Starring: Monty Python Troupe
Country: UK/West Germany
Running Time: 90m
Year:1972
When we think of classic British comedy, Monty Python undoubtedly sits atop the pantheon. Their surreal sketches defined a generation and the classics remain so to this day. And completists can rejoice for this glorious and suitably slightly silly restoration of a pair of legendary 1972 West German TV specials. Monty Python’s Fliegender Zirkus has finally been given the premium treatment it deserves.
It effectively captures Monty Python when their genius idiocy was positively fizzing and they brazenly attempted to translate their inherently British absurdism for a foreign audience. Watching these episodes today is surreal. Patchy, sags a bit and even feels occasionally forced. But such imperfections can be forgiven because the whole damn thing is like a Python sketch. It’s a ridiculous idea that only succeeds with bloody-minded commitment. They speak German for the first episode and it just adds to the charm.
There’s plenty of stuff that does work, especially a couple of reworked classics and Terry Gilliam’s legendary animations which need no translation. The whole thing requires no real thought from us, which is the kind of telly we’re missing. Saturday Night live UK is a strange beast, more miss than hit, but I’ll defend its existence because we’re thirsty for this kind of stuff.
And we were thirsty for these missing episodes too. Some might argue they should just have been included in the larger collections. Actually, they make for an excellent sampler in a delightfully absurd steelbook (thanks to Gilliam himself). Newbies can invest an hour or so and realise what they missed, or wonder if the rest of us lost our minds.
VIDEO
These are TV episodes so you shouldn’t expect much, and yet, they’re fantastic. Earthy, classic TV colour timing, but solid presentation throughout.
EXTRA FEATURES
This isn’t just a couple of episodes dropped on a disc. The completist feel continues with some genuinely valuable fan-baiting material.
- Euroshow 1971
- Mountain Stream Outtake (Outtake from Show 1)
- Swimming Lessons with Arthur Lustgarten (Outtake from Show 2)
- Montreux Special
- Restoration Demo
