The Prisoner ... on Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

[Garysb]

Since Number 6's name was never revealed, I think the viewer can speculate whatever they want about him being John Drake. I don't think you need to know about Secret Agent Man in order to enjoy The Prisoner. If you chose to believe Number 6 is John Drake because they were both spies and/or government agents and were played by the same actor what is the harm ?

 

[jamoon2006]

If memory serves, Patrick McGoohan wanted to do fewer episodes (maybe 13?), but he needed to make more to sell the show to American television. He had a vision for how he wanted the show to end, and he was able to pull it off.

As for the episodes themselves, of course there is the overarching story of Number 6's attempts to escape, etc., but for the most part the individual episode plots stand alone.

 

[JoshuaB.]

I always found the finale to be frustratingly fitting for a series that was very unusual. If you're looking for definitive closure to the series, you may be disappointed--it's completely open to interpretation and has been endlessly debated by fans, scholars, etc. for decades.

 

[Sam Favate]

Yes, for the most part they stand alone. I happen to think the finale was quite good. I know that's a matter of controversy and many people will have different opinions. I'd say if you like really smart, intellectual entertainment, you will not be disappointed.

 

[smithb]

Thanks all that was enough of a nudge for me to add it to my wish list.

 

[Hollywoodaholic]

It was a much more satisfying finale than The Sopranos, and completely consistent with the wildly entertaining mindf*** this series was and continues to be.

 

[Rick P]

Heads Up, this just hit $50 for pre-order at Amazon.

 

[Hollywoodaholic]

Originally Posted by Rick P

Heads Up, this just hit $50 for pre-order at Amazon.

Thanks for the heads up. I got more than that trading in my 5 sets of the SD version of the show at a Movie Stop, so this is a done deal and I've already pre-ordered. That's a 49% discount. I even looked on Amazon UK and it was only about a 15% discount to 42GB (probably near $74USD).

I'll be curious to see if Amazon raises the pre-order price as it gets closer to the October 27 release date, as sometimes happens. And I will be real curious to see if this looks as good as the TOS Star Trek in blu-ray came out. The original element was 35mm, so it should be a noticeable upgrade from the SD version.

 

[MattSav]

I'm so ecstatic that A&E has partnered with Network in the UK to obtain their remastered versions of the episodes for the blu-ray set stateside. I've also had the opportunity to watch the feature length "Don't Knock Yourself Out" documentary and it's really well done.

This news about a new version of Arrival has got me all excited as well!


Only about a month away and I've locked in my Amazon pre-order for only $50.00. Now I can get rid of that huge bulky "A&E mega-set" that takes up so much shelf space (I have one of the originals that utilized the wider amaray cases). This will be my third time buying the series (the first was when I was in high school, on VHS, from Columbia House).


Can't wait!

 

[Hollywoodaholic]

Here's the review on DVD Beaver of the UK released box set of The Prisoner on blu-ray (the packaging is so much cooler than the U.S. version coming soon), but the discs will be the same and try not to froth at the mouth at these screen capture shots.

www.dvdbeaver.com/film2/DVDReviews47/the_prisoner_blu-ray.htm


The question, "Is this series worth replacing in blu-ray?" appears answered quite emphatically ... OMG Yes.

 

[Jason_V]

I'm still patiently waiting for my set and a few other things from A & E. I was told last week they were "on the way"...but I have no idea *when* that is. Really looking forward to catching this version plus the mini-series on AMC in November.

 

[Hollywoodaholic]

U.S. region 1 release isn't until October 27, timed to arrive just before the new mini-series.

 

[Jason_V]

Originally Posted by Hollywoodaholic

U.S. region 1 release isn't until October 27, timed to arrive just before the new mini-series.

I was referring to a review copy. And yeah, release date isn't for a while...but it is 17 episodes plus extras...it's going to take me a bit of time to get through.

I'm impatient that way.

 

[Tim Tucker]

So the Network set is six discs, while the A&E set is only five. What's being left out?

 

[AndyMcKinney]

Originally Posted by Hollywoodaholic

Here's the review on DVD Beaver of the UK released box set of The Prisoner on blu-ray (the packaging is so much cooler than the U.S. version coming soon), but the discs will be the same and try not to froth at the mouth at these screen capture shots.

www.dvdbeaver.com/film2/DVDReviews47/the_prisoner_blu-ray.htm


The question, "Is this series worth replacing in blu-ray?" appears answered quite emphatically ... OMG Yes.

I guess the real question is will the US version simply be a standards-conversion of the PAL-UK one (and therefore, play 4% too fast), or will they have done an NTSC master straight from the original elements, too.

 

[Tim Tucker]

Is PAL speedup even a problem in HD?

 

[SilverWook]

DVD Beaver's description of the series confuses me. I've never heard of impending cancellation forcing the show to come to an end. Wasn't the show intended by McGoohan as a limited series from the beginning?

 

[RickER]

Originally Posted by SilverWook

DVD Beaver's description of the series confuses me. I've never heard of impending cancellation forcing the show to come to an end. Wasn't the show intended by McGoohan as a limited series from the beginning?

Its my understanding that they were going to do 6 or 7, but someone wanted a full season worth. After a half season McGoohan saw the concept couldnt stretch the whole year, so they wrapped it up. Its a bit more in depth than that, but in a nutshell, thats how it worked. I never heard it was close to being cancelled. I am almost 100% sure it never would have gone beyond one season, as McGoohan wouldnt of wanted to. But not because of ratings.

 

[jquirk]

Originally Posted by Tim Tucker

So the Network set is six discs, while the A&E set is only five. What's being left out?

I'm wondering the same thing. Will the A&E version be from the same transfers as the UK version? That's the biggest question in my book. From all reports, the UK DVD version was far superior than the A&E DVD version. I haven't seen the UK version, but I bought the A&E set. Like others here have stated, I loved watching "The Prisoner" on DVD, but the picture quality was lousy. Hopefully the North American Blu-ray set is the same as the UK BD set.

It all comes back to Tim Tucker's original question: Why does the A&E set have only five discs while the UK set has six discs? Is it because the sets were produced independently from another and are therefore different in extra content as well as picture/sound quality? That could be the case because it has been done before with other releases.

 

[jquirk]

Not that it matters much, but I also wonder whether A&E got the episode order right this time. The episode "A, B and C" most certainly falls after "The General," but A&E erroneously had "The General" appear after "A, B and C" on the DVD set.