"The Prisoner: The Complete Series Blu-ray," A&E Home Video; five discs, $99.95 suggested list price.
Arguably British television’s most brilliant and baffling series has arrived on Blu-ray.
“The Prisoner,” starring Patrick McGoohan, follows a former secret agent who is abducted from his London home and held captive in The Village, a cheery, but sinister seaside community where his captors try to determine why he resigned from his post. The Villagers have been stripped of their names and assigned numbers. Number 6, as he is dubbed by the Orwellian authorities, engages in a war to retain his individuality as he attempts to determine their motives and plot his escape.
Hailed as ahead of its time by some – and dismissed as rubbish by others – “The Prisoner” can be viewed on one level as a Cold War thriller and sequel to McGoohan’s successful spy series “Secret Agent” (known as “Danger Man” in Britain). However, it is also an allegorical tale that delves into such topics as identity theft, indoctrination, and individualism versus collectivism.
McGoohan, who co-created the series and wrote and directed various episodes, rails against sham democracies, soulless technological advances and a populous unwilling to questions the orders of its leaders. When “The Prisoner” first aired in the United States 1968, one episode was banned by CBS reportedly because it showed hallucinogenic drug use and its central character refused to be drafted to fight.
The series has been available in fine quality on VHS and DVD in the past, but the new transfer to high definition Blu-ray is most impressive. There is newly remixed 5.1 surround sound for all 17 episodes, in addition to the original mono tracks.
The five-disc box set has a wealth of bonus material, including early edits of the first two episodes, “Arrival” and “The Chimes of Big Ben.” Both include scenes not found in the aired versions and a different musical score. Scripts, call sheets and some 1,200 production stills can also be accessed on a computer from the fifth disc.
Perhaps the greatest thrill for fans will be a warts-and-all 94-minute documentary, “Don’t Knock Yourself Out,” that recounts the filming of the series.
Fleshed out with amateur film footage shot on the set, the documentary boasts candid discussions of the making of the series from script writers, actors, producers, editors, cameramen and directors.
Filmed before McGoohan’s death earlier this year, “Don’t Knock Yourself Out” often paints an unflattering portrait of the series' star as brilliant but brutal. McGoohan’s view is noticeably absent from the documentary, as its producers cite his reclusive nature.
While McGoohan did indeed shy away from analyzing his work, it is a shame that for legal or financial reasons A& E Home Video failed to include a highly informative 35-minute televised interview McGoohan granted to Toronto TV host Warner Troyer in 1977. McGoohan analyzed the show’s appeal and the meaning of many of its symbols.
Not coincidentally, the Blu-ray box set arrives in stores before the airing of the AMC remake of “The Prisoner” with James Caviezel in the lead role. A trailer for the cable TV remake, which airs on Nov. 15, is included among the extras.