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THE
PRISONER MOVIE: A personal view of what could be by Glen Davies Thunder cracks overhead as dark clouds threaten a downpour, quick cut to a long stretch of road, a car zooms into view. Cut to the driver, a man with a determined look upon his face. Cut to London, a modern city, traffic everywhere. The Car comes in to view. The area is Westminster and we, the viewer is reminded of another time, but this is now, the car and the driver are different. The mood, however, remains the same... So begins my personal version of the big screen adaptation of "THE PRISONER". The scene continues with a reworking of the "famous" defiant walk, only now it takes place in a bright open walkway. People (office workers) sit on either side as our hero storms through; they stop and pause in amazement. A double office door flies open, the background music once again reminds us that we have been here before. Our hero paces up and down in front of an office desk, the man behind seems disinterested. A file is thrown on to the table, pages and photographs spill out. The camera zooms in on one, it is an old monochrome print of a face we all know...(it is that famous studio portrait of Patrick McGoohan as John Drake.) Our hero slams his fist on the table top, a cup bounces from its saucer and shatters upon landing. Close up of the man’s face, angry now... He storms out, in a series of quick cuts we see him return to his car and drive away, at the same time the office man picks up the phone, we cannot hear what is said. We cut again, a busy London street, a large black hearse enters the scene and proceeds to follow our hero... In the man’s apartment our hero is packing, he stops to look at his I.D. card, he throws it down. The camera zooms in and we see that this man was a press reporter for a national magazine. Cut to a large room, office filing cabinets on either side, a machine drops another copy of the idea card into an open drawer, which then mysteriously shuts. We see the word "RESIGNED" on the front… Any film version of "THE PRISONER" is going to hit or miss by its success at recreating the original form, but a subject such as this needs more than just a straightforward remake, it will have to add to the myth that Patrick McGoohan has already created. In order to do this the film makers will have to come up with a story and style that appeals to fans and mainstream cinemagoers alike, but can they do this without alienating one viewer from the other? I believe that they can by a creating a film that is both a remake and a sequel to the series. The above outline shows, I believe the way to go. "THE PRISONER" has long been viewed upon as a show that is open to debate; any given viewer will find something different, a feature film must attempt to follow this format if it has any chance of success. Yes, give us answers, but give us new questions, new puzzles to solve as well. I would take the concept of a news reporter investigating stories concerning the spies of the cold war period (the 1960s). What happened to these people when the Berlin Wall fell and the face of Russia changed forever? Where did all the secret agents go? My reporter has discovered that some of them vanished without trace. He digs deeper and comes up against a hostile world where no body wants to listen to him, this endangers his life. Finally in mounting frustration he confronts his boss, armed with a file of information on missing agents. Men such as John Drake, formerly of both NATO and M9, missing since 1967. His boss is unimpressed, the reporter is told to "leave it be", our hero, refuses, threatens to take his findings elsewhere and resigns. These opening scenes quickly establish "my" prisoner film as being both remake and follow up, it also links "DANGER MAN" into the plot, and by doing so opens up a few more unanswered questions... What exactly did Drake know that was so important that he felt he had to resign? Why was he important enough to be kept alive and not murdered? Why is a reporter told to drop a story into an area of spying that seemingly died out years ago? By following this path the reporter finds himself abducted and in the Village. I personally think that the use of Portmeirion any film is vital. McGoohan’s depiction of the Village in the TV show could be updated very easily while still retaining that all-important look that in essence, was "THE PRISONER". The scenario would then follow our hero getting to know his new "home from home" and coming to terms with what Village life really means. A few escape attempts follow before the story settles down with the new Number Six trying to overthrow this microcosm of society. I would not have McGoohan ask Number Two, by doing so it would be stating that after 17 episodes he finally sold out. There is however a place in my story that would fit in with the rebellious character... During the final episode," Fall Out" it is stated that Number Six has earned the right to be an individual, but it seems obvious that the Village controllers would never really let him leave. What if he remained there, an outcast of that society? The new Number Six could, in an effort to find the truth seek him out, and by doing so learn much about the Village and also uncover some hints about why Drake resigned. Much has been made of the fact that in the series the location seemed to move about, in the movie I would add to this by having characters state that the Village is neither here nor there, but it is all things to all men. This would baffle both hero and viewer... but not so if you consider the endless mind games that were depicted in the show, the answer is simple, the place only exists in the mind, hence the conclusion of "Fall Out" where McGoohan is seen in London could have been just another ill-conceived ploy to get the man to talk. The recent film, "THE MATRIX" played homage to "THE PRISONER" by building upon the idea of mind games and worlds within worlds. Indeed "THE PRISONER" built its stories around themes of false realities, a big screen version must follow this path, by dropping so many of the unanswered questions surrounding the series can be explained whilst the foundation of the Village, where it really is and who is behind it all remain a mystery. The story of our new Number Six would slowly lead to a meeting with the Village outcast, an older, wiser and still cynical Patrick McGoohan. Now the original Number Six must make a decision, to remain an outcast within a society that mistreated him, or return once more and face the ultimate battle to learn the real truth behind the Village and final, perhaps be a freeman? After the recent remakes of "THE AVENGERS" and "RANDALL & HOPKIRK DECEASED" it is a time of both hope and great concern. Let us hope that those concerned with its rebirth will father their child with the care that Patrick McGoohan had those long years ago...
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