The Prisoner - The Complete Series [DVD]
Category: DVD, TV series
Product description
![The Prisoner - The Complete Series [DVD]](/img/the-prisoner-tv-series-box-set.jpg)
Conceived by Patrick McGoohan, who co-produced and starred as the series' lead, The Prisoner created bafflement and controversy aplenty when it first aired on television in the late 1960s. Ahead of its time and unceasingly inventive, this Kafka-inspired series is as entertaining today as it was when it was first seen and seems to get better the more times you watch it.
The episodes are arranged over seven Region 2 DVDs with a total runtime of 850 minutes. There are informative audio commentaries on seven of the episodes and several bonus features, including a feature-length documentary on the series and an extended version of one episode (The Chimes of Big Ben). The DVDs are contained in one sturdy plastic DVD holder which is about 2cm thick. A 280 page book meticulously detailing the series' production accompanies the DVD set, and both are stored in a stylishly designed box.
Product review
The Prisoner is one of the most imaginative and thought-provoking
television series made in the mid-to-late 1960s. Its imaginative stories
and slick, almost pop-artish production design set it apart from all other
television drama of this era, and it remains as fresh and entertaining as
ever. The series was the brainchild of Patrick McGoohan, a major TV
star of the era who was eager to make his mark as a producer, writer and
director. McGoohan's commitment, drive and eccentricity are reflected
in the series with which he is now most associated - an open-ended Kafkaesque
fantasy which you are free to interpret in any way you choose. There is literally
nothing like it and it's a miracle that it was ever made at all.
Although the stories vary considerably in tone and content, each episode essentially boils down to a private duel between The Prisoner (referred to as Number Six and played by the ever-charismatic McGoohan) and his gaoler (Number Two), the aim being to escape from an idyllic, out-of-the way resort named The Village. In each episode, Number Two is played by a different guest star actor (Leo McKern, Patrick Cargill, Anton Rodgers, Peter Wyngarde, George Baker, Mary Morris and Derren Nesbitt, among others), and this is one of the series' main strengths.
What makes The Prisoner so endlessly watchable is that we never know what to expect next, or indeed whether it will ever make any kind of sense. Some episodes (notably A Change of Mind) warn ominously against the power of the state to control its citizens, others fit more readily into the espionage-thriller line. There's a weird digression into classic western territory (Living In Harmony is basically a reworking of High Noon), and some episodes are obviously taken from unused scripts of McGoohan's previous hit series, Danger Man. The final episode in the series is a masterpiece in abstract television storytelling . McGoohan had no idea how to end the series and by this time he didn't really care, so he just let his creativity run rampant. Audiences were outraged by the last episode (Fall Out) when it was first screened in 1968, but it's probably the best final episode of any TV series.
Network's DVD box set of the series more than does justice to one of the most iconic of all television series. Not only are all of the episodes handsomely remastered, the collection comes complete with audio commentaries on seven episodes by several members of the production team, and a wealth of bonus features. Picture galleries, music suites, behind-the-scenes-footage and different versions of the opening titles with alternative (rejected) theme music are all welcome, but the main attraction is a full-length documentary about the series entitled Don't Knock Yourself Out, which tells the full story of the series' turbulent and often chaotic production. If you ever wanted to discover the origins of the mysterious Rover, you're in for a treat. A 280 page book by Andrew Pixley details the series' production across all episodes and is an essential accompaniment when you watch this extraordinary series.
Although the stories vary considerably in tone and content, each episode essentially boils down to a private duel between The Prisoner (referred to as Number Six and played by the ever-charismatic McGoohan) and his gaoler (Number Two), the aim being to escape from an idyllic, out-of-the way resort named The Village. In each episode, Number Two is played by a different guest star actor (Leo McKern, Patrick Cargill, Anton Rodgers, Peter Wyngarde, George Baker, Mary Morris and Derren Nesbitt, among others), and this is one of the series' main strengths.
What makes The Prisoner so endlessly watchable is that we never know what to expect next, or indeed whether it will ever make any kind of sense. Some episodes (notably A Change of Mind) warn ominously against the power of the state to control its citizens, others fit more readily into the espionage-thriller line. There's a weird digression into classic western territory (Living In Harmony is basically a reworking of High Noon), and some episodes are obviously taken from unused scripts of McGoohan's previous hit series, Danger Man. The final episode in the series is a masterpiece in abstract television storytelling . McGoohan had no idea how to end the series and by this time he didn't really care, so he just let his creativity run rampant. Audiences were outraged by the last episode (Fall Out) when it was first screened in 1968, but it's probably the best final episode of any TV series.
Network's DVD box set of the series more than does justice to one of the most iconic of all television series. Not only are all of the episodes handsomely remastered, the collection comes complete with audio commentaries on seven episodes by several members of the production team, and a wealth of bonus features. Picture galleries, music suites, behind-the-scenes-footage and different versions of the opening titles with alternative (rejected) theme music are all welcome, but the main attraction is a full-length documentary about the series entitled Don't Knock Yourself Out, which tells the full story of the series' turbulent and often chaotic production. If you ever wanted to discover the origins of the mysterious Rover, you're in for a treat. A 280 page book by Andrew Pixley details the series' production across all episodes and is an essential accompaniment when you watch this extraordinary series.
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