The career baggage of an actor can provide backstory to a new role without flashbacks and exposition to establish the character. Such was the case when Patrick McGoohan appeared in The Prisoner. For several seasons he played John Drake on Danger Man (a.k.a. Secret Agent in the USA). When he abruptly quit the successful show, fans wondered how he could walk away? This reality set up The Prisoner where he played a spy that retires. Before he can enjoy his vacation, he’s kidnapped and taken to a remote village. Someone wants to extract the reason for his departure. Is the Village run by his agency, a foreign rival or a third party interested in selling the information to either side? His wardens assign him a number instead of a name. For decades there’s been talk of remaking the series that only lasted 17 cryptic episodes. AMC finally made it happen as a mini-series except it didn’t quite find an actor with the necessary espionage baggage for the role. James Caviezel is the new 6, but he’s never really been known for playing a spy. His most recognized role is the bloodied Jesus in The Passion of the Christ. The Prisoner isn’t a direct remake as it alters the elements to create a long movie instead of a batch of episodes.
“Arrival” is extremely disorienting as Caviezel wakes up in a mysterious desert. He finds an elderly man being chased by guards. Who is he? Who is the old man? What’s up with the guards? After getting a message from the old man, he pops up in The Village. The town is run by Number 2 (X-Men‘s Sir Ian McKellen). The buildings are weird with a vast field of identical A Frame houses. Ultimately Caviezel discovers he’s been expected. He’s given Number 6 as his identity. He quickly discovers that there’s no easy way out of this community. He wants to get home and he’s not going to let Number 2 stop him. “Harmony” finds Number 6 being introduced to Number 16 as his brother. While the guy can’t quite remember stuff, he has no memory of a brother. Is this part of Number 2’s plan to crack him by creating a fake family? It does allow Number 6 access to a bus to get across the desert for a family style escape. In the original series, each episode brought a new Number 2 assigned with solving Number 6. However for this short series, Sir Ian is the only Number 2. This is good since he’s irreplaceable as an antagonist dealing with his semi-comatose wife and suspicious son (New Moon‘s Jamie Campbell Bower). “Anvil” gets Number 6 working for Number 2 as part of a surveillance team. He uses his spy information to find out more about the Village.
“Darling” hooks him up with a woman that looked like his old girlfriend on the outside. There is one major difference, the new potential romance is blind. Besides dealing with Number 6, Number 2 worries about sinkholes that are popping up around the houses. “Schizoid” has a duplicate Number 2 and Number 6 roaming around the town. Neither man can believe who they really are. Finally in this episode we get true clues why Number Six ended up in the village. He wasn’t a hardcore spy, but a system analyst for a major corporation. During a pokey moment, he stumbled into what his research was being used for. “Checkmate” gives the reason for almost everything in the series as we learn the true nature of the Village, Number Six and Number 2. It’s not nearly as baffling as the original series’ finale.
The Prisoner mini-series isn’t nearly as challenging about the nature of man and knowledge as the original series mainly because it’s not obvious why Caviezel is in the Village. McKellen does a lot of heavy work to make us concerned about the situation. The only character that resembles the original version is Rover. The ultimate security guard is a giant white weather balloon that absorbs its pursuit. The series is best enjoyed by people who haven’t seen the McGoohan series since the experienced viewer will bring too much baggage to the TV.
The video is 1.78:1 anamorphic. The mini-series was shot in Nambia and South Africa where the sun makes things glow with a shimmer. It does allow The Village to look unworldly on the screen. The audio is Dolby Digital Surround 5.1. The mix keeps things lively with the music and the sounds of the desert blending.
Audio Commentary is given by Producer Trevor Hopkins and editor Yan Miles on “Arrival” and “Checkmate.” The duo discuss more nuts and bolts elements without delving too much into the mysteries.
Unaired Scenes are on each episode. There’s plenty of deleted action, but nothing that seemed too essential.
A 6-Hour Film Shot in 92 Days: The Diary of The Prisoner (15:35) starts with their Namibia desert shoot. They lose a cave location. Sir Ian gives us an understanding of the sand situation. Also turns out the A Frame houses were a real community and not merely CGI duplicated architecture.
Beautiful Prison: The World of The Prisoner (16:32) is a more traditional behind the scenes piece. They talk about adapting the iconic series for the shorter format.
Comic-Con Panel (11:25) has James Caviezel admit he’s never seen the original series and won’t until they’ve finished the project. He doesn’t want to impersonate the role. He succeeded.
The Man Behind 2 (4:55) is a short chat with Sr. Ian McKellen and James Campbell-Bower. It’s not exactly an hour of Charlie Rose. Sir Ian tells him to work theater is he hates waiting. “Film is for wimps and old people,” he says.
The Prisoner gives a new twist on the ‘60s series about a man being psychologically tortured in a remote town. The show strangely works if you imagine that Caviezel’s Number 6 is Jesus being tempted by McKellen’s Satanic Number 2. Will he give into the promises? The mini-series can’t quite compare with the original series. This is best watched by anyone that hasn’t a clue about Patrick McGoohan.
Warner Home Video presents The Prisoner. Starring: James Caviezel, Ian McKellen, Jamie Campbell Bower and Ruth Wilson. Boxset Contents: 6 Episodes on 3 DVDs. Released on DVD: March 23, 2010. Available at Amazon.com.
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