Cheap Monty Python Live (DVD) (Ian MacNaughton, Terry Hughes) Price

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Customer Reviews of Monty Python Live

Live at the Hollywood Bowl + Extras
If you're a Python fan, you've probably seen all their TV episodes and their major feature films. This two-DVD set collects material you probably haven't seen, namely their concert film "Live at the Hollywood Bowl" and their early 1970s appearance on German television. <
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>"Hollywood Bowl" is a true treat from the middle 1970s. By this time, Monty Python were bonafide celebrities and it's a thrill to see them perform so many of their best sketches in front of a live and supportive audience. I greatly prefer their performances here to their earlier renditions on their TV show - like all great teams they had gotten better with both experience and time. All the Pythons are especially self-confident as performers here, and as a bonus we have a couple of musical numbers courtesy of Neil Innes. I especially enjoyed the irreverent sketch where John Cleese plays the Pope. <
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>The German Episode hasn't aged nearly as well. There's some good material (especially a mock-documentary about Albrecht Durer) but it's hampered by poor video quality. Honestly, the entire thing looks like it was filmed in Super 8 and the constant subtitling doesn't help matters. It looks like a third generation bootleg. The best of the sequences also appear (in considerably higher quality) in "Hollywood Bowl." You do get "The Lumberjack Song" sung in German, however. And it is a kick hearing Graham Chapman speak German with a thick American accent. <
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>The remainder of the discs contain "20 Years of Monty Python," a greatest-hits style program hosted by Steve Martin, and a group interview conducted by Robert Klein. It's fun for completists. <
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>Still, "Hollywood Bowl" is the real draw and its a pleasure to see it on a reasonably priced DVD with extras.

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Oh, yeah!!
So, we have two live performances, a best-of type compilation, and a German episode in German. <
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>Live at the Hollywood Boal has always looked like it was done on a $10 budget. It looks no better here. It's still VERY funny, and our only complete document of a live Python show. <
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>The Aspen Comedy appearance is superb, a great reunion and interview with many new and hysterical bits. This is probably the final time all five will get together and really be fun. <
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>The "Parrot Sketch Not Included" compilation has some good Steve Martin bits, and a final appearance of all six members together, shortly before the death of Graham Chapman. There's really not much more to reccomend to this. <
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>Then there's the German episode #1. This is perhaps one of the best Monty Python shows ever, with somply great writing, a very brisk pace, almost no filler, and a great appearance by John Cleese as Little Red Riding Hood. This is the episode I turn to when I feel down, and it's inclusion is perhaps one of the best things that A&E has accomplished with their wonderful re-issues of all things Python. Very, very good. <
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>All in all, a good set to own.

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The title's a bit misleading...
...but nothing can be said about the quality of material contained within these DVD's. <
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>The first of the four main programs in this set is the Pythons' live performance at the Hollywood Bowl in the early 80's. It's a performance so intimate that you feel that you're actually in the audience watching the sketches take place, which are of high quality. I had never seen this show before I bought the DVD, and I was not dissapointed. Also on the first disk is an interview titled "Live in Aspen." This is not neccessarily a Python show, but it does bring the 5 surviving Pythons (and the 1 non-surviving Python) together on stage again. The program can be informative, but for the most part, it's hysterical. I'm not going to spoil anything for you (if you haven't had it spoiled for you already). <
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>Disk 2 is where things start getting Not-So-Live. Not in the sense that the title implies, anyway. However, the "20 years of Monty Python" program that is present on here is probably the best thing to come out of these DVD's. It's consistently hilarious, and great for folks who are not particularly familiar with the TV show. (the end of the program is pretty cool as well). Also there is an entire Monty Python's Flying Circus episode on here. The catch? It was filmed for German TV. My personal opinion is that the episode is above average, but the enjoyment of the program is probably brought down by the fact that you have to read subtitles for 45 minutes straight. I guess this counts as more of a special feature, though. <
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>If there's any problem with this set, it's that some sketches are repeated throughout the four programs. It gets tedious to go through them over and over again. However, getting so much great stuff for under $20 can never be a bad thing.