Jump to content

Monty Python

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Yath (talk | contribs) at 00:38, 16 April 2004 (free rein, thanks). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.


Monty Python or The Pythons were the creators and stars of Monty Python's Flying Circus, the television comedy series that did to British comedy what The Beatles did to music. As a television series it consisted of 45 episodes over 4 series; however the phenomenon that is Monty Python was much more than the television series alone, spawning a stage tour, four films, several computer games and books, as well as launching the individual Pythons (as they are often referred) to stardom in their own right.

The show, originally broadcast by the BBC from 1969 to 1974, was conceived, written and performed by Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin. Loosely structured as a sketch show, but with an innovative stream-of-consciousness approach (aided by Terry Gilliam's animations) it pushed back the boundaries of what was then considered acceptable, both in terms of style and content, and has been a lasting influence, not just on British comedy, but globally.

History (pre-Python)

Humble Beginnings

Palin and Jones met at Oxford University, Cleese and Chapman met at Cambridge University. Idle was also at Cambridge, but a year later than Cleese & Chapman. Gilliam met Cleese in New York whilst the latter was touring with A Clump Of Plinths.

Variously they appeared in the following shows before being united for Monty Python's Flying Circus:

They also have writing credits for a selection of other shows.

Time for something completely different

The first series of (the as-yet unnamed) Flying Circus was originally planned as a vehicle for Cleese. Cleese, however, wanted to work in collaboration, and so the group was assembled in an organized and disciplined fashion. Each day of writing started at 9am and finished at 5pm. At the start of a typical week, Cleese and Chapman worked as one pair of writers isolated from the others, Jones and Palin worked as another pair, and Idle wrote alone. After a few days of working in this configuration, the entire group would get together with Gilliam and critique each other's scripts and exchange ideas. Their approach to writing was democratic. If something made the majority laugh, it would be in the show. The casting of roles for the sketches was a similarly democratic and ego-less process, since each member of the troupe viewed himself as a writer rather than as an actor desperate for screen time. With the themes for all of the sketches for an episode locked in place, Gilliam now had free creative rein to decide for himself how to glue them all together with fanciful animations, armed with his camera, scissors, and airbrush.

Several names were bandied about before the title "Monty Python's Flying Circus" was settled upon. Some of the more memorable were "Owl Stretching Time", "Bunn, Wacket, Buzzard, Stubble and Boot", and "Gwen Dibley's Flying Circus".

The group had a very definite idea about what they wanted to do with the series, and were a little dismayed when they saw Spike Milligan recording his series Q, as it seemed like he'd beaten them to it. However, whilst there are acknowledged Milligan influences, the style of the show is markedly different. This is largely due to Terry Gilliam's distinctive animations, but the peer-review process in selecting material is also significant.

Pythomenon

The Show

See: Monty Python's Flying Circus

The Films

[To come]

The Rest

[To come]

Life After Python

Python (Monty) Pictures

The five surviving members of the main Monty Python team are directors of Python (Monty) Pictures Limited which was incorporated in 1973 and now manages ongoing activities resulting from their previous work together, such as royalties. In the accounts return, the company describes its activities as 'the exploitation of televison and cinematographic productions'. In the last financial year for which accounts are available (to March 2002) the company's turnover was £3.3m (source: Bureau van Dijk's FAME).

A driving force behind Python in the late 1970s was the Beatles' George Harrison, who not only funded and appeared in Monty Python's Life of Brian but produced a number of their songs from that period, including the Lumberjack Song single.

Going Solo

Each member pursued other film and television projects after the break-up of the group, but often continued to work with one another. Many of these were very successful, such as A Fish Called Wanda (1988), starring Cleese and Palin. Palin and Cleese appeared in Time Bandits (1981), a movie written by Gilliam and Palin, and directed by Gilliam. Palin appeared in Brazil (1985), directed and co-written by Gilliam. Idle appeared in The Adventures of Baron Munchhausen (1988), which was directed and co-written by Gilliam.

For full details see the Pythons' individual biographies.

The End?

The Pythons are very often the subject of reunion rumours. The death of Graham Chapman in 1989 (on the eve of their 20th anniversary) seemed to put an end to this speculation, but in 1998 the 5 remaining members, along with Chapman's ashes, were reunited on stage for the first time in 18 years. The occasion was in the form of an interview (hosted by Robert Klein and with an appearance by Eddie Izzard) where the team looked back at some of their work, as well as performing a few new skits.

On 9 October 1999, to commerate 30 years since the Flying Circus's first TV appearance, BBC2 devoted an evening of programmes, such as a documentary charting the history of the team, and interspersed them with new sketches filmed especially for the evening. In an interview to publicise the DVD release of The Meaning of Life, Cleese said a further reunion was unlikely. "It is absolutely impossible to get even a majority of us together in a room, and I'm not joking," Cleese said. He said that the problem was one of busy-ness rather than one of bad feelings.

Python Bibliography

Books

The following books were published by Monty Python, mostly in large format:

  • Monty Python's Big Red Book (1971) - in a blue cover, naturally
  • The Brand New Monty Python Bok (1973) (Paperback edition issued as The Brand New Monty Python Papperbok)
  • Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1977) (Original and shooting script, with Gilliam pictures, lobby cards, stills, correspondence and cost breakdown)
  • The Life of Brian of Nazareth/Montypythonscrapbook (1979) (Film script plus a lot of extra material published back-to-back with it)
  • The Life of Brian script book published separately as a standard paperback
  • Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (1983) (Film script with photos)
  • The Monty Python Songbook
  • Monty Python: Just the Words (1989) (Full transcripts of all 4 television series. Originally published in two volumes)
  • The Complete Works of Shakespeare and Monty Python: Vol. 1 - Monty Python (1981) (a repackaging of both the Big Red Book and the Brand New Bok)

Records

Album releases include:

In addition, there have been several singles, either on general release or as promotional material (including magazine freebies).

Films

There were four Monty Python films:

In addition, a documentary-style film was made of their live performances at the Hollywood Bowl in 1980, titled Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl.

Specials

Monty Python's Fliegender Zirkus: Two 45-minutes specials made by WDR for West German television. These were shot entirely on film, mainly on location in Bavaria and in the German language, although the second episode was originally recorded in English and then dubbed into German. Some of the material was reworked from At Last the 1948 Show. Footage from these specials was used to fill in between live stage performances. At one point the team considered editing the two shows together, dubbing them completely into English and releasing them as a 90-minute film, but it never came about.

Live Shows

Python performed several live shows and tours. The following shows were recorded for public release:

  • Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl: A video record of the team's Hollywood Bowl concerts in 1978, filmed before a hysterical audience. Also incorporates some filmed inserts from the German specials.
  • Monty Python Live At Drury Lane: Also released as an album.

Computer Games

  • Monty Python's Flying Circus: A platform/shoot-em-up game in which you play Mr. Gumby on a quest to find his missing brain cells.
  • Monty Python's Complete Waste Of Time
  • Monty Python and The Quest for the Holy Grail
  • Monty Python's Meaning Of Life

Further Reading

Print

  • From Fringe To Flying Circus - Roger Wilmut (1980)
  • The First 28 Years Of Monty Python - Kim "Howard" Johnson (1998)
  • The Pythons Biography Of The Pythons (2003)

On-Line

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Monty_Python&oldid=3269467"