"The Prisoner" (2009)

[docm]

Yup, a movie version of the classic UK TV series.<br /><br />Not much info other than this;<br /><br /><b>Director: <font color="yellow">Christopher Nolan</font></b>(Batman Returns, The Dark Knight, The Prestige, Insomnia, Memento)<br /><br />Good enough for me <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /> <br /><br />Production starts right after they finish The Dark Knight (Batman Begins II) <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[hracctsold]

I have found it is shown just before the Avengers on BBCA in the afternoons lately. But my wife said to me, what do you see in that show? My mother watched it too.<br /><br />To which I replied, it's an everyman show, about being an individual in a cookie cutter age. And I wish it was more then just a summer rerun of the time. That was about 1967 or so, wasn't it? <br /><br />There were also other summer reruns of the time I remember as well. One was either called Michael Alldon(?) or that was his name. He lost his memory from being almost killed, and was trying to find out who he really was, and why he was such a target by persons unknown.<br /><br />The other was either called, the Eternals, or something of that nature. They were agents almost killed in action, but were saved by a native witchdoctor or something and given supernatural powers they used in their work and action.<br /><br />At least that is what I remember of those long ago days, when we were young, right Wayne?

 

[yevaud]

Don't forget "Secret Agent Man."<br /><br />I have long been convinced that they are one and the same series, and that the agent from SAM eventually became the head of intelligence and then was sequestered on the Island when he tried to quit. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><em>Differential Diagnosis:  </em>"<strong><em>I am both amused and annoyed that you think I should be less stubborn than you are</em></strong>."<br /> </p> </div>

 

[MeteorWayne]

Wow, the Avengers and The Prisoner?<br /><br />I hope BBCA is on my new digital cable basic package <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[CalliArcale]

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr /><p>I have long been convinced that they are one and the same series, and that the agent from SAM eventually became the head of intelligence and then was sequestered on the Island when he tried to quit.<p><hr /></p></p></blockquote><br /><br />They are not the same series, as Patrick McGoohan will attest quite vehemently. However, there is a very strong link between the two. It is a mistake to assume it is the same continuity, but they are certainly compatible, and the ideas for the Prisoner in many cases incubated in "Danger Man" (which we Americans know as "Secret Agent Man"). In particular, one episode of "Danger Man" was filmed in the Italianate folly known as Portmerion on the coast of Wales. This episode concerned retired spies who knew too much being sent to live in a purpose-built retirement community where the government could continue to keep a close eye on them. (This was based on a real retirement community built for much the same purpose.) This gave McGoohan his inspiration, and also introduced him to the unique filming location: the outdoor scenes for The Prisoner were filmed largely in and around Portmerion.<br /><br />BTW, it is not clear that the Village is on an Island; there is also evidence that it's on a peninsula. (Depends on which episode you watch. The contradictions are not accidents; they deliberately obfuscate the Village's geographic position.) <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><font color="#666699"><em>"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly . . . timey wimey . . . stuff."</em>  -- The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"</font></p> </div>

 

[CalliArcale]

BTW, I've been hearing rumors of a "Prisoner" movie for years. It seems to be one of those projects that gets bandied around a lot, perhaps because the series is so magnetic for so many people. (It's one of those "you'll either like it or hate it" things.) But those who really like it often realize they can't quite do it justice, in large part because although they liked it, they were never really sure what was going on either.... <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><font color="#666699"><em>"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly . . . timey wimey . . . stuff."</em>  -- The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"</font></p> </div>

 

[MeteorWayne]

That's the truth....and I loved it!<br /><br />I think that was part of the point, and the charm. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[CalliArcale]

Some interesting things to note:<br /><br />McGoohan only wanted to do 7 episodes, but ITV wouldn't contract for so few. He did manage to come up with some more, but regards them as unimportant. For bonus points, try to guess which episodes are this essential core of the series. <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /><br /><br />The actor who portrayed Number 2 in the second-to-last episode had a nervous breakdown, partly as a result of the episode's demanding script. It was almost entirely him and McGoohan in highly charged scenes with almost no variation in script. Pages of the script are nothing more than him and McGoohan going back and forth with "Five!" "Six!" "Five!" "Six!" "Five!" "Six!" "Five!" "Six!" A lot of it revolved around counting from one to six, with Number 6 seemingly conditioned not to say or even recognize "six".<br /><br />McGoohan didn't want to write an ending for the series, and in fact never conceived of one until he was pretty much forced to do so by the simple fact that audiences expect a series to have an ending, and of course he didn't want to write any more. Forced to come up with a conclusion, he made sure no sequel would happen by having the Village get blown up at the end. But the worst part for him was being made to answer the question posed in the opening dialog: "Who is Number One?" He battled this question endlessly, finally producing a script literally at the last second which did answer that question....but in a way which made utterly no sense at all. (Or did it make sense? Fans have argued the meaning of that scene ever since it aired, but McGoohan won't say.)<br /><br />The series ran in a particular order in Britain when it first appeared. It ran in a different sequence when NBC ran it in the US. It ran in yet another order when the Sci-Fi Channel did a marathon of it hosted by Harlan Ellison. The DVD release is ordered differently from any of those. McGoohan has given his opinion of a *sixth* ordering of the episodes, whi <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><font color="#666699"><em>"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly . . . timey wimey . . . stuff."</em>  -- The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"</font></p> </div>

 

[bdewoody]

He also sort of carried on the same character in the movie "Ice Station Zebra" being a mysterious English secret agent who came aboard the submarine to help locate the stolen film from the spy satellite. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <em><font size="2">Bob DeWoody</font></em> </div>

 

[MeteorWayne]

Great movie, I haven't seen it in a few years.Ernest Borgnine in a serious role, too <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[CalliArcale]

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr /><p>He also sort of carried on the same character in the movie "Ice Station Zebra" being a mysterious English secret agent who came aboard the submarine to help locate the stolen film from the spy satellite. <p><hr /></p></p></blockquote><br /><br />As an interesting sidebar to that, the filming of "Ice Station Zebra" conflicted with the filming of "The Prisoner". To work around his commitment to the movie, an episode was concocted wherein his mind was swapped with another man's, allowing another actor to play his part. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><font color="#666699"><em>"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly . . . timey wimey . . . stuff."</em>  -- The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"</font></p> </div>

 

[MeteorWayne]

Really? Fascinating piece of trivia. I don't recall that episode, but it's been a while sine the Prisoner has run on TV here <img src="/images/icons/frown.gif" /><br /><br />Does SDC use a Giant Bubble for bannings? <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[yevaud]

You'll know if it ever happens. <img src="/images/icons/wink.gif" /><br /><br />(Actually, we use a giant, sentient tapioca mold. Horrid death. Simply horrid...) <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><em>Differential Diagnosis:  </em>"<strong><em>I am both amused and annoyed that you think I should be less stubborn than you are</em></strong>."<br /> </p> </div>

 

[MeteorWayne]

While taking a shower I accessed the dustier areas of BRAM, and do vaguely recall that episode.<br /><br />Since there were only 17, it shouldn't have been that difficult <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[MeteorWayne]

Interesting..<br /><br />What's that funny sickly sweet smell...<br />AAAAAAAAUY&&^*&TG &%^(^$^<br /><br />{Blurp} <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>

 

[CalliArcale]

<blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr /><p>I don't recall that episode, but it's been a while sine the Prisoner has run on TV here <p><hr /></p></p></blockquote><br /><br />In my opinion, it was the least memorable of all of them, so that's not too surprising.<br /><br />BTW, I just searched for "The Prisoner" on Google and went to the Six of One website. (That's the closest thing the series has to an official fan club.) And it sounds like the movie isn't the only thing being looked at. There's also a miniseries -- six hour-long episodes, which is actually more like the format McGoohan originally wanted. The main impetus has been the overwhelming success of the Dr Who revival. Producers will be AMC in conjunction with Granada and Sky One.<br /><br />They're going for a different angle with the new series, describing it as an "ultimate conspiracy thriller". I'm not sure how I feel about that. It could definitely work; there was a strong element of that in the original series. But there have been so many conspiracy-themed series lately that it might just seem like yet another variation on a theme.<br /><br />Details at Six of One<br /><br />They do mention an interesting (though apparently groundless) rumor about Who might play #6....<br /><br />Regarding the movie helmed by Chris Nolan, apparently they've got the writers of "Twelve Monkeys" to do the script. That might actually work; it has very much the same sort of bizarre atmosphere as "The Prisoner", though that makes me think of a different director: Terry Gilliam, who might be a better choice than Nolan.<br /><br />So it seems there are two different remakes coming up. I just hope they coordinate with one another..... <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><font color="#666699"><em>"People assume that time is a strict progression of cause to effect, but actually from a non-linear, non-subjective viewpoint it's more like a big ball of wibbly wobbly . . . timey wimey . . . stuff."</em>  -- The Tenth Doctor, "Blink"</font></p> </div>

 

[MeteorWayne]

Or they can make both, and one or the other will be eloquently trashed here <img src="/images/icons/smile.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><font color="#000080"><em><font color="#000000">But the Krell forgot one thing John. Monsters. Monsters from the Id.</font></em> </font></p><p><font color="#000080">I really, really, really, really miss the "first unread post" function</font><font color="#000080"> </font></p> </div>