The Show
Who better to play an accomplished British super-spy entering the next phase of his life than Patrick McGoohan? A wholly unofficial "sequel" to his series Secret Agent Man, The Prisoner remains one of the most cerebral bits of weekly entertainment ever to grace the small screen, a precursor (by decades) of shows like Lost and their ilk, with their ever-present theme of "Where am I and what the hell is going on here?" Unfortunately for Number Six, the government agent who awoke in The Village with no more name and no more freedom, his questions and ours went unresolved, as the show was cancelled after a mere 17 episodes, comprising The Complete Series.
But what a 17, several written and directed by the hands-on McGoohan himself. Might all of that anger, intrigue and paranoia have been too much for 1967/1968 audiences? What the show might have lacked in flashy car chases and explosions it more than made up for with subtle wit, and even subtler clues. What does Number Six know? Why did he resign? Who is Number One? With the star/creator now retired to that great Village in the sky, we'll never know the whole story...
The Picture
Originally shot on 35mm film, The Prisoner fares well in the high-def arena. There is some flicker born of compression upon the 1.33:1 image, as well as some ringing and some video noise in the backgrounds, but the groovy '60s colors are quite bold and lovely. Even fine textures like the faint sheen on Number Six's jacket are captured and preserved by this new HD master. The striking original cinematography really shines on this new Blu-ray edition, sharper and more lifelike than I've ever seen for this show.
The Sound
The music is captivating almost immediately, but just when I thought that this would be the only beneficiary of this new multichannel remix--including some sweet phasing of big drums--I detected the distinct tweeting of birds, and the oppressive 5.1 presence of the Village helicopter over a scene. In short, the sound re-designers know what they're doing, without feeling the need for excessive reinvention. There's a modest directionality within the soundfield, and an unsettling big, shrill quality to that freaky white blob, the Rover. The Dolby Digital format for the 5.1 track is a slight letdown in light of Blu-ray possibilities, but I have to wonder how much more high-resolution clarity could be culled from 40-year old TV audio. The as-broadcast original track is also presented as Dolby Digital Dual-Mono.
The Extras
Audio commentary tracks are provided for a total of seven episodes by several members of the original production crew, including production manager Bernie Williams, film librarian Tony Sloman, writers Vincent Tisley and Roger Parkes, editors Noreen Ackland and John S. Smith, directors Pat Jackson and Peter Graham Scott, and music editor Eric Mival. A four-minute side-by-side comparison of the restoration work is impressive in HD. Virtually all of the other bonus material is presented on Disc Five, a DVD, and therefore in standard definition.
"Don't Knock Yourself Out" is a 95-minute documentary (called "exclusive," but dated 2007) assembled from interviews with almost 400 people, but not McGoohan, whose quote at the beginning eloquently explains why. Actor Peter Wyngarde puts a comic spin on his interview for "The Pink Prisoner" and "You Make Sure It Fits!" recounts the experiences of music editor Mival (nine minutes each). The restored original edit of the very first episode, "Arrival," includes an optional music-only track for Wilfred Joseph's complete, abandoned score. Test footage for the giant undulating Rover is revealed, as are text-less title sequences with three different accompanying musical themes.
The controversial original edit of "The Chimes of Big Ben" (once referred to as "rarely seen," but it's been on DVD for years now) is here too, along with vintage trailers and commercial bumpers. The Image Archive contains more than 1,200 stills, while a DVD-ROM feature, the Production Paperwork Archive, collects scripts and more, over half-a-gigabyte worth of PDFs.
Final Thoughts
While never quite "mainstream," The Prisoner has nonetheless earned quite a devoted, and seemingly ever-expanding fan base, so much so that AMC is set to air a brand-new mini-series update. But there's never been a better way than this Blu-ray set to see where it all began.
Product Details
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