The Manchurian Candidate(s)
 

From DVDTalk "Just Announced DVDs" blurb:

"More great DVD announcements this week including: one of the summer's highest acclaimed films The Manchurian Candidate on 12/21 - a rare breed of remake that is actually better than the original film..."





um...

Why the "um"? Let's examine.

There was already film made of the novel, starring Frank Sinatra and Laurence Harvey, directed by John Frankenheimer.

It was remade with Denzel Washington and Liev Schreiber, directed by Jonathan Demme.

Demme's remake got excellent reviews, and many critics hailed it as being equal to or better than the original.

So what's the "um" for?

"...many critics hailed it as being equal to or better than the original..."

Name two.

I seem to have read a number of reviews that said – something to the effect – that the remake wasn’t an outright embarrassment when compared to the Frankenheimer version. But I never recall anyone having the brass balls to call it ‘superior.’

Because it wasn’t.

I know I really enjoyed the new Manchurian Candidate, AS WELL AS the original. In my opinion, it's the best remake I've ever seen. Of course, some critics at least agreed it was nearly as good as the original (or at least it stands on its own), but here are some who basically said it was its equal or better. I don't really care who said what, but you seem to have not read any of the critic's reviews, so I felt compelled to prove this to you. I for one loved the remake but enjoyed the original more. Simply by scrolling through Rotten Tomatoes and MetaCritic though, I've gathered a few quotes:

"The new Manchurian Candidate isn’t just a great remake – it may just be the greatest remake ever remade."
-- Christopher Null, FILMCRITIC.COM

Portland Oregonian / Marc Mohan:
Neither the social commentary nor the story ever overpower the other, a feat that allows this remake to stand proudly alongside the original, its equal in every way.

Newsweek / David Ansen:
A hugely entertaining thriller shot through with dark shards of agony and paranoia. It takes nothing away from the original while delivering pleasures all its own.

"It's a mesmerizing mind-teaser that finds its own way into the material, adapted from Richard Condon's 1959 novel."
-- Peter Travers, ROLLING STONE

The Onion (A.V. Club) / Nathan Rabin:
Shockingly, he's (Jonathan Demme) pulled it off, replicating the original's tricky feat of investing a paranoid plot with timeliness, psychological complexity, sociopolitical acumen, and almost frightening conviction.

Film Threat / Pete Vonder Haar:
What is surprising is how fresh Demme’s version is and how close it approaches the original in terms of quality.

The Hollywood Reporter / Michael Rechtshaffen:
The updated classic is a chiller of a political thriller in its own right.

"That rarest of remakes: a reworking that puts an interesting new spin on a familiar premise but stands strongly on its own."
-- Jeff Strickler, MINNEAPOLIS STAR TRIBUNE

"It's better than a 're-make.' It's a complete re-imagining that should draw even die-hard fans of the original to the edge of their seat."
-- Jeffrey Overstreet, LOOKING CLOSER

So, in other words, you couldn't find any critic who said it was better, even at 'Rotten Tomatoes'?

I read two critics saying they liked it more than the original, but that was about a month ago and I don't remember which ones they were. I don't have time to sort through all the reviews just to find out. The quotes I gave are from critics who thought it was equal to the original.

But who cares? So what if whoever wrote that DVDTalk snippet liked it more than the original? I know it doesn't affect me or anyone else here. All I see here is another attempt to debate which version was better. Hell, I loved the remake but still liked the original better, and I'm pretty sure there are few people here who thought the original was inferior, so what's the big deal?

The new one was certainly good but I find it interesting that whoever posted that on DVDTalk said that so authoritatively, especially given how unpopular that viewpoint is.

Heaven forbid a controvertible opinion such as this should tarnish DVDtalk! They should only say what everyone agrees with!

Somebody pass the crackpipe.

(puff puff) Nope. I still find it only so-so.

It's just a couple of movies so if you want to look at it that way, sure...who cares?

This website is for talking about movies/DVD's and when I saw that statement about the remake I had to cringe. It's practically stating it as undisputed fact. No qualifier like "some critics felt it was superior." Well I for one disagree firmly.

I'm not even a big fan of the original. I think it's flawed in some areas. I did happen to pick up the DVD and I watched it just a few days before going to see the remake. Frankenheimer's use of live video feeds during the news conference scene was first rate creative cinema. The dream/memory/flashback depiction of brainwashing is another landmark. No film fan needs me to point these things out.

With all the effects wizardry and budget that a current movie has to work with, I was hoping to see at least an effort to match or out-do Frankenheimer's cleverness in the re-make. Nothing of the sort is there.

I enjoyed the remake fine, after all, it's just a movie and it's always fun to see good actors like Meryl and Denzel. Given halfway decent material, they can carry it a long way. But to me, the original is truly innovative, the remake is just an OK entertaining movie.

this is crazy too many good dvds coming out december

garden state
king of the hill season 3
open water
manchurian candidate
napoleon dynamite

i dont even know what else i will have to buy. im realy gonna burn a hole through my wallet.

I feel that there are some films that just shouldn't be remade, and The Manchurian Candidate, for me, was one of those films.

The thing is, nothing is sacred in Hollywood anymore, but that is a subject for another thread.

I thought both films were decent but filled with weaknesses. Gather up all the good ideas between the two of them and you'd have a great film.

Just curious what didn't work for you in the first one. I realize we are just expressing opinions, but "filled with weaknesses" seems to me like a stretch for the original, which I always have thought of as a timeless classic.

Re: The Manchurian Candidate(s)
 

..the New Pauly Shore remake of "Citizen Kane" to be released summer 2005, ground to a halt today when Shore uttered the most famous line of the movie "Rosebud", replacing it with "Rosebud-ddddy".