Monty Python produced two deeply researched dramas analysing the reign of the great British Hero King Arthur, and the religious leader, Brian. How accurate are they, and are we still a Python worshiping country?
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Are we still a Python worshiping country?
The discussion on Not the Nine O’Clock News remains highly relevant…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asUyK6JWt9U
The Life of Brian debate
The film prompted a deal of debate. Including this delightfully absurd debate, with Malcolm Muggeridge…Malc’s phrases ‘this squalid little number’ and ’10th rate film’ haven’t aged well!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGI9UevrzGc
lol, so today we get a look into Monty Python (lord those coconuts…) and a members only entiltled “enlightenment and radicalism”. I sense a merging of the podcasts, HA…
Great work as always!!!!
Ha! Yes, maybe there’s a connection!
It was absolutely joyous to listen to the laughter!! The only thing missing was “your mothers a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries” 🙂 Thank you so much for doing this episode, truly fab.
Thanks – courtesy of the Pythons!
loved this episode… I have never watched the Life of Brian as I only heard all the “bad press” and as a Christian I thought I should avoid it… However I laughed and laughed along with you guys today, (and my adult son has highly recommended it, and he’s a devout fellow) – so I’m going to give it a go. All the laughter in this program has had me smiling all morning… a treasure – thanks for posting.
Courtesy of Monty Python! They do make me laugh. So thoroughly bonkers
I hate to blow the surprise, but Jesus is the only character that the film takes seriously. I hope you enjoy it.
Thanks for sharing the NTNON clip. Brilliant…almost as brill as the Pythons themselves.
They were brilliant – absolutely loved them
Great to hear you laughing so much and so hard (but the Pythons are really funny). I was introduced to them in college by a fellow student who recited the Parrot Sketch, and I was weeping with laughter by the time he finished.
The episode had the best effect possible: I said to myself that I needed to get DVDs of both films. Thanks so much to you and Wolf for doing it.
Love your approach with Python. I’m a high school English teacher in an inner-city neighborhood and present Python shorts as actual historical reenactments at the right moment in Beowulf or the Canterbury Tales. At first the kids are confused. Then they start laughing.
Excellent! Ever green humour hopefully! Show them the battle of Pearl Harbour…
Yes! “Novel Writing from Dorset” – one of my absolute favourites! It was “Return of the Native”, and all these years later I can still recite the first line in the voice of the commentator (I think it was Michael Palin) “A Saturday afternoon IN November WAS approaching THE time of twilight..”
Such a good sketch!
Olympic Hide and Seek
https://youtu.be/2sqTmhB0BNQ
America was never as Python-worshipping as the UK, probably because the TV show was only on public TV here, but Python-worship and -awareness is widespread. As over there, it’s fading as younger people with a lesser sense of humor take over.
I still hear “what have the Romans ever done for us?!?!” ironically, in conversation.
One more thought. The discussion of how Life of Brian seemed like a more well-produced movie is borne out by the financials, as reported on IMDB. I suspect there’s no way to make the table align properly here, but I’ll try:
MP&tHG LoB
Year Released 1975 $1,979
Budget $528,023 $4,000,000
Opening Weekend (UK?) $45,487 $140,034
Gross (UK?) $1,827,696 $20,206,622
Worldwide Gross $1,940,906 $20,742,852
HG budget reported in GPB; calculated as 1 GPB = $2.3
Another note about Life of Brian: Among the producers was George Harrison. Yes, THAT George Harrison.
You are quite right – it came across all jumbled up! But yes – very good point. I remember at the time George being involved actualy.
Glad to hear there are Python worshipers in the US!
MARTIN Sheen in Staged!????!!!
I’ve said Martin rather than Michael have I?! I’m aways doing that!
I think they even did that as a joke in at least one of the series’s