Carol Cleveland
Monty Python’s influence on comedy has been compared to the Beatles’ influence on music, a pivotal moment in the evolution of television humor. Celebrating the cultural legacy and influence of the troupe, this special pairs their original material with new and entertaining commentary from celebrities who consider Monty Python hugely significant, both personally and to the history of screen satire. Celebrity humorists discuss, laugh, and reminisce about various Python segments and bring a fresh perspective to the material, connecting Monty Python’s work to today’s most successful television humor. In a time when a few moments of escape and laughter couldn’t be more sought after, this special reminds viewers of Python’s cultural impact, and that PBS introduced them to American viewers.
A group of young urban explorers and a private military unit could become the final pieces in a 60-year plan to reopen a door that should have stayed closed. But what they unleashed could almost tear our world apart.
With unprecedented access, this program reveals the humour, chaos and passion that went into bringing the Flying Circus to the stage cumulating in the legendary One Down, Five To Go.
Celebrate the last night of the Pythons on the big screen! - With John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones and Michael Palin.
30 years ago, David's younger brother Simon disappeared without a trace and has never been seen since. David is still looking, and the search for Simon has become his life.
John Cleese, Michael Palin, Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam pay tribute to their late Monty Python colleague Graham Chapman in this hilarious, 3-D animated adaptation of Chapman's brazenly fictionalized life story. (TIFF)
Not The Messiah (He's a Very Naughty Boy) is a comic oratorio based on Monty Python's Life of Brian, which retells the tragic tale of Mandy, impregnated by a Roman soldier, giving birth to Brian, a reluctant revolutionary of the People's Front of Judea who falls in love with Judith, gets mistaken for a Messiah and is arrested by the Romans and sentenced to be crucified. It ranges in reference from Handel, through a naughty Mozart duet, to the Festival of Nine Carols, Bob Dylan, and the classic finale "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life".
The story of Monty Python through brand new interviews with the Pythons: John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones & Michael Palin and archive material from the late Graham Chapman.
Compilation of the best Sketches of the first series of Monty Python's Flying Circus, which ran from 5 October 1969 to 11 January 1970. Memorable moments include: 'The 127th Upperclass Twit of the Year Competition from Hurlingham Park'; 'Bicycle Repair Man'; 'Vicious Gangs of Old Ladies - the Layabouts in Lace'; 'The Man with Three Buttocks'; 'The Lumberjack Song'; 'Vocational Guidance Councillor'; and 'The Joke That Kills People'. Oh, and a sketch about a dead parrot.
All the best sketches from the third and fourth series of the ground-breaking comedy. Memorable moments include: 'The Finals of the All-England Summarise Proust Competition'; 'Stand and Deliver! It's That Highwayman Dennis Moore'; 'Thrust: A Quite Controversial Look at the World Around Us'; 'Whicker's Island'; and 'The Fifteenth Ideal Loon Competition'. Originally broadcast from 19 October 1972 to 18 January 1973, and 31 October to 5 December 1974.
All the best sketches from the second series of the ground-breaking comedy. Memorable moments include: 'It's in the Mind'; 'The New Cooker Sketch'; 'Nobody Expects the Spanish Inquisition'; and 'The Ministry for Silly Walks'. Originally Broadcast from 15 September to 22 December 1970
Documentary of the story of the music of the Monty Python Flying sketch shows and the four Monty Python Films.
The story behind how the comedy sketch group Monty Python formed in 1969, and lead to four very series, and four very funny films that are still has funny today as when they were released.
The Sketches produced by the surviving Pythons for the BBC's celebration of the 30th Anniversary of the first showing of Monty Python on 5 October 1969.
Annie is back! Along with her friends Molly, Hannah, her dog Sandy, and her wealthy father Oliver Warbucks. They take a trip to England where Oliver Warbucks is going to be Knighted by the King. Annie and the gang stumbles onto a wicked scheme led by an evil noblewoman who plans to blow up Buckingham Palace so she can become Queen and claim the throne for herself! And now it is up to Annie and her friends to stop her!
Dr. Lauren Slaughter, a research fellow at the Arab-Anglo Institute in London is utterly frustrated by her job. To supplement her income, she starts moonlighting at the Jasmine Escort Service, where she has more control over men and money than she does at the office. On one of her 'dates', Lauren meets the politician Lord Bulbeck who is trying to mediate a peace accord between the Arabs and Israelis. Bulbeck falls in love with his escort, and unwittingly, Lauren becomes a pawn in some very dirty politics.
Life's questions are 'answered' in a series of outrageous vignettes, beginning with a staid London insurance company which transforms before our eyes into a pirate ship. Then there's the National Health doctors who try to claim a healthy liver from a still-living donor. The world's most voracious glutton brings the art of vomiting to new heights before his spectacular demise.
Crime, drama. In Las Vegas, young Barry Nichols inadvertently steals a fortune from the Mob and is slashed to death by a limping hood. Later, his girlfriend Cass arrives in London with a stack of stolen credit cards looking for Ben Turtle, a talented pianist whose fingering is famous in the world of credit card crime. Their stormy relationship is hindered by hotel detective Keith Banks and assistant manager Diana Sharman. -- BFI synopsis from http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b69480238
Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl is a 1982 concert film in which the Monty Python team perform many of their greatest sketches at the Hollywood Bowl, including several pre-Python ones.
Ten years ago exactly, more or less, give or take a day or two, six young men sat down, or maybe stood, or perhaps some of them just lounged, and wrote the first episode of a new series called Owl Stretching Time. They were called Graham Chapman , John Cleese, Terry Gilliam , Eric Idle,Terry Jones and Michael Palin and later both they and the series became known as Monty Python 's Flying Circus . Today they are the best known British comedy group in the world, famous from Cathay to Kathmandu, from Sydney to Sidcup (except in Japan where the programme is called The Gay Boys' Dragon Show ... say no more). To commemorate their tenth anniversary a BBC team tracked them down in the deserts of Tunisia where they were filming their Life of Brian and almost persuaded them to examine the genesis, the genius and the gender of Monty Python.
Brian Cohen is an average young Jewish man, but through a series of ridiculous events, he gains a reputation as the Messiah. When he's not dodging his followers or being scolded by his shrill mother, the hapless Brian has to contend with the pompous Pontius Pilate and acronym-obsessed members of a separatist movement. Rife with Monty Python's signature absurdity, the tale finds Brian's life paralleling Biblical lore, albeit with many more laughs.
Glamour model Diane Shepherd is routinely being beaten by her husband Tim, who accuses her of infidelity. When she can't take it anymore, she finds shelter with photographer Mark and his girlfriend Carrie. They introduce Diane to Millie, who is in a similar situation. Meanwhile, Tim informs Diane that if she doesn't come back to him, he will see to it that he gains custody of their son, Timmy.
King Arthur, accompanied by his squire, recruits his Knights of the Round Table, including Sir Bedevere the Wise, Sir Lancelot the Brave, Sir Robin the Not-Quite-So-Brave-As-Sir-Lancelot and Sir Galahad the Pure. On the way, Arthur battles the Black Knight who, despite having had all his limbs chopped off, insists he can still fight. They reach Camelot, but Arthur decides not to enter, as "it is a silly place".
The famous Pink Panther jewel has once again been stolen and Inspector Clouseau is called in to catch the thief. The Inspector is convinced that 'The Phantom' has returned and utilises all of his resources – himself and his Asian manservant – to reveal the identity of 'The Phantom'.
An American advertising tycoon chooses a weekend therapy clinic as the ideal place in which to assess the various candidates for the vice-presidency of his firm.
An educational comedy film from Guinness instructing how to clean out your pipes in the pub.
The Lotus Eaters is a BBC television drama made between 1972 and 1973. The series, written by Michael J. Bird, dealt with the lives of various British expats living on the island of Crete and their reasons for being there. The central characters were a married couple, Erik and Ann Shepherd who ran a tavern called "Shepherd's Bar". In the first episode, Ann was revealed to be a "sleeper agent" of British Intelligence with Erik having been a broken down drunk whom she was made to marry as part of her cover story. A clash with Soviet and Chinese agents resulted in both of them having to leave Crete. In the final scene on a plane leaving Heraklion airport, they have a partial reconciliation, since each is the only person the other can trust. The Lotus Eaters was filmed in the Cretan resort of Aghios Nikolaos and derived its title from the Lotus Eaters of Greek mythology, where those who ate the fruit of the Lotus tree lost the desire to return home. The series was also the first of the Mediterranean based dramas written by Michael J. Bird for the BBC. The others included Who Pays the Ferryman?, also set in Crete, The Aphrodite Inheritance set in Cyprus and The Dark Side of the Sun set in Rhodes.
One of the least-known Monty Python rarities is “The Great Birds Eye Peas Relaunch of 1971,” a short advertising film that was made for the Birds Eye company’s internal use.
A collection of Monty Python's Flying Circus skits from the first two seasons of their British TV series.
A former British Secret Service agent is persuaded to negotiate a spy exchange with Russia, only to find himself drawn into political intrigues.
An accountant whose job is about to be taken over by a computer starts to re-examine his life and his priorities.
A British sketch comedy series with the shows being composed of surreality, risqué or innuendo-laden humour, sight gags and observational sketches without punchlines.
The colonisation of space began in 1986 and now, fifty years on, the moon is frontier territory. The prospectors, the drillers, the exploiters and the exploited all surviving in this alien environment. The prospects for lucrative rewards exist but the premium paid for potential gain is often the ultimate sacrifice- life.
A Russian countess stows away in the stateroom of a married U.S. diplomat bound for New York.
When Sally moves to London to pursue a modelling career, she moves in with Angela and Dee and discovers the world of the carefree bachelor girl in Swinging London. Over one weekend - filled with parties, blossoming friendships, and romantic encounters with Keith and Nikko (Klaus Kinski) - the vivacious girls learn about life's pleasures and pains.
A gambler tries to strike it rich at the racetrack but gets taken by a gorgeous blonde who also happens to be a crook.
