| If a top-level spy decided he didn't want to be a spy anymore, could he just walk into HQ and hand in his resignation? With all that classified knowledge in his head, would he be allowed to become a civilian again, free to go about his life? The answer, according to the stylish, brilliantly conceived 1960s British TV series The Prisoner, is a resounding no. In fact, instead of receiving a gold watch for his years of faithful service, our hero (played by Patrick McGoohan) is followed home to his London flat and knocked unconscious. When he awakens, he finds himself in a picturesque village where everyone is known by a number. Where is it? Why was he brought here? And, most important, how does he leave? As we learn in Episode 1, Number 6 can't leave. The Village's "citizens" might dress colorfully and stroll around its manicured gardens while a band plays bouncy Strauss marches, but the place is actually a prison. Surveillance is near total, and if all else fails, there's always the large, mysterious white ball that subdues potential escapees by temporarily smothering them. Who runs the Village? An ever-changing Number 2, who wants to know why Number 6 resigned. If he'd only cooperate, he's told, life can be made very pleasant. "I've resigned," he fumes. "I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed, or numbered. My life is my own." So sets the stage for the ultimate battle of wills: Number 6's struggle to retain his privacy, sanity, and individuality against the array of psychological and physical methods the Village uses to break him. So does he ever escape? And does he ever find out who Number 1 is? "Questions are a burden to others," the Village saying goes. "Answers, a prison for oneself." Within this complete 17-episode set, all is revealed. Or is it? --Steve Landau Also on the disc
The 17 episodes are contained on four Blu-ray discs, and they look fantastic. This is older footage (1968) that really shows a marked improvement in high definition. Audio can be played in either Dolby Digital 5.1 or the original mono. Bonus features are included on the episode discs and on a fifth disc, which is a standard-definition DVD rather than a Blu-ray disc. Don't Knock Yourself Out is a 95-minute documentary from 2007 about the history of The Prisoner, including the early career of Patrick McGoohan and how a trip to Wales for Danger Man helped him discover Portmerion. New interviews with the original cast and crew are complemented by archive footage. There are two new featurettes--"The Pink Prisoner" and "You Make Sure It Fits!"--as well as production-crew commentaries on seven episodes, archive textless materials, extensive images and production archives, and a 30-second promo for the 2009 AMC miniseries. --David Horiuchi |
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 I AM NOT A NUMBER, I AM A BOX SET OF DVDs |
| Review Date: August 4, 2001 |
| Reviewer: Eric Pregosin, New Carrollton, Maryland United States |
| Well not exactly Patrick McGoohan's opening from The Prisoner, but it did catch your attention :-). Seriously here they are, all 17 episodes plus the Prisoner Video Companion originally offered on MCI Home Video now on DVD compliments of our good friends at A&E. What's nicer is the episodes are arranged in what the fans believe to be the chronological order of the episodes in terms of Number 6's time in the Village rather than order of original airdate (although some of them are in airdate order). As a hint at this look carefully at "The General" and "A, B and C". Both star Colin Gordon as Number 2, but in the opening for "A, B and C" he says "I am number 2" rather than "The new number 2". Also this set contains something released on video previously but only in England, a special edition of the 5th episode of the series, "The Chimes of Big Ben". Definitely the best of McGoohan's 3 British Secret Agent types series, but also the quintessential scifi series as well. By the way, a special debt of gratitude to A&E Homevideo. When this series first came out on VHS on MPI Homevideo in 1990, they made a muff in the episode "Checkmate". In the "Where am I" segment of the opening sequence it started with McGoohan doing it with the fore mentioned Colin Gordon even though Peter Wyngarde played Number 2 in this episode. By the third line "That would be telling" the tape was ok. I can't speak for the new A&E VHS copy, but on these DVDs the muff has NOT recurred. Which means either A&E acquired a better copy of the episode to restore on DVD or someone told them about the flub from 11 years ago. So kudos to A&E Video for to repairing this decade old "blooper". This 10 pack is much better buy than the 5 sets of 2 DVDs individually. Get it now, return to the Village and escape at your own pace. |
A must for Prisoner fans
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| Review Date: June 4, 2002 |
| Reviewer: Alexander E. Paulsen, Jacksonville, Fl United States |
I myself did not think the transfer was all that bad. In fact I think it looks good on my 61" Sony and Sony DVD.
I started watching the Prisoner when it first released in the US as summer replacement. I have been hooked ever since.
Yes it is about a spy or "Secret Agent" who resigns in obvious disgust and is kidnapped, taken to a very mysterious, secret and very secure place known as "The Village". It is also about his attempts at escape and other intrigues. Leading edge spy stuff for its time.
To appreciate The Prisoner you must go beneath the surface at what The Prisoner really means. The series is full of symbolism and social commentary while The Vilage is referred to as "The model for a new world order" by one of the constantly changing #2's.
The series blew everyones mind in the late 60's when it aired. I knew many people who could not get it and never watched more than one or two episodes. The die-hard fans hung in there and got our own minds blown in "Fall Out" the final episode.
After years and careful noticeof the world and politics and social upheavals The Prisoner now makes sense immediately to people who are just now seeing it for the first time - like my 22 year old daughter. she had it figured out (correctly) by the 3rd DVD.
Anyway, this is an important series and TV's first true masterpiece. It is a work or art, it is a social commentary and it is very prophetic and more relevant than ever.
I love this set. I enjoyed the bonus tracks. To those who think the bonus tracks are lacking, remember this is a TV show produced in 1967. This is a veritable gold mine of bonus material.
After seeing all 17 episodes again in order, sharing them with my daughter had brought me to even new revelations about the series and the genius behind them.
My daughter thinks the special effects and action sequences are not realistic - BUT be reminded again, this is a TV series from 1967.
Could The Prisoner be remade and updated? Perhaps, but I would have a fear of losing the message. This series was created in an era of relative innocence when most people trusted the government. This is one of the things thsat made the series so remarkable.
Here we are 37 years after production and we are STILL discussing it;s significance. While I might agree with my daughter that modern production values and updated special effects woulc be a good spice to the series I would fear destroying the essence and the uniqueness.
Mc Goohan had a degree of freedom when producing the series. Any newer production would most likely be polluted by attempts to make it more mass-market acceptable.
The Prisoner is a sensitive work and a work of genius. Buy the DVD set and enjoy. |
Amazing quality, a must buy for any fan of The Prisoner.
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| Review Date: October 28, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Brother Bish, |
I bought The Prisoner on Blu-ray yesterday. Contrary to the one star reviews that were written before the Blu-ray release by people that had not seen the Blu-ray set yet, I can definitively say the picture and sound quality is top notch and is 100x better than the previous US dvd releases. (which I also own and compared it too.)
There really is no comparison here. The previous dvd's were muddy and the picture quality was severely lacking. The image on the Blu-ray release is crisp, clear and looks absolutely amazing. It looks like it could have been filmed yesterday.
I think if I had one complaint it would be that the fifth disc that contains many of the extras is a regular DVD and not in HD. However knowing that I would still have bought this set and been completely happy with my purchase.
The Prisoner has never looked or sounded better. |
What's it all about?
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| Review Date: August 19, 2005 |
| Reviewer: landru141, Planet Houston |
DVD - overview. Well, they are excellent transfers. Visually its as clear as it will ever be. The sound is a bit thin and could have used the detailed thought that went into the Original Star Trek series. The miracle would have been to actually interview or have McGoohan himself do a commentary. Since he's notoriously closed mouthed about this series, don't expect it. Ever.
The Show - What's it all about? There are at least 3 ways to view this series, which is at least 2 more ways than almost anything generated by popular culture in the last 50 years. However deeply you decide to invest your thoughts, it will not go unrewarded. The Prisoner is simply the best television show ever made and one of the few that actually attempts to make the disposable medium "art." The fact that I'm writing about it nearly 40s years later is a testament to the achievement of the singularly minded force behind it: the star, Patrick McGoohan.
McGoohan had come off a second 2-year run of his popular "Danger Man" series. The first series ran from 1960-62, the second from 1964-66 ... look them up on this site for further info ... and were hugely successful both in the UK and in the US. He had already turned down the role of 007 before it was offered to Sean Connery for various "moral reasons" which still seem vague to this day. He seemed to find the character of Bond's habit of killing and womanizing distasteful. In 1962, this wasn't such a big deal. James Bond had been a popular series of novels and the first movie was considered a modest undertaking at best. (Future Bond and current star of "The Saint" Roger Moore was approached and also turned it down.) Fast-forward to 1966, as McGoohan's own show was now going into its 5th year, he was offered the role again. It had gone from a cult possibility in 1962 to international icon status in just 5 years. It would have made McGoohan an international superstar. He turned it down again. There are rumors that he was even offered the role a third time, though I can't figure out when that would have been. Also, by this time, McGoohan was growing tired of the spy format and decided to start a new show, despite the fact that filming had already begun on the next series. What was needed was a concept that would continue to utilize his popular public image of good-looking leading man hero and his Bond-like secret agent character, while twisting them up in psychedelia and strange psychological concepts. McGoohan was, although there appear to have been no consciously stated thoughts on the subject, about to turn the world inside out.
The obvious angle to understand The Prisoner is the literal interpretation: A secret agent, most likely McGoohan's character from "Danger Man" (called "Secret Agent" in the US), resigns from his job. We never know why and in the opening his dialogue is covered by thunder clapping and music. We know he's mad and he slams his resignation on the desk. He is then drugged, kidnapped, and wakes up in the Village, which is like a resort hotel (it is in real life). Its a place he can never leave. He doesn't even know who's running it; East or West. All they want to know is why he resigned, but he's a stubborn man and an expert spy. Only the most sophisticated methods could get him to talk. He is not called a name. No one has names, only numbers. He is Number 6. Each week he is continually tortured, etc, by a revolving set of Number 2's, the seeming master of the Village. But, there is a Number 1 ... always unseen, always watching. Throughout the remainder of the episodes, the Prisoner is forced to undergo mind-altering experiments, some subtle, some not, all the while attempting to escape. He never does. Or does he?
The second way to view the series is as an allegory for the plight of the Everyman against the machine-like nature of society. This is the stated aim of the program's bizarre, seemingly undecipherable ending. The revelation of the identity of Number 1 was awaited with such anticipation in Europe that the actual event itself caused McGoohan to return to his birthplace (the US) for good.
However, the Everyman allegory doesn't quite fit all the facts. It seems more personal and, as the series went on, McGoohan seemed more and more determined to ditch the original "espionage prison camp" idea, much to the annoyance of his co-producer and the TV executives. They couldn't do anything, as McGoohan had complete control. The subconscious underpinnings of the years leading up to the Prisoner seem to emerge as pieces of a twisted media mind-game. Is he messing with us because we messed with him? The show very quickly became about McGoohan's fight against his public image (how a good-looking face becomes associated with so many positive concepts, whether or not its true of the person), the constant pressure of fame, loss of privacy, and continual nagging demand to know his "reasons" for his decisions (for not doing Bond, for not continuing Secret Agent, etc.), and the subconscious hypnotism/supplication each of us must fight everyday.
When a person is literally "in the spotlight" they see the world from within a bubble. It is, therefore, no coincidence that the concept of the "eye" is so important to the world of The Village. The eye is a ball that perceives objects upside down and backwards. Our brains then translate these images automatically and we percieve them as normal ... but does our subconscious mind fully understand what is happening? Since, one question that seems to be central to the piece is the psychological concept of authority, is it not unreasonable to ask "why do we allow people into our heads and assume they are our betters?" The Butler who never speaks, but answers to the "authority" of the moment. He is the real "everyman." Number 2 is always different, but always the authority figure (only answerable to an unseen Number 1.) He or she is seated in a half-circle chair, generally facing away from Number 6, which then rotates back to face him. This could represent the mind's way of percieving another human being and accepting that person as mentally superior. The Boss. The message is obvious and yet completely subtle: everyday the mind subconsciously let's go of personal individuality by believing that another human being is in anyway superior. The person in question can range anywhere from a parent, school teacher, boss, politician, King, or even Pope. Sometimes they are merely "emotionally" manipulative, as in "The Girl Who was Death." The point seem to be the moment the individual loses control to another human being. And, worse, it isn't the obvious acts that are the most dangerous. The world is conditioning the mind to behave.
The eye percieves all of this and the brain translates it. If you accept this, you'll find that it is no coincidence that the revelation of Number 1 should come through the a crystal ball. (no spoilers.)
In short, this show will force you to think. If you refuse to think, you will probably still find it a wild ride. Only the few, the weak, will dislike it because they are too mentally lazy to work out the finer points. But, then again, "One must either be hammer or anvil."
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Everything a fan of THE PRISONER could have hoped for!
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| Review Date: October 29, 2009 |
| Reviewer: Robert Moore, Chicago, IL USA |
I put the first disc of the new Blu-ray of THE PRISONER on with some nervousness. Not all shows from the sixties do well in high def. For one thing, they were usually filmed with the knowledge that much of the detail was going to be lost when shown on the tube televisions of the time. Others have not been preserved well. But if there was a series from the sixties that seemed likely to survive translation to Blu-ray, it was THE PRISONER. Putting it on I worried that it might be merely an updating of the previous DVD, with a bit of surround sound thrown in for good measure.
I was ecstatic from the very first moment the famous opening credits started. I simply can't rave enough about this. I watched the first episode from my DVD set shortly before trying out the Blu-ray and the improvement of the picture is enormous. The increase of definition is amazing, as details as any show you will watch today in high def. The sound is bright and vibrant, with the option of listening either in 5.1 stereo or in the original mono (though I much prefer the surround sound -- it leads to a much more immersive experience, and I'm sure that they would have made it in surround sound had the technology existed at the time). But perhaps the biggest improvement is in the color. All of the colors are much deeper than in the older DVD. The total improvement is so extreme that it is almost like seeing the series anew, which is not all that easy to do since this is about the 8th or 9th time that I've watched the series. I saw the whole thing as a child when it first came out on American TV in the summer of 1968. I had never seen anything like this in my life (well, there wasn't anything like this). Then a few years later, in the mid-1970s, I caught it again on a PBS station. At Yale in the spring of 1977 I saw it on the big screen at Berkley College's film society. Then around 1984 I saw it on one of the cable stations (I don't remember which). Next, I saw it on VHS with a woman I was dating in 1989. Then I watched it a couple of times on DVD, once on my own and then with my daughter. But I have to say that I've never enjoyed watching it as much as I have in this new edition. Never, ever has it sounded this good or looked so spectacular.
One reason the show looks so great on high def is that few TV series have ever taken so much care with the way they look. I would be willing to bet that the show has more set ups per minute than any show in the history of TV, including miniseries. There are an astonishing number of shots during the course of each episode. The show is almost profligate in the number of shots. For instance, in a 20 second sequence showing Number Six walking across the village we might get 7 or 8 set ups. This simply is not done on television, where the emphasis is on shooting quickly and economically.
If I have a disappointment, it is that there are not as many special features as I would have liked. For instance, while there are commentaries galore, there are not some things that I would have liked. For instance, how about a two-hour documentary on the making of THE PRISONER. Few TV shows demand a feature like that, but if THE PRISONER doesn't demand that kind of treatment, what show does?
Another mild disappointment is that Patrick McGoohan did not live to see this edition of his masterpiece. I'm sure he would be enormously delighted to know that new generations of fans of his great series will see it in in ways that no one ever has before (even the big screen version I saw had a scratched print).
The series is, of course, one of the greatest things ever made for television. On the off chance that the reader of this review is unaware of the story, Patrick McGoohan (who not only created and starred in this series, but wrote and directed most of the episodes, frequently using fake names to disguise just how complete his involvement in the show was) had been the star of the highly successful British TV series DANGER MAN, released in the United States as SECRET AGENT MAN, and with the finest theme song in the history of TV, Johnny Rivers's hit single of the same name (originally Rivers had only a verse and the chorus, but when radio DJs wanted the "complete" song to play on the airwaves, he returned to the studio and added more verses). McGoohan's show was a huge hit but he bowed out and made this series. It is easy to read into THE PRISONER his experience in leaving DANGER MAN, especially given that Number Six clearly seems to be John Drake from DANGER MAN. Similarly it is easy to tie the show into all kinds of issues of the sixties. Embracing the liberal themes of the sixties, McGoohan clearly wanted to deal with issues of the individual of conscience in a time when governments were pressuring individuals to conform to specific ideologies. Number Six's resistance is across the board, but is focused on a single thing: his refusal to explain why he resigned from the secret service. Interestingly, the series does not proceed in serial fashion, but instead is largely episodic. Luckily, some of the individual episodes are spectacular. The series has only one lamentable aspect: the series finale is a let down, descending into near incoherence. But ignore the ending. The show as a whole is unforgettable. Once you have seen it you never quiet let go of it. References to is permeate our culture. For instance, in naming the memorable Cylon in the red dress, BATTLESTAR GALACTICA's Ron Moore gave a nod to THE PRISONER by dubbing her Number Six.
And now the show, always brilliant, can now be seen in this glorious new version. If you are a fan of THE PRISONER and have a Blu-ray player, you simply must get this. If you have never seen THE PRISONER, you also must get this, simply to experience one of the greatest series in the history of television. |
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