The Manchurian Candidate

NOTE: This is a region-1 DVD which requires a region free DVD-player.

The name John Frankenheimer became forever synonymous with heart-in-the-throat filmmaking when this quintessential sixties political thriller was released. Set in the early fifties, this razor-sharp adaptation of the novel by Richard Condon concerns the decorated U.S. Army sergeant Raymond Shaw (Laurence Harvey), who as a prisoner during the Korean War is brainwashed into becoming a sleeper assassin in a Communist conspiracy, and a fellow POW (Frank Sinatra) who slowly uncovers the sinister plot. In an unforgettable performance, Angela Lansbury plays Raymond’s villainous mother, the controlling wife of a witch-hunting anti-Communist senator with his eyes on the White House. The rare film that takes aim at the frenzy of the McCarthy era while also being suffused with its Cold War paranoia, The Manchurian Candidate remains potent, shocking American moviemaking.

SPECIAL FEATURES:
– New, restored 4K digital transfer, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
– Audio commentary from 1997 featuring director John Frankenheimer
– New interview with actor Angela Lansbury
– New piece featuring filmmaker Errol Morris discussing his appreciation for The Manchurian Candidate
– Conversation between Frankenheimer, screenwriter George Axelrod, and actor Frank Sinatra from 1987
– New interview with historian Susan Carruthers about the Cold War brainwashing scare
– Trailer