Monty Python Speaks - Softcover

Morgan, David

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0380804794 ISBN 13: 9780380804795

Publisher: Dey Street Books, 2005

Synopsis

Broadcast by the BBC between 1969 and 1974, Monty Python’s Flying Circus introduced something completely different: a new brand of surrealistic, stream-of-consciousness comedy that pushed the traditional boundaries of format, style, and content. Blending brilliant satire with slapstick silliness, The Pythons—Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin—spoke to a generation eager to break free of the conventional. Making their way across the Atlantic and the world, the Pythons’ zany approach to comedy would have a monumental influence on modern popular culture, paving the way for farcical entertainment from Saturday Night Live to The Simpsons to Austin Powers.

In Monty Python Speaks, David Morgan has collected interviews with Monty Python’s founding members, actors, producers, and other collaborators to produce a no-holds-barred look at the Pythons’ legendary sketches and films, including Monty Python’s Life of Brian, Monty Python and the Holy Grail (the inspiration for the hit Broadway musical Spamalot), and The Meaning of Life.

About this title

About the Author

David Morgan is the author of Monty Python Speaks! (Spike, 1999) and editor of Sundancing (Spike, 2000). He has written on film production and media issues for a variety of publications. Mr. Morgan lives in New York City.

From the Back Cover

Monty Python, the genius comedy troupe from Britain, single-handedly revolutionized sketch comedy and paved the way for everything from Saturday Night Live to Austin Powers. Now, in their official oral history, founding members John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin take readers behind the scenes in this no-holds-barred look at their lives and unforgettable comic works like "The Spanish Inquisition," "Dead Parrot," Monty Python's Life of Brian, Monty Python and the Holy Grail (inspiration for the hit Broadway musical Spamalot), and many, many more, with never-before-seen photos and rare interviews from friends and collaborators.

Reviews

The five surviving members of Monty Python and a select coterie of collaborators reminisce about everything from the groups beginning to The Meaning of Life in this proficient but not quite inspired, roll-the-tape-recorder, cut-and-pastestyle oral account. Now that Monty Pythons comedy has been fully absorbed by high popular culture, its easy to forget just how groundbreaking it was. Though the troupe drew inspiration from the full gamut of British humor, from The Goon Show to the Ealing Studio comedies, the six Pythons had the same sort of revolutionary effect on comedy that the Beatles had on rock music. More about an attitude than punch lines, the Pythons exploded the traditionally structured blackout sketch, brought the full brunt of their Oxbridge educations to bear on their material, fearlessly attacked taboos, and relentlessly pursued the humor of the surreal. On television and in film, from ``Spam'' to ``The Dead Parrot,'' it looked effortless, but as Morgan, a frequent writer on film and the media for the Los Angeles Times and the Hollywood Reporter, among others, conveys, behind the comedy was much hard, grinding work. In fact, for a book about comedy by comedians, there is remarkably little levity. Then again, no one ever said comedy was a breeze. The Pythons unique, carefully crafted comic vision inspired innumerable personal disputes, differences, and antagonisms, as well as endless reworking and culling of material; one of the minor treats here is the insights into how the finished material evolved. A seemingly great level of candor prevails throughout, and the various personalities clearly reveal themselves in all their eccentric glory (the one dead Python, Graham Chapman, comes in for a fair bit of abuse, perhaps because hes no longer around to disagree). A rare opportunity to look behind the scenes at the inner workings of the comic process. A must for doughty fans. (b&w photos, not seen) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

The Pythons and several key colleagues look back in a broad retrospective, presented in oral history format, that begins just before the 1969 premiere of Monty Python's Flying Circus, the landmark TV series, and follows the story into the troupe's movie years and beyond. More than anything else, the book reveals that the blend of anarchic themes, unconventional show structure and chaotic pace that defined Flying Circus was not the product of madcap rebels, but rather the result of hard work by ambitious craftsmen determined to reinvent a form. Fans will be disappointed to find few intimate looks at specific shows and skits. Comparisons of the Pythons' philosophical differences and writing styles are handled in broad strokes. Not until the discussion of the group's film work (Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Life of Brian, The Meaning of Life) will readers encounter specific accounts of clashing artistic attitudes: for instance, how an actor's director (Terry Jones) views production differently than a cinematographer's director (Gilliam), and how the other writers and actors (especially John Cleese) absolutely hated the tedious process of filming. By the time Morgan is done with Life of Brian, the philosophical battles are over, and the discussion consists of good and bad business decisions. Although the book is redundant at times, such clever mates can't help offering some insightful and entertaining perspectives on comedy writing, television and film.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

If the simple phrase "Ministry of Silly Walks" prompts a giggle, you are part of the target audience for this oral history of Monty Python, cobbled together from extensive interviews with the five surviving members of the British comedy troupe as well as various friends, collaborators, and hangers-on. It is not "something completely different," however. Many of the anecdotes in it will be familiar to longtime fans, though they will also think that those, like the troupe's old TV shows, bear endless repeating. Morgan's informed questions elicit much detail about the nuts and bolts of the TV series, its cinematic and stage spin-offs, and troupe members' pre-and post-Python efforts--detail that affords a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the creative process. The Pythons talk candidly and revealingly about one another, revealing the differences between their individual writing styles and approaches to humor. Their thoughtful observations on their group dynamic show just how seriously they took their comedy. Thirty years after the show's premiere and 15 after the last Python movie, their work remains popular--and funny. That kind of longevity means that libraries should be strongly encouraged ("wink-wink, nudge-nudge") to have this volume on hand for the considerable Python cult. Gordon Flagg

In their 30th-anniversary year, the surviving members of the famed comedy troupe reminisce about their careers with media journalist Morgan. This entertaining volume consists of interview transcripts covering the full Python spectrum, from the 45 episodes of the BBC's beloved Monty Python's Flying Circus (1969-74) to films like Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979) and recordings like Monty Python's The Final Rip-Off (1988). True to form, the Python members make for witty interviewees, and they relate not only production but also personal detailsAfor example, the deceased Graham Chapman's alcoholism. Their voices are supplemented by such Python collaborators as director Ian MacNaughton, actress Carol Cleveland, and best-selling author Douglas Adams. Illustrated with behind-the-scenes photographs and stills from celebrated sketches, this volume will undoubtedly please fans. Recommended for public libraries and academic collections supporting popular culture curricula.ANeal Baker, Earlham Coll., Richmond, IN
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Dey Street Books
• Publication date: 2005
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0380804794
• ISBN 13: 9780380804795
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 352