Prisoner Episodes to Screen in Los Angeles

Los Angeles spy fans will have the rare opportunity to see episodes of The Prisoner on the big screen later this month. On Sunday, April 27, the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood (the best theater in town) will play two episodes of the groundbreaking Patrick McGoohan ITC spy show as part of their Art Directors Guild Film Society Series "Worlds Built to Order." Of all the Prisoner episodes, the one I'd most like to see on the big screen would be the series finale "Fall Out"... but I suppose the programmers have to consider people who have never seen any episodes, and it would be unfair to spoil the show's fantastic conclusion for them. And the episodes they've selected are not bad consolation prizes by any means! They will screen the series premiere, "Arrival," and the classic episode "The Schizoid Man" (an excellent choice for examples of the show's sublime art direction), in which McGoohan's Number 6 confronts his doppelganger, Number 12. But the rare opportunity to see Prisoner episodes on the big screen isn't all that audiences will see that night! There will also be a discussion of Sixties film design (illustrated by movie clips) with an illustrious panel including Nathan Crowley (Designer of the Dark Knight trilogy and the upcoming Interstellar), Alex McDowell (Designer of Man of Steel and Watchmen), and Arnold Schwartzman, O.B.E. (Oscar-winning Director and Graphic Designer, whose spy credits include the current UK Len Deighton paperbacks), and moderated by production designer John Muto (Species, Home Alone).

The episodes will be screened from a Blu-ray, but I suspect they'll look just fine. I saw some Avengers episodes projected from DVD at the Egyptian years ago, and even those looked okay.

The screening begins at 5:30pm on Sunday, April 27. Full details on the event can be found on the Egyptian's website, and tickets can be purchased through Fandango for $11.