Friday, October 16, 2009

Rachel Maddow's Favorite Movie

MSNBC's superstar, the smart funny and enlightening Rachel Maddow, is obsessed with all things political... so maybe it's no surprise that she loves The Manchurian Candidate (1962). Politics is not just Maddow's job but her passion. You can see that in her work, just like you can tell which critics and bloggers actually love the cinema and not just the Oscars or the box office tallies or the sound of their own voice. (Not that there's anything wrong with loving those things too -- I recommend two of the three! -- but the cinema must come first)

I already love Rachel but tonight she won my heart anew by having good taste in movies. After playing a clip from The Manchurian Candidate...

That was fictional senator Johnny Iselin doing his best Joe McCarthy act in the film The Manchurian Candidate, the original one, my favorite movie of all time.

This week four Congressional Republicans did their own best senator Johnny Iselin impressions, accusing the Council on American Islamic Relations of trying to infiltrate congressional offices with secret spy interns...
You can see her show here or read more about that particular cuckoo story.

Or you can just mouth off in the comments. Share your love of The Manchurian Candidate or your anger that Angela Lansbury didn't win the Oscar for it ...that complaint never gets old.

Please note: If you have seen the remake but not the original, you're only hurting yourself. Make amends.
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10 comments:

joy said...

This is off topic but recently i attended a celebration of Chris Newman, the legendary sound mixer who worked with Jonathan Demme on that remake and many other films, including Married to the Mob.

Chris showed a clip of it during the program (the kitchen scene at the beginning) and as soon as Michelle's face appears on the screen, he yells at Demme in the auditorium "Isn't she a great actress!". When the latter loudly says “Yes” i immediately thought of you. It was a very sweet moment.

cal roth said...

O V E R R A T E D

Nobody seen Otto Preminger's Advise and Consent? NOw that is a masterpiece of cinema and politics.

And I'm really ok with Patty Duke winning that Oscar.

Fernando Moss said...

and today is Angela Lansbury's 84th Birthday!

Will said...

Happy Birthday to a screen, stage and television legend! Many happy years and roles to come, Ms. Lansbury!

Jim T said...

Nathaniel, you were one of the last bloggers to see Precious but one of the first to see Amelia? What's wrong with this picture? :p

PS: Lansbury is one of these creatures that were born when Oscars didn't exist. Creeeeepy!

Victor S said...

I also wanna know why she still don't have an Honorary Oscar!! Come on Oscar people!!

adelutza said...

I loved Angela Lansbury in The Manchurian Candidate. Not so much the movie itself, but I haven't seen it in a while so maybe the second viewing would be more enlightening.
I have not seen the remake with Meryl Streep but I'm really curious if she's really that bad in it.
I sure hope that somebody writes a great role for Angela Lansbury before it's too late. She's been doing a great job on Broadway, but I would love another great performance on the big screen.

NATHANIEL R said...

joy thanks for sharing that OT story. love it.

Jim T don't knock people who existed before the Oscars. I mean OLIVIA DEHAVILLAND. Respect!

KBJr. said...

Cal Roth hit it on the head by mentioning "Advise & Consent"...that's one of my favorite movies of all time...Seab Cooley, anyone?

As far as Maddow...ugh.

Of course, revisionists would have us believe that McCarthy (with whom I am no apologist) was totally off his rocker when he accused state department officials of being communists. It's clear fact that indeed there were communist infiltrators in our government at the time...we can hate the man's tactics, but he wasn't entirely wrong.

NATHANIEL R said...

cal Duke is indeed Oscar worthy in The Miracle Worker. But it's a lead role, a two hander like Thelma & Louise or Brokeback Mountain.

KBJr what are you on about. Maddow is awesome. I love that she treats even the people she vehemently disagrees with with respect and actual dialog exchange. Too bad there's so little basic respect coming from the other side.

I'd be lying if I said it didn't matter to me what people believed politically BUT it would sure mean a lot less to me if people from every persuasion started speaking in a civil way with each other the way Maddow does on television and the way Obama did on the campaign trail.

we need more smart measured people in the world.