The Prisoner - 40th Anniversary

[nickmellish]

Thought I'd horse my copy (click!) and then buy the Network set. Looks almost too good to resist!

[alyd]

IMHO the Network set is the best version of the series ever released. That said, I stand by the flaws I and others have spotted as being relevant (the biggest balls-up being the unlistenable 5.1 and the incorrect opening for OUAT) and I'm sure that if these are rectified and no new ones introduced that that HD set will be all the more tempting for those with that equipment

[Davis Mcardle VCuX]

Of course, I'm probably the only person in world who cares this much about the music.

Not at all! The clarifications are much appreciated.

I'm obviously less of a Prisoner nerd than I always thought - despite having devoured everything I could read about the show for years & years after reading Gary Gerani's Fantastic Television & catching the Girl Who Was Death on ITV back in 1982 & catching the Prisoner jones, I've learned several snippets of info/trivia these past few days simply because of the cock-ups on the Network set & the reactions here & elsewhere on the net.

Not shelled out for the box yet, although I might well pop off to Virgin tomorrow to see what shelfprice they're offering round here, but the inexplicable OUAT snafu & the soundmix issues notwithstanding, this still sounds like the Prisoner set I've been waiting for for years (having persevered with my...*ulp*... 25th Anniversary VHS box all these years).

Particularly chuffed to see such applause for Andrew Pixley's accompanying book - I'd have coughed up something pretty near the cover price of the boxset for that alone.

[Hooded Man]

Just listened to Peter Graham Scott's commentary on The General (which looks excellent by the way) and found it both quite irrelevant and very sad - given that PG was obviously reaching the end of his life when this was recorded. He told me a long time ago that he never understood The Prisoner but he managed to turn out an excellent episode for all that.

[Nathan]

The General was an episode that I didn't really appreciate when I first saw it on Channel 4 back in the 80's, but it's one I have appreciated more and more on each viewing and it has become a favourite. A real grower!

Conversely Schzoid Man was a favourite on first viewing, but slipped down my personal list (probably as a lot of its impact is lost after the initial experience)

[John Hodson]

Interesting comments on the transfer in Eamonn's DVD Times review here.

[Richard Crowther]

Interesting comments on the transfer in Eamonn's DVD Times review here.

He makes a good point about the lack of clarity in the Network grabs over the Carlton ones but it's worth noting that those grabs are very small, which doesn't help give a definitive comparison and he also seems to miss the fact that there is far more picture area revealed on the Network shots, when compared with the Carlton ones, with extra information on all sides of the frame - this zooming out of the image alone may account for the apparent slight drop in clarity of the Network prints, since more information is being included in the same number of scan lines; it might not have anything to do with how it's encoded.

I'm also a little surprised that he hasn't mentioned the dreadful audio on Arrival, something I should think a reviewer really should have spotted and pointed out. But those screen grabs do make for an interesting comparison.

[Andyzone]

Fogive me if this has been mentioned before…

Bought the new release (which is excellent) and was watching “Arrival” last night for the first time in a few years and noticed something.
I’m sure the piece of music when number 6 tries to make his escape in the helicopter near the end of the episode is different. I remembered it as being quite an exciting action piece that “kicks in” as the helicopter takes off… but the music last night was just a sort of slow drum beat !

It was defiantly the “normal” version I was watching and not the “original edit” that’s on the extras disc.

Is my memory playing tricks ?

Andy

[John Hodson]

I'm also a little surprised that he hasn't mentioned the dreadful audio on Arrival, something I should think a reviewer really should have spotted and pointed out.

TBH, IMHO, it's not something that stands out at least on the mono track. I wasn't listening for it and didn't notice it at all.

[Hooded Man]

Is my memory playing tricks ?

Andy

Yes Andy, it is.

[Richard Crowther]

I'm also a little surprised that he hasn't mentioned the dreadful audio on Arrival, something I should think a reviewer really should have spotted and pointed out.

TBH, IMHO, it's not something that stands out at least on the mono track. I wasn't listening for it and didn't notice it at all.

I envy you.

Mind you, I know of loads of people who couldn't spot the audio fault on the first pressing of Dr. Who & The Daleks, too, so I suspect it's another one of those "your mileage may vary" situations.

I can't watch stuff on those overhead projector things either, because the screen keeps breaking up into blue, red and green blotches every time I move my eyes, but I understand most people don't suffer from that problem, either. I think thay have at least come up with some gadget or other to solve that problem for those who suffer, though.

[Andyzone]

Cheers Jonolder, I could have sworn it was different... I must be getting old !

Maybe I was getting confused with another scene, don't know which one though !

Andy

[John Hodson]

I envy you.

Tone deaf; blessing or curse...

[Fake Shemp]

I rented the Umbrella DVDs today and think I'll buy the heavily discounted (locally) 35th Anniversary set. I think the video and audio are perfectly adequate, at least on the first disc which is all I have watched so far. Sure, the picture comparisons linked to elsewhere in this thread show a much sharper and brighter image with the new release, but I don't think the Umbrella set looks as bad as the 'before' pics that are used. The opening scenes of Arrival certainly aren't as dark on the DVD I watched.

By the way, it's the first time I've seen the show in years and I was totally spellbound by every minute of the first few episodes. It's a brilliant series and one I can see myself revisiting more and more when I own it on DVD.

Since I have missed out on Andrew's much praised booklet, can anyone recommend another good book about the production of the series to me?

[Andyzone]

Is my memory playing tricks ?

Andy

Yes Andy, it is.

Just realised I was probably getting mixed up with the scene at the end of "The Schizoid Man" !