The Manchurian Candidate is the kindest, bravest, warmest, most wonderful movie I've ever known in my life.

I really enjoyed a couple of the early scenes. The brainwashing dream sequences were interesting to watch, and the press conference with the television screens was very cleverly done. I did feel the plot got a little loose towards the end, but the climax was a tad unorthodox, which was a pleasant surprise.

The tension, mystery and acting were spot on. Sinatra is good as a buttoned-up but increasingly paranoid major, but IMO the two stand-out performances were Laurence Harvey's and Angela Lansbury's. There were two very strange plot coincidences Janet Leigh's baffling obsession with the sweating, twitchy Major Marco, and Jocelyn Jordan dressing as the queen of diamonds that left me disappointed when everything was involved, as if they'd been put in as red herrings even though they make very little sense.