Iterated Prisoner Dilemma Movie Reviews

I was not disappointed with the conclusion, and don't think any true fan would be. It is in keeping with the spirit of the entire series. Technically, Fall Out is rather a shambles; apparently the episode was put together in a rush, and edited at the eleventh hour; it certainly shows. The continuity is embarrassingly bad. As usual, the dialogue veers between inspired and pretentious. But that is all part and parcel of the unique Prisoner experience.

This final episode is without doubt the most memorable. Kenneth Griffith (The Girl Who Was Death) and Alexis Kanner (Living in Harmony) both make return guest appearances, as does the greatest Number Two, Leo McKern. It is in this episode that Number Two emerges as an equal and fellow-prisoner with Number Six. The conclusion is deliberately ambiguous (perhaps why so many disliked it), and leaves the viewer exhilarated after a climax that is playful, euphoric and victorious at the same time as it is melancholy, foreboding and haunting. The London and Portmeirion locations are a further treat for those who got fed up with some of the studio-bound earlier episodes. The music, as ever, is an eclectic selection of tunes and effects, but is perhaps the most memorably and excitingly scored episode of the series.

Also on this edition are Once Upon a Time (which segues into Fall Out, and follows the final, dramatic confrontation between Number Two and Number Six) and The Girl Who Was Death, an unusual episode which was never intended to be part of the original series, but which is fun nevertheless.

They should have either saved the alternate Chimes of Big Ben from the first disc and moved the order down by one, thus making set 5 the final 2 episodes plus a disc of bonus material OR taken the bonus material and added it to "The Girl Who Was Death", leaving the final 2 episodes alone on the final disc.

In "The Schizoid Man," Number 6's behavorial patterns are altered and he's convinced that he's Number 12 impersonating as Number 6. An interesting story that tests Number 6's individuality is among the best in the series. My favorite part: Number 2 tells him the "password" is Gemini. When he's confronted by street thugs and they ask for the password, he defiantly tells them "Jiminy."

In "Many Happy Returns," the Village is seemingly deserted. He escapes, only to find that his superiors don't trust his motives. Still, a surprising plot twist makes his escape seem irrelevant... ah well, watch it and see for yourself.

In "It's Your Funeral," Number 6 learns of a plot to assassinate a former Number 2. He doesn't believe it, thinking they're at him again as to why he resigned. Is it a trap, or the work of "jammers"? This one's pretty complex when it comes to the murder plot, but it unravels nicely in the end.

The DVDs include an interview with Bernie Williams, the series' production manager and line producer. It's pretty insightful, as he stated that Patrick McGoohan had total control of the show (just because the show got weirder as it went along DOES NOT mean he had little control to begin with...) and it's comforting to know that most people involved with the show didn't even know what it was all about (Bernie said that it was "all in Patrick's head.").

Here is where I agreed with A&E's episode placement. You can tell the Village administration growing desperate overtime and since the two aforementioned episodes are back to back episodes, it would only seem logical. Also, we're halfway through the series and the original airdate had "Many Happy Returns" BEFORE "Checkmate," which in the episode, Number 2 says "the early recruit." EARLY EPISODE, peoples.

When Number 6 escaped from the Village, the world that we know that exists outside of the Village seemed not all that different... which goes to show you that the Village could be ANYWHERE, even the place that you live in. Perhaps this was to instill the idea into Number 6's head that he might be better off in the Village? Nevertheless, his individuality remained intact and still yearned to be free.

Many people have compared Number 6 to John Drake (Secret Agent Man). Sure, they're both played by Patrick McGoohan and act similar, but are they the same? I don't believe so. As I have stated in my review for Set 1, I believe McGoohan meant for us to "fill Number 6's shoes." In other words, we too are prisoners in society, caught in a social order that we can't break from.

I give every episode a 5 star rating, but I HIGHLY recommend you get the megaset instead of the individual volumes. This show is one that must be seen to believe.

These issues are explored in this seiries and it's a paranoid surrealistic view of the answers. The shows are well written and self contained and Patrick McGoohan shines as the man who yells "I am not a number! I am a free man!"

I recommend this dvd highly, as well as the other dvds in this seiries.

The Prisoner is one of the most surreal shows of that period: only The Avengers can match its oddball features, but that one had a lighter touch. The Prisoner takes aim at the conflict between society's and the individual's interests, and the result is continually thought-provoking and crafted to resemble a continuous suite of Magritte paintings.

In "Arrival," we first get a glimpse of the Village and of The Prisoner's plight. He tries hard to escape, but the Village has a lethal enforcer called "Rover," which is generally a weather balloon with a mind of its own. There isn't much to analyze in this episode, however there are a few things to analyze that reoccur throughout the show that I will talk about later.

In "Free For All," The Prisoner decides to run for Number 2's position in hopes meeting Number 1. This is one of my favorites as it portrays a supposedly free democratic election as being filled with corruption and deceit. HIGHLY recommend watching this.

In "Dance of the Dead," they attempt mind-manipulation on him to find out why he resigned. In here, they use females (even a female cat) to persuade him to cough up what he knows. Even the Number 2 featured here is female.

The Prisoner's name is never mentioned. Patrick McGoohan probably wanted us to believe that you or me could be he. After all, we're prisoners in the social order, aren't we? Rover could also be compared to government oppression, as we get a glimpse of Rover endangering one of the townspeople out of spite. And why is The Prisoner numbered 6? Why not 5, 55, 100, and so on? McGoohan once said that it's the only number when flipped upside down, it becomes something else... and that's what I believe No. 6 to be. More than just a number. He's a man, and we all strive to become more than just a "unit in society." It is also been conjectured that 6 means the "sign of the beast," but it's also been argued that it means "equilibrium" or "great strength." Whatever the case is, I believe that it's meant to portray that No. 6 is not just any ordinary human being.

The show uses the North Portmeiron Hotel of North Wales as its set and the visuals and the beauty of the place is used to great effect. This is truly a great show. The acting is quite good and the writing is top notch. This isn't just a tv show. It's a milestone.

I particularly like this fan-preferred order that A&E brought us, but I'll get to that in a later article. I highly suggest purchasing and watching this phenomenal series, but get it in the boxed set.

Which is not to say that the episodes are entirely bad. But as a casual fan, I would not have bought volume 4 had I known what I was in for. The most entertaining episode is "Hammer Into Anvil," where Number 6 tries to upset Number 2 in a plot of deceit. "A Change of Mind" is not well written and seems rather vague. From previous episodes where Number 2 is in nearly complete control, the ineptness of the authority is hard to believe. The last two episodes, "Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darling" and "Living in Harmony" are both badly acted and inconsequential. Even the fact that "Living in Harmony" was never originally broadcast in the US, it's not worth it to watch it. Perhaps it was never broadcast in the US because the episode was so bad.

One can easily appreciate and enjoy 'The Prisoner" series without watching Volume 4. I, in fact, highly recommend the rest of 'The Prisoner' series. But you won't lose anything if you don't buy Volume 4.

In "Checkmate," the Prisoner is inspired to gather other people who still have their individuality after watching a chess game in which people act as the pawns in the game and are told to move by the chess player. The question asked in this episode is whether or not we are pawns in life. This harks back to the pilot episode "Arrival," when the retired admiral tells a woman that "we're all pawns."

In "The Chimes of Big Ben," a russian agent (?) is brought to The Village and is in the same exact position that the Prisoner's in. He decides to cooperate in the arts & crafts show so that she'll not get hurt... but of course, he still is defiant towards Number 2. One of my favorites in the series, he is hesitant on whether or not he should trust this beautiful russian prisoner.

In "A,B, and C," the Prisoner is sedated and captured in a laboratory. The new Number 2 uses untested drugs to probe through his dreams to find out why he resigned. An interesting plot point at the end keeps this from being average, as we find out that the Prisoner did not intend to sell out.

In "The General," the same Number 2 returns, this time utilizing a "speed learning" program (run by the Professor, sort of...) in which everyone learns something in merely 15 seconds. What Number 6 soon realizes is that one merely memorizes the information as opposed to learning it. This one's hard to analyze, but I think McGoohan tried to convey the message that technology is getting the better of us, and the technology is interfering with the growth of knowledge (either that, or we are misusing the technology to that effect.).

The Butler never speaks. He always serves his master faithfully and unconditionally. In the "Prisoner Companion" that came with the DVD set (or if you get the "Fall Out" volume), it is stated that the Butler represents all the little people in the world who blindly follow the strongest leader just so they'll be alright. I agree with that. What's up with the Bicycle? We see it on the number badges, the signs, and practically everywhere else in the Village. Could it mean that technology is getting the better of us (as supposedly stated in "The General"), or could it mean that we should slow the growth of technology? I agree with the latter, although the first possibility could be a true statement.

"Questions are a burden to others."
"Answers are a prison for oneself."
Two phrases used prominently throughout the Village. These two are probably individuality at its most basic. Without questions, you cannot build on friendships or even just simply gain knowledge! Without answers, one simply doesn't know and is forever confined in secrecy. This leads someone to think for themselves and form opinions. Naturally, opinions are not allowed in the Village.

A great series with messages in each episode. Preferably, I give every episode 5 stars, but I highly recommend getting the megaset and watching the series all the way through as opposed to the individual volumes.

In "Checkmate", No. 6 witnesses the manipulation of a human pawn in a giant, outdoor chess game. No. 6 attempts to determine who is a true "villager" like himself and who is a planted guard on the island. Through the relationship with the pawn, No. 6 thinks he's found himself an ally in escape. But has he?

"The Chimes of Big Ben", arguably one of the best of the series, allows No. 6 to meet a beautiful woman prisoner who has already been foiled by Rover (you know, that giant bubble thing). No. 6 agrees to help No. 8 escape and he does so by entering in a village sponsored arts and crafts exhibition. This is fun to watch. Be sure to pay close attention as it all unfolds at the end and No. 6 realizes some crucial details he had overlooked before.

A great episode, "A, B, and C", has No. 2, played well by Colin Gordon, using drugs to get at No. 2's past. Hardly possible in real life but definitely fun and intriguing on the screen.

Finally, "The General" is the weakest of these four episodes but it should be said that there's no such thing as a bad episode from this show. No. 2 has decided that mind control through something called "speed learn" and operated by a giant computer called "The General" will eventually cause No. 6 to reveal that information that they so desperately want ("Why did you resign?!"). Enjoy these episodes and watch them in order along with the others in the series. This is TV at its best.

I hoped that there would be an alternate ending on the DVD. Alas...this is all there is...

Most of us are familiar with this con from our e-mail where it typically takes the form of an African or the Middle Eastern princess seeking help from us to escape from a corrupt society or an oppressive husband. We are advised that she has many millions of dollars but can't get them out of the country without our help in the form of a few thousand bucks for various fees, etc. If we send the money we are assured that we will get a significant percentage of the millions.

Here the come-on includes a dark-haired beauty we see only in passing and in photos. Playing her foil is Rebecca Pidgeon (Mamet's talented wife) as Susan Ricci, a somewhat ditzy secretary for Joe's company. At the beginning everything is opaque and intriguing. It's not clear who is who, and who can be trusted and who can't. Indeed if this movie had a theme it would be "you can't trust anybody." The real worry, however, seems to be whether Joe will get paid for his work. Mr. Klein (Ben Gazzara) keeps putting him off. And so it appears that we may be viewing another business and relationships satire for which Mamet is justly famous (e.g., Glengarry Glen Ross 1992), but after a bit we begin to see the sinister plot unfold.

The acting is good and Mamet sets up his plot twists with precision--although the resolutions of some of the twists are a bit strained; in fact, probability and logic, in keeping with the time-honored tenets of the genre, are sometimes just plain ignored. But what carries this unusual thriller is an underlying tone of irony. Steve Martin is perfectly cast because underneath his sly exterior there seems lurking a guy about to bust out laughing; and indeed the entire edifice is a crafty but covert spoof of Hollywood thrillers. It's almost as though Mamet set out to write and direct a standard thriller but just couldn't help himself. On the other hand he may have had the understated parody in mind all the way, but just didn't want to tell anybody! Certainly Steve Martin was not fooled, but I do wonder about Campbell Scott who played his part with such single-minded intensity.

Anyway, there's a lot of clever dialogue, some of it cribbed ("Beware of enterprises requiring new clothes" is from Thoreau), and some interesting stage business (the tickets, the tennis book, the red-bound book, the camera/gun, the club certificate/request for passage to Venezuela, etc.). And trying to figure out who is up to what will keep you awake. But see this for Rebecca Pidgeon who, in her way, is as original as Mamet. Although her role here is not strictly comedic she reminds me a little of the Japanese comedic actress, Nobuko Miyamoto, widow of director Juzo Itami. She also reminds me of somebody who should be playing Saturday Night Live. Maybe she has.

Aside from that, the movie is actually worth a look, if you are a fan of Hong Kong cinema, not just the Kung Fu flicks that so many people think the entire industry is about. True, the movie could have had the same result without Chan appearing, but how successful would a movie like this be without Chan in America?

I am actually quite surprised that the only reason people would see this is because of one man, and then they would be angered because they don't see him as a martial artist. Well, truth is, not all of Chan's movies are like this.

Bottom line. Looking for an introduction to Jackie Chan? Stay away. Looking for a movie? Consider this one for a rainy Saturday.