damn, all kinds of brainwashing and ideological infiltrations from the inside and outside in this satire about the disturbing double bottom realities of politics. deeply infused with cold war paranoia and the McCarthyism narrative of the enemy within.

republican senator Jospeh McCarthy was not joking when he went on his hunt for 'commies' in the late 1950s. blacklisting and ruining the life of thousands of innocent people along the way. public opinion finally turned against him when he went for the army. hold the line patriots, haha. even if his power diminished almost instantly, he's still somewhat considered the father of modern day conspiracy theories. turning complex socio- and geopolitical realities into simple them against us narratives dipping into primordial fears and anxieties and instrumentalizing these for ones own political agenda and rise in power. sure does sound familiar.

Frankenheimer clearly succeeds in messing with us here. it's often very confusing, thereby underlining the postmodern fear of lack of control. at the beginning I didnt really understand what was going at all. there's something phony about all this. agreed!

the director's satirical take of McCarthian hysteria in an era of rising global complexity with political turmoil on all sides of the equation softens the lines between good versus bad to the extremes. obliterating our sense of self image and world order. so McCarthy was not who we thought he was, still he was right after all? about the red scare? mind boggling to say the least. it's a wildly exaggerated materialisation of the agitated zeitgeist of the times, of the unsettling feeling that there is a secret nature in all this.

who is this mysterious "they" one of the victims asks our korean war veteran mind controlled assassin played by great Laurence Harvey. ironically he's the most conscious and morally integral character, "the kindest, most bravest, warmest and wonderful human being you can imagine". so it's our best man being corrupted, undermining our faith in our own decency along with it.

the social commentary is very much relevant to this day. more than ever obscurely distorted depictions of realities are used as partisan weapon. just like attacking unpopular minorities in the name of patriotism and a seemingly threatened national security. the wish for clear responsibilities in a highly complex world increasingly marginalizing people on the lower end of society is as big as ever. maybe the hidden force is just plain and simple corporate greed in an unregulated capitalism. no wonder communists are the biggest enemy here. you have to be in political power to deregulate correctives for maximizing profits. politics as displayed here are nothing more than the extended arm in installing this environment. that does ring a bell in me. the less socioeconomical power the masses have the more they crave being a part of something bigger, gravitating towards a powerful authoritarian leader. the inversion of the american dream. or perversion, idk.

Frankenheimer hints at the destructive force brought to society by right wing demagogues and their hidden agenda. their calculated division in exploiting the fear of a foreign threat, even placing this anxiety in our very middle, is doing the exact opposite of their claims. instead of empowering they're weakening the country from within, provoking politically motivated violence in form of riots and as shown here assassinations. and with all this turmoil ultimately strengthening their path to authoritarian power.

a deeper analysis of the female villain played by murder, she wrote star Angela Lansbury, the true queen of diamonds here, would be insightful. maybe she is supposed to disrupt our feeling of security even more, going for the wife and loving mother, dismantling this vital image at the heart of patriachy. she seems truly evil. a corresponding shadow figure within in this patriarchal setting, manipulating and acting through men is her only way to come into power.

immensely relevant and endlessly rewatchable classic.

watched the 4k restoration by Kino Lorber, great commentary with John Frankenheimer, so insightful, love listening to him. 5/5