Visual images in The Prisoner episode "A. B. and C."
Watching these episodes for the at least fiftieth time, it never ceases to amaze me that I can still find new things. This is specifically about the episode of The Prisoner entitled "A. B. and C."
I never put it together before, but near the end, when Number Six is walking with C towards the door, as he is told that once he goes over that he can never come back, there is a conga line.
The distinctive conga music is playing, and these two, walking arm in arm, disrupt the conga line and continue walking. The visual image here is that Number Six is "crossing the line." Brilliant. Such a minor little thing, but once perceived the implications are staggering.
Of course, the biggest visual image is the great camera shots when the red phone is the dominant image in the foreground. The phone line straight to Number Two's boss is looming, larger than life, and always right over Colin Gordon's Number Two. This is something Orson Welles would have done in Citizen Kane, where you could always tell the power of the characters based on their relationship images with the camera. You always know which character is dominant, or equal.
I never put it together before, but near the end, when Number Six is walking with C towards the door, as he is told that once he goes over that he can never come back, there is a conga line.
The distinctive conga music is playing, and these two, walking arm in arm, disrupt the conga line and continue walking. The visual image here is that Number Six is "crossing the line." Brilliant. Such a minor little thing, but once perceived the implications are staggering.
Of course, the biggest visual image is the great camera shots when the red phone is the dominant image in the foreground. The phone line straight to Number Two's boss is looming, larger than life, and always right over Colin Gordon's Number Two. This is something Orson Welles would have done in Citizen Kane, where you could always tell the power of the characters based on their relationship images with the camera. You always know which character is dominant, or equal.
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