[bigred]DVD[/bigred]
Amazon.com
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 http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002NB421C/?tag=imwan-20
[bigred]Blu-ray[/bigred]
Blu-ray Features• 1080p24 video for all 17 episodes, plus 5.1 audio.
• "Don't Knock Yourself Out": this exclusive, feature-length documentary is the definitive look at the production of THE PRISONER, told by those involved in its creation. It includes a combination of archive and newly-filmed interviews with nearly 400 people, including Amette Andre, Bernard Williams, David Tomblin, Derren Nesbitt, Peter Wyngarde, Anton Rodgers, Michael Grade, George Baker and Peter Bowles.
• Additional featurettes:
o "The Pink Prisoner": Peter Wyngarde pays tribute to the series in this unique cross between an interview and comedy sketch.
o "You Make Sure it Fits": music editor Eric Mival discusses his role behind the scenes in making 'The Prisoner' and provides a unique look at the Music Bible for the show.
• Newly restored original edit of "Arrival" with an optional music-only soundtrack featuring Wilfred Josephs' complete and abandoned score.
• Original edit of the episode "The Chimes of Big Ben."
• Production crew audio commentaries on seven episodes.
• Image Archive: individual galleries of over 1,200 stills are featured throughout this set, including episodic shots, generic/PR Photos, coverage of the original press conference in 1967 and Jack Shampan's designs.
• Archive material, including textless titles with clean themes by Ron Grainer, Wilfred Josephs, and Robert Farnon, as well as material from Rover, Foreign 'Filing Cabinet' title footage and the McGoohan photo montage from "Arrival."
• Production Paperwork Archive: original scripts for each episode, along with other rarely-seen production documentation, press releases, call sheets and other memorabilia. This unique collection is sourced from the personal archives of Tony Sloman, Steven Ricks, and Simon Coward and is reproduced here with their permission and assistance. (DVD-ROM Feature)
• Exposure strips gallery.
• Commercial break bumpers.
• Trailers for all episodes.
• Preview of AMC's 'The Prisoner' mini-series remake.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002C68WOG/?tag=imwan-20
