Rating: Summary: Just Get it! Review: You have no choice. Just get it! It's the best (and some of the worst.) Just get it!
Rating: Summary: The BEST! Review: What is there to say about Monty Python that hasn't already been said a thousand times? I strongly suggest that you buy this collection, especially if you're a fan. This is the ENTIRE series - you KNOW you wanna get it. Think of any of the classic sketches (even the more obscure ones) and they're ALL in here: the Fish-Slapping Dance, the dirty Hungarian phrase book, Silly Walks, Confuse-a-Cat, and of course the Lumberjack song... oh, and naughty bits. So sit down with a nice, big box of Whizzo chocolates, pop these DVDs in and laugh yourself silly. Oh, and do watch out for the bones in the crunchy frog. ;)
Rating: Summary: Monty Python's Flying Circus - Collection DVD Review: I bought this collection one set at a time as they became available and have not regretted it a bit. The only regret I have is that they didn't make more than 45 episodes. My advise is buy the set and enjoy. (nudge, nudge, wink, wink - you know what I mean. He said with a knowing grin)
Rating: Summary: It's Only Money!!! Review: I contemplated buying this set due to the hefty price. But hey, how much is it worth to you to relive all those hilarious memories over & over again! I just watched the parrot sketch with my 11 year old daughter (I'm now pushin' Rolling Stone age) and we had a great laugh together. Plus, if you first saw these shows in your early teens, like I did, you'll pick up on a lot more of the subtle & adult humor presented here; humor you may have missed the first time around. So......you can't take it with you so you might as well spend it wisely. Buy this set and I guarantee you will not regret your decision. Add to cart and don't look back!
Rating: Summary: CHEAP COLLECTION OF FLYING CIRCUS AT COSTCO Review: I would definitely recommend this to true Pythonites, but I found the set for a whole lot cheaper at Costco. Only 89.99. It's the cheapest I've seen it anywhere. With 14 DVDs, that's about 6.50 per DVD. And there's no shipping or handling costs.
Rating: Summary: The Best Possible Thing in This Price Range! Review: Don't Be Scared off by the price. If you decided to look into this item you've probably seen the Holy Grail and either Meaning of life or Life of Brian (or both). If not, go do that. Holy grail is the best thing for the un-initiated. The features are awesome. I love the Useless Tidbits and clips of the Live at the Hollywood Bowl Show (available on Monty Python Live!). Do yourself a favor and buy it. As a follow-up get And Now For Something completely different. Watch each episode from start to finish in order!
Rating: Summary: GREAT! GREAT!-REWRITE! Review: this dvd set despite its advertised flaws, and possibly a missing scketch or two( dont try going to the complaint department- the clerks are rather silly) is awesome and really solidified me as a fan of monty python. dont look at the scrathes you bloody twit- once you get 200 pounds, buy this set or 4 mos imprisonment (i aint a copper- thgese are python refrences)
Rating: Summary: Great series, great DVD set Review: First, my review of Monty Python's Flying Circus. I love the show. I think it is groundbreaking in its style and is still incredibly funny today. However, a type of humour doesn't appeal to 100% of the people and this is British humour so I know it won't appeal to a larger percentage. That being said, if you like British humour or sketch comedy, you will probably like Monty Python's TV show.
But, I am here to review the DVD set more than anything since that is what you are considering to buy. I am no Python expert so I can't tell you every little nook and cranny that should or should not exist on this collection. Like most box sets, it is missing something here and there and some of the other reviews point this out. For the most part, unless you are saturated in Python lore, you will not notice.
What you get is every episode put out on the BBC and I think they did a fine job working with the product. This isn't digital transfer so there are limitations. All of the skits I knew were on there, many that I had forgotten and many that I hadn't seen broadcast in the U.S. It is great to see them one after another in their original form. It is also great to have them all together in one box. If you are looking to find just a few specific skits or episodes, you may only need one disc or one of the smaller sets. But the price adds up if you get several, making the box set worth it.
The extras give some nice insight into the making of the series through some written blurbs about each episode and they have spliced together some thematic skits and animations. You can test your trivial knowledge of the Pythons and you can learn some history of the players. Also, some of the skits that they later performed live are available in the extras. The menu, as expected, is also well done using Terry Gilliam's animations.
However, the chaptering of the discs isn't real obvious so if you are searching for one skit, it may take some work to get there. Also, the packaging doesn't list all of the skits on each disc and in each episode so if you haven't memorized the series completely, you will have to go online to find that resource.
The boys went all out when putting extras on Holy Grail and I wish there was a bit more to this set. I would love commentary or interviews or a documentary or something. It would be quite a chore for this much but even a little bit would be nice. Otherwise, this would rate 5 stars as a DVD set.
For me, though, I'm very happy having the episodes to watch whenever I want, whenever the mood strikes me. Some of the gems are the lesser known skits that aren't part of the public consciousness. Again, you don't need to be a Pythonphile to enjoy this set, just someone who really likes the show and the humour.
Rating: Summary: a necessity for the pythonophile Review: I admit that I am a full-fledged pythonophile. It's a real disease, people!
Anyway, yes, the set is a little pricey, but it works out to only about $10.00 per DVD, so you get a lotta bang for your buck.
I've read the other reviews and I quite agree that some of the sound quality is not top notch-however, we all know that there wasn't a lot of budget for the pythons in the first place. You can still hear everything loud and clear and laugh at all the jokes. If you do go ahead and buy this, you won't regret it; nudge, nudge, wink, wink!
Rating: Summary: The Motherlode of Monty Python Review: Alternately silly and surrealistic, Monty Python's Flying Circus is often cited as an comedic inspiration but seldom truly emulated. There's just as much magic here as with other classic comedy teams like the Marx Brothers, and that special combination of witty writing talent and performing ability just isn't capable of being copied. It's impossible to overstate just how different Monty Python's humor was in the late 1960s/early 1970s and how, going on 40 years later, it still provides a healthy alternative to most mainstream American and British comedy. Unlike most comedians, who prefer to feign stupidity on and off screen, the individual members of Monty Python weren't afraid to be themselves - a group of over-educated smart alecks willing to speak in (gasp) complete sentences and admit that they actually read books! This is very funny irreverent stuff, containing media parodies, social commentaries, stream-of-consciousness and plenty of gut-busting laughs at the expense of the very British authority figures being mocked in every episode. Not even the Church of England is exempt.
Yes, this set is pricy and as with other A&E sets there are very slight trims that will be annoying to purists. But for one-stop Monty Python madness, this set is a must. It contains all the episodes from Monty Python's TV series. I always prefered the series to Python's later movies, so this set contains all the Python I really need to see. My personal favorite sketch is "The Bishop," a James Bond/Peter Gunn-like parody in which Terry Jones plays a crimefighting Bishop.
For newer fans, I would recommend borrowing or renting several individual discs first. See if this is to your tastes, and if it is, buy this set! Ignore the rather vocal nerdish cult that has unfortunately become associated with Python and just enjoy the humor. I think you are going to be pleasantly surprised - once you stop laughing!
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