The Manchurian Candidate (1962)

It’s still kind of shocking to me how well made this is almost sixty years after its release. John Frankenheimer really found ways to push his camera into odd angles film scenes in disconcerting ways to increase tension and anxiety all while translating a story that’s compelling and populating it with great characters. It’s rightfully held up as one of the great American political thrillers.

One of the things I find most interesting about how the story is built is how we know within fifteen min...