The Complete Prisoner Megaset

Starring:Fenella Fielding
Studio: A&E Home Video
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com essential video
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.

Amazon.com essential video

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?

Description

Patrick McGoohan's classic 17-episode British TV series, THE PRISONER, has been mesmerizing American viewers since its CBS debut in the summer of 1968. Now, just in time for its 40th anniversary A&E presents this definitive collector's edition of the cult classic series. Fully restored and digitally remastered, THE PRISONER is presented in the fan-preferred episode order, offering a chronological interpretation of perhaps the most unusual and challenging television series ever filmed. After resigning from a top-secret position, a man is abducted from his London home and taken to a mysterious place known only as The Village. Residents of The Village, known only by numbers, are held captive on account of their valuable knowledge. The Prisoner--Number Six--must protect his mind in order to preserve his humanity while he struggles to discover the identity of Number One and achieve freedom by escaping from the repressive grasp of his captors. Set includes all 17 complete color episodes: Arrival / Free For All / Dance of the Dead / Checkmate / The Chimes of Big Ben / A, B, and C / The General / The Schizoid Man / Many Happy Returns / It's Your Funeral / A Change of Mind / Hammer Into Anvil / Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling / Living In Harmony / The Girl Who Was Death / Once Upon a Time / Fall Out DVD Features: Ultra-rare original footage of the 1966 location shooting, accompanied by commentary with Bernie Williams; Bonus Program: THE PRISONER VIDEO COMPANION; Rare, Alternate Version of the Episode "The Chimes of Big Ben"; Rarely Seen "Foreign File Cabinet" Footage; Rarely Seen "Textless" Intro & Outro; Original Broadcast Trailers; Original Series Promotional Trailer; Gallery of Original Production and Promotional Materials; Production Stills Galleries; Interactive Map of the Village; Prisoner Trivia; Interactive Menus; Scene Selection NEW LIMITED EDITION COLLECTOR'S BOOKLET: 60 Fully Illustrated Pages; Hidden Mysteries Surrounding THE PRISONER; Complete Series Guide of All 17 Episodes; Detailed Color Fold-out Map of The Village

Customer Reviews:

EXCELLENT!.......2007-06-27

I already had this series on Laser Disc but with all the extras on the DVDs the experience is now complete.

Excellent service.

No. 6 is No. 1.......2007-06-27

Watched this as a teen when it first came out. I finally broke down and bought it.

Even dressing is an act of defiance!.......2007-06-19

So says the new number Two in an early episode of The Prisoner while watching him getting ready for a new day in the Village.
By the way the following review is for the 40th Anniversary Collectors Edition of The Prisoner.
This 10 DVD set contains many extras and they include the following:
-Rare 8mm and 16mm colour footage of The Prisoner on location in 1966
-A 50 minute special "The Prisoner Video Companion"
-the alternate version of "Chimes of Big Ben"
-rare foreign file cabinet and intro and outro footage
-all the production and series trailers
-picture galleries for all eps and for the /67 press conference
-interactive map of The Village
-lots of trivia
-a fold out map of The Village
-a wonderful interview with the production manager for the series
-and a 60 page illustrated booklet containing synopses of all the episodes plus many other bits of Prisoner patter
The only thing missing are interviews with any of the cast including Mr.McGoohan who is conspicuous by his absence but there are many quotes both visually and in print from him.
Each of the ten discs come in a slim slipcase with annotated info on each ep,behind the scene factoids and some info on the "order" debate.
With regards to the latter I would rather have had this series been released in the original order it was back in /67 than in the more fan friendly version it is in in this set(which is by no means perfect).Now,as in /67 when I first saw this series,I just considered it like a giant jigsaw puzzle.All the pieces were scattered on the table but all one had to do was put them all together and in time the picture would reveal itself.I would like to think Mr.McGoohan himself had a reason for releasing them in the manner he did.However at least they are all here for us to enjoy in any way we feel like seeing them!
The picture quality is slightly weaker on the earlier eps than in the later ones with more defects and what I like to call digital shimmering in evidence.In fact the alternate "Chimes" ep is not in good condition at all ....dirty,blemished,colour faded and a terrible sound variance.I suspect little was done to this one but it's at least fortunate that we still have it with us today for comparison purposes,if nothing else.
The show itself,as you all probably know by now,is about an agent(arguably John Drake,aka Danger/Secret Agent man) who is kidnapped and taken to a place called The Village.Here he daily undergoes physical and especially mental travails from his captors in order to extract the reason(s) for his resignation and any other pertinent information thereof.
The show delves into just about every conceivable discipline which concerns human beings in this world and their condition be it past,present or future.It was a series produced and conceived by the fertile and wonderful mind of its' star Patrick McGoohan and astoundingly much of it was filmed on the fly and brilliantly executed with his talented crew and cast members.
It's like a good book which you cannot put down for a second lest you miss some little juicy tidbit of information or special nuance or subtle sub-text.Through it all you come to question your own condition and all one takes for granted in their lives.Freedom...Reality....what are they? Who,if anyone,is working in my best interests? Who is the real enemy ?
All these questions and so many,many more are touched on throughout this rollercoaster ride with the protagonist.His search is our search and as many questions as he raises,they spawn many more.
I could go on and on but if you have not seen this series I will leave its' interpretations to you......because yours is as valid as any others.And this is what Patrick McGoohan had in mind I suspect right from the start.And this is what makes this arguably the best and smartest show ever to grace the TV airwaves.It may have debuted 40 years ago this year but it has lost NONE of its' impact or appeal.In fact I daresay it has MORE to say to us than ever before.

Questions are a burden to others.......2007-05-24

SPOILER ALERT!!! What follows divulges show secrets. If you haven't seen The Prisoner, do NOT read on. (I am assuming that most people at all interested in a show as old as The Prisoner have already seen it.)

Now, with that said, The Prisoner is easily, hands down, without any reservations the single greatest TV show in history. (A close second, in my book, would be the first four Doctors on the ORIGINAL run of Doctor Who.) The Prisoner wasn't only entertaining, it was thought provoking. To call it "Kafkaesque" is now cliché, though its similarities to Kafka's The Trial are many and striking. (By the way, McGoohan, upon first seeing the real location of The Village while filming an episode of Danger Man there, reportedly thought it was the ideal location for something Kafkaesque. Thus, this was purely intentional.) In The Trial a man is told he must defend himself in a bizarre court but cannot learn what the charge is. He never does. In The Prisoner a man learns he is a prisoner in a place called "The Village," a bizarre prison disguised as a luxury resort. The reasoning behind the prison is that prisoners will be so taken with the luxuries at hand that they will find no reason to escape. For No. 6, the sheer fact that he is not free to escape if he wishes is reason enough to do it. He spends the entire series trying to escape.

After discovering that the man in charge of The Village is himself (yes, No. 6 is No. 1), he manages to leave the Village. Or does he? Notice that when he finally gets home his door opens on its own, just like the doors in The Village. For those who didn't catch on, McGoohan later (in an interview) told us what it all means: No. 6 never escaped. He's still in The Village. Society IS The Village. If you live in society, you ARE a prisoner. But you pretty much HAVE to live in a society, which means you pretty much HAVE to be a prisoner. There is no escaping this fact. As McGoohan had achieved fame with Danger Man, he discovered he was prisoner to a contract he deeply regretted signing. He wanted to escape. Ironically, he was playing a spy on Danger Man, and resigned as star of the show. He then made The Prisoner, about a man who quits his job as a government agent. This has created much debate as to whether No. 6 in The Prisoner is in fact meant to be Drake from Danger Man. McGoohan has said no, but The Prisoner's other main writer and script editor has emphatically said yes. You decide. (I'll go with McGoohan, as I think his ultimate point is that everybody is No. 6. He once said that at the end of the show, he wishes the words "The Beginning" had appeared.) We create our own prisons in our minds. Ever notice that the hand gesture that people in The Village make when they say "be seeing you" forms a number six? Also, at the beginning of almost every episode No. 6 asks No. 2, "Who is No. 1?" No. 2 responds, "You are No. 6." Is this a clue? At the beginning of one episode there is even a pause: "Who is No. 1?" "You are, No. 6."

McGoohan is obviously a libertarian. He despises bureaucracy, authority, and big government. He has said he loves the first amendment, adding emphatically that there can be no freedom without privacy. Thus we see why the greeting in The Village, "be seeing you," is so ominous to No. 6. Sure, it sounds like "see you later," but is really a way of reminding everyone in The Village that they are always under surveillance.

The show and No. 6's character traits and struggle has stayed with me, ever since I first saw it as a child. McGoohan is easily my favorite actor, and it is a true shame he did not star in more movies. I've always loved his devotion to his wife and children, how he never lets his work come before them, how he refuses to film any type of love scene because he doesn't want to kiss anyone but his wife, etc. He is truly a remarkable man. It saddens me that he had to turn down the parts of Gandalf and Dumbledor, due to his bad health, as he would have been perfect in both of them. I am very glad for his part in Braveheart, however, especially considering that before this he had spent much of the early 90s in a coma! Mel Gibson wanted McGoohan in the film as he is also a great Prisoner fan, and even (supposedly) toyed with the idea of helping McGoohan make the film version, playing No. 6 himself. Though I simply cannot think of any other actor who could "become" No. 6 (the role being a pure expression of McGoohan's rare personality), Gibson is about as good of a choice as one could make given the current options. In fact, AMC is currently toying with remaking the entire series, and guess what their greatest obstacle reportedly is? Surprise, surprise: they simply can't find anyone who can pull the role off. The actor would almost have to share McGoohan's convictions to be able to do it, becoming almost an embodiment of pure defiance and anger. The Prisoner is, after all, the single greatest showdown of the individual vs. the collective ever put to film, in my book trumping even The Fountainhead, Bullitt, and Enemy of the People (though Ibsen profoundly influenced McGoohan).

Interestingly, McGoohan and fellow Prisoner star Alexis Kanner later made a film together. Like much of McGoohan's film work, it's not available on DVD (which here is an absolute shame given that 1: McGoohan is one of the best actors alive and 2: this film is simply brilliant.) It's called Kings and Desperate Men, and has many of the same elements that The Prisoner contained. I've always been shocked that Prisoner fans haven't rallied for this film to be released on DVD. Perhaps they've never heard of it. In it, McGoohan's character is taken prisoner (literally) by a group of idealistic youthful liberal misfits. He laughs that they think they're in control simply because they have a shotgun, and proceeds to unravel them all with his wits. His libertarian views come out here as much as in The Prisoner, as his character scoffs at the moral crusaders' silly liberal ranting, and exposes the fact that their leader really doesn't know what he's talking about, and that if what he wanted actually occurred, chaos and anarchy would result. (Now that I've brought Prisoner fans' attention to Kanner and McGoohan's followup to The Prisoner, let's see how fast all 8 copies that exist on Amazon are snatched up. If you like it, try to do something to help get this released on DVD. I've written Anchor Bay several times.)

One of the five best TV shows ever created.......2007-05-18

THE PRISONER is so clever it warrants multiple viewings. Everyone else's reviews below will give away the plot, but there is so much to catch you can't see it all in one viewing. Watch "Many Happy Returns" and see if you didn't catch the number 1 on McGoohan's door (suggesting in advance that he was number one). Watch Annette Andre in the episode about the clock maker in which McGoohan ha to decide whether or not he's being tricked into participating in a cruel game, or whether the inhabitants of the village to plan an assassination. (I get to meet Andre in September at the Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention where she is a guest) and anyone who watched RANDALL AND HOPKIRK (DECEASED), will recognize her in a younger role. They plan to do a remake of this TV series with Christopher Eccleson and regardless of the outcome, we will always have the original that inspired us all. By the way, Amazon.com's price is much better than their competition, so I recommend buying your complete series today.

Average customer rating:

EXCELLENT!
No. 6 is No. 1
Even dressing is an act of defiance!
Questions are a burden to others
One of the five best TV shows ever created

The Complete Prisoner Megaset
Starring: Fenella Fielding
Manufacturer: A&E Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00005NKCQ
Release Date: 2001-09-25

Amazon.com essential video

Description

The Prisoner, one of the most remarkable and challenging science fiction series of all time, follows "No. 6," a former government operative sent into a seemingly idyllic but twisted prison known as "The Village," where he struggles to retain his identity in the face of sophisticated and relentless attempts by the powers-that-be (known as "No. 2") to extract his secrets. Patrick McGoohan's complete classic 17-episode TV series is presented in the fan-preferred viewing order, which follows events and dialogue within each story to provide a consistent and enjoyable viewing experience.

Customer Reviews:

EXCELLENT!.......2007-06-27

I already had this series on Laser Disc but with all the extras on the DVDs the experience is now complete.

Excellent service.

No. 6 is No. 1.......2007-06-27

Watched this as a teen when it first came out. I finally broke down and bought it.

Even dressing is an act of defiance!.......2007-06-19

Questions are a burden to others.......2007-05-24

One of the five best TV shows ever created.......2007-05-18

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