From their inception in 1969 through ’til their last ever live performances between the 1st and 20th July 2014 at London’s O2 arena, the MONTY PYTHON team have passed beyond folklore and legend, considering that each of the individual members has surpassed their formative team years on the classic BBC show to achieve equal, if not greater, success collective across all medium in Film, Theatre and Television.
Where does one begin to look in that context?
John Cleese with FAWLTY TOWERS, consistently voted the greatest ever UK comedy series of all time thanks to twelve enduring episodes that have yielded some memorable moments, coupled with A FISH CALLED WANDA (1988) on the big-screen, in which Cleese’s lawyer Archie Leach (homaging British expatriate Cary Grant’s real name) falls in love with jewel thief Wanda (Jamie Lee Curtis) whilst dealing with her psychotic brother Otto (Oscar-winner Kevin Kline).
Terry Gilliam, whose animations linked some of the sketches together, has a filmography that most directors would die for, with BRAZIL, THE FISHER KING, TIME BANDITS, FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS, TWELVE MONKEYS and JABBERWOCKY.
Eric Idle, whose musical talents yielded SPAMALOT and was the driving force behind the 02 reunion. It was of course a rather expensive court case over the profits of SPAMALOT to MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL (1975) producer Mark Forstater that led to those sell-out concerts, both documented in Cleese and Idle’s recently published biographies.
Terry Jones as a director, Michael Palin (whose travel documentaries have become the most enduring of their genre) and the late Graham Chapman also passed into legend, the latter with his classic performance as Brian in MONTY PYTHON’S LIFE OF BRIAN (1979), by far the most successful, as well as the most controversial of the early three feature films done by the team, which along with MONTY PYTHON’S THE MEANING OF LIFE (1983) created a ‘Holy Trinity’ of silly mishaps and fun.
In the case of THE LIFE OF BRIAN, a late night talk show appearance in 1979 on the BBC show FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY MORNING (hosted by composer Tim Rice (EVITA)) saw Cleese and Palin battle the Bishop of Southwark and Malcolm Muggeridge over the meaning of BRIAN being a direct send-up of Jesus Christ (even though they openly admitted during the show that they had missed the first 15 minutes of the film) and being as well-prepared and versed given the extensive research into doing the film.
In the UK, despite its’ BBFC ‘AA’ certificate (the equivalent of today’s 15′ and allowing teenagers of 14 years and over to see the film) LIFE OF BRIAN was banned by some local councils and caused consternation in the USA when it opened.
Today, however, it is regarded as a true British comedy classic which skewers all manner of conventions, focusing on the ridiculousness of some elements of organised religion.
To mark the 50th Anniversary of MONTY PYTHON’S FLYING CIRCUS, Network are now re-issuing in brand-new stunning 2K Blu-Ray versions the complete series in a staggered release, which are being screened in their original 4:3 ratio as broadcast on television.
Beginning on November 4th, 2019, MONTY PYTHON’S FLYING CIRCUS: THE COMPLETE SERIES 1 will take a bow, followed by SERIES 2-4 in January, March and May of 2020. (pre-ordering of the complete Limited Edition begins on the same day of SERIES 1’s release)
The first series consisted of thirteen half-hour episodes, which were initially broadcast from 5th October 1969 – 11th January 1970.
According to the press release, the project to update and upgrade the shows has taken a decade of planning and research, using a wide variety of materials and surviving negatives, remastered by Network’s in-house team of technical experts.
It’s difficult to pinpoint to a modern audience and three generations of fans what the impact of the initial series of MONTY PYTHON’S FLYING CIRCUS is about, but it is certainly in light of the half-century celebration well worth a look to see what the initial fuss was about.
So, how does one explain these shows? Well, they took their cue from another comedy legend, Spike Milligan, whose ‘Q’ series abandoned logic and structure, in favour of some very, and at times, extremely silly sketches that could make any manner of objects and situations seem as hilarious and ridiculous.
Some may find some of the sketches a little non-PC and sexist in their execution, as well as some imagery that might raise the eyebrows, but even in light of their dated and of-their-time quality, as is understandably, there are still some joyous moments to behold. Fans familiar with the series will know that the ‘Dead Parrot‘ sketch and ‘The Lumberjack Song‘Â are two of the many gems in this first series of episodes.Â
In 1971, to create some interest in the US market, the team put together a compilation film version of some of the most popular sketches as AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT.
That said, your enjoyment of these episodes may stem from your initial reaction if you were lucky enough to view them on their initial broadcast, or in repeat form later on, or perhaps through being introduced to the comedy troupe through the feature films and the other work mentioned above. The total lack of a narrative and comedy structure is the whole point of the show and was a revolutionary experiment.
Today however, some may wonder what it all means but – all the same if you are in the mood for genuinely silly, idiotic comedy – it will make a lot of sense to see where the creative journey to greatness began for the talent on show here.
Little more to say except ‘Say no more’ – and get on with watching these shows for the first, fifth or tenth time.
A bonafide classic collection that reaffirms and reconfirms this group of comedians as masters of their craft.
