The Prisoner on DVD (1967)

A customer from Bedfordshire, England. , 06/08/2005

The prisoner first shown in 1968 and again in it’s entirety at the end of 1982 by channel 4 in the U.K was one of the most talked about and controversial TV series ever broadcast.

Still most people including myself cannot workout with precision what it was exactly about.

Nevertheless it is very watchable from the word go.

Patrick Mcgoohan is superb in the lead roll and there are many famous faces in the 18 episodes.

One example of the lunacy is a machine gun battle with the Beatles 1967 world famous hit ‘All You Need Is Love’ playing in the background.

This disc and indeed the whole series you will either love or hate, but it must be said that the series is unique, and probably way over the Americans head to whom the series was sold and also broadcast in 1968.

And like a few other British made classics which were produced in the 1966-1968 era, the quality of the actual shooting is magnificent.

For example the colour editions of ‘The Saint’, The Avengers, also ‘Man In A Suitcase’, and ‘Randall & Hopkirk’ and ‘The Prisoner seemed to have been made on very high quality film as if money was no object.

Your more common everyday video tape of that time was certainly not used.

Very weird at times but very enjoyable, a product of a very deranged mind…bizarre but brilliant.

Picture Quality 5/5 Sound Quality 4/5

  15 out of 15 people found this review helpful

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SeeJay from Kent , 23/10/2003

I was too young to really appreciate this series when it was first shown. It was regarded as pioneering in its day, and was innovative. There is nothing else like it that I know of, and Vol 1 really must be seen before you view any of the others. Some suggest that the plot is so similar in each episode that this makes them boring. I disagree: escape is certainly a main theme, but the attempts are never boring.

  5 out of 5 people found this review helpful

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D Wilson from Bristol England , 12/12/2004

Patrick McGoohan's classic TV series, blends 60's chic, an anti-hero James Bond, healthy dollops of cold war paranioa, and pseudo sci fi psychadelic wierdness into a unique viewing experience. It keeps you guessing and plays with your mind, while dishing out freaky visuals and sharp drama. As the series wears on the ideas start to run a bit thin, but it has earned it's cult status by then. Be seeing you...

  3 out of 3 people found this review helpful

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A customer from Chelmsford, Essex , 21/05/2005

I have only seen Episodes 5 to 8 so far.The picture quality was stunning for something this old, unlike some of the transfers to DVD that are about. A must for fans. If you don't know the Prisoner, hire these DVDs. On the surface, good visual entertainment in a wonderful setting. Beneath the surface, the social comment is more relevant now than when it was made. Very good.

  3 out of 3 people found this review helpful

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D Wilson from Bristol England , 12/12/2004

Patrick McGoohan's classic TV series, blends 60's chic, an anti-hero James Bond, healthy dollops of cold war paranioa, and pseudo sci fi psychadelic wierdness into a unique viewing experience. It keeps you guessing and plays with your mind, while dishing out freaky visuals and sharp drama. As the series wears on the ideas start to run a bit thin, but it has earned it's cult status by then. Be seeing you...

  3 out of 3 people found this review helpful

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Bezman from Glasgow [Highly rated reviewer] , 21/02/2005

The 4 episodes here do well to introduce the main elements of the story, whilst leaving much of ‘6's back story up to our imagination.

Prisoner number 6 attempts his escape time and again, whilst his captors continue to try to pry the information they seek from his mind.

It turns into a game where each party outwits the other, but neither managing to meet their objective.

With unforeseen twists, some creative stories and no unnecessary slowing down of the action, each episode will have you enjoying every turn of events.

  1 out of 1 person found this review helpful

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