THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE (2004)

THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE (2004). Jonathan Demme, dir., prod. (one of five, including Tina Sinatra). Richard Condon (novel), George Axelrod (1962 screenplay), Daniel Pyne and Dean Georgaris, 2004 script. USA: Paramount, 2004.

Political thriller, updating the 1962 classic. Differs from original in, among other things, the high-tech method of control, esp. images of superimposition of the electronic (and cybernetic?) upon the human brain, and the invasion of body and—more so—brain to place therein small but powerful implants to ensure obedience. Cf. and contrast, e.g., K. Vonnegut's Sirens of Titan, listed under Fiction. Note also relatively positive use/imaging of electro-shock treatment; contrast, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest as novel and film. That the highly destructive technology employed is the product of a politically-potent multinational corporation is significant for the dystopian elements of the film.