Distributor: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Episodes: 45
Duration: approx 30 min (per episode)
Monty Python’s Flying Circus Complete Series (DVD) – Series Review
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment doesn’t really shy away from rereleasing old movies and series, making sure they get their time in the limelight again. We have seen rereleases such as Blackadder, but also many classic movies such as Lawrence of Arabia, Look Who’s Talking, and The Handmaid’s Tale. We discussed these rereleased in our article, Attack of the Rereleases. This time Sony heads in a different direction and gives Monty Python’s Flying Circus a bit of attention. The company decided to bundle the four seasons together into a single 8 disc box, allowing a younger audience to experience this series. The image is still in the old aspect ratio, the image is a bit grainier than many modern releases and this was a time that every topic was still considered accessible for humor, before people were getting ‘triggered’ by words.
Like many of the older rereleases, such as Blackadder and ‘Allo ‘Allo, Sony opts for a very simple design for the box. You’ll have a slim cardboard sleeve that holds together four DVD cases in this rendition of Monty Python’s Flying Circus. The outside box has typical Monty Python artwork that is used in many of the troupe’s productions (Quest for the Holy Grail, Life of Brian, …). Each of the DVD cases inside the sleeve has a different color for its title and it also has different artwork for each cover, which creates a nicely diverse, yet good-looking whole. It’s nothing fancy, but it’s functional, clear and still fairly attractive.
Truth be told, there is not that much to say about Monty Python’s Flying Circus in terms of story or progression of the series. It’s basically an antiquated sketch-show that is absolutely random. Sometimes the posse decided on a theme per episode, but even then, there’s no coherent whole and the cast members are just basically doing their own thing. It’s an absurd whole of different situations that often don’t even make any sense.
You can also see that the humor in this series is not of our time anymore. Nothing was off-limits and this does have a certain charm, even though many of the sketches are not really that funny anymore. We reckon this was somewhat experimental and new during the late 60s and early 70s, but many of the funny situations miss their mark(s) in our 2020 society.
Many will still know John Cleese, who is an active member of the cast in the series, but other than that, most faces will not really look familiar to a younger audience. The other cast members all have very familiar faces from other Monty Python productions, as the cast often comprises of the same people over and over. When thinking of the Monty Python series and movies, you’ll probably be able to remember the faces of the different cast members, but probably won’t know their names, iconic as they may be. Other than that, it’s basically Cleese who made a somewhat bigger career for himself by starring in many different productions over the years, well until his ripe age of 80 now.
There is a lot of bonus content to be found on the discs, many of it being cut content from the show. Nonetheless, if you like the show itself, you will love the many extras that come with the full package. Those looking for a full and uncut experience will find it here.
Conclusion
Monty Python’s Flying Circus Complete Series will entertain those who love the troupe’s entire portfolio or even fans that have already watched the show. Other than that, a younger audience will probably not be that enticed into watching this. Sure, it’s still entertaining to watch, but don’t expect to really laugh out loud in this absurd Monty Python collection of sketches. It’s a fun release straight from Sony’s vault, but it will probably go back in there after only a moment in the fresh air.
Monty Python's Flying Circus Complete Series (DVD) - Series Review,
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