The Manchurian Candidate

Pauline Kael wrote in 1962: 'It may be the most sophisticated political satire ever made in Hollywood.' Does it stand the test of time? You decide. In wartime, infantrymen played by Lawrence Harvey and Frank Sinatra are brainwashed by Chinese communists holding them prisoner: then they are returned to American society where they become important movers and shakers. Will they indeed become assassins? What is the meaning of the encounter with the Janet Leigh character on a train? The cinematic skill of Frankenheimer certainly hasn't dated. 'Was it really as good as it seemed? It was.' (Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times)