8 ms·

As a long time fan of The Prisoner I bought the entire series on blu-ray a few years ago and was astonished at the picture quality -- fully 1080 and 16x9. Turn

As a long time fan of The Prisoner I bought the entire series on blu-ray a few years ago and was astonished at the picture quality -- fully 1080 and 16x9. Turns out the show was filmed in full 35mm cinematic quality. Apparently McGoohan had sufficient clout and ambition to master the show with an eye to making it a work for the ages. Today it looks better than most films. Thrilling.

iainmerrick 10y ago
Wow, that's good to know! I've had an itch for years to re-watch this, and this may be the final nudge I need. So many old beloved TV shows just look really bad on a modern TV, and can be hard to get back into. (I never have that problem with old black-and-white movies, for some reason.)
- randcraw 10y ago
  Seeing the blu-ray version in all its glory was all the more of a shock since I still remember the show as I first saw it on our 19" B&W TV set on a local low power UHF station. Every episode took place in a snowstorm. Still they were unforgettable (esp. my favorite episode, "The Girl Who Was Death").
CapTVK 10y ago
I concur, this was one of those classic series I had planned to see for years and recently bought the blu-ray edition. I wasn't disappointed. Thanks to 35mm it really shines on Blu-ray. It's remarkable that McGoohan got a free hand with this project. I'm not sure if an actor today would have the freedom to lay out his vision in such a way. What is an individual? McGoohan’s series hooked a mass TV audience with its intelligent, clever, thrilling and entertaining scripts. Each episode was an event that left the audience either bewildered and angered, or enthralled and inspired. This was part of McGoohan’s intention, to create debate, have the viewers question their own reality. As McGoohan put it in this interview: http://dangerousminds.net/comments/we_are_all_prisoners_patrick_mcgoohan_explains_his_cult_series_the_prisoner http://dangerousminds.net/comments/we_are_all_prisoners_patr... And the the book that accompanies that interview "The Prisoner Puzzle" can be found here: It does come come with interpretations for all of the 17 episodes which some might consider spoilers. https://www.scribd.com/doc/22260199/The-Prisoner-Puzzle https://www.scribd.com/doc/22260199/The-Prisoner-Puzzle
leephillips 10y ago
Good to know. Guess I'll have to buy this and watch the series for the third-or-so time. McGoohan forbad anyone on the crew to mention television or that they were working on a TV show while on the set. He felt that if people thought that they were working "only for TV" then they may be tempted to compromise on quality.

iainmerrick 10y ago

Wow, that's good to know! I've had an itch for years to re-watch this, and this may be the final nudge I need. So many old beloved TV shows just look really bad on a modern TV, and can be hard to get back into. (I never have that problem with old black-and-white movies, for some reason.)

randcraw 10y ago
Seeing the blu-ray version in all its glory was all the more of a shock since I still remember the show as I first saw it on our 19" B&W TV set on a local low power UHF station. Every episode took place in a snowstorm. Still they were unforgettable (esp. my favorite episode, "The Girl Who Was Death").

CapTVK 10y ago

I concur, this was one of those classic series I had planned to see for years and recently bought the blu-ray edition. I wasn't disappointed. Thanks to 35mm it really shines on Blu-ray. It's remarkable that McGoohan got a free hand with this project. I'm not sure if an actor today would have the freedom to lay out his vision in such a way. What is an individual? McGoohan’s series hooked a mass TV audience with its intelligent, clever, thrilling and entertaining scripts. Each episode was an event that left the audience either bewildered and angered, or enthralled and inspired. This was part of McGoohan’s intention, to create debate, have the viewers question their own reality. As McGoohan put it in this interview: http://dangerousminds.net/comments/we_are_all_prisoners_patrick_mcgoohan_explains_his_cult_series_the_prisoner http://dangerousminds.net/comments/we_are_all_prisoners_patr... And the the book that accompanies that interview "The Prisoner Puzzle" can be found here: It does come come with interpretations for all of the 17 episodes which some might consider spoilers. https://www.scribd.com/doc/22260199/The-Prisoner-Puzzle https://www.scribd.com/doc/22260199/The-Prisoner-Puzzle

leephillips 10y ago

Good to know. Guess I'll have to buy this and watch the series for the third-or-so time. McGoohan forbad anyone on the crew to mention television or that they were working on a TV show while on the set. He felt that if people thought that they were working "only for TV" then they may be tempted to compromise on quality.