The Complete Monty Python's Flying Circus

 

 

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Six comic delights -- five British guys, and one American. Graham Chapman, Eric Idle, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin.

These six guys created "Monty Python's Flying Circus," a groundbreaking comedy series made of skits. They were sometimes gross, naughty, and they were always strange. And their bizarre humour has influenced everything from "Saturday Night Live" to Jasper Fforde.

For dozens of episodes, these guys served up skits on every insane subject you can think of: defense against fresh fruit, the Ministry of Funny Walks, sitcoms based on the family life of Attila the Hun, lupin bandit Dennis Moore, obscene children's books, semaphores, racing twits, village idiots, goats, psychotic barbers, Vikings, "ALBATROSS!", killer sheep, lobotomies, pantomime horses, Tudor pornography, Royal Society for Putting Things on Top of Other Things, the dirty vicar, and giant alien blancmanges who are turning people into Scotsmen.

Certain sketches have reached the point of immortality, especially John Cleese's "dead parrot" sketch, in which he plays an increasingly peeved guy who is trying to return a parrot that was "nailed to its perch." Also Eric Idle playing the obnoxious guy who constantly thinks of sex, and refers to it as "wink wink, nudge nudge... say no MORE!" And of course, THE SPANISH INQUISTION, whose chief weapons are fear, surprise...

There are also some running jokes, like the pantomime Princess Margaret, and a mysterious knight who walks through hitting people with a dead chicken. And of course, Terry Gilliam's cartoons interspersing the skits -- goofy, surreal, sort of like Saturday morning cartoons if Dali were doing the animating.

Okay, not every skit is funny -- the "Mouse Problem" sketch takes a great idea and stretches it thin. But more often than not, they ARE quite funny. They also mock just about anything, from government officials to art to censorship to the military ("It's DANGEROUS, sir!").

There are also a pair of live discs, in which the guys also do their best little skits and songs onstage, and they're almost as funny onstage as they are on a soundstage. They make a nice bonus for Python fans, and are fun viewing after you've seen all fourteen discs of the TV show.

And all of this by men who often dress up as the world's most unattractive girls, with only a tiny budget and minimal cast. The 70s production values are omnipresent, and they are decidedly unpolitically correct. But in a weird way, these only make it even funnier than it would have been otherwise -- the writing and acting are pure, raw, unrefined comedy.

Probably the most memorable actors here are Cleese and Idle. Cleese does his psychotic shrieks better than anyone, as well as having that rubbery lanky body that twists itself into Silly Walks. And Idle not only has amazing comic timing, but he can adjust his voice and body language to... anything, from domestic goddesses to sleazy TV hosts. But the other actors are quite good too, especially Michael Palin, especially when he's playing someone timid or crazy.

This classic comedy series not only became a pop culture staple, but it's still fresh and funny more than thirty years after it was made. The full series is definitely a must-have.

And now for something completely different...

Take the best of material and it can still be wrecked by the incompetence of those charged with the license to put it on DVD.

Why is it that there needs to be DVD releases that just do not measure up to the original material?

Given that there are edits that remove or censor the content of the original series and thus make it incomplete - why would anyone spend the kind of money they are asking for on this pile of discs?

If I or anyone is expected to plunk down that level of cash, I would expect the DVD, as one should from any DVD release, that it be COMPLETE, it must include every second of every sketch as they aired in the tv series. If my ancient VHS recordings of the show provide a more complete library of the sketches than the DVD's then we have a failed series. Others have already pointed out some of the failures.

To anyone who wants a definitive DVD collection of the entire Monty Python's Flying Circus, I recommend NOT buying this but waiting, maybe another 5 or 10 years. Maybe, if the BBC releases their own version , they will get it right and not bungle the job like A&E has done.

SHAME ON YOU, A&E!

Monty Python was a very talented and smart group of six mostly university educated individuals who took established British humour and molded it into their very own creation.They took aim at anything that was stale and staid in then English
Society,shot it up,turned it upside down,flattened it and called it Mr.Gumby!!
What on the surface seems a simple enough point about the troupe but usually goes unnoticed today is their original appeal and impact.Python came out of the 60s rebellious era and while that trait alone wasn't surprising what was was their own nationality(British,of course!) and their feigned attempts at portraying themselves as part of that staid and stuffy society all the while taking stabs at every English sacred cow and then some such as the police,the armed forces,the BBC,war vets,religion,etc. which made it definitely "something completely different"! There has never been a program like it before or since.
Each program was filled with several sketches tied together more or less with animated segments by Terry Gilliam,the only Yank in the group.
Having watched the entire set with it's 16 DVDs I was favourably impressed by the quality of the transfers.They are pretty sharp and crisp.The only disappointment is the "Live at the Hollywood Bowl" film.The film is not in good condition and the colour is quite washed out.It is a full screen version and I wonder since some of the credits disappear off the screen that there isn't a widescreen version out there,hopefully in better condition than this.Time will tell.
I also noted that the sketches "Proust","Bruce" and "Biggles" have some quick moments that have slight cuts/jumps in them.I know the BBC is responsible for the first one but the other two I'm not sure of the who or why.There may be others but those are the three I noticed off hand.One will also notice that there are some film glitches and other various defects.From what I can determine these are things that are inherent in the original film and there's nothing that really can be done to excise them.
All 16 discs come in their own thin slip cases and are one sided(less chance of scratching!).Each DVD interactive menu if quite neat and each has its' own trivia spot about the particular ep you're watching and some neat special features including trivia question contests and more.There are alas no interviews with the cast mano a'mano but the 'Live at Aspen' DVD makes up a little for this.
Overall this is a set every Monty Python fan should own or a lover of good comedy.If you're one of the politically correct crowd I wouldn't advise you to buy this set as the guys leave NO stones unturned in their comedic efforts to offend and delight us all at the same time.It's a set I will certainly be watching again and again and you will too.

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2.0 out of 5 stars Very bad quality recordings
Of course I am not criticizing Monthy Python but only the the quality of the recordings, including the menus and sub-menus. Read more

Published 5 months ago by Dan

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Fun at a Great Price
I was never intending to buy all of Monty Python's shows but I'm always looking for a great deal and I couldn't pass this one up. Read more

Published 11 months ago by From the Musician's Pen

5.0 out of 5 stars Monty Python's Flying Circus still lives on DVD
You can look up the individual reviews. Of course some individual titles will go out of stock. Others may not be your favorite. Read more

Published 19 months ago by bernie

5.0 out of 5 stars It's Pure Python
What can I say? It's Monty Python. It's silly, funny, offbeat. Great fun. I hope this set attracts viewers who aren't old enough to remember the time when these shows were... Read more

Published on Dec 19 2009 by Aeleisha

5.0 out of 5 stars great show. a must have for python fans
My only criticism is the one edit that I noticed from the original BBC re-masters.

Certain words are silenced from the "Summarize Proust" competition... Read more

Published on Jun 28 2009 by P. D. Evans

5.0 out of 5 stars It's...
Six comic delights -- five British guys, and one American. Graham Chapman, Eric Idle, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin. Read more

Published on Sep 15 2008 by E. A Solinas

3.0 out of 5 stars Monty Python's Flying Circus - Series 1
Monty Python's Flying Circus - Series 1 ( Gehen auf Deutschland )

Nachdem in der letzten Zeit eine ganze Reihe von DVD-Ausgaben englischer Comedys wie "Black Adder"... Read more

Published on April 5 2007 by Brie

5.0 out of 5 stars It's a steal....Grab it!
It's about time...How can you go wrong? sure, there is filler on almost all the disks, but this is so classic, truly the benchmark of sketch comedy. Read more

Published on July 10 2006 by dejesko

4.0 out of 5 stars french amateur
en France et en Europe, le monty pythons flying circus a ses fanatiques . malheureusement, une telle collection est indisponible au pays des grenouilles (et l'édition... Read more

Published on Nov 1 2005 by heddi boulebsel

5.0 out of 5 stars CHEAP COLLECTION OF FLYING CIRCUS AT COSTCO
I would definitely recommend this to true Pythonites, but I found the set for a whole lot cheaper at Costco. Only 89.99. It's the cheapest I've seen it anywhere. Read more

Published on July 17 2004 by Lisa

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