The Secret of the Labyrinth (2010)

The Secret of the Labyrinth (2010)

This documentary is about the making of the Masque of Mandragora. It was shot in Portmeirion, Wales as were the exterior shots for the Doctor Who story. There are four actors and four members of the crew interviewed for the documentary. The actors are represented by Jon Laurimore (Count Federico), Gareth Armstrong (Giuliano), Tim Pigott-Smith (Marco), and Antony Carrick (Captain Rossini). The crew who appear on camera in the documentary are Philip Hinchcliffe (Producer), Rodney Bennett (Director), Chris D'Oyly-John (Production Unit Manager), and Barry Newberry (Designer).

Portmeirion is also the location where The Prisoner TV show was filmed, several years before The Masque of Mandragora. Philip Hinchcliffe said he got the idea for doing a story along these lines after seeing The Maque of the Red Death (1964). They shot the location in a very tight way to avoid allowing anything to appear on screen that didn't belong. Designer Barry Newberry talked about how he was influenced by Renaissance paintings when he decorated the interior sets.

This documentary is a nice addition to the DVD. It is only 26 minutes long but they pack quite a bit into it in the way of stories about the making of The Masque of Mandragora. It's a shame that they couldn't get the actor who played Hieronymous for this documentary.

Beneath the Masque

This 9-minute feature about The Masque of Mandragora is very much done in jest. It is very silly. I thought it was fun but not to be taken seriously.