Product Details

• Actors: Fenella Fielding, George Markstein, Patrick McGoohan, Angelo Muscat, Peter Swanwick
• Directors: Patrick McGoohan, Robert Asher, Don Chaffey, Pat Jackson, David Tomblin
• Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono)
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: A&E Home Video
• DVD Release Date: April 24, 2001
• Run Time: 208 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000053VA3
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #70,270 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #6 in	Movies & TV > Mystery & Suspense > Television > The Prisoner
  #77 in	Movies & TV > Television > A&E Home Video > Series
  #93 in	Movies & TV > Television > British Television > British Cult Television

• For more information about "The Prisoner - Set 4: A Change of Mind/Hammer Into Anvil/Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling/Living in Harmony" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

• This is item 4 in The Prisoner Series.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
By this time in The Prisoner's 17-episode run, Patrick McGoohan's Number 6 was ever on guard to protect his secrets and defy all attempts to break him. In three of the four compelling episodes included on this volume, Number 6 turns the tables on his captors. In "A Change of Mind," the feeling is "unmutual" as Number 6 is labeled "disharmonious" and shunned by the other Villagers. A lobotomy seems to change his rebellious and reactionary ways, but as always, nothing in the Village is as it seems, and Number 6 has a post-hypnotic trick up his sleeve to discredit yet another Number 2. In "Hammer into Anvil," Number 6 plays a cunning game of cat-and-mouse with the new and more sadistic Number Two, who becomes increasingly paranoid that Number 6 is actually spying on him. "Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling" gives new meaning to the phrase "mind games," as Number 6 finds his psyche trapped in another man's body. This is convenient, as McGoohan was, at the time this episode was filmed, off filming Ice Station Zebra. He is seen briefly at episode's end when (almost) all has been restored to what on this show passes for normal. The fourth episode included in this collection is a rarity. "Living in Harmony," which did not air in the United States during the show's original run, ranks among The Prisoner's most bizarre hours, in which Number 6's dilemma is played out in a Wild West setting (he's a sheriff who resigns but finds himself detained in a town ironically called Harmony). --Donald Liebenson

Product Description
Studio: A&e Home Video Release Date: 04/24/2001 Run time: 208 minutes Rating: Nr

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Possibly most Interesting and Intelligent TV series ever., January 20, 2001

By	Nigel Funge (Redwood City, California United States) - See all my reviews

Patrick McGoohan's `The Prisoner' TV series is perhaps one of the most intelligent and interesting programs ever created. The basic premise is that a British secret agent resigns for some reason. After turning in his notice, he is kidnapped and moved to a secret location called `The Village'. The series follows the efforts of his mysterious kidnappers to find out the reason why he quit and shows his repeated escape attempts.

The series is filled with nuances that need multiple viewings to enjoy all of them. The DVD transfer is first rate with the picture quality excellent. The "technicolor" sets are shown in their vivid color. Highly recommended.

This set continues to develop the series further and should only be viewed after seeing the first three.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This set is anything but unmutual!, May 14, 2002

By	Mark Savary "moon_city" (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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' short run, and partly because so many of the episodes we do have are so darned GOOD! This particular set contains some of the shows that stand a bit apart for me, and are a delight to get reaccquianted with.

"Do Not Forsake Me Oh, My Darling" is certainly one of the stranger segments in the series, putting our favorite Village resident's mind in another man's body! Everything is quite satisfactory, except for the ending (a bit too "pat", I think). It was interesting to note three things in this episode, however; the address in Scotland on the envelope sent to the scientist, the number on the door to the Prisoner's London flat, and the fact that we learn more about Number 6's past while Patrick McGoohan is hardly even featured!

"Living in Harmony" is certainly the most different, if not bizzare episode of "The Prisoner", outside of the final installment. The episode puts Number 6 in a completely fabricated environment. It was so different, it's no wonder the show did not air in the US, given that (other than the star's presence), we have no clue until the very end that this is actually an installment of "The Prisoner"!

The remaining two episodes in the set are more standard fare, but are quite possibly the best in the series. "Change of Mind" introduces several more samples of unique Village terminology; "unmutual", and "disharmonious". Number 6's unmutualism leads to yet another attempt to be broken by the new Number 2. It was very interesting to see the independent Number 6 react to being shunned by his fellow Villagers. It begs the question, has Number 6 grown a bit accustomed to living the Village, perhaps even started to fit in?

"Hammer Into Anvil" is just stellar. Number 6 takes control of his situation like never before. While Number 6 has often used the Village's own schemes against it, this time he is completely turning the tables on his captors. He destroys the sanity of a particularly ruthless Number 2 in the process, taking revenge for one of Number 2's victims.

This is an excellent set overall, although I naturally recommend buying and watching the sets in their proper order.

A & E has done a good job packaging the series for DVD. The transfers are really good (for the most part), and while the extras on these sets mysteriously do not include an interview with Mr. McGoohan, there is an extensive interview with production manager Bernie Williams included with Set Three.

What can be said about this wonderful series that has not been said already? Probably what is listed on the cover of the A & E sets sums it up best:

"Television's First Masterpiece".

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I am the new number 2, July 2, 2001

By	"we2teach" (Roseville, MI United States) - See all my reviews

I've always had a thing for 60s British TV shows. Of course, if you're reading this review, you probably do too, so you understand what I'm saying! Unfortunately, that love for those quirky shows has been exploited in the past with disappointing productions (see: "the Avengers" movie; what a tragedy).

Like the broken-hearted lover, I am now leery of committment; hesitant to let myself get excited about any new addition to the ranks of remakes/reissues of my favorite old shows. However, I let myself purchase this set. I was just too much of a fan of the old "Prisoner" show to let it slide by.

Honestly, I was expecting a mediocre quality disk with no interesting bonus materials, but I was amazed by the quality and amount of stuff on these disks! The quality of the shows is better than they ever looked on TV reruns, and the bonus materials are engaging and creative.

If you are a fan of "The Prisoner," you will not be disappointed by these DVDs; this is the one that restores your faith in the old classics!