That Rabbit's Dynamite!

The Pythons are at it again...

I don't really remember how I first came upon the Monty Python comedy troupe. I have memories of watching their Flying Circus TV show occasionally - in reruns, for this was well into the 70's, though in my location, this was not a regularly scheduled program.... just a randomly placed filler. So it was usually just by coincidence that I stumbled upon it.

I know that I caught the first two Python feature length films on TV in the late 70's or thereabouts. Those were And Now For Something Completely Different and Monty Python and the Holy Grail. The first flick, released in '71, was totally random silliness, laid out in sketch format, mainly because it was cobbled together with the short vignettes from the TV series. I have always loved the Self Defense Against Fruit sketch and the Nudge Nudge bit. This film was nonsensical to say the least, but at the time, it made me laugh my arse off. Still a hoot, I suppose, though it's been a long time.

The Holy Grail on the other hand was a comedy masterpiece. This 1975 revamped telling of the ancient legend of King Arthur's quest for the Holy Grail is peppered with limbless black knights, killer rabbits, and cows in catapults. My friends and I rented Holy Grail often and memorized the dialogue from front to back. I can still recite way too much of that movie. Way too much.

Life of Brian script, wrapped up in a

nice large format book - on my shelf

Monty Python's Life of Brian caused a big ruckus with religious groups and anyone who gave a darn about that dusty old book called The Bible. This 1979 film told the story of Brian, whose adventures paralleled those of Jesus Christ, the protagonist of the best-selling aforementioned novel. Though surrounded with controversy at the time, Life of Brian went on to earn accolades as one of the best, if not the best, comedies of all time. Certain scenes stick in my mind, like the speech impeded Pilate at the Forum, and of course, the big singalong crucifixion at the end. 

Then in 1983 came the final feature from the group, Monty Python's Meaning of Life. This movie harked back to the troupe's very first film with its series of segments, all thematically linked, but all quite different from each other. Some were light-hearted while others were downright disgusting and shocking.... the Pythons even admitted that they were out to offend "absolutely everyone" with this picture. For example, the liver extraction from a living man under no anaesthesia. And the restaurant scene with a whole lot of projectile hurling, topped off with a morbidly obese man exploding after eating a monstrously-sized meal. A whole lot of fun!

A couple of my Python collectibles: a Python

Scrapbook and the Meaning of Life script

The Pythons were a comedic force to be reckoned with during the 70's. The British group set new standards for the medium, in their stage and TV shows, films, and on recorded albums. Their world of the absurd found its audience, and the few who didn't "get it" were really of no consequence. The troupe became wildly successful, and inspired and spawned other comics to stretch the boundaries of their imaginations in their acts, shows and films. 

Terry Gilliam, who wrote, directed, acted, and/or produced everything Monty Python, also developed works not starring the entire troupe but often some of its members. Like 1977's fantasy Jabberwocky, starring Michael Palin of the gang. Later on came Time Bandits (with John Cleese and Palin) and Brazil (Palin again), plus several others that were praised for their creativity and intelligent satire. Quite the cinematic genius. 

The Holy Grail soundtrack, dialogue

straight from the movie... I studied this

more than I studied for school tests

I was pleased while working at a large corporation during the 90's to see some training videos featuring none other than John Cleese. Nothing like some nutty humour to help educate. 

But getting back to the Monty Python group themselves, they've had an enormous influence on the world through the many media avenues at their disposal. My friends and I grew up on that stuff, and even as I moved cities and new jobs, there were always fellow Python fans to bond with. Internationally adored and revered, Monty Python will forever be associated with the 70's shift to bizarre, daring, and nonsensical comedy. Not at all dull, tedious, drab and awful.

At rear: Graham Chapman, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam

In front: Terry Jones, John Cleese, Michael Palin