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Today, on November 20th, 2009, the site contains 196 poets, 8,692 poems and 7,650 comments.
The Prisoner - Set 1: Arrival/ Free for All/ Dance of the Dead


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List Price: $39.95
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Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: DVD
Brand: A&E
EAN: 9780767029612
Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
ISBN: 0767029615
Label: A&E Home Video
Languages: EnglishOriginal LanguageDolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Manufacturer: A&E Home Video
MPN: AAED70135D
Number Of Items: 2
Picture Format: Pan & Scan
Publisher: A&E Home Video
Region Code: 1
Release Date: October 31, 2000
Running Time: 208 minutes
Studio: A&E Home Video
Theatrical Release Date: June 01, 1968


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Editorial Review:

Product Description:
Studio: A&e Home Video Release Date: 10/31/2000 Run time: 156 minutes Rating: Nr

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 they let him become a civilian again? The answer, according to the 1960s British TV series The Prisoner, is no. In fact, instead of receiving a gold watch for his years of faithful service, our hero (played by Patrick McGoohan) is followed home and knocked unconscious. When he awakens, he finds himself in a picturesque village where everyone is known by number. But where is it? Why was he brought here? And, most important, how does he leave?

As we learn in "Arrival," 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.

"Free for All" sees the Village gripped with campaign fever (it's a "democracy," Number 6 is told, though he retains a healthy skepticism). He's encouraged to run for the job of Number 2 against the incumbent, but what's the point? And why is the Village so keen to have a defiant troublemaker like Number 6 take the reins of power? In "Dance of the Dead," Number 2 stages an elaborate costume ball that turns into a nightmarish courtroom scene--and guess who's on trial?

An allegory of the conflict between person and society, individuality and conformity, and freedom and slavery, The Prisoner asks more questions than it answers, and that can be a maddening experience for viewers who like their TV neat and tidy. McGoohan (Braveheart, Escape from Alcatraz) also created, wrote, and directed much of the show, yet it's his screen presence that sets its tone. His terse body language, sardonic half-smile, and simmering anger at his imprisonment are used to maximum effect in scripts that emphasize strict word economy and witty repartee.

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." Besides, only 14 more episodes until all is revealed. Or is it? --Steve Landau



Customer Reviews
Average Rating:  out of 5 stars

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - Questions are a burden to others
SPOILER ALERT!!! What follows divulges show secrets. If you haven't seen The Prisoner, do NOT read on. (I am assuming that most people at all interested in a show as old as The Prisoner have already seen it.)

Now, with that said, The Prisoner is easily, hands down, without any reservations the single greatest TV show in history. (A close second, in my book, would be the first four Doctors on the ORIGINAL run of Doctor Who.) The Prisoner wasn't only entertaining, it was thought provoking. ... Read More



Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - Rover Rules!!!
The real star of this show is the weather balloon known as Rover! This thing can swim, float in the air and do all sorts of amazing things in capturing Number 6. This DVD set has four episodes that prove that especially in Free For All,which is my favourite. The whole series is a classic in its 17 episode format!!



Rating: 3 out of 5 stars - A few words to the wise
Yes the Prisoner series was expertly photographed (for 1966 anyway). It had very good Shakespearean acting but that means it isn't much like real life as acting Bard-style is pretty unrealistic. It should be awfully hard for modern-day americans to identify so well with Shakespearean-acting old time Europeans. The central character/actor who plays Number 6 is a nervous type in reallife. In the book The Official Prisoner Companion it states a crewmember testifying that the lead actor indeed had a problem ... Read More



Rating: 3 out of 5 stars - A few words to the wise
Yes the Prisoner series was expertly photographed (for 1966 anyway). It had very good Shakespearean acting but that means it isn't much like real life as acting Bard-style is pretty unrealistic. It should be awfully hard for modern-day americans to identify so well with Shakespearean-acting old time Europeans. The central character/actor who plays Number 6 is a nervous type in reallife. In the book The Official Prisoner Companion it states a crewmember testifying that the lead actor indeed had a problem ... Read More



Rating: 5 out of 5 stars - You Will Be A Prisoner
This is a great series!! Highly reccommended,once you see it you will never escape The Village :). A must for your Sci/Fi/Spy collection. BCNU




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