Home :: DVD :: Art House & International  

Asian Cinema
British Cinema
European Cinema
General
Latin American Cinema
And Now For Something Completely Different

And Now For Something Completely Different

List Price: $24.95
Your Price: $22.46
Product Info Reviews

<< 1 2 3 4 5 >>

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Clean, Clear, and Funny
Review: This movie introduces no new material to Monty Python's body of work. It selects several key routines from the first two series of Monty Python's Flying Circus and reshoots them. So why bother?

Because this is easier to watch.

This film was shot as part of an abortive attempt to introduce Monty Python to an American audience (which wouldn't actually be accopmlished for another three years). Where the original series suffered from a low budget and spotty production values, this film has high-end production quality, including clean sound, a single variable-angle 35mm camera, and the exclusion of the laugh track that muddied the sound on the TV series. There was obviously money for retakes, allowing the boys to edit out minor line muffs and giving them permission to experiment with their character delivery.

The picture is clear and organic. The sound is clean and audible. The characters are fun and believable. Just what we've always loved about Monty Python, isn't it?

But be warned, except for one or two linking jokes, this is material that you've already seen. Don't expect anything that will take your beloved boys in new directions, and don't think you'll get anything new. Just sit back, hear the jokes you've never heard clearly before, and laugh out loud. That's what they wanted, isn't it?

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: This movie is a must see for anyone who love British humor!
Review: This movie is just one hillarious skit after the other. It is definitely worth watching over and over again. it comes highly recommended by this viewer.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The most messed up movie ever
Review: This movie is so stupid it's funny. From the sketch on how not to be seen to the Upper-class twit of the year, The outrageous laughs and the absolutley no-plot style, this movie is a keepsake even for the non-monty python fan.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Very funny, but the DVD just doesn't deliver
Review: This movie is some of the Python's best sketchs from their show (Monty Python's Flying Circus) that have been redone (all of them are a little shorter) and made to flow from one to another. They are all very funny (Personal favorites: Hell's Grannies, Mt. Kilimanjaro (sp?), Precision Drilling, and Accountancy - Guidance Counsalor).
Their were two things I didn't like about this. One was that all of the sketchs were shortened (I'm willing to begrudge them this, as they probably couldn't put it all on one VHS if they didn't). The second thing is that the DVD has no special features (except a basic filmography), which makes it almost no better than a VHS and gives no insite into any aspect of the movie, which I feel is the whole point of DVDs.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A GREAT introduction to the funniest troupe of all time
Review: This was America's first big-screen look at the Pythons -- not a film, per se, but some of the troupe's best sketches from the early years of the TV show, reshot for the screen. As such, yeah, if you've seen the TV shows, you'll know all the words, but isn't that part of the fun?

Actually, some of the sketches DO work better in this film -- the Restaurant Sketch, for example (where every member of a restaurant staff comes to one diner's table to apologize for a dirty fork) comes together better here, if only because it doesn't have the jumpy close-ups of John Cleese ("You bastards!") that break the rhythm of the original TV sketch. Others, such as Dead Parrot and The Lumberjack Song, will work, no matter HOW you do them, and they're just as funny here as they are on TV or live. And the Upperclass Twit of the Year remains a highlight of this film, and of the early TV years as well.

If you're collecting the complete TV series that A&E is presently releasing, then you've already got all the sketches shown here. But that's no reason to stay away from ANFSCD -- it's a great way to introduce the uninitiated to the Pythons. And for those who are already fans and may own the TV sketches, it's STILL interesting to compare the filmed sketches with their TV counterparts.

Ultimately, ANFSCD still holds up, even three decades later. Check it out.

"And now, a man with a tape recorder up his brother's nose..."

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: And this is just one of the many virtues of not being seen.
Review: This will always be my favorite movie. Monty Python's unique brand of humon really is at it's peak here (i feel it bottomed out with the not-so-funny "the meaning of life"), and it provides the silly realease one needs after a long day. as an added bonus: turn on the movie to any point, even if you havn't seen it, and watch for five minutes for a guarenteed laugh.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Not quite the show, but you take what you can get
Review: This, the first Monty Python film, is really just a collection of some of their most famous skits. It starts out strong, gets a little weak in the middle ("Nudge Nudge" used to be a favorite, but now seems tired), and, fortunately, ends strongly with "Upper Class Twit of the Year."

One can tell from just looking at the film that the quality is better than television allowed--that they had a higher budget. Another difference is that, in order to help the flow, some editing has been done ("Self-Defense Against Fresh Fruit" is notably truncated) with sketches being presented in different manners ("The Lumberjack Song" being sung by the Parrot Shopkeeper instead of the barber, for example).

Overall, this is a fine representation of the Pythons' work, and works well as an introduction to their style of comedy. It also works for those simply wanting to revisit their favorite skits.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Only of scholarly interest
Review: Well, it's a decent enough film. Terry Gilliam's animations are better in this and a couple of sketches (How Not to Be Seen and Nudge Nudge) really benefit from being re-shot. Nudge Nudge in particular is far pacier and this remains the most superior take of this Python favourite.

The widescreen/4:3 dual format presentation is appreciated, as is the hidden trailer. But on sketch DVDs the scene selection is the most important feature.

All in all, Python collectors should buy it. People with a moderate interest in Python should get releases from the series. People buying a Python title on a whim wouldn't be disappointed with this, although it does not stand up as a full feature film in its own right.

So, just buy the thing, although it's utterly pointless now (especially as no Python episodes were wiped (thank God)).

It's a bit over-priced though, as the VHS is a budget title here in England.


<< 1 2 3 4 5 >>

© 2004, ReviewFocus or its affiliates