Diamonds Aren't Forever
The Manchurian Candidate (1962), yanked from movie theaters following the assassination of President Kennedy, is remembered as a prophetic political thriller. Actually, as noted on the special edition DVD, the movie, based on the novel by Richard Condon and directed by John Frankenheimer, was conceived and executed primarily as satire. The movie's thriller reputation has been enhanced only in retrospect.

In the original, the late Mr. Frankenheimer emphasized the character of Sen. Johnny Iselin, whose role was intended as a caricature of Sen. Joseph McCarthy, the Wisconsin legislator who accused many in the government and in the entertainment industry of being communist agents.

Though recently examined Soviet archives generally vindicate Sen. McCarthy's contentions—communists had indeed infiltrated the highest levels of American government and had influenced Hollywood movie scripts—and most historians acknowledge that communist conspiracies were real, the crusading anti-communist as buffoon—Mr. Frankenheimer's favorite legacy—was an important facet of the original. But as a parody of the politician whose most outrageous claims were true—which the DVD fails to mention—The Manchurian Candidate (1962) has lost some of its power.

Jonathan Demme's remake of The Manchurian Candidate, released as a war hero was nominated for president, eliminates the Sen. Johnny Iselin character, assimilating his worst traits into the mother, whom the remake presents as a ruthless widow, mother and United States senator. A contrast of the two pictures reveals further differentiation.

Mr. Demme's interpretation of the classic holds closely to the original in key aspects, including character names, yet it is missing the original's dramatic central element: an ideologically driven foreign conspiracy to seize control of America. As the original's communist mother tantalizingly tells her son, the tortured and trained assassin, on the eve of his final assignment: "We'll make martial law look like anarchy."

More than any other feature, the notion that America's worst threat lies within—in the guise of God, Mother and traditionalism—may explain why The Manchurian Candidate makes such a compelling motion picture subject.

<TABLE style="BORDER-COLLAPSE: collapse" borderColor=#000000 cellSpacing=1 cellPadding=5 border=0> <TBODY> <TR> <TD bgColor=#800000 colSpan=3>ESSENTIALS</TD></TR> <TR> <TD bgColor=#dcdcdc>ASPECT</TD> <TD bgColor=#dcdcdc>1962 VERSION</TD> <TD bgColor=#dcdcdc>2004 VERSION</TD></TR> <TR> <TD vAlign=top>Length</TD> <TD vAlign=top>126 Minutes</TD> <TD vAlign=top>130 Minutes</TD></TR> <TR> <TD vAlign=top bgColor=#f4f4ff>War in Movie</TD> <TD vAlign=top bgColor=#f4f4ff>Undeclared Korean War (1950-1953)</TD> <TD vAlign=top bgColor=#f4f4ff>Undeclared Gulf War (1991)</TD></TR> <TR> <TD vAlign=top>War in Reality</TD> <TD vAlign=top>Cold War against communist Soviet Union</TD> <TD vAlign=top>Undeclared war against jihadi Islam</TD></TR> <TR> <TD vAlign=top bgColor=#f4f4ff>First Scene</TD> <TD vAlign=top bgColor=#f4f4ff>Men of platoon in Korean whorehouse</TD> <TD vAlign=top bgColor=#f4f4ff>Men of platoon playing cards, listening to rap</TD></TR> <TR> <TD vAlign=top>President in Reality</TD> <TD vAlign=top>Political heir John F. Kennedy</TD> <TD vAlign=top>Political heir George W. Bush</TD></TR> <TR> <TD vAlign=top bgColor=#f4f4ff>Screen Writer(s)</TD> <TD vAlign=top bgColor=#f4f4ff>George Axelrod (Breakfast at Tiffany's)</TD> <TD vAlign=top bgColor=#f4f4ff>Daniel Pyne (The Sum of All Fears), Dean Georgaris (Lara Croft: Tomb Raider)</TD></TR> <TR> <TD vAlign=top>Director</TD> <TD vAlign=top>John Frankenheimer (Seven Days in May)</TD> <TD vAlign=top>Jonathan Demme (Philadelphia)</TD></TR> <TR> <TD vAlign=top bgColor=#f4f4ff>Manchurian Candidate</TD> <TD vAlign=top bgColor=#f4f4ff>Sen. Johnny Iselin (James Gregory)</TD> <TD vAlign=top bgColor=#f4f4ff>Sgt. Raymond Shaw (Liev Schreiber)</TD></TR> <TR> <TD vAlign=top>Brainwashing Triggers</TD> <TD vAlign=top>Solitaire, queen of diamonds</TD> <TD vAlign=top>Voice-activated microchip implanted in brain</TD></TR> <TR> <TD vAlign=top bgColor=#f4f4ff>Conspirators</TD> <TD vAlign=top bgColor=#f4f4ff>Soviets, Red Chinese, communists, anti-communists</TD> <TD vAlign=top bgColor=#f4f4ff>Biotech businessmen of Manchuria Global Corporation</TD></TR> <TR> <TD vAlign=top>Arch-villain</TD> <TD vAlign=top>Raymond Shaw's Mother, head of Communist Party</TD> <TD vAlign=top>Raymond Shaw's Mother, recipient of Manchuria Global's campaign donations</TD></TR> <TR> <TD colSpan=3></TD></TR> <TR> <TD bgColor=#800000 colSpan=3>CHARACTERS</TD></TR> <TR> <TD bgColor=#dcdcdc>ASPECT</TD> <TD bgColor=#dcdcdc>1962 VERSION</TD> <TD bgColor=#dcdcdc>2004 VERSION</TD></TR> <TR> <TD vAlign=top>Major Bennett Marko</TD> <TD vAlign=top>Troubled, triumphant Frank Sinatra (From Here to Eternity) </TD> <TD vAlign=top>Tortured Denzel Washington (Glory)</TD></TR> <TR> <TD vAlign=top bgColor=#f4f4ff>Marko's Fate</TD> <TD vAlign=top bgColor=#f4f4ff>A hero who helps to stop the conspiracy</TD> <TD vAlign=top bgColor=#f4f4ff>A victim who is brainwashed to assassinate presidential nominee</TD></TR> <TR> <TD vAlign=top>War hero Sergeant Raymond Shaw</TD> <TD vAlign=top>Aristocratic Laurence Harvey (Room at the Top)</TD> <TD vAlign=top>Politician Liev Schreiber (The Sum of All Fears)</TD></TR> <TR> <TD vAlign=top bgColor=#f4f4ff>Shaw's Fate</TD> <TD vAlign=top bgColor=#f4f4ff>Commits suicide after killing his Mother & Sen. Iselin</TD> <TD vAlign=top bgColor=#f4f4ff>Assassinated by Maj. Marko</TD></TR> <TR> <TD vAlign=top>Eleanor Iselin/Shaw</TD> <TD vAlign=top>Snappish but serious Angela Lansbury (All Fall Down), nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance</TD> <TD vAlign=top>Campy Meryl Streep (Silkwood)</TD></TR> <TR> <TD vAlign=top bgColor=#f4f4ff>Mother Iselin's Fate </TD> <TD vAlign=top bgColor=#f4f4ff>Shot during political convention </TD> <TD vAlign=top bgColor=#f4f4ff>Shot during political convention</TD></TR> <TR> <TD vAlign=top>Sen. Johnny Iselin</TD> <TD vAlign=top>James Gregory (The Sons of Katie Elder)</TD> <TD vAlign=top>None</TD></TR> <TR> <TD vAlign=top bgColor=#f4f4ff>Eugenie Rose Chaney</TD> <TD vAlign=top bgColor=#f4f4ff>Alluring Janet Leigh (Psycho), a lifesaver</TD> <TD vAlign=top bgColor=#f4f4ff>Alluring Kimberly Elise (Beloved), a federal agent</TD></TR> <TR> <TD vAlign=top>Jocelyn Jordan</TD> <TD vAlign=top>Curvy blonde Leslie Parrish (Sex and the Single Girl) , who marries Shaw</TD> <TD vAlign=top>Vera Farmiga (Dummy), who spurns Shaw</TD></TR> <TR> <TD vAlign=top bgColor=#f4f4ff>Miss Jordan's Fate</TD> <TD vAlign=top bgColor=#f4f4ff>Shot by Raymond Shaw, her husband</TD> <TD vAlign=top bgColor=#f4f4ff>Drowned by Raymond Shaw, her former lover</TD></TR> <TR> <TD vAlign=top>Sen. Thomas Jordan</TD> <TD vAlign=top>Kind yet stern John McGiver (Period of Adjustment)</TD> <TD vAlign=top>Semi-stern yet soft Jon Voight (Deliverance)</TD></TR> <TR> <TD vAlign=top bgColor=#f4f4ff>Sen. Jordan's Fate</TD> <TD vAlign=top bgColor=#f4f4ff>Shot through a milk carton by Raymond Shaw</TD> <TD vAlign=top bgColor=#f4f4ff>Capsized in his canoe and drowned by Raymond Shaw</TD></TR> <TR> <TD vAlign=top>Corporal Alvin Melvin</TD> <TD vAlign=top>Handsome James Edwards (Patton)</TD> <TD vAlign=top>Scruffy Jeffrey Wright (Basquiat)</TD></TR> <TR> <TD vAlign=top bgColor=#f4f4ff>Corporal Melvin's Fate</TD> <TD vAlign=top bgColor=#f4f4ff>Happily married, plagued by nightmares</TD> <TD vAlign=top bgColor=#f4f4ff>Single, unhinged, plagued by nightmares, killed</TD></TR> <TR> <TD vAlign=top>Communist Chunjin</TD> <TD vAlign=top>Played by Henry Silva; betrays platoon, Shaw's houseboy</TD> <TD vAlign=top>None</TD></TR> <TR> <TD></TD> <TD></TD> <TD></TD></TR> <TR> <TD bgColor=#800000 colSpan=3>PLOT POINTS</TD></TR> <TR> <TD bgColor=#dcdcdc>ASPECT</TD> <TD bgColor=#dcdcdc>1962 VERSION</TD> <TD bgColor=#dcdcdc>2004 VERSION</TD></TR> <TR> <TD vAlign=top>Soldiers Killed During Capture</TD> <TD vAlign=top>Two</TD> <TD vAlign=top>Two</TD></TR> <TR> <TD vAlign=top bgColor=#f4f4ff>Primary Imagined Location </TD> <TD vAlign=top bgColor=#f4f4ff>Garden party at New Jersey hotel</TD> <TD vAlign=top bgColor=#f4f4ff>None</TD></TR> <TR> <TD vAlign=top>Communist Posters </TD> <TD vAlign=top>Dictators Josef Stalin and Mao Tse-Tung</TD> <TD vAlign=top>None</TD></TR> <TR> <TD vAlign=top bgColor=#f4f4ff>Featured U.S. President </TD> <TD vAlign=top bgColor=#f4f4ff>Several images of Honest Abe Lincoln</TD> <TD vAlign=top bgColor=#f4f4ff>None</TD></TR> <TR> <TD vAlign=top>Martial Arts</TD> <TD vAlign=top>Sinatra takes on commie Oriental spy</TD> <TD vAlign=top>None</TD></TR> <TR> <TD vAlign=top bgColor=#f4f4ff>Train scene</TD> <TD vAlign=top bgColor=#f4f4ff>Raymond Meets Eugenie (Rosie)</TD> <TD vAlign=top bgColor=#f4f4ff>Raymond Meets Eugenie (Rosie)</TD></TR> <TR> <TD vAlign=top>Costume Party</TD> <TD vAlign=top>Shaw as cowboy, Jocelyn as queen of diamonds, Sen. Iselin as Abe Lincoln, Mrs. Iselin as Little Bo Peep</TD> <TD vAlign=top>None</TD></TR> <TR> <TD vAlign=top bgColor=#f4f4ff>Press </TD> <TD vAlign=top bgColor=#f4f4ff>Shaw works for newspaper, assassinates liberal publisher</TD> <TD vAlign=top bgColor=#f4f4ff>Propaganda tool</TD></TR> <TR> <TD vAlign=top>U.S. Army </TD> <TD vAlign=top>Believes Marko's conspiracy theory</TD> <TD vAlign=top>Refuses to believe Marko</TD></TR> <TR> <TD vAlign=top bgColor=#f4f4ff>Mother-Son Incest </TD> <TD vAlign=top bgColor=#f4f4ff>Mother plants kiss on son's lips</TD> <TD vAlign=top bgColor=#f4f4ff>Mother plants kiss on son's lips</TD></TR> <TR> <TD vAlign=top>Assassin's Disguise</TD> <TD vAlign=top>Priest</TD> <TD vAlign=top>Military</TD></TR> <TR> <TD vAlign=top bgColor=#f4f4ff>Beware of ...</TD> <TD vAlign=top bgColor=#f4f4ff>Anti-communism and communism (though the warning is secondary to the satire)</TD> <TD vAlign=top bgColor=#f4f4ff>Science, technology, military and big business</TD></TR> <TR> <TD></TD> <TD></TD> <TD></TD></TR> <TR> <TD bgColor=#800000 colSpan=3>MISCELLANEOUS</TD></TR> <TR> <TD bgColor=#dcdcdc>ASPECT</TD> <TD bgColor=#dcdcdc>1962 VERSION</TD> <TD bgColor=#dcdcdc>2004 VERSION</TD></TR> <TR> <TD vAlign=top>Famous Liberal</TD> <TD vAlign=top>None</TD> <TD vAlign=top>Left-wing comedian Al Franken as a journalist</TD></TR> <TR> <TD vAlign=top bgColor=#f4f4ff>Tagline</TD> <TD vAlign=top bgColor=#f4f4ff>If you come in five minutes after this picture begins, you won't know what it's all about! When you've seen it all, you'll swear there's never been anything like it! </TD> <TD vAlign=top bgColor=#f4f4ff>This summer everything is under control.</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>