I drove a taxi in Santa Monica for years and was fortunate to give Patrick McGoohan a ride. I didn't recognize him. Just got a quick look before he sat in the back. He was wearing his hair a little longer and it was grayer. After I assured him I knew where the Disney studio in Burbank was he didn't say anything so I didn't recognize his distinctive voice. At the studio gate he had to give his name. As soon as he did my eyes shot up to the rear view mirror and he knew I had made him. I waited for him as he requested and took him back. He talked more on the way back. He had been pitching a script. He had worked with Disney before. When he got out I asked him if he had done any film work recently. He had just gotten back from filming Brave Heart. I thought he said Grey Heart. So he stood tall and said Brave Heart. It was as if as if he were on a stage. What a thrill! He could have walked out on the crew filming the docunentary when he saw how amaturish they were but he stayed and tried to help them. Even the lighting was bad. You could tell how uncomfortable he was. Especially when compared with the clip of him being interviewed by someone else in front of college students who were studying "The Prisoner". He was likely upset with the doc crew because so much of the interview involved out takes. He has an english film Hell Drivers from 1957 on RU-vid. He plays the lead. Sean Connery is also in it. Even though Connery is one of the lesser characters you could see he had a star's presence.
People say Patrick is difficult, cryptic - I feel he is more open and honest than most actors. He is trying hard to be himself instead of portraying himself as a hero or a genius or a sex symbol. A brilliant documentary about a brilliant show created by a brilliant actor. His defiant, aggressive character has helped me accept my own defiance and aggression.
When I went to see Braveheart in San Francisco, The Prisoner had been running many times on PBS, and when McGoohan made his big entrance (and chucked the prince's lover out the window) he received a huge pop from the sold out crowd! Was wonderful to feel that energy, and that Patrick was beloved by a smart SF audience. (They were smart in those days, but that has ended). I attended a Prisoner Symposium in high school, and did a couple of Forums at the local PBS station, Channel 9, in 1980 when they reran the series. Next on the list is to visit Portmeireon. Thank you for a wonderful documentary.
I truly hope everybody who’s watching this realises just how fortunate we all are!!! This is the cherry on top! Patrick showed us back then the world that would today unravel and he warned us..... THANK YOU for this heavenly gift Patrick and thank you, all who persevered with Patrick and produced this ultimate up close & personal interview!!! ❤❤❤
I believe this series was "notice" to what was coming in 1969 and how to get out. We are all secret agents and must resign in order to be private. In 1969 "they" the umbrella corporations, had perfected their security system and everything went "legal". You common land deed, a title, became a security interest taken by the government and these securities need to be liquidated after you resign from the public.
Growing up in LA in the 1960's, notable, high class and truly marvelous actors, with exceptional reputations, were seemingly everywhere. Names like Heston, Stewart, Ford, etc come to mind. Although an American, Mr. McGoohan became successful in the UK, especially in Danger Man. The Prisoner was his unique masterpiece. Living not far from where he moved after departing England following the last episode, one genuine regret in my life was not being able to meet and spend a few priceless minutes with this amazing gentlemen. Mr. McGoohan was a close friend of actor and producer Peter Falk of Columbo fame. They shared several episodes together, with Mr. McG directing quite a few of them. Thank you for this marvelous video! I think I am a pretty good judge of character, and your efforts confirmed my initial impressions of the great Mr. McG; direct, self-assured, commanding, confident, knowing exactly what he wanted to achieve in his degree of perfection, and nothing less. I would imagine he would be a very intimidating man with whom to work, but very decent to those close to him. I have found men like this often seem like lions in the world outside their home, but inside much different. I imagine Mr. McG would be the first man to come to the aid of another in trouble, especially when an injustice had been done. You can sense that quality almost instantly. One can tell that Mr. McG was a very combative man in his personal life based on his early experiences as a boy. He sought to break the mold of where he found himself, and through his work discovered his medium, his arena, to fight his personal, perceived noble battles; a man on a mission. From the beginning in 1968 until today, I have watched episodes countless times, and I always find an important lesson or morsel of insight in the story line, many of which Mr. McG wrote or directed himself. Mr. McG's strength of character, courage and determination have always inspired me as a person. It is amazing the lessons he sought to communicate to us are more poignant today than ever before. Mr. McG's gifts to the world do not just include his masterpiece, but the deeply important, thought provoking and drive for independence his own personality has conveyed and inspired. When he sadly passed away years ago, I remarked to a friend, Mr. McGoohan; his talents, drive and courage in pursuit in inspiring others were simply needed elsewhere by The Creator. He simply returned home. Mr. McG was (and is) truly ahead of his time!
Yes I was about 10 when it first aired and I loved watching that show ... I remember the night of the final episode being a big deal where a lot of people made sure they were home or near a TV to watch it
The Prisoner is a great work of art and Patrick McGoohan(who I'd already loved in Braveheart and the warden in Escape from Alcatraz) proves he's more than just a terrific actor. This was HIS show and his decision to leave the ending open ended ensured it's longevity.
I love it! Mr. McGoohan took over the interview, and made it his own production. No better outcome could have been had. I bet he felt like a writer/actor/director in charge again for a short time.
Like others before him, he warned us about the the coming 'new world order' system (he even used that specific term along with the all seeing eye symbolism; which i don't think can be just coincidence) and their 15min prisons
What an intense, intelligent, and handsome man. Exceptionally difficult to interview and penetrate. But one cannot but admire his passion and unyielding force of nature. I never understood The Prisoner, just as I never really understand allegories. But I enjoyed the mystery, and Patrick was so compellingly watchable. I had the honor of casting Katherine in a play I produced in LA, and she was very kind and very bright. I was thrilled that she brought her father to the premiere. By that time, he had been a scene stealer in Braveheart, and I was a huge fan of that performance, which I really did understand!
@Eric Przyswa Eric then I happily withdraw that word. I had a very high opinion of him and probably used the wrong adjective to describe someone who seemed to have strong convictions. Thanks for correcting me.
The series inspired me to grab the classic Aldous Huxley sci fi novel Brave New World (which addresses a lot of things happening culturally and politically around the world right NOW), because it was in many ways the source for The Prisoner; its tropes, themes, and satirical humor. Read that book, and it can affect a viewer's interpetation of scenes on revisiting the series. Bottom line, though, is not to try to "figure out" what you're seeing. Interepret it freely, as McGoohan urges. One question I wish interviewers had asked McGoohan is if he liked science fiction during his youth. He threw everything into this show, from thoughts projected onto a monitor to switching minds with another man.
I remember watching the series from the first episode to the last. My father was a big Danger Man fan. At the end of the last episode, even though he had given up long before he stuck it out in some sort of search for sense, he said, "What a load of fucking rubbish," and was angry for days afterwards. I was 10 years old. I loved it. I had been canned in my primary school that year for doing the "wrong sort of pattern" in our art class. I had bought my first single, "The House of the Rising Sun" by The Animals. My father threw it in the bin and described it as utter trash. What I am saying is this, The Prisoner is a watershed moment in media history. It is a moment when art was set free. Then we had Thatcher and Regan and it was put back into prison. People speak a lot about what is art and my answer is that true art, brilliant art is that which appears timeless. We all know this series will still be watched and admired long after we are gone.
Right but with Reagan you have to differentiate between pre and post his assassination attempt when the deep state took over his admin. Like JFK. You seriously think thatcher and reagan werent pawns?
I was 15 when this came out. Without any question, the program changed my entire outlook on life and affected my young development. I'm a cynic (a very happy cynic). I put it down to:- Catcher in the Rye. 1984 Brave New World The Prisoner L'Étranger. Crime and Punishment Metamorphosis The Tempest (Shakespeare) These books (and the Prisoner T.V. programme) were extremely influential in my development. In happy they were around at the time. I'm also happy that my Grammar school English teacher was open-minded enough to teach us Catcher in the Rye.
Just watched this in 2024. I was shook as a teen in the 1970s when it aired on TVO and I remain shook. Not nostalgia but a life lesson in struggle and freedom. Long live John Drake, no longer a prisoner or a number but a free man!
You may want to rethink the message of The Prisoner. I've rewatched many of the episodes that I first watched as a teen, only now I realize that almost every scene is riddled with freemason symbolism. It happens constantly and cannot be an accident. Given the amount of control that McGoohan had over the series, it must have been intentional on his part. Space doesn't allow for me to better explain the numerous examples, but as a token look the exchange between the characters at minute :59 of this documentary: they scream "five" and "six" over and over at each other. 5+6=11, which seems silly and unimportant to you and me, but is of great significance to people in intelligence and other secret societies. But, you may ask, isn't the message of the series rebelliousness? In my opinion the real message that comes across is that resistance is futile. In the show only people that work for the secret overlords have anything approaching a normal life and happiness. I'm familiar with the final episode. I think that it is just plausible deniability of what the true message of the series was.
Ok, now I get it. Pat might've been a conspiracy theorist at a time when the world was at its most hopeful for freedom from profit and imperialism. His moral intensity was for honesty and goodness in the face of repression. The liberation I inferred could be an illusion: Forty-Eight's aimless hitchhiking is not sustainable individualism. Two's refuge in the House of Lords rejects individualism for safety in numbers and privileges. The Butler's escape is a servant gig that he chooses, except it's Six's house, bugged and boobytrapped. The bipolarity of Six as One can be escaped. The road is the same and the gates can slam as before. Six is on the other side of the gates and can choose to negotiate the road to new places without guards or gates. I'm still optimistic!
@@ianweniger6620 I'm not outing him as a conspiracy theorist, I'm outing him as an insider pretending to be an outsider. The symbols put into the show were meant to only be fully understood by people like himself. It also means that the series origin story is probably fiction. I'm not saying that he isn't a good actor. I'm saying that he is a greater actor than anyone probably realizes.
Remarkable series.... intense, imaginative, but realistic vision of the 21st century - certainly the beginning of it - ...... Be seeing you...............
What a fantastic documentary, definitely the best Prisoner documentary out there. Only today did I finally realize where the title of the documentary is taken from! It is from the episode "Once Upon a Time," from an exchange between No. 6 and No. 2, which is probably the closest we come to No. 6 revealing why he resigned: 6: Let me out. 2: Why did you resign. 6: For peace. 2: (disbelieving) For peace? 6: Yeah. Let me out. 2: You resigned for peace. 6: Yes. Let me out. 2: You're a fool! 6: For peace of mind. 2: (disbelieving) Whaaat? 6: For peace of mind! 2: Why? 6: Because too many people... know too much. 2: Never. 6: I know too much! 2: Tell me. 6: I know too much about you! 2: You don't. 6: I do. 2: (shakes head) No, don't. 6: I know you. 2: Who am I? 6: You... are an enemy. 2: I'm on your side. 6: (sarcastically) Yeeaaah. 2: Why did you resign? 6: You've been told. 2: Tell me again. 6: Yes. I know you. 2: (sarcastically) You're smart. 6: In my mind... in my mind... YOU'RE smart! 2: Why did you resign?! 6: There, see? Of course, the meanings behind these words, like much of The Prisoner, is open to interpretation. In my opinion, No. 2 calls No. 6 "smart," because No. 2 does not believe No. 6's answer, he thinks he is being clever. No. 6, conversely, says, "In my mind... YOU'RE smart," because he has finally truly answered the question, but No. 2 can't believe that he has been given the answer. I wonder if the title of the documentary implies that we, the audience, have been given all the answers we need to figure out The Prisoner's mysteries... and we don't even realize it.
This is marvelous! Seeing McGhoohan running on all cylinders, what looks to be drone footage of "The Village" interlaced with advertisement sequences from Portmeirion, connected with thoughts from his charming daughter. It all becomes a bit unreal. His daughter could easily be a character from the series. If this was the effect you were reaching for it's certainly working effectively on me.
I just watched the whole thing. It’s an amazing piece of history. I remember seeing the Prisoner when it was first run. I didn’t get the ending until I saw the Canadian interview a few years ago. This film is an amazing insight into the genius of the man.
I have always thought the Prisoner series was one huge mish mash of confusion; but notwithstanding all the conflicting mush, it somehow fell together in the same way perhaps as 'Casablanca'. It was the very fact that neither makers nor viewers could make head nor tail of it that gave it its magic. A movie Rohrschach ink test. The late 60s timing, the opening, the car, the location, the photography, the laughable and scary balloon all had a little serendipity about them. McGoohan's aggressive growling expression was passe half way through the first episode. But notwithstanding all the inconsistencies and cul de sacs, it made it into history. Well done Patrick (rip).
When I first watched The Prisoner, I thought that he had died, been murdered, and the village was the purgatory. Not understanding he was dead, he continually tried to escape but never to succeed. As I listen to Patrick McGoohan, his voice reminded me of someone but couldn't put my finger on it then suddenly it came to me, Richard Burton.
You're about the third or fourth person in the comments on the vids that believes he was meant to have died and this was his Purgatory or Hell that he kept reliving and couldn't escape .
a very fine addition to the scantily available interview material wth McGoohan about The Prisoner. thanks VERY much for posting this. makes me want to rewatch the whole series over again soon! just rewatched that Toronto interview recently & was looking for another documentary i'd seen about it & found this first, still no trace of whatever it was i'd seen before. hope this can stay up so people can see it.
Although I've never seen the site called The Way Back Machine , a lot of people say that's where you can find a lot of things that have been removed from the internet and RU-vid .
I was in the studio for the Troyer invu and you could feel the tension between McGoohan and Warner - in a very positive way - because Warner was completely psyched into the symbolic interpretations of the 17 episodes and McGoohan I don't think was as prepared for the depth of psychological searching from the questions, comments, and probing that took place. An unforgettable experience for me.
I had no idea that the location, Portmeirion, was full of people when they shot the Series!! Wow...when you watch The Prisoner, that first episode, it seems he is alone, but for the "residents" of The Village. Incredible acting....probably his skill developed doing live theater?? Kudos Sir!!
There is a moment in this where he is in full Oscar Finch mode from his brilliant performance in Columbo's "Agenda for Murder". Rare for someone to be so masterful in acting and directing.
I adored this man, and still do! A sublime actor the best out there in my opinion.He made everything he acted in real. The Prisoner was avant guard. A series that forced one to think!!It is so now.He is in the class, and perhaps above it that Orwell and Huxley claimed.Extreemly talented . I truly wish I had been old enough to seek him out and have a extra ordinary parle with him.Hope to be seeing you sometime soon Pat!!!
🌹💐🌹💐🌹💐🌹 !!! What a very enjoyable gem ! I was, from september 1967 to june 1969, in London and in Cambridge to learn english ; and two of the means to do so were to listen to the radio or to watch television, which I did intensivily. The Prisoner is certainly one - maybe the only one - of the best series ever ; a series which makes you think, that is ; and this is considerable. Of course, I saw The Prisoner an that time in black and white ; therefore it was a great joy to discover it some years ago newly in colour.
Did anyone mention the "be seeing you" signature that he brings to any spy role. When he directed his first Columbo episode and starred, he used it in that too. I think it is kind of cool.
Fascinating, thanks for uploading. A shame the director and crew weren't better prepared but at least he's honest about his failings. A professional journalist should as a matter of practice always prepare for interviews with research and a list of questions. This provides an outline for the interview but still allows for spontaneity. To me The Prisoner is the television equivalent of Orwell's 1984 (as MacGoohan alludes) but with elements of Huxley's Brave New World, with his inquisitors alternating between hard and soft approaches in their attempts to get information.
A brilliant actor and an intriguing man. My favorite Columbo episode is Identity Crisis with Patrick. It was a pleasure watching Patrick in your footage/interview and his daughter.
Thanks for sharing this gem! 👍 I think McGoohan would be pleased how many people know and cherish The Prisoner. It was way ahead of its time, and had a lot of important messages, like choosing for yourself and keeping your moral compass intact. The surveillance aspect is another example; and anyone who asks questions being under suspicion.
I remember, when I was a kid, in the early seventies, on french tv, when they had a technical problem, they put a Prisoner's episode. It always took you by surprise. And it was a blast. I loved it. Great, great documentary, by the way. Thanx a lot for that.
Thanks very much to all concerned. I've never seen the Channel 4 documentary, but I trust you haven't left much of importance out of this one. Be seeing you! 👌
I think the ending created by McGoohan was the ONLY way Number One could ever be memorable. The fans of that era failed to consider this when they "rioted". Furthermore, the ambiguity sustains the show to this day.
it was the most original television program...ever..Patrick was trying to make people...think..television is really not designed for that..rod serling did the same thing..
I organize my life by making lists of things to do. I number them. Sometimes, I'm able to accomplish the second task on my list before any others when a new task arises. I cross off the old task, write in the new task in its place and I tell the new task in all seriousness ''You are the new number two!''
Thank you for this in depth interview with one of the most extraordinary actors and writers of our time. The upshot of episode 17 seems to be, “ I have met the enemy, the locus of evil, and it is me”.
Thank you Keith for the upload - just found. Thank you Chris for this difficult assignment, good work. Interesting to see Catherine. An actor, a man - self-made, always reminded me of Nicol Williamson (demanding, Shakespeare productions to a narration of The Hobbit). I was fascinated with the production of The Prisoner. The quaint, folly village masking a technological concentration camp. Markstein's (The Cooler) approach just as interesting. I've re-written episodes in imagination, especially Fall Out. In the third act Six is returned to his flat, after a final brainwashing, we discover why he resigned. He feels in need of a long holiday. While packing, photographs of the village planted for him, induce a psychotic seizure. He destroys the images - but one has remained; as a mantle clock chimes six-o'clock. A fragment of memory returns - ""six, you are number six"...his gives his famous dictum. Packs the remaining photo, turns to leave. Looks at the camera and repeats "be seeing you". (Possible sequel). - Andrew Mackenna, Christchurch, New Zealand
Patty knew he couldn't tell you the truth, he was hoping that you would " get it", because everything can be known except the thing that's needs to be known and that is that which can not be told.
I came across The Prisoner Episode 1 last night and it brought back great memories. I was totally hooked into the series way back when. Now RU-vid is sending me all these great links (including this very illuminating one) which I'm devouring greedily. I did manage to get to Wales once. I was sent by my company to an animation festival in Cardiff. I tried, begged to get a couple of vacation days so I could go see Portmeirion but no luck. They insisted that I fly back immediately for an "important" meeting which turned out to be not so important. Damn, if we'd had Zoom back then I might have managed it. I came so close!
All of the episodes are here on RU-vid for free . I'm really sorry that you never got to Portmeirion when you were so close ... and then the meeting wasn't even that important ... how frustrating for you that must have been and it's just a shame you couldn't have told them you had some kind of flu and were too ill to travel home for another day or two ... the mistake was in being too honest with them and telling them why you needed the extra time .
Du musst amboss oder hammer sein! I'm only 18 minutes in and I'm glued to this! I just had to stop and say @Keith Rodgerson .... Thank you for this! I have to get back to watching.... Be seeing you!
Nice! But in many ways enigmatic, like its subject. Ironically, he never escaped from the Village; Mcgoohan might've gone on to produce more outstanding work as director/producer/writer but he didn't (or nothing I am aware of). One of the first things that came to mind mind after watching a couple episodes for the first time back in the late 1970's-early 80's on US public television, was contained in the intro: Q: "Who is Number One?" A: "You are, Number Six".
@@thewkovacs316yes I remember as a kid when I first saw him in Colombo I was so thrilled and then he came back for a few more episodes and that was just really so cool
I feel a big inspiration for The Prisoner" was the "Secret Agent/DangerMan" episode "Colony 3" about a spy school. Very good episode about a "village" that is a microcosm of the macrocosm of modern western society. The music is eerie but perfect.
McGoohan was amazing, one of his great lines in Braveheart was; "the trouble with Scotland is that it's full of scots". It was shocking, it got my attention and that's what great actors do.
What a great gift you are giving us, Mr. Rodgerson ! I must fast-forward to 1998, and Peter Weir’s, Andrew Niccol's many Oscar nominations," The Truman Show" ! Q: Which came first: "Time Out of Joint"(dystopian novel by Philip K. Dick)1959, "or "The Prisoner" 1967, as inspiration seed for the brilliant script of both creators, and Peter Weir's direction... love to have an answer...anyone!!! 🤗🤗🤗
Poor Patrick. He’s always acting. He’s always performing. His interview shows this. He’s always got a shield up and nothing is truly honest. He can’t do an interview honestly and speak openly because he’s still trying to rehearse everything in his mind. He’s tormented. He never let go.
I enjoyed that. I watched the original series when it came out. The ending was the weirdest ending on TV prior to Fade to Black on the Sopranos. It's a pity they didn't discuss the opening scenes and the theme music. The intro is the best ever to appear on TV IMHO.
I have to admit that prisoner ends up in the same category as the 2004 series " lost". To some it is a cerebral allegory for the vicissitudes of life. For others it is an arcane example of a script that has no end point and is made up as you go.
Interesting/informative.Entertaining.😉.vaguely remember the few episodes that I did watch👀 50+ years ago. Now it's time to catch up on missed episodes🤗. The guest character.stars.enhanced Patrick's performances-!!!🤗. Like the characters whom appeared on the Different Bat Man episodes.
