THE PRISONER MINISERIES DVD SET
Studio: Warner Home Video
Year: 2009
Rated: Unrated
Film Length: 4 hours, 48 minutes
Aspect Ratio: Anamorphic Widescreen (1.78:1)
Audio: English Dolby Surround 5.1
Subtitles: English, French
Release Date: March 23, 2010
The Series
The Prisoner is the story of Number 6 (Jim Caviezel), a man who wakes up in a desert wasteland and makes his way to a sinister Village governed by Number 2 (Ian McKellen). In the Village, everyone has a number instead of a name. As Number 6 attempts to discover what is going on, he finds himself a prisoner in the village, and becomes embroiled in a battle of wills with Number 2.
The Prisoner is a remake of the original 1960s series starring Patrick McGoohan as Number 6. This version of the Prisoner is not so much a remake as a "reimagination" of the original series. In other words, the original concept is a starting point, with certain details deliberately reminiscent of the original, but otherwise striking out in its own direction, much like Ronald Moore’s Battlestar Galactica builds upon Glen Larson’s original series without being slavishly tied to earlier continuity.
As a fan of the original Prisoner series, the advertising campaign for this miniseries made me wary of its quality. The setting of this series having the Village as an oasis in a barren desert is a far cry from the lush setting of the original series, much of which was filmed on location in Portmeirion, Wales. I was pleased to discover that my fears were largely unfounded. Although this new series will never replace my affection for the original, this "reimagination" contains enough of the mystery and sub-text of the original for this reviewer to enjoy this new version in its own right. Although no actor could take the place of Patrick McGoohan in his righteous anger, Jim Caviezel (The Passion of the Christ) plays his character in the slightly more subdued manner called for in the new storyline, and McKellen (Lord of the Rings) is very well cast as Number 2.
This set consists of 6 full length episodes on the first 2 discs, with the special features located primarily on disc 3. Each of the 6 episodes has a title which duplicates or is derived from episode titles in the original series.
Video
The video is anamorphic wide-screen 1:78:1 enhanced for 16 x 9 monitors. There are some minor compression artifacts in the form of macroblocking apparent in a couple of scenes but this is very minimal and overall the transfer is very well done. DNR is minimal to non-existent and small object detail is excellent.
Audio
The Dolby Digital 5.1 audio tracks make fine use of the rear speakers for ambient sounds with most dialogue through front and center speakers. Dialogue is properly intelligible without being drowned out by the surround sound effects. If this is not reference quality audio, it certainly does not suffer from any perceptible flaws.
Special Features
Disc 3 contains most of the special features, with the exception of the audio commentaries on the first and last episodes, on Discs 1 and 2, respectively, provided by producer Trevor Hopkins and film editor Yan Miles. The first 2 discs also have deleted scenes for each episode which are accessible from the menu with the appropriate episode.
The special features on Disc 3 are as follows:
A 6-Hour Film Shot In 92 Days: The Diary of The Prisoner (15:35): Cast and crew talk about filming the miniseries.
Beautiful Prison: The World of the Prisoner (16:32): Behind the scenes footage with interviews by Caviezel, McKellen, and the cast and crew.
The Prisoner Comic Con Panel (11:25): This is video footage of the first portion of the panel at Comic Con Internation 2009 attended by stars Jim Caviezel Lenny James, and Jamie Campbell Bower, with writer Bill Gallagher and Vlad Wolynetz, Vice President of Production for AMC.
The Man Behind "2" (4:54): Jamie Campbell Bower (Number 11-12) interviews Sir Ian McKellen on the set of the series.
Conclusion
The Prisoner is not one of those rare remakes that surpasses the original source material. If you are a fan of Patrick McGoohan’s Prisoner, then you will probably be disappointed by this "re-imagining" of the concept. Still, this version has enough interesting elements that it can be appreciated in its own right, provided that you do not expect it to live up to the original. I enjoyed this miniseries much more than I expected, since I did not find the promotional materials to my liking and I came into this with low expectations. I really enjoyed the retired secret agent aspect of the original series, and its fantastic elements, which are downplayed here to create a bland and mundane version of the original concept. If you have never seen the earlier incarnation, and you like this version, you may want to check out the original.
