John Frankenheimer’s Award-winning 1962 classic THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE will be back in cinemas this spring, in a sparkling new Digital Cinema version.

With an all-star cast including Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey, Janet Leigh and Angela Lansbury, this political suspense thriller centers on the mysterious behaviour of an US Army hero.

An American Army patrol, led by Ben Marco (Frank Sinatra) and Raymond Shaw (Laurence Harvey), is betrayed during the Korean War behind Red lines and captured by Communist troops. The Americans are cleverly brainwashed and made to believe that they took part in a successful action against the Reds. Back in America, Marco, a major in Army intelligence, is troubled by recurring nightmares in which he sees Shaw murder two of his comrades. Believing that something is wrong about Shaw, Marco starts an investigation to find out the truth…

It’s a delightfully dark film which showcases the talents of the director and of Sinatra as a fine dramatic actor. The remake starring Denzel Washington was not without its merits and succeeded partly because it went down a different route to the original. That’s not to say that Frankenheimer’s film needed to be significantly updated, just that we benefit from seeing two great films rather than just the one.

It is surprisingly violent and jolts the system early on, moreover the film is paced superbly to allow the story to unfold and yet remain utterly compelling. Shaw cuts a tragic figure but is one you will find absorbing and it is his relationship with his mother that marks out the story as something new and fresh. Of course there is a cold war atmosphere throughout but it is the disturbing relationship between the pair that come to the fore later on in the story.

Lansbury excels, and does so without resorting to OTT gestures or grandstanding… she works the audience as she does her weakling son. Sinatra proves to be an excellent sounding board and then manages to find a strong role within the film for himself. His tense and awkward interactions with both Shaw and Janet Leigh are surely amongst his career highs.

Quite rightly considered a classic, but one with so many themes running through it that it feels fresh and up to date even now.