Rating: 
Summary: Lemon Curry?!?!?!?
Review: For any Monty Python fan, this collection is a MUST! It has every single episode of Flying Circus, with also other cool little bits of video (eg how Gilliam did some of his animations) and facts. There's scene selection for each episode as well, so when you quickly want to subject a poor innocent non-Python person to some spam you can. The actual quality of the DVDs is excellent - much clearer than all the VHS versions I've seen (although keeping in mind the footage is over 30 years old). And they all come in a nice little box so they don't get lost. Isn't that *neat*! So if you're a true Python fan, and you love the episodes - get it! It's priceless!!!
Rating:
Summary: For the true Python fan
Review: This set of DVDs is the complete collection of the TV series. It does not include the films or live performances. It was fun to watch the humor develop as the episodes developed, one after the other. Even after 30 years the sketches are funny. I was disappointed that the individual sketches within each episode are not titled or indexed. This information is available on the web, however. Pythons Forever.
Rating:
Summary: German sketches are in this collection
Review: The people saying that the German sketches are missing are wrong, check the "Loony Bin" section on disks 12 and 13 they are there. I haven't explored each DVDs Loony Bin section but I plan to go back and watch each one. The other missing or edited sketches might be there on the other DVDs. It has been said many times but, if you enjoy Monty Python you should own this collection.
Rating:
Summary: You will sit on the comfy chair and watch these DVDs...
Review: The greatest comedy sketch show of all time, the complete Monty Python collection consists of all 45 episodes made, broken down into four series. The first three series are all classics, and although the 4th series was shorter, without John Cleese, and seems less inspired, is still much more funnier than any other sketch show.
All of the classic sketches are there: The Lumberjack Song, The Upperclass Twit of the Year Show, Nudge Nudge, The Spanish Inquistion etc., and of course the Parrot Sketch. Of all the overlooked sketches, my favourite is the Dirty Fork sketch. How the team come up with a sketch where a filthy piece of cutlery can bring such emotion, heartbreak, metal anguish, and suicide is nothing short of genius!
It is true to say that a couple of edits (and at least one sketch missing) have been made, but were made for censorship reasons and should not really detract you from enjoying this collection. I would have liked all of the episodes to be complete, but these edits were done on the less memorable sketches, so they don't bother me greatly.
The picture transfer is excellent considering the age of the programmes and the fact that the episodes were converted from PAL to NTSC. Sound is mono only, but it is clear. In fact, the whole quality is better than my ageing VHS collection!
Despite the editing, I am certainally pleased to be able to have the whole series on DVD. In the UK, we have to make do with a DVD of the best bits of Series 1, so these DVD's faults pale by comparison!
Rating: 
Summary: The Nearly Complete MPFC.....
Review: I just couldn't bring myself to give this set 5 stars. I wish it were possible to give it 4 1/2 stars.
First of all, it's true, the episodes are not 100% complete, however, many people, in my opinion, have been over-reacting about the cuts. Actually, the A&E DVD #1 has a sketch in the 2nd episode called 'The Wacky Queen', which was edited out of the show after the first broadcast & was never shown again on TV in the UK or abroad, as far as I know. Seasons 1 & 2 have no cuts, at least none that I spotted when comparing the DVDs to the synopsis in the Monty Python books by Jim Yoakum & Kim "Howard" Johnson. There is a slight edit of one word in the 5th episode of the 3rd season during the 'Summarize Proust Competition' which the BBC made to the episode before broadcast. Broadcasts outside of the UK had the uncensored version of the sketch. Unfortunately, A&E got a censored master. In the 7th episode of the same season during the 'Biggles Dictates a Letter' sketch, there is a slight glitch which can be blamed on slopply mastering on A&E's part. It doesn't detract from the enjoyment of the sketch very much. The episode that appears to be worst hit is the 12th episode of season 3. A&E goofed when they included 'Party Political Broadcast' on the box to this episode. The sketch was edited from the master tape and hasn't been seen since the original broadcast in 1973. This material is very probably lost forever. The very end of this episode, which has a trailer for Dad's Doctors & Dad's Pooves, is also missing from the episode. This was probably sloppy editing on the part of A&E video as the episode does a fade to black with the BBC TV logo then fades up again with the BBC TV logo again and the 'Dad's...' trailer. The person transfering the episode, who probably had no familiarity with Python thought that it wasn't part of the episode or something. A&E should have hired one of the US Python experts like Kim 'Howard' Johnson, Jim Yoakum, or David Morgan to oversee the A&E transfers so these mistakes might have been prevented. As far as I know, the cuts I just mentioned are the only ones that have been made to these DVDs. Not that much, in my opinion. Certainly not enough to bring this set all the way down to one star. Some have also complained that this set didn't include the German episodes 'Monty Python's Fliegender Zirkus'. These episodes were produced for German TV & not for BBC TV. In fact, the 1st one, which was done in German, was never shown on British TV. This set does contain all 45 episodes that were produced for BBC television. A&E has released the 2 German episodes. The first one, in German with English subtitles, is in the set 'Monty Python Live' and the second one, shot in and in English, is in the 'Life of Python' set.
Yes, yes, the quality of the picture and sound is not perfect, but still better than any TV broadcast that I've seen. I suspect that the quality of the shows as broadcast wasn't terribly impressive. BBC Television only started broadcasting in color in 1969 (the year Python started) and it was still new technology to them. The sound is Mono. The BBC didn't go to Stereo until 1988! To do some kind of stereo remaster, one would need access to seperate dialogue, sound effect, and music tracks, which I'm sure don't exist with the Pythons or the BBC. Such a thing did exist for Holy Grail, which is why Columbia was able to do a remastered Stereo soundtrack. Furthermore, each show had a budget of $6000. These shows were done on a shoestring and the BBC probably didn't have state of the art equipment, being a Government funded broadcaster.
I love Monty Python, and these 45 shows changed the face of comedy. There are a few, very few, bits missing.
If you love Python, you should buy it. Some fans have over-reacted way too much about the missing material. If something like the Lumberjack Song, or Parrot sketch, or Cheese Shop, or Nudge Nudge were cut, that would be reason for outrage. Not for the few fairly minor missing bits. Over 24 hours of pure fun.
Rating: 
Summary: Another failure by bad license ownership.
Review: 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!
Rating:
Summary: After 30 years, the comedy holds up remarkably well
Review: It's easy to find the best episodes in the series: they're in the front. The first 2/3 of the box contains all the classics: Albatross, The Lumberjack, Dead Parrot, The Funniest Joke In The World, Spanish Inquisition, Flying Sheep, Upperclass Twit of the Year, etc. The first half of the last third of the box is variable in quality, with a few classics, a few duds and a lot of mediocre material, and the last season (without Cleese) just limps along. It's a good thing they called it quits when they did. They were out of ideas, and they were smart enough to know it (unlike SNL). But no matter. They weren't around long, but they changed comedy forever. These are very *literate* skits, from a group that has a reputation for being "zany" and "silly." One of my favorites is the illustrious gathering of the (then) leaders of communist countries on a dignified forum--which turns out to be a game show about sports and trivia. When these guys were "on," they were brilliant. So why not 5 stars. I do wish they'd gotten the *un*edited tapes for the sake of true completeness. The edits are slight and should not stop any Python fan from buying this set, but since they're trying to make this seem like the definitive presentation, they should have been a little more careful. There's also one odd glitch, at least in my set: one of the episodes shows subtitles as soon as the disc is started. You have to go into subtitles on your DVD player, switch them "on," then switch them "off" again to get them to go away. But these are minor quibbles. This is currently the best way to view these classic shows.
Rating: 
Summary: HEY!!!I LOVE THE SHOW!!!!!The dvd doesn't make sense
Review: I love this show. The DVD would be worth every penny, but A&E decided to cut out parts of episode's (e.x. beginning of episode #38. They start off with a sketch which was originally the second scetch. The first scetch is no where to be seen on ANY of the DVD's). This AGGRAVATED ME!!!!!!!! Yes, it's in full screen, but it was filmed that way. This is in MONO. MONO? This is probably in MONO because there are far many more hours of material on here that pretty much any DVD set, so they didn't have time to mix it, but still. The special features are lacking, but there is another problem. This quote on quote "remastered version" looks worse than some not remastered things from the late 50's. I wish that they's do a proper remasterment, then restore it down to the negative, then do a super high-definition transfer, like they did on the re-release of the Holy Grail. If you like Monty Python as much as me, you should still but it. I just can't help but wonder what could have been.
Rating:
Summary: Albatross!
Review: It doesn't come with wafers, but everyone should buy this.
Seriously, everyone.
I don't care if you hate Monty Python with a passion, the sheer overwhelming goodness of this package will overwhelm you with goodness and convert you (overwhelmingly) to the SPAM side. P.S. My girlfriend likes Python. Her favorite is Michael Palin. Ha ha!
Rating: 
Summary: Not (!) as God origionally intended
Review: Hi. I am 19-years old and I have been a Monty Python fan for the past 9 years.
When I heard that this collection was released, It took about seven members of my familiy to stop me from jumping up-and-down and yelling "Happy Happy Happy - Joy Joy Joy"... I would be the first person to tell you to buy this right now without giving it a seconed thought, but then I read the reviews. Now (and you really have no idea how sad it makes me to say this), now I have to say STOP! Do Not Buy this item!
Read the reviews and think it over before you'r sure you want buy this SO-CALLED "Complete Collection", because for the time being, this may be the only way of seeing Monty Python's Flying Circuse on DVD. However, to entitle this collection "Complete" is very very far from the truth... There are two very important things that you must take into consideration if you indeed consider yourself to be true Monty Python fan. One of the two is unforgivable and the other is even worse. First of all (and this is the unfogivable thing) this collection DONT NOT include "Monty Python's Fliegender Zirkus' - Between 1971-72 the Pythons went to Germany and recorded two 45 min. programs of the Flying Circuse Series. Programme 1 features the Pythons in German dialogue (Yes, the actually spoke German) and Program 2 was in English. Both programs featured old & new Sketches (including a German version of "The Lumberjack Song" called "The Holzfeller Song". This is also the origin of "The Silly Olympiad" and "Little Red-Riding Hood" filmed sketches seen on "Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl"). Both programs are an initial part of the "complete" series - and are supposed to be between Series 3 - to Series 4. The Second thing, which is even worse, I read in the review entitled "DON'T BLAME A&E" by A viewer from new jersey - "In response to Keith Meisel's review, A&E didn't edit the Monty Python masters. Most people don't know that when Monty Python aired in the UK, the BBC made a few edits before broadcast. When these episodes were aired in the US, they were shown uncut. Unfortunately, when A&E got the master tapes from the BBC to transfer to DVD, they got the edited BBC version. This may be unforgiveably sloppy on the part of A&E, but they did not do the editing". I knew about the BBC editing the programs before broadcasting them - because the Pythons discussed this and even gave the example of 'All England Summarize Proust' sketcs in their Live 1998 reunion In Aspen. I never imagined that a company like A&E, or any other DVD producing company for that matter, could be so thoughtless, careless, unprofessional and I dare say stupid when it comes to making DVDs (and especially when it coms to Monty Python DVDs!). Therefore, I would advise you to save your money and wait for a "New" / an "Altenate" Complte Collection. Not that anyone knows there will be such a thing. Even if there woun't, the worst thing that can happen is that you'll have to wait and then maybe get it for a cheaper price. This is NOT a Complete collection. Appart from that, it seems very nice. Think it over.
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