And Now For Something Completely Different

Starring:Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin, Carol Cleveland, Connie Booth, Winston Churchill, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, Adolf Hitler, Neville Chamberlain, Richard Nixon, King George VI, Lesley Judd
Director: Ian MacNaughton
Studio: Sony Pictures
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

Monty Python's first feature is essentially a reworking of their best skits from the first two seasons of their cult TV series Monty Python's Flying Circus, shot on film outside the usual studio sets (Nudge Nudge, for example, is set in a tavern filled with passersby). As the TV series was as yet unseen in the U.S. at the time of this feature, And Now for Something Completely Different became for many Americans their first taste of the Pythons' brand of surreal, silly humor and remains a fond favorite. The writing and performances are fine and the film is packed with some of their best bits: How to Avoid Being Seen, Hell's Grannies, Blackmail, The Lumberjack Song, and The Upper Class Twit of the Year, among others. Many of the sketches have been shortened, however, and the loss of the overbright video sheen (the film has a muddy, dull look to it) and the invigorating presence of a live audience leaves the film sluggish at times. They're still feeling out the possibilities of the feature-length, which they finally conquer with Monty Python and the Holy Grail, still their finest hour and a half. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews:

And Now For Something Completely Different.......2007-07-03

Silly, madcap, and irrepressibly fun, Ian MacNoughton's celluloid reprise of the very best Python sketches is a nonstop gauntlet of guffaws for die-hard fans and a hilarious introduction to the troupe's surreal, anarchic brand of British humor for newcomers. Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin, and animator Terry Gilliam are all on hand here, lending their mercurial blend of manic energy and brainy, off-kilter banter to this big-screen affair. If you're in the mood for sublimely goofy humor, this is your movie.

Monty python.......2007-05-28

This is my favorite of the monty python movies. It has no plot and basically combines a bunch of the old skits from the flying circus. It is awesome.

Only Thing That's Missing is the Laugh Track.......2007-03-05

A great collection of skits by the Monty Python gang for wide screen. Originally conceived as film to introduce United States audiences to the Monty Python brand of humor, the movie was granted a generous budget and the Python members re-created many of their (now) famous skits in front of a 35mm camera. Remember at that time that Monty Python's Flying Circus was limited to television airings on PBS. A limited network attempt to premier the show ended as a dismal failure. The network heavily censored the episodes and edited the shows together as a sort of television movie. Alas, when it was originally released AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT was poorly advertised and distributed. Even dedictated PBS Python fans had difficulty in finding the movie in theaters.

It was not until a couple years ago that I realized that AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT was a stand-alone film. Back in the 1970s I was already a fan of the television show and suprised to have heard very little about the film version. A classmate went to see the movie at an obscure theater and reported back, incorrectly as it turned out, that SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT was nothing more than selected segments of the BBC program blown up for 35mm projection.

Also at that time Michael Palin appeared on the Metromedia Sunday morning kids program WONDERAMA (which was actually taped during the week) and presented a short clip from the movie. On my 12-inch black and white television the film clip looked exactly like the original television skit with the laugh track missing.

It was not until almost 30 years later that I caught the whole film on a cable movie channel -- on a much larger color television screen -- and realized that SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT was not simply an edited version of television footage. At that time that I also bought the official Monty Python biography THE PYTHONS BY THE PYTHONS and read the story behind AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT.

The movie was quickly overshadowed by the Python breakthrough film MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL. Still it is a valuable transition film between the televised show and the later film attempts. The only thing I miss is the laugh track. There was something about the audience laughter in the original series that made the skits that much funnier. That is probably the only drawback about having the film on DVD in that you also miss out on the cinema audience participation.

This Is What Got Me Into Monty Python.......2007-01-08

Man, some of my all-time favorite skits are in this wonderful compilation here. For some reason, the Monty Python crew decided to re-do the skits, so instead of being in their original form, the skits have slightly different sets and costuming, but (thankfully) the masterful dialogue is not altered in any way. I guess the crew felt that the original skits weren't 100% true to their vision, so they made a few changes to match their original intent.

One of the many stand-outs is the Dirty Hungarian Phrasebook, where a poor hungarian man thinks he's asking for cigarettes by when he says, "Drop your panties Sir William." Another is the marriage counselor who flirts with a man's wife because the man's to sissy to do anything about it. Still another is the accountant who wants to be a liontamer, provided that lions aren't much different from anteaters.

And of course you'd expect the classics like the Dead Parrot Sketch, Nudge, Nudge, the Lumberjack Song, and last but not least the Upper-Class Twit-of-the-Year, which happens to be the appropriate finale.

My personal favorite sketch is the Expedition to Mt. Kilamarjaro, where John Cleese sees two of everything unless he covers up one of his eyes. I also get a kick out of the sketch where people fall out of high buildings.

This movie here contains the best writing from some of the best comedians to ever walk the earth. It's a real treasure in every sense of the word.

a dvd of clips from skits.......2006-06-30

very funny and if you think it is a movie it is not it is parts from monty python stuff. FUNNY MOMENTS!!!
watch monty python and the holy grail before watching any other
monty python stuff. If you haven't seen it, watch it first or else you won't get it. The holy grail got me to watch more and more monty python stuff untill I was a #1 fan.

And Now for Something Completely Different [Region 2]

Average customer rating:

And Now For Something Completely Different
Monty python
Only Thing That's Missing is the Laugh Track
This Is What Got Me Into Monty Python
a dvd of clips from skits

And Now for Something Completely Different [Region 2]
Starring: Graham Chapman , John Cleese , Terry Gilliam , Eric Idle , and Terry Jones
Director: Ian MacNaughton
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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