23 January 2011

A new Patrick McGoohan biography is coming out in 2011, find out more about the book and the author.

When Patrick McGoohan first hit UK screens starring as Danger Man in 1960 and as 'No 6' in cult show The Prisoner. Audiences were struck by his charisma, industry insiders hailed the arrival of an enigmatic genius and Hollywood beckoned. But who was this man who had worked as a chicken farmer and bank clerk before becoming a hugely successful actor?

In this new biography, Rupert Booth reveals the true character of a man whose off-screen behaviour was as compelling as his fiery on-screen persona. Why was he so puritanical? Refusing to even kiss a woman for any part he played? Why was he so controlling over his work in The Prisoner and other productions?

It is a timely exploration of the man whose declaration 'I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, de-briefed or numbered' continues to resonate with audiences decades after it was first uttered with such conviction.

The new book is 288 pages and available to pre-order. 

Buy online: Not A Number: Patrick McGoohan: a Life

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18 September 2009

The Prisoner screening planned for the Prince Charles Cinema in central London on Saturday 26th September 2009 has been cancelled. 

The organisers have quoted logistical problems. 

The all-night screening was organised to celebrate the release of The Prisoner on blu-ray disc. The release of the blu-eay edition is uneffected by the cancellation.

12 September 2009

Become a part of world history! To mark the Blu-Ray release of "The Prisoner", the first 125 people who pre-order the Blu-Ray edition from the Network website will receive a pair of tickets to “The Prisoner All Nighter”.

This worlds first is an all night extravaganza taking place at the Prince Charles Cinema in Central London on Saturday 26th September 2009 starting at 8.30pm, where every episode of The Prisoner will be screened in High Definition for the first time anywhere in the world. Will you still feel like a free man after being subjected to 17 TV hours in the village plus special guests who appeared in the show? 

• To obtain tickets you simply need to purchase a copy of The Prisoner the Complete Series (RRP £59.99) from www.networkdvd.co.uk. 

Tickets to this event for the pre-order DVD will be issued on a first come first serve basis. 

As well as these special tickets each attendee will also receive a 1967 reproduction ITC brochure exclusive to this event.

The Prisoner All Nighter will be opened by Prisoner Loudspeaker Announcer Fenella Fielding and closed by an additional special guest. Attendees will also be entered into a prize draw to win some unique Prisoner merchandise. 

03 September 2009

The Prisoner complete original series is finally to be released on Blu Ray. Available to buy initially in the UK as a 6-disc limited edition box set on 28th September 2009, RRP £59.99, this will be the first Blu ray version of the series anywhere in the world. 

The only home entertainment edition of the series to be officially endorsed by McGoohan himself and based on the version of the standard definition DVD which won Best TV DVD at the Home Entertainment Awards in 2008, THE PRISONER THE COMPLETE SERIES BLU-RAY is thought-provoking, revelatory and just plain cool. 

McGoohan's iconic series is as fresh and dynamic now as it was when first unleashed upon an unsuspecting world in 1967. Containing all seventeen episodes the wealth of special features 

With its distinctive theme tune by Ron Grainer, special guest appearances from the cream of British stage and screen including Leo McKern, George Baker, Peter Bowles, Donald Sinden, and Anton Rodgers, THE PRISONER THE COMPLETE SERIES BLU-RAY is THE definitive release of the series and a must-have for all fans of high quality dramas.  

Buy at a special price of £42.98 The Prisoner - Complete Series [Blu-ray] [1967]

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19 August 2009

Christopher Nolan has given up all plans of directing a film based on The Prisoner.

Nolan was to direct a big budget blockbuster version of the 1968 show. He had been developing an update of the Patrick McGoohan show for Universal, but chose to make science fiction thriller Inception at Warner Bros instead.

Speaking at the Australian premiere of Funny People, producer Barry Mendel said plans are still afoot to revive The Prisoner as a feature film, "Chris Nolan has dropped out of it but we have a first draft by David and Janet Peoples who wrote Twelve Monkeys and David wrote Unforgiven and it's a good draft and we're working on the script right now," he said.

Mendel also commented that his movie version will be different from the forthcoming ITV/AMC TV remake of The Prisoner, which stars James Caviezel and Ian McKellen.

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"If the series was wildly popular that might effect us but the screenplay that David and Janet wrote was such a re-imagination of the series, if you think of The Avengers that wasn't a commercially successful film but it was very much in the spirit of the original show," he explained.

"This looks and feels so different that the tenants of the show are apparent but the execution of it is so different that I think it is unrecognisable, whereas the TV show is a well done, modernly shot updated version of the original show, but much more faithful to the original show."

16 February 2009

Since Patrick McGoohan's passing in January 2009, we have been asking our site visitors "What will you remember Patrick McGoohan for (excluding The Prisoner)?".

The survey is now closed and the votes have been counted. Over 1500 people voted, making this one of the most extensive surveys we have undertaken. Just under half voted for Danger Man (aka Secret Agent in America), a fifth for Ice Station Zebra. However, Patrick's only ever reprisal of his role as Number 6 in The Simpsons drew just 3.6% of the vote.

 

16 February 2009

Patrick McGoohan's obsessive nature made The Prisoner the all-time classic it has become.

In an interesting piece by Paolo Hewitt on Zani.co.uk, Patricks obsession, determination and strong will is investigated with some brilliant behind-the-scenes information including why he did Ice Station Zebra.

Read more here

14 January 2009

Patrick McGoohan has died at the age of 80. The actor's son-in-law, film producer Cleve Landsberg, said that McGoohan died yesterday in Los Angeles after a short illness.

As well as The Prisoner, he also won two Emmys for detective drama Columbo, playing different characters, with the first coming in 1974 and the other 16 years later. More recently, McGoohan appeared as King Edward Longshanks in the 1995 Mel Gibson film Braveheart.

McGoohan, who was born in New York but raised in England and Ireland, came to screen prominence in ITV's early 1960s drama series Danger Man, in which he played a secret agent. He is also the man who famously turned down the the lead role in the first James Bond movie, Dr No, before Sean Connery was cast.

It was The Prisoner, which aired originally on ITV (UK) between 1967 and 1968, with which he was chiefly associated, writing some of the episodes himself under a different name. His character spent the entire time attempting to escape from a prison – which was disguised as a perfect village.

In 2000, McGoohan reprised his most famous role in an episode of The Simpsons. His last acting job came in 2002, voicing a character in animation Treasure Planet. McGoohan's other film acting credits include Ice Station Zebra, Escape from Alcatraz, Scanners and A Time to Kill.

ITV is currently remaking The Prisoner in conjunction with American cable channel AMC. It is due to air in November 2009.

 

08 January 2009

In the lead up to the showing of the all new Prisoner series, AMC are making the classic original 60's show available to watch online - all 17 episodes for free.

If you haven't seen the original show (or have missed a few episodes) this is a great opportunity to catch up on Number 6 and all the brilliant characters Patrick McGoohan created.

If you are reading this in America, click here to start watching the show online now.

Unfortunately if you are outside the US this service is not available, however you can buy the entire boxset online for under £38  The Prisoner Complete DVD Set. Getting The Prisoner on DVD will allow you to enjoy a much higher picture and sound quality, this box set is digitally restored.

19 November 2008

Get ready for 2009 with the all new Prisoner 2009 Calendar.

This glossy edition would make a great gift for any Prisoner fan (or maybe just for yourself!). There is also a smaller square 2009 calendar out, ideal for your desk.

Visit our online shop to see all the best DVD's, Books and CD's related to The Prisoner. Buy online securely with Amazon.