bit more so which is a dissappointment. The ending which is one of the best plot twists I've ever seen in a thriller period....well the changes are...alright I guess. It makes things feel more standard and crowd pleasing which I think makes it lose almost all the gut punch feeling the original had. But I guess they had to make some change to justify this besides being in color. Frankenheimer's direction was much more fitting and surreal, and because of that it drove a feeling of paranoia that rapidly built and escalated the entire time. The black and white looking back also made it feel surreal where the color makes it seem more muted ironically. This is much more just a slow burn the entire way and consistent with it. Also I miss the playing card tie in of the original. It just doesn't feel as scary or memorable this one. It doesn't fully justify it's existance but if your a big fan of Demme or any actors in this, this may be worth checking out. Most should check out the 62' masterpiece instead. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 09/16/25 Full Review Ams T Starts of ok, but the pace is painfully slow. After midway it looses its grip, and by the end it’s laughingly stupid. Avoid this and watch the original. Other than Meryl Streep, nothing to write home about. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 07/13/25 Full Review revolver.0 8 bad directed and over acted laughable cringe even by cod:black ops and alex jones standards Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 06/30/25 Full Review Stephen C Success in 2 hours and 10 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rated R for Violence and Some Language!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The USA grossed over $65,900,000.00!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/20/25 Full Review Chief B I don't get the negative reviews this movie gets. Haven't watched the original but I like this movie. Also it raises valid questions. Underrated movie! Rated 4 out of 5 stars 04/30/25 Full Review Oscar A Buena, ahora toca ver la original de 1962 Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/30/25 Full Review Read all reviews
The Manchurian Candidate

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The Manchurian Candidate

The Manchurian Candidate: Official Clip - Assassination The Manchurian Candidate: Official Clip - Assassination 2:13 The Manchurian Candidate: Official Clip - The Implant The Manchurian Candidate: Official Clip - The Implant 2:13 The Manchurian Candidate: Official Clip - Decisions The Manchurian Candidate: Official Clip - Decisions 1:22 The Manchurian Candidate: Official Clip - Father and Daughter The Manchurian Candidate: Official Clip - Father and Daughter 2:10 The Manchurian Candidate: Official Clip - Help Me or Shoot Me The Manchurian Candidate: Official Clip - Help Me or Shoot Me 2:01 The Manchurian Candidate: Official Clip - Dreams The Manchurian Candidate: Official Clip - Dreams 2:13 The Manchurian Candidate: Official Clip - A Big Bite of Shaw The Manchurian Candidate: Official Clip - A Big Bite of Shaw 1:23 The Manchurian Candidate: Official Clip - Private Eddie Ingram The Manchurian Candidate: Official Clip - Private Eddie Ingram 1:22 The Manchurian Candidate: Official Clip - Interrogation The Manchurian Candidate: Official Clip - Interrogation 2:10 View more videos
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Movie Info

Synopsis Years after his squad was ambushed during the Gulf War, Major Ben Marco (Denzel Washington) finds himself having terrible nightmares. He begins to doubt that his fellow squad-mate Sergeant Raymond Shaw (Liev Schreiber), 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.
Director
Jonathan Demme
Producer
Scott Rudin, Tina Sinatra, Jonathan Demme, Ilona Herzberg
Screenwriter
Daniel Pyne, Dean Georgaris, George Axelrod, Richard Condon
Distributor
Paramount Pictures
Production Co
Paramount Pictures, Clinica Estetico
Rating
R (Violence|Some Language)
Genre
Mystery & Thriller, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jul 30, 2004, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Jul 17, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA)
$65.9M
Runtime
2h 10m
Sound Mix
Dolby SRD, DTS, Surround
Aspect Ratio
Flat (1.85:1)
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