Rating: 
Summary: A biting love letter to the Fab Four
Review: The Rutles stands as perhaps the greatest Beatles' tribute ever made. Every single time I watch it, I marvel at the amount of detail that went into crafting this spoof of the Beatles' history.In a way, this film is as essential to any Beatles collection as the Anthology series. Eric Idle conceived and wrote the film, and while he sends up the Beatles in a sometimes very biting way, he obviously loves the group very much. This is a consistently hilarious film, though the more you know about The Beatles, the more you will appreciate it. But even if you have a more casual interest in the Beatles and the music of the '60s, there is much to enjoy, including cameos from Mick Jagger, Paul Simon...and even the late great George Harrison himself. Neil Innes wrote the songs of The Rutles, and they are spot-on parodies of the many styles of the Beatles music. In fact, they are so well written and performed, some of the tunes manage to stand on their own (some are more tied to actual Beatles' songs than others). What if you aren't a big Beatles fan? Will you still enjoy this? If you're a Python fan, the chances are you will. If you're a fan of early Saturday Night Live, this is also a must-see. Lorne Michaels produced the film and it features priceless cameos from Bill Murray, John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, and Gilda Radner. The dvd itself presents the movie as good as it probably can look. It was shot on 16mm (with some "tv footage" shot on video), and it is meant to look like a documentary. There are a handful of special features, as well. Best of the bunch is an informative commentary track from Eric Idle. The deleted scenes, photo gallery, and new (brief) introduction by Idle are all nice to have. On the commentary, Idle talks about how much the real Beatles loved this film. He tells a nice story about visiting George and Ringo, and how they sang "Ouch!" to him, which was the Rutles answer to "Help!" Idle also refers to times when George would (intentionally) reference Rutles-history as if it were actual Beatles-history. As Idle puts it: "You can't quite tell where the legend ends, and the comedy takes over."
Rating:
Summary: One of the funniest movies ever made!
Review: I've always thought that every single member of Monty Python was a genius. Eric Idle goes beyond genius with this absolutely side-splitting take off on the Beatles. I saw it for the first time when I was a teenager (so long ago.....) and laughed till I cried. Neil Innes is brilliant (catch him as "Sir Robin's" minstrel in "Holy Grail" and really listen to the words - beyond funny!)! I bought it when it was finally released on VHS and now I'll be buying it on DVD as well. Don't miss this!
Rating:
Summary: Some movies are like good whiskey: they improve with time.
Review: Monty Python evilly conspired to wreck yet another genre: Music. They wrecked the pursuit of the Holy Grail, the Meaning of Life, and a lot more. This time, they set their crosshairs on The Beatles and let her rip. The result was one of the funniest films of all time.
The Beatles didn't sue too harshly, well, if only because squeezing Monty Python for money and an onion for blood, only delivers mashed onions. George Harrison (a former Beatle) helped Monty Python do their work. They forged an alliance with Saturday Night Live and ran true to course. The result is an irreverent romp all over the Sixties, music genre, and a whole lot more.
The Rutles were Dirk McQuickley, Barry Wom, Nasty, and Stig O'Hara. They pan, in order, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, John Lennon, and George Harrisson, with the occasional jape at Beatles' Producer, Brian Epstein.
The Rutles saga starts in a vacant lot near skid row. Commentator Eric Idle points to a spot on the ground,and says, "This is where Stig and Barry bumped into each other. Stig was only an amateur drinker, and Nasty offered to help him get up . . .." The camera pans right, and the commentator follows at a sprint. "The Rutles legacy began a few feet back there . . .." It did no good, the camera truck saw their chance to leave him and took it. In another scene, they leave him in the middle of the street, chasing he van. Another scene, Idle puns, in a cellar full of rats, and the crew turn out the lights. Later, the crew drives over the Commentator. The next scene, he is in the hospital, bandaged head to toe. There are other subplots, all wildly funny. One scene shows the Producer cowering in a bathtub, wearing swimming trunks at his wife's demand, so that he would not look down on the unemployed.
It is cheeky, irreverent, wildly funny, and believe it or not, you could show it to the preacher's wife and not give too much offense. Well, maybe not to the point of excommunication: just a Papal interdiction or the rack or sentenced to life as a movie reviewer or something nasty. The movie goes on like that one madcap spoof and one-liner after another that is guaranteed to send you out of your chair to the floor laughing so hard it hurts. I recommend this movie to anyone who needs a good hard laugh at something that is clean, acceptable in the company of puritans and deviates like me, and just plain wildly funny.
Rated PG.
Rating: 
Summary: Outstanding
Review: The song and video parodies are absolutely brilliant. In fact I think some of the parodies are better than the original songs! Some parts of the movie are tooooo silly, but over all this DVD was well worth getting. I also like Eric Idle's commentary track. I only gave it 4 stars because I wish it was longer. The DVD is worth getting if only for Cheese and Onions and Piggy in the Middle.
Rating:
Summary: WOOHOO!!!
Review: This was one of the funniest things I have ever seen. Rutles-All You Need is Cash is a perfect parody of the Beatles. Instead of just taking the lyrics to the songs and slightly altering them, the music itself was altered as well. The end result is a song parody which is just as enjoyable to listen to as the original. I loved the DVD so much that I watched it 3 times on the day that I got it! ...... One reason that I loved this DVD is because it had some of my favorite people in it: Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Neil Innes and George Harrison. Some of you might not know who one or two of those people are. ... But many of you will find faces that you know, because quite a few famous people are in it. ... The Rutles- All You Need is Cash is excellent! I must warn you, however, that to fully enjoy this movie, you must know quite a bit about the history of the Beatles and their songs to fully understand the movie. I loved R-AYNIC so much that I think it should be against the law not to see it.
Rating:
Summary: HALARIOUS!!!!
Review: Hey, im kaity, and im 13. The Rutles's movie All you Need is Cash, is sooooooo funny. You have to see it, the songs are so funny, and their fun to listen to too..., its a great movie and you really should invest in buying this, its worth it in the end!!
Rating:
Summary: A legend that lasted a little longer than a lifetime
Review: This is one of the funniest movies i have ever seen. If you are a Monty Python fanatic(as i am) this is required viewing. If you are a Beatles fanatic (as i am) this is required viewing. If you like both, you should be in jail if you don't see this.
I cannot get over how funny this is. I mean combing hte funniest poeple ever (monty python) with the greatest rock and roll band ever (the beatles). Eric idle is hilarous as the narrator (with innovaite filming techniques) and Neil INnes plays Lennon incredible. Fatar looks like Harrison would if he was an INdian, and Barry Wom captures much of hte esscen of Ringo. The Songs are also very good. Instead of merely chanigng lyrics, Innes creates a whole Rultes sound.
I won't give away the jokes, but please watch this.
Rating:
Summary: Eric Idle gives the Beatles a nudge, nudge, wink, wink
Review: Comparing the Rutles to Spinal Tap misses the main point of "All You Need Is Cash." While both are brilliant faux documentaries, Spinal Tap is a satire on both the documentary form and heavy metal music while the Rutles are a parody of the Beatles. The Monty Python connection is also a bit of an exaggeration because this is Eric Idel's comic masterpiece, aided and abetted by Neil Innes who wrote the songs. This is a first-rate imaginative and intelligent parody, that will provoke everything from knowing smiles to outright belly laughs as you watch the history of the Rutles. Like all parodies this one works best the more you know about the original subject matter because the humor hear comes from not only how they look and what they say, but also the songs. What makes these so brilliant is that they go beyond simply changing "Help" into "Ouch," but in actually capturing the style of the original as well. It is not totally farfetched to believe these songs could have been pop hits once upon a time. Given all this creativity on the other side of the camera, the performers seem almost incidental to the fun. Idle plays Dirk McQuickley (and the Narrator), Innes is Ron Nasty, Ricky Fataar is Stig O'Hara, and John Halsey is Barry Wom. Most of the cast of Saturday Night Live from the early days makes its way into the film, with John Belushi as Ron Decline, Dan Aykroyd as Brian Thigh, Gilda Radner as Mrs. Emily Pules, and Bill Murray as "Bill Murray the K." George Harrison joins the fun as the Interviewer, with Bianca Jagger (remember her?) as Martini McQuickley and Ron Wood as a Hell's Angel. This is one of those comic efforts where everything is at play, such as the Marxist joke involving the character of Leppo, The 5th Rutle. Actually, given the overall subtlety of this work, the connection to Monty Python and Saturday Night Live seems almost surreal.
Rating:
Summary: Monty Python's Life Of Beatles
Review: This is an example of that most unusual art forms : an affectonate parady. Eric Idol had followed up his success as part of the Monty Python team with the TV series "Rutland Weekend Television" from that came a guest spot on "Saturday Night Live" where the idea for the Rutles was born. Idol, as usual, plays a slightly put-upon television journalist who tries to re-trace the steps of the pre-fab-four and augments the story with archive clips of the band performing their hit songs. The songs, which are reminicent the real thing, were written and performed by Niel Innis who had his own TV series in the U.K. the early 80's. Considering the limited budget, or even not considering it, the "archive" clips look great and even more are very funny. The annimation on the"Yellow Submarine Sandwitch" sequence is particularly well done. Some of the sadder aspects of the Beatles story are glossed over or ignored like the Brien Epstien character's homosexuality and his eventual demise; but you can't realy blame the makers for that and of course "All You Need Is Cash" was made before John Lennon's murder so the "Nasty" character is less sympathetic than you might expect as he kicks one of the crew off the Rutle Corps roof at the start of the "Get Up And Go" sequence. The guest apperances by among others Paul Simon, Mick Jagger and even George Harrison perpetuate the joke but ultimatley the joke is not on the Rutles but on the media hysteria that surrounds them. Rhino have done a great job restoring this and have gone to great lengths to make sure even the FBI warning at the start is funny. A must-have for any Beatles fan with a sense of humour.
Rating:
Summary: A legend that will last a lunchtime...
Review: Eric Idle & Neil Innes expand their SNL skit(Really they did it first on an LP released in about 1975 ). No Beatles sacred cow is spared. Not Brian Epstein , not Yoko , not Apple , Johns Bed-in , its all there. Look for inspired cameos by Mick Jagger, Paul Simon, George Harrison , Bill Murrary(the"K"),Gilda Radner and more. Includes Neil's great soundtrack of Beatles songs you never heard. I am The Walrus becomes "Piggy In The Middle" , Penny Lane becomes "Doubleback Alley" , Help! is "Ouch !".Even thought the songs are parodys , they hold up on their own. I would have bought them(Wait a minute..I DID ! ) Do yourself a favor , check out this film , you'll want to own it...
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