The Manchurian Candidate
March 2005 Reviewed by: Josh Barber Format: DVD	(all ratings out of 5): Overall Enjoyment Picture Quality Packaged Extras Sound Quality

At the moment, Hollywood is in love with remakes: Ocean's Eleven, Psycho, Flight of the Phoenix, Get Carter, Charade. The Manchurian Candidate was cast onto that shaky cultural ground.

Denzel Washington is grimmer than Frank Sinatra in the role of Major Bennett Marco, but the role suits him. After Marco is accosted at a lecture, his world begins to fall apart amazingly fast, and Washington makes that seem real. Meryl Streep plays Eleanor Prentiss Shaw, a second-generation politician who's not above trading on her father's name to make it in Washington, D.C. The character is no longer simply a stage mother pestering others into power, but a career politician taking it for herself as well.

The strongest performer in this new version is Liev Schreiber, who gives Raymond Shaw more weight and responsibility than Laurence Harvey managed in the original. He has the look of someone polished for politics, but always seems a little unsure of himself, as well he should. He is a soldier in the service of his Unnamed Political Party, ready to make the sacrifices he is called upon to give.

The film has some weaknesses. Changing the threat from communism to big business made sense, but Manchurian Global doesn't seem to have any meaning as a corporate name other than a stretch to match the title.

The Manchurian Candidate is a subdued movie, but there are a few bright color bursts to liven things up. The UPP National Convention is just as vivid and energetic as the real event. The image, overall, is nicely detailed with crisp lines, though there are a few minor blemishes. Some establishing shots get a bit hazy, and there is a slight amount of visible grain. Though the film has its moments of all-encompassing action, most of the soundtrack is simply people talking to each other, often in a hushed tone. The actors' voices are clear and simple, but the dream sequences and Major Marco's freakouts allow the audio to get a little wilder. The score complements the movie without being typical, overbearing "thriller" music.

Extras are a bit slim, but this is a single-disc release. We get a commentary by Demme and writer Daniel Pyne that covers the making of the movie and goes into a discussion of the changes made from the original. "Enemy Within" is a 14-minute feature that manages to go beyond the usual self-congratulatory EPK fluff and bite into the meat concerning why this update was made, discussing the impact of the original and why certain things were changed for the current version. It's quite good, if a bit light, and features interviews with the cast and filmmakers, including producer Tina Sinatra.

There are five deleted scenes, most of which were cut for pacing. In particular, a scene depicting the way Marco spends his morning after his encounter with Al Melvin makes the story feel deeper, but would have completely derailed the momentum of the film. We also get a featurette that looks at the actors and their roles, as well as a bit of Liev Schreiber's screen test.

Though the original Manchurian Candidate is a classic film well worth seeking out, this modern update makes a fine companion piece. It won't replace Sinatra's version, but it does have good elements all its own.

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