Prisoner Set #4: Patrick McGoohan, George Markstein, Angelo Muscat, Peter Swanwick, Fenella Fielding, Leo McKern, Christopher Benjamin, Michael Miller, Alexis Kanner, Frank Maher, Kenneth Griffith, Patrick Cargill: Amazon.ca: Video

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12 Reviews

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4.6 out of 5 stars (12 customer reviews)

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5.0 out of 5 stars "Unmutual!", Jan 26 2004

By

Axel Law "The Happy Seizure Kid" (Derby, KS, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Prisoner #4, the:Change of Min (DVD)

Back in 1967, an allegorical television show emerged that has yet to be topped by any other English television series. The show: The Prisoner. Starring Patrick McGoohan, he plays the role of No. 6, a former secret service agent who resigned for unknown reasons and then finds himself knocked unconscious and trapped in a seemingly peaceful place called "the Village." Each episode features a new No. 2 (with a few exceptions), who watches his every move and strives to find out why he resigned. The only superior is the unseen No. 1, the supposed ruler of the Village. The only other characters that reoccur are The Supervisor (also called Controller), played by Peter Stanwick, and The Butler, played by Angelo Muscat.

In "A Change of Mind," Number Six is labeled "disharmonious" and "unmutual" and is therefore shunned by the other villagers. They perform yet another mind game on him to make him "harmonious" and accepted, hoping for him to fit in and reveal why he resigned. Of course, he knows better by now and has a trick up his sleeve...

In "Hammer Into Anvil" (one of my top favorites from the series), the new Number Two is an extremely paranoid official. Number Six starts to play his own mind game in which he utterly convinces the new Number Two that he is spying on him and ready to cause a rebellion. The message here is clear: when you have power, you don't have much trust for anyone.

In "Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling," Number Six is switched with a special agent. He finds himself outside the Village and in search of a famous scientist known for the creation of switching minds, but is he still free?

In "Living in Harmony," Number Six finds himself in a Western-style Village... he originally a sheriff who resigns for unknown reasons. An interesting and actually downright creepy episode that is one of the most illogically pleasing episodes of the series. "The Kid" is silent throughout the episode (well, sort of, just watch it...) and his actions are louder than his words. Originally, this episode wasn't aired in America for two years, possibly because of its close connection to the Vietnam War.

By now, The Prisoner has prevailed. He has grown resiliant to the Village, which makes each Number Two even more desperate than before.

Overall, a fantastic series. While I give the series a high rating, I do recommend the megaset as opposed to the individual volumes.

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4.0 out of 5 stars Change that Hammer and Anvil Your Mind, Oh My Darling, Jan 7 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Prisoner #4, the:Change of Min (DVD)

This portion of the 5 tape Prisoner set is to my mind, one of the more intriguing, as it includes one of my favorite episodes, "Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darling". In this bizarre turn, the Prisoner's mind is transplanted into the body of another secret agent, allowing #6 to see his familiar surroundings, his former lover and the life he left behind when he resigned, but of course, he's barred from enjoying the experience as himself, and to fully realize the joy of being in love. Patrick McGoohan doesn't appear much in the episode, but he narrates the ersatz Prisoner's thoughts, which is just plain strange. "Hammer to Anvil," is a real creep-out, with a sicko #2 that radiates disdain and drips pure evil. Number 2 gets his in the end, in a very inventive twist of fate. The Western episode,"Living in Harmony" is a another trippy expedition, using American t.v. cliches (gunfights, harlots with hearts of gold) to make a powerful anti-violence (and by extension) anti-war statement. Worth viewing, especially today. "A Change of Mind," with its emphasis on mind-control shows just how far the keepers of the Village will go to enforce conformity. Exciting, well-crafted and full of the tension that makes the Prisoner such an intriguing piece of work. A great box set for the Prisoner fan, without a doubt. Be seeing you.

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3.0 out of 5 stars A great series that just keeps getting stranger..., Nov 26 2002

By

Beth Cholette "doctor_beth" (Upstate NY USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Prisoner Set #4 (VHS Tape)

My fiancé and I are slowly working our way through all five sets of Prisoner episodes; overall the show is amazing, but I didn't enjoy this collection quite as much as the first three. The first episode, "A Change of Mind," is somewhat difficult to follow, and the ending was dissatisfying (although, to be fair, it was certainly consistent with the style of the show!). "Hammer Into Anvil" is probably the best episode in this group, as it shows McGoohan's Number 6 battling and defeating the current Number 2, who comes to a bad end (of course!). "Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling" was the biggest disappointment, as McGoohan hardly appears in the episode, as Number 6's brain is transported into someone else. Thus, we watch a new actor take over the role of Number 6, and the effect is just not the same as McGoohan's riveting performances. Finally, the bonus episode, "Living in Harmony" is a real divergence from the usual format of the series, as it is done as a Western. The episode opens with no credits and no explanation for the old West setting; not until the end is the truth revealed. To me, this was an unneccessary gimmick that did not fit with the rest of the series, and I found myself missting The Village. If you are a Prisoner fan, there are defintely some good moments in these shows, but I much prefer the episodes on the first three boxed sets.

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Most recent customer reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Not representative of the series
Having been a casual, but interested, fan of 'The Prisoner,' I was excited when A&E rebroadcast and released all the episodes of this series. Read more

Published on May 22 2002 by Matt Ivy

5.0 out of 5 stars This set is anything but unmutual!
It has always been hard for me to choose my favorite episodes of "The Prisoner". This is partly because we have relatively few episodes to choose from due to the series'... Read more

Published on May 14 2002 by Mark Savary