The Manchurian Candidate (1962, dir. John Frankenheimer)

The Manchurian Candidate (1962, dir. John Frankenheimer)

What Is It?: The granddaddy of all conspiracy thrillers about political assassinations, brainwashed moles and evil mothers.

What About It?: Hardly "Lost" by any stretch, it was at one time. Relatively successful upon release (largely due to the stand-out performance by Angela Lansbury as the aforementioned evil mother), this largely disappeared from public view following the Kennedy assassination. When the rights fell to Frank Sinatra (also excellent in the picture and friends of the Kennedys) in 1975, he pulled it from the market until its re-release in 1988. Since then, it's taken its place at the head of the conspiracy thriller genre table and there was even an OK remake in 2004, starring Lost Classic fave Denzel Washington.

Why Should I See It?: This is a must-see for all fans of political films and for fans of tightly written, impeccably shot, really tense, well acted thrillers. Frankenheimer was one of the masters of the genre, making Seven Days in May (also exemplary) two years after this, between the two films providing a primer for sweaty faced, freaked out leading men the world over. If you haven't seen the original Manchurian Candidate in a while, or you've only seen the remake, you owe it to yourself to check it out.

What Else Is It Like?: The Parallax View, Winter Kills, Snake Eyes.

When Is It Playing Until ON DEMAND?: 1/31/07

Watch It ON DEMAND On Comcast Cable.

-- ddt/pdx

What's New This Week (That's Worth Watching to One Degree or Another)?: Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh (directed by Dreamgirls Bill Condon), Frankenstein Unbound, His Girl Friday, Music Rising, ALL of the Pink Panther movies (save the recent one with Steve Martin, but including the one with Alan Arkin, the one after Sellers died and the one starring Roberto Benigni). Here they are in order: The Pink Panther, A Shot in the Dark, Inspector Clouseau, Return of the Pink Panther, The Pink Panther Strikes Back, Revenge of the Pink Panther, Trail of the Pink Panther, Curse of the Pink Panther, Son of the Pink Panther.