Product Description

The Prisoner miniseries is a reinterpretation of the British 1960s cult hit series that starred and was co-created by Patrick McGoohan. The Premise : A man, known as Six, finds himself inexplicably trapped in The Village with no memory of how he arrived. As he explores his environment, he discovers that his fellow inhabitants are identified by number instead of name, have no memory of any prior existence, and are under constant surveillance. Not knowing whom to trust, Six is driven by the need to discover the truth behind The Village, the reason for his being there, and most importantly -- how he can escape. Jim Caviezel (The Passion of the Christ , The Thin Red Line) plays the role of Six; and two-time Oscar nominee Ian McKellen (Lord of the Rings, The Da Vinci Code) co-stars as Two.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #19347 in DVD
• Released on: 2010-03-23
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Formats: Box set, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 3
• Running time: 276 minutes

Customer Reviews

I can't believe I waited 40 years for this.
Those who have commented about this series without seeing the original do not know whereof they write. The original series went beyond mere entertainment (and it was very entertaining) but also stimulated the viewer into thinking about subjects such as illegal incarceration, autonomy, the illusion of democracy, identity, education, truth, life, death, manipulation, propaganda, loyalty, war and violence (as well as innumerable other topics). As a youth, I was profoundly influenced by the exploration of the concepts in this series.

Plus, I loved the car. Rover was cool too.

I find it hard to believe that anyone could be remotely influenced by any of the ideas in this mini-series remake. In fact, I couldn't find any profound ideology in this mini-series.

If one had not seen the original series, this new rendition would have had to have been completely incomprehensible.

The fundamentals of the show were missing. Number Six was not defiant or angry, merely befuddled. Number Two was not desperately seeking information from Number Six while under the scrutiny of an anonymous Number One. He was also acting aimlessly.

Everyone was wandering around as if they were in a dream (wow - a spoiler!)

After waiting so long for something to be done with the Prisoner property; and with so many hard core fans craving to view a remake, I am surprised this weak series was the best effort that the entertainment industry could muster.

For better alternatives for those of you who would love to see more shows similar to the original Prisoner, I would recommend:

1) Danger Man (TV Series)
2) Secret Agent (TV Series)
3) Kings and Desperate Men (VHS Movie with some familiar faces)
4) Shattered Visage (Graphic Novel sequel)
5) Nowhere Man (TV Series with a similar flow to the Prisoner)
6) Sleuth (with Olivier & Caine - a movie about mind games)
7) The Game (with M. Douglas - another mind game movie)
8) The Prisoner Original Movie Scripts (Two Volumes also containing original series material which was not used)

It is a pity that producers have waited forty years for the deaths of Patrick McGoohan and Leo McKern, just to insure that they would not appear in any sequels. The graphic novel "Shattered Visage" was created 20 years ago with appropriately aged Numbers 2 & 6, undoubtedly with a movie sequel in mind which would have included these beloved actors. Another missed opportunity was that McGoohan's own sequel was not used.

Perhaps in forty years hence a better sequel will be made.

Boring!!!
This was a waste of time to watch. While I am a fan of the 60's version, I tried to judge this mini-series as a new re-telling. I so much wanted to like it. The acting is terribly wooden and the pace is incredibly slow. I found myself not caring why things were happening to "6" in my struggle to understand what was happening. A murky storyline doomed this project. I cannot recommend this program.

Where am I?
The original The Prisoner - Complete Series Megaset (40th Anniversary Edition) TV series and I are about the same age, so perhaps that has a bearing on why I could relate to its warning about becoming just a number - I've seen it happen over the course of my lifetime.

The new AMC mini-series was quite a disappointment. Without spoiling it for anyone who wants to watch it, here's my review:

This time out, AMC gives us the answers. We find out how the scenes in The Village and New York are related. No need for us to come up with our own theories as to "what's it all about?" I found myself more interested in Number Two than Number Six. This Number Six doesn't seem very passionate about his desire to escape and I found myself not really caring if he did or not. The ending, although a possibility brought up in the final episode of the original series, completely ruined the mini-series for me.

How The Village came to exist and how the inhabitants ended up there was quite a stretch for me. It definitely made this series more sci-fi than drama. I did enjoy the many nods to the original series, the updated Village wardrobe, Ian McKellen's performance, and the improved Rover.

I can't see this series having the timeless appeal of the original, but perhaps a younger viewer would disagree with me.

If you're a fan of the original, you'll probably watch this and be disappointed like I was. Since this was made to target fans of the original series, I'd say it was a wasted effort.