WASHINGTON, Jan. 5 (UPI) -- Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a seasoned politician and likely 2008 presidential candidate, is also a well-informed movie buff.
The senior senator from Arizona is a "lifelong moviegoer," Daily Variety said Friday. He can recite long stretches of film dialogue from memory and recall a great deal of trivia about films.
McCain told the Hollywood trade paper his favorite political film is "The Manchurian Candidate," the story of a Korean War POW being brainwashed by communists who want to turn him into an assassin.
McCain liked both the origial movie and the remake. He said after John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963, the film was pulled from the marketplace, a "testimony to how compelling that movie was."
Other favorites are "All the King's Men" and his top pick "Viva Zapata!" McCain says he admires the film about Emiliano Zapata because the Mexican revolutionary leader "fought to improve the plight of his countrymen."
The senator says his top picks for movie stars are Marlon Brando and Marilyn Monroe.
