And Now For Something Completely Different (1972)

Easily Trumps SNL and MAD for...Best...Skits...EVER!!!

There really is no comparison in terms of comedy skit shows, Python rules them all.

These are truly the best of the best skits as far as Monty Python's Flying Circus goes. This compilation features timeless classics that'll have you in stitches everytime you see them. Personal favorites of mine are, "Dead Parrot", "Hungarian Translation Book", "Dirty Fork" and "Self Defense with Fresh Fruit". There are many more and this whole set is great, but those are just a few that come to mind first.

An interesting note though is that these aren't the originally, first aired skits. Meaning they aren't just ripped from the original broadcasts and slapped on a dvd as a best of disc. They were actually redone. If you watch the originals from FC you'll see that they don't just look and sound better than the originals, but they're actually funnier. I think the skits really benefitted from the repeated performances that allowed them to find the right rythyms of what works best and what doesn't. The timing and delivery of each skit is perfectly done.

I also see these as a true best of because like other skit shows, Flying Circus was also a little hit and miss sometimes. Pick up one of the FC volumes and you'll see that some just really aren't all that funny, which is why I'm so glad they made this compilation. After seeing this, you'll want to see the FC volumes and think that all the skits are gonna be like these, but they're not. It can be disappointing. I think only the truly, most die hard Python fans can really enjoy those. For casual fans and the curious, this disc will do.

Still though, these skits really hold up well as they aren't so based on political leaders and social trends of the time like SNL and MAD. So it's just good comedy and doesn't require you to remember the time to get the jokes like the other shows. The best that SNL and MAD have to offer can't even touch the best of Python, hands down.

Any Python fan out there probably already has or at least has seen these. For those curious or interested, don't hesitate. This is true, classic comedy that you can enjoy watching over and over. You'll quickly identify your favorite skits and find yourself rehearsing them again and again with others. Good times. Get it now, "wink wink, nudge nudge". April 29, 2008

And Now For Something Completely Different

Silly, madcap, and irrepressibly fun, Ian MacNoughton's celluloid reprise of the very best Python sketches is a nonstop gauntlet of guffaws for die-hard fans and a hilarious introduction to the troupe's surreal, anarchic brand of British humor for newcomers. Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin, and animator Terry Gilliam are all on hand here, lending their mercurial blend of manic energy and brainy, off-kilter banter to this big-screen affair. If you're in the mood for sublimely goofy humor, this is your movie. July 3, 2007

Monty python

This is my favorite of the monty python movies. It has no plot and basically combines a bunch of the old skits from the flying circus. It is awesome. May 28, 2007

Only Thing That's Missing is the Laugh Track

A great collection of skits by the Monty Python gang for wide screen. Originally conceived as film to introduce United States audiences to the Monty Python brand of humor, the movie was granted a generous budget and the Python members re-created many of their (now) famous skits in front of a 35mm camera. Remember at that time that Monty Python's Flying Circus was limited to television airings on PBS. A limited network attempt to premier the show ended as a dismal failure. The network heavily censored the episodes and edited the shows together as a sort of television movie. Alas, when it was originally released AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT was poorly advertised and distributed. Even dedictated PBS Python fans had difficulty in finding the movie in theaters.

It was not until a couple years ago that I realized that AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT was a stand-alone film. Back in the 1970s I was already a fan of the television show and suprised to have heard very little about the film version. A classmate went to see the movie at an obscure theater and reported back, incorrectly as it turned out, that SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT was nothing more than selected segments of the BBC program blown up for 35mm projection.

Also at that time Michael Palin appeared on the Metromedia Sunday morning kids program WONDERAMA (which was actually taped during the week) and presented a short clip from the movie. On my 12-inch black and white television the film clip looked exactly like the original television skit with the laugh track missing.

It was not until almost 30 years later that I caught the whole film on a cable movie channel -- on a much larger color television screen -- and realized that SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT was not simply an edited version of television footage. At that time that I also bought the official Monty Python biography THE PYTHONS BY THE PYTHONS and read the story behind AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT.

The movie was quickly overshadowed by the Python breakthrough film MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL. Still it is a valuable transition film between the televised show and the later film attempts. The only thing I miss is the laugh track. There was something about the audience laughter in the original series that made the skits that much funnier. That is probably the only drawback about having the film on DVD in that you also miss out on the cinema audience participation. March 5, 2007

This Is What Got Me Into Monty Python

Man, some of my all-time favorite skits are in this wonderful compilation here. For some reason, the Monty Python crew decided to re-do the skits, so instead of being in their original form, the skits have slightly different sets and costuming, but (thankfully) the masterful dialogue is not altered in any way. I guess the crew felt that the original skits weren't 100% true to their vision, so they made a few changes to match their original intent.

One of the many stand-outs is the Dirty Hungarian Phrasebook, where a poor hungarian man thinks he's asking for cigarettes by when he says, "Drop your panties Sir William." Another is the marriage counselor who flirts with a man's wife because the man's to sissy to do anything about it. Still another is the accountant who wants to be a liontamer, provided that lions aren't much different from anteaters.

And of course you'd expect the classics like the Dead Parrot Sketch, Nudge, Nudge, the Lumberjack Song, and last but not least the Upper-Class Twit-of-the-Year, which happens to be the appropriate finale.

My personal favorite sketch is the Expedition to Mt. Kilamarjaro, where John Cleese sees two of everything unless he covers up one of his eyes. I also get a kick out of the sketch where people fall out of high buildings.

This movie here contains the best writing from some of the best comedians to ever walk the earth. It's a real treasure in every sense of the word. January 8, 2007

More reviews at Amazon.com ...