The prisoner
40th anniversary set
7 discs and 286 page book
Network DVD
I've been lusting after this box set for a long time but it's priced at over fifty quid. That and the fact that a very dear friend sent me good quality copies of the episodes allowed me to resist. But seeing it yesterday in my local Borders on offer for £24.99 meant I had to get it.
I'm glad I did.
When the final episode was shown on TV one prestigious London newspaper said - 'Good riddance to bad rubbish.' But forty odd years on the show is still held in high regard, still baffling people and in the line for a big budget, big screen remake.
This set of seven discs is a great set for fans of the surrealist masterpiece. There is a feature length documentary that looks into all aspects of the show and stacks more special features - so many in fact that they have a disc all to themselves.
The book that comes with the set is a delight, written by Andrew Pixley it contains a full episode guide and exhaustive details of the production with interviews from the stars and crew of this innovative show that hasn't aged a single day.
"They have written many feeble books on The Prisoner, and they have analysed that which never should have been." Patrick McGoohan.
The book will delight fans with its first time publication of unused story treatments but anyone wanting to finally find out what it all meant with go away feeling disappointed since according to the show's star and main creative force, it means everything and nothing at the same time.
What I did find interesting is that the speculation that Number 6 was actually John Drake, the character from Danger Man, is finally answered. It seemed that originally No 6 was intended to be John Drake but as McGoohan didn't own the character and would have to pay royalties he decided against the idea.
An excellent box set then of an excellent series - I still don't know what it all means though but it's one of those shows I can watch over and over again and I certainly will be starting again from episode one.The remastering makes the show look brand new and the soundtrack is punchy and really shakes the speakers in his brasher moments.
Part Kafka, part Sgt. Peppers, part Lewis Carroll - The Prisoner is a show you either love or hate.
I for one love it.
9 comments:
Like you I'll have to agonize over buying that, but if a tempting offer comes along... I have an old box set on video and I'd love to see it in crisp high-quality format. On the other hand as it was filmed on film there's that pondering about whether it'll one day come out in HD format. Or whether they'll one day uncover additional footage.
I didn't know McGoohan said it meant nothing as I'd always thought his only explanation was that it was an allegory, which was good enough for me.
The thing I like about the making of the series was it being the classic battle between ideas and formula genre fare, in that the other main guy whose name escapes me right now (Tomblin was it?) reckoned he was just making a standard bit of nonsense featuring spies and fisticuffs whereas McGoohan had the loftier ambitions. So the other guy spent the last 20 years of his life scratching his head wondering why people were obsessing over some stuff they made up to fill an hour of tv. But in the end the tension between them created something special as the series can be enjoyed on either of those two levels.
Ian - the book with the box set is very illumination - Mcgoohan also says in the book that if it is about anything it's about individualism.
Yeah, a plea for the rights of the individual in an increasingly controlled world, or something like that - presented in allegorical form.
Does the book have a title? I've got several with varying degrees of pseuds' corner stuff scattered about somewhere. The best is one called Decoding the Prisoner, where the author finds deep significance in every single moment, although I'm sure 90% of it was never intended.
The book is shown in the picture on the post - it's just called The Prisoner: A complete production guide and was written with the stars involvement. The individualism message is more fitting in todays inane climate.
I just watched the entire series again (after McGoohan's passing) and it still holds up well. My favorite episode is A. B. and C and the best #2 has got to be Leo McKern.
David - our tastes are very similar. I understand The Prisoner is huge in the good old US
I never knew about this show when I was young and by the time I found out about it I'd already stopped watching much TV. I probably would have liked it if I'd gotten involved with it.
Is the Pixley Book available on its own?
Ben - No it's exclusive to the box set. You'd really enjoy this book too. I'll email you some points it raises soon as I know you are a huge fan and of course the dear friend I refer to in this post.
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