The Manchurian Candidate

"Everything is under control."

2004 2h 10m EN

😐

6.5

MID

★6.5TMDB · 1,823

ThrillerDramaMystery

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Years after his squad was ambushed during the Gulf War, Major Ben Marco finds himself having terrible nightmares. He begins to doubt that his fellow squad-mate Sergeant Raymond Shaw, 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.

“Everything is under control.”

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Cast

Denzel Washington
Major Bennett Ezekiel Marco
Meryl Streep
Senator Eleanor Prentiss Shaw (D-VA)
Liev Schreiber
Congressman Raymond Prentiss Shaw (D-NY)
Simon McBurney
Dr. Atticus Noyle
Kimberly Elise
Rosie
Bruno Ganz
Delp
Jon Voight
Senator Thomas Jordan (D-CT)
Jeffrey Wright
CPL Al Melvin

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Jonathan Demme
Writers: Daniel Pyne, Dean Georgaris, Kalina Ivanov
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Mid-budget at $80M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 22 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CAST

Did you know

304+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Jonathan Demme, shot by Tak Fujimoto. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Rachel Portman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Carol Littleton shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Denzel Washington and Meryl Streep and Liev Schreiber carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Everything is under control.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Jonathan Demme directs. Tak Fujimoto behind the camera. Rachel Portman scores. Carol Littleton cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Mid-budget at $80M — the now-extinct middle tier of Hollywood.
2Released 22 years ago.
3304+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
4Directed by Jonathan Demme, shot by Tak Fujimoto. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Rachel Portman. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Carol Littleton shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Denzel Washington and Meryl Streep and Liev Schreiber carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Everything is under control.".
9IMDB entry: tt0368008 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 20 themes, including "gulf war", "post-traumatic stress disorder (ptsd)", "ambush", "presidential election".
11Released under 13 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Tak Fujimoto
Original score: Rachel Portman
Editing: Carol Littleton
Production design: Kristi Zea
Costume design: Albert Wolsky
Makeup / hair: Larry M. Cherry
VFX supervisor: Richard Malzahn
Sound: Blake Leyh
Stunt coordinator: Jery Hewitt
Runtime: 130 min · 2h 10m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.78:1 (16:9)
Status: Released
Budget: $80,000,000
Box office: $96,105,964
Return: 120% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: The Manchurian Candidate (2004)

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Jonathan Demme

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-11-05
★ 6/10
This remake was always going to struggle to match the excellent 1962 version, and although it is not nearly as compelling, it is still an half decent attempt. Liev Schreiber is acclaimed Gulf War veteran and now Congressman "Raymond Shaw" who is very much in the running for Vice-President of the USA - egged on by his even more ambitious Senator mother (Meryl Streep). Meantime, his wartime captain "Marco" (Denzel Washington) is recovering from an injury sustained during an ambush - only he is struggling to reconcile his memories of that event with those being put forward by "Shaw" and, almost verbatim, by his fellow soldiers. Upon more detailed investigation, "Marco" stumbles upon the most unique of conspiracies that calls him to question not just his own sanity, but the nature of events both past and present. The more he digs, the more doors close before him and pretty soon both he and we know that there is some sort of conspiracy that goes right to the heart of American democracy. The story has been updated from the original and that helps it to stand on it's own a bit more. Washington is effective, as is Schreiber as the plot thickens and the prospects of a terrifying form of psychological warfare begin to loom large, presenting us with a story of manipulation and power-lust that is distinctly Machiavellian. Meryl Streep does OK, but sadly her's is the role that comes off worst by comparison with Angela Lansbury from first time round. The former is undoubtedly an accomplished actress, but somehow she doesn't quite exude the same degree of toxic charm. It also really does take it's time to get going, but once in it's stride it offers us quite an intriguing, if wordy, look at just how the American political establishment might work, and how it might, equally, be up for shrewd exploitation. It's a solid effort and worth a watch, but original is definitely much more sinister and best!

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