MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE, THE - HD DVD review

Over the past couple of years, quite a number of movies have been remade with modern retellings. Many of the films remade have either been obscure titles that are unknown to the general population or those that have not received much critical acclaim. There is the exception, where a well-received film gets some shiny new clothes and John Frankenheimer's 1962 classic "The Manchurian Candidate" starring Frank Sinatra is one of those exceptions that are a critically loved classic. The ‘update' which was helmed by Jonathan Demme and now stars Denzel Washington and Liev Schreiber has a tough assignment in trying to stand up against the film from which it was derived. Can Liev Schreiber step into the shoes of Frank Sinatra? Can Hollywood dollars and big names bring a great story to new levels or is this going to be another "Psycho" candidate?

The original film was set after the Korean War. Sinatra's Major Marco was slowly remembering that his memories were not as they seemed to be. His former squadmate Sergeant Raymond Shaw has been thrust into the political stage by his overbearing mother and is reunited with Marco. Shaw and Marco's squad were brainwashed and Shaw has become a political assassin. Marco is the only man who senses that something is wrong and perhaps the only person that can help Shaw overcome the programming that has made him a person he really is not. Shaw is portrayed by Laurence Harvey. Scream Queen Janet Leigh and "Murder She Wrote" star Angela Landsbury round out a familiar and talented cast that helped the original film gain the critical acclaim it deserves.

The remake follows a very similar plotline. Some new characters have been introduced and a couple characters are now an amalgamation. Instead of being overcome by Communists in the Korean War, the new storyline finds Shaw's squad being captured while doing a reconnaissance mission before the 1991 Gulf War saw combat commence. Instead of using hypnosis to brainwash Shaw and Marco, implants and other cruel methods are used. The newer film goes for the scientific route of explanation versus the theory of hypnosis and this is largely possible because the new film occurs in a time period that is a couple decades more recent. Even with the stronger scientific argument that this ‘brainwashing' of an entire squad and the training of a man to become an assassin with keywords, "The Manchurian Candidate" finds itself struggling to match the original film largely because of plot holes and other moments where things are either too convenient or the amount you are asked to suspend believability borders on the absurd.

How did Marco not find the implant on his shoulder many years before? Instead, he finds himself in a pretty girl's bathroom, taking a shower and all of a sudden discovers an unusual bump on his shoulder and an implant underneath? It was visual enough that he could find Shaw's implant incredibly fast, so why did he not see this blemish on his being earlier? Marco suffers from brain disorders or diseases and has a brilliant German scientist for a friend. Why did this scientist not figure out that Marco had issues earlier? I'm sure there were some tests or treatment that this scientist that Marco befriended could have suggested or tried if he believed that Marco was indeed telling some amount of truth. If the Manchurian Corporation was so brilliant and monitoring him, why did they not bring him in for a readjustment like they did Shaw? There are a lot of questions that can be asked after watching this film that pokes a lot of holes into the picture.

"The Manchurian Candidate" is not a bad film. It can be entertaining. However, after being familiar with the original film (and watching it again before the remake for purpose of comparison), the newer and glossier picture is clearly the inferior film. Liev Schreiber is a fine actor and I wish he appeared in more pictures. He does a good job of trying to fill The Chairman's shoes. His performance cannot be faulted. Denzel Washington is Denzel. I can't think of a bad role he has ever had. His performance in "The Manchurian Candidate" is pretty standard fare for the veteran actor and at times, his performance is too much "Denzel" and not enough of Marco. He is good in the picture, but I feel there was a bit more room for him to expand as a mentally questionable combat veteran. He almost seemed to be on autopilot (which is still better than many actors out there) for much of the performance. Meryl Streep was quite unlikable as Eleanor Shaw. So, I suppose she did her job well. Jon Voight, Miguel Ferrer and Ted Levine were underused in their performances.

Perhaps the main problem with "The Manchurian Candidate" is that after knowing the story of the original, the remake had little ‘new' to offer. It was a rehash of the original that twisted the plot enough to make it its own movie, but not quite enough of a difference to really be fresh and inventive. There is not a lot of mystery and suspense to be had. It is a given that Shaw is going to go kill somebody and you pretty much know it will be further his mother's evil political scheme. You know Marco will come close enough to the truth that his character will fall some sort of peril. You just don't know exactly how all of this is going to happen, but you know it will happen some way or the other. You can put a new suit on a distinguished gentleman, but it takes more than just new clothes to improve a man.

Video:

For the most part, Paramount has had a very good track record with their initial HD-DVD offerings. "The Manchurian Candidate" is the third and final title of the second wave of releases. "Four Brothers" was a visually stunning film and after it got started; "We Were Brothers" shook of the grime to be a tremendous improvement over the standard definition release. "The Manchurian Candidate" is presented in a very good 1.85:1 transfer that rivals or surpasses most HD-DVD releases. I would place this title just under the cream-of-the-crop releases, but you certainly know you are watching something nicer than DVD when you pop this disc in.

The opening scene was a bit frightening. Major Marco is giving a speech about how great a man Raymond Shaw is. He is discussing the Medal of Honor and other awards that Shaw won and is giving the speech to a pack of Boy Scouts. This is done in a large gymnasium that has bright sunlight pouring through the windows. This drowns out any amount of detail and causes the entire picture to look hazy and overly bright. Until the camera pans out and you can see the bright sun rays, the first scene has you questioning the clarity.

However, after this initial scene, "The Manchurian Candidate" shines. Colors are quite vivid and detail is incredibly sharp. The picture takes on a definite 3D quality during many scenes. You can see every whisker and pock mark on Denzel's face. The salt and pepper look of his stubble is very easy to spot on HD-DVD, where it was not so apparent on the SD-DVD release. Black levels are deep and dark. The scene where Marco and Shaw are ambushed looks very good visually and the dark blues and blacks from this night sequence are very cold and appealing in hue. There is some film grain throughout the picture, but it is never distracting and hardly noticeable. Contrast and skin tones are quite good, though skin looked slightly pink here and there. Maybe it was just Meryl Streep's makeup.

Sound:

"The Manchurian Candidate" comes equipped with two English surround soundtracks. Both Dolby Digital Plus and DTS 5.1 mixes are included. French and Spanish speaking folk can select overdubbed 5.1 mixes in their native languages. Before watching this HD-DVD, I checked out "Click" at the Elks Theatre in Middletown, Pennsylvania. The Elks is one of the longest running theaters in North America. It is a throw back to the good old days. Balcony seating and a large screen. Well, "Click" has a funny scene where Adam Sandler selects "Spanish," so I had to watch a scene or two in Spanish after watching the film entirely in English. It was enough to humor me and write about it in the review. The soundtrack sounded pretty good in Espanol and this probably the first and last time I'll spend time reviewing a Spanish alternate soundtrack.

Back to the English speaking world, "The Manchurian Candidate" sounded pretty good. Dolby Digital Plus continued its dominance over DTS as the folks at Dolby presented a slightly better sounding experience. The soundtrack for "The Manchurian Candidate" is good, but nothing overly exciting. A few scenes sound very good and feature good directional effects. Namely the ambush sequence and one or two dramatic moments where the theatrical score helps pick up the suspense. This is a thriller and not an action film, so this is not a film that would warrant an aggressive soundtrack. Most of the film's sounds come from the front three speakers. Dialogue is quite clear, bass is deep in the few fleeting moments when it is called upon. The soundtrack is clean and clear and does the job.

Extras:

All of the great supplements from the original standard definition DVD have been carried over for the HD-DVD release. This has been a great trend for Paramount to continue with, though I eagerly await HD only extras. The Commentary by Director Jonathan Demme and Screenplay Co-Writer Daniel Pyne is a very good running commentary. The two men are quite chatty and informative. One of the hot topics is, of course, the process of remaking such a classic film. They cover choices made in updating the original story and provide a lot of background on changes between the two pictures. Demme and Pyne are very relaxed in their commentary and always have something to say. This is certainly in the best twenty five percentile of commentaries and should be checked out.

The prerequisite press kit style documentaries are included that detail the making of the film. The Enemy Within: Inside The Manchurian Candidate runs for about fifteen minutes. Most of the principal cast and crew offer a few bits and pieces during the relatively short featurette. Some nice behind-the-scenes features are thrown in, but with only fifteen minutes, this is right out of the cookie sheet and never dives into anything for more than a couple quick quotes. The Cast of The Manchurian Candidate is another relatively short reaturette that spends more time looking at the actors and the characters of the film. A few nice bits of insight are given on the characters in this dozen minute featurette.

A few nice supplements are included aside from the commentary and making of featurettes. First up are 5 Deleted Extended Scenes with Optional Commentary by Jonathan Demme and Daniel Pyne These five scenes would have been nice additions to the main picture and are simply longer versions of existing scenes. Demme and Pyne provide insight as to why they were excised, but I enjoyed them and thought they would have added more to the storyline. A very quick Outtakes with Optional Commentary by Jonathan Demme and Daniel Pyne is your typical outtake reel and I thought it a bit funny that commentary was provided. Liev Schreiber Screen Test is exactly what it sounds like. It is Liev Schrieber's screen test. Why does Microsoft Word continually make ‘Liev' into ‘Live'? Political Pundits with Optional Director Commentary shows that Demme really cared about his film as he continued to add commentary tracks to pretty much everything. This is a look at the political climate today and if you are into politics, here is fifteen minutes for you. Not for me. Finally, Paramount continues to throw in HD trailers and the Theatrical Trailer is provided here.

Closing Comments:

I didn't mind watching "The Manchurian Candidate." However, I felt the film was subpar when compared to the Frank Sinatra original. The story is remade and retold in more modern times and features a bit more science into the brainwashing than the original. This is a decent thriller in its own right, but on its own, it does not rise against the large number of similar films and sits comfortably in the shadow of its predecessor. Hollywood needs to start using Liev Schreiber more. And Microsoft needs to stop changing my words. Denzel is in autopilot here, but he is still pretty damn good. The HD-DVD transfer is very good looking and the sound isn't bad, but nothing to get excited over. Paramount has included all of the supplements from the standard definition DVD. Though this is not a great film, it is still something that fans of Denzel will want to watch and those that enjoyed the original may also want to see what Jonathan Demme cooked up.