Having viewed both the 1962 and 2004 versions of The Manchurian Candidate, what do you consider the most striking difference between the two films? What is their most striking similarity?
5 thoughts on “Week 12 Day 2 Discussion Question 1”
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There are a number of differences between the 1962 and 2004 film. One that particularly stands out is the difference in technology and torture in the brainwashing techniques. While the original film uses the “garden club” as the scene for the soldiers’ brainwashing, the 2004 version uses advanced lab science to portray the experimentation. The dreams of both Ben Marco and Al Melvin in the 2004 remake are significantly more disturbing for the viewer as the film increased the use of fake blood and physical manipulation of the characters. Additionally, the film uses television and media much differently in the newer version. Marco sees Shaw for the first time on television in his vice presidential campaign speech, which adds another layer of complexity to the film. Additionally, the difference in the portrayal and characterization of Eleanor Shaw is striking. While in the 1962 film she has qualities of a controlling mother, in the 2004 version, her characters’ manipulative and controlling personality become much more evident. Her speech at the beginning of the film, which she delivers on behalf of her son’s vice presidential campaign, demonstrates the power she has, even over influential men. However, there are also similarities between both films. They both portray an evil backdrop, the 1962 clearly referencing communism and the Red Menace, while the 2004 version uses the growing concerns of terrorism in place for the Soviet threat.
Having watched both the 1962 and 2004 versions of The Manchurian Candidate, there are a number of striking differences between the two, however, the basic structure remains the same. At first I want to say that the most striking difference was Raymond Shaw’s relationship with Jocelyn or his taking the position of his step-father politician from the original. But thinking about it more, I’d say they actually stayed true to the original despite this second change, for instance, still having a Manchurian-manipulated individual, Major Bennett Marco, killing Raymond and his mother, Eleanor. I think the most striking difference is the way the two films give information to the audience. In the 1962 version, the fact that this group of soldiers has been brainwashed is not outright said, but rather leaked to the audience who can’t say for sure until about the middle of the film. It has many hints and strange things happening which suggest it throughout. In the 2004 version, they have already shown the audience something wrong is happening right from the beginning when Bennett is knocked out instead of being shot. I felt the mystery was part of what made the film such a powerful testament of fear and with the lack of strong characters to represent communist ideals in the 2004 version, there is far less to take away from it in a Cold War context. Their most striking similarity, perhaps, is in the role of Eleanor, Raymond’s mother. Of course she takes a more up-front political role in the 2004 version, but her ambition and intellect still provide an important comparison in the male dominated cast.
The rhetoric of the politician changes. While in the first version, Raymond Shaw is getting his popular support by condemning communism, it is the war against terror in the second version that seems to be the main topic of the campaign. Also, in the first version, it is Raymond’s father who is running for the president, whereas it is Raymond himself in the second version.
As a similarity, in both movies the mother is portrayed as a crazy character who wants to do anything in order to get what she wants. It is almost telling the story of how dangerous it is to let women into the politics.
The most striking difference between the two films was the clear modernization of the film. The remake clearly was a complete update in technology. The remake showed the brainwashing scenes as the implanted chips into the head of Shaw. The Doctors have incredibly advanced equipment to control Shaw compared to the 1962 film where the soldiers were just brainwashed. The plot is the same, yet the way the film depicts scenes is quite different. The scenes of war are with modernized special weaponry with night vision and many explosions and death compared to the original which is far more tame. One striking similarity that I noticed were the actors that played the role of Raymond Shaw were incredibly similar. Liev Schreiber play the role of Raymond Shaw in the 2004 film and Laurence Harvey in the 1962 film. What was similar was that they both evoked empathy from the viewer. Although they were communist the viewer felt sorry for the position that he was put in. Both films were quite similar although made nearly 60 years apart.
I think the most striking difference between the two versions of the Manchurian Candidate was the remake’s use of gore. The original movie lacked blood but the remake showed gratuitous amounts of gore. Marco’s initial dream, in which we see removed brains, and the scene that depicts Shaw’s strangling of his squamate illustrate this all too well. I frankly was so disgusted by the amount of gore that it became hard for me to focus on the film’s deeper meanings and insights. I’m not sure if the director intended the use of blood to be a way to make the audience understand the sinisterness of Manchurian Global, but it became just overwhelming. I think the most striking similarity between the two film’s was the use of Raymond’s mother as the villain. In both film’s, she enlists Raymond to be brainwashed and then triggers him to kill her adversaries. In my opinion, the use of the mother as the central villain is essential to the plot. Her corruption, in both movies, is a sort of microcosm that reflects missteps in America’s political system, which both films try to highlight. In other words, she embodies the corruption of the motherly figure which casts light on the films’ central themes that the American political system has become corrupt, whether it be through communist infiltration or meddling private corporations.