And Now for Something Completely Different (1972) ~ VHS ~ Monty Python Cast.
From Leonard Maltin's Movie & Video Guide For the record, this first feature by the Monty Python troupe is a kind of ``Greatest Hits'' album, with some of the most popular sketches and animated bits from their long-running TV series. Fine introduction to their peculiar brand of humor includes Dead Parrot, The World's Deadliest Joke, Upper-Class Twit of the Year, and memorable Lumberjack Song. Copyright© Leonard Maltin, 1998, used by arrangement with Signet, a division of Penguin Putnam, Inc.  An amusing compilation of television productions of the inimitable Monty Python troupe. Their unusual routines range from slapstick to the most erudite & intellectual comedy. Skits include: How Not to Be Seen; Man with tape recorder up his nose and up his brother's nose; Tobacconist and Hungarian with incorrect phrasebook; Nerd with beautiful wife and marital counsellor; Jones and Idle pub skit; Self defense against attacks with fresh fruit; Hell's Grannies; Double-visioned mountaineering expedition; Musical mice; Funniest joke in the world invented and used as ultimate weapon in WWII; animated Killer cars; Dead parrot; Lumberjack; Dirty fork in Restaurant; Stickup in Lingerie Shop; Accountants falling past Window; Dull accountant wants to be a lion tamer; TV Game Show Blackmail; Upperclass Twit of the Year. Copyright 1971 Kettledrum/Lownes Productions Ltd. Film was originally rated GP by the MPAA. Since GP is no longer in use, it was re-rated to a PG.

Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) ~ VHS ~ Monty Python Cast.
Could this be the funniest movie ever made? By any rational measure of comedy, this medieval romp from the Monty Python troupe certainly belongs on the short list of candidates. According to Leonard Maltin's Movie & Video Guide, it's "recommended for fans only," but we say hogwash to that--you could be a complete newcomer to the Python phenomenon and still find this send-up of the Arthurian legend to be wet-your-pants hilarious. It's basically a series of sketches woven together as King Arthur's quest for the Holy Grail, with Graham Chapman as the King, Terry Gilliam as his simpleton sidekick, Patsy, and the rest of the Python gang filling out a variety of outrageous roles. The comedy highlights are too numerous to mention, but once you've seen Arthur's outrageously bloody encounter with the ominous Black Knight (John Cleese), you'll know that nothing's sacred in the Python school of comedy. From holy hand grenades to killer bunnies to the absurdity of the three-headed knights who say "Ni--!," this is the kind of movie that will strike you as fantastically funny or just plain silly, but why stop there? It's all over the map, and the pace lags a bit here and there, but for every throwaway gag the Pythons have invented, there's a bit of subtle business or grand-scale insanity that's utterly inspired. The sum of this madness is a movie that's beloved by anyone with a pulse and an irreverent sense of humor. If this movie doesn't make you laugh, you're almost certainly dead. --Jeff Shannon

Monty Python and the Holy Grail - Widescreen (1975) ~ VHS ~ Monty Python Cast.
From Leonard Maltin's Movie & Video Guide The Python troupe's second feature is wildly uneven, starting out well and then getting lost--in the ``story'' of a medieval crusade. Some inspired lunacy, and a lot of dry stretches; awfully bloody, too. Recommended for fans only. Copyright© Leonard Maltin, 1998, used by arrangement with Signet, a division of Penguin Putnam, Inc.

Monty Python's the Meaning of Life - Widescreen (1983) ~ VHS ~ Monty Python Cast.
Perhaps only the collective brilliant minds of the Monty Python film and television troupe are up to the task of tackling a subject as weighty as The Meaning of Life. Sure, Kierkegaard, Wittgenstein, and their ilk have tried their hands at this puzzler, but only Python has attempted to do so within the commercial motion picture medium. Happily for us all, Monty Python's The Meaning of Life truly explains everything one conceivably needs to know about the perplexities of human existence: from the mysteries of Catholic doctrine, to the miracle of reproduction, to why one should avoid the salmon mousse, to the critical importance of the machine that goes "Ping!" Using fish as a linking device (and what marvelous links those aquatic creatures make), The Meaning of Life is presented as a series of sketches: a musical production number about why seed is sacred; a look at dining in the afterlife; the quest for a missing fish (there they are again); a visit from Mr. Death; the cautionary tale of Mr. Creosote and his rather gluttonous appetite; an unflinching examination of the harsh realities of organ donation, and so on. Sadly, this was the last original Python film, but it's a beaut. You'll laugh. You'll cry (probably because you're laughing so hard). You may even learn something about The Meaning of Life. Or at least about how fish fit into the grand scheme of things. --Jim Emerson
From Leonard Maltin's Movie & Video Guide Original, outrageous comedy exploring various facets of life and death--from procreation to the Grim Reaper himself--with typical Python irreverence. Highlights include the world's most obese man (an unforgettable scene, like it or not) and a cheerful, elaborate production number about sperm! A barrel of bellylaughs for Python fans; others beware. Copyright© Leonard Maltin, 1998, used by arrangement with Signet, a division of Penguin Putnam, Inc.

Life of Python (1990) ~ VHS ~ Graham Chapman
Filled with hilarious insiders' stories and rarely seen footage, Life of Python looks back at the origins of the zany comedy troupe, answering such questions as how the group was named and how some of the silliest skits were developed.
Graham Chapman died October 4, 1989.
Graphics done by Complete Video.

Monty Python's Parrot Sketch Not Included (1990) ~ VHS ~ Graham Chapman
A 20th anniversary look back at the best of Monty Python, including such skits as the "Fish-Slapping Dance," "The Ministry of Silly Walks, and "The Argument Clinic."

Monty Python's Life of Brian (1997) ~ VHS.
Monty Python's Life of Brian/Sp Mode ~ VHS.
"Blessed are the cheesemakers," a wise man once said. Or maybe not. But the point is Monty Python's Life of Brian is a religious satire that does not target specific religions or religious leaders (like, say, Jesus of Nazareth). Instead, it pokes fun at the mindless and fanatical among their followers--it's an attack on religious zealotry and hypocrisy--things that that fellow from Nazareth didn't particularly care for either. Nevertheless, at the time of its release in 1979, those who hadn't seen it considered it to be quite "controversial." Life of Brian, you see, is about a chap named Brian (Graham Chapman) born December 25 in a hovel not far from a soon-to-be-famous Bethlehem manger. Brian is mistaken for the messiah and, therefore, manipulated, abused, and exploited by various religious and political factions. And it's really, really funny. Particularly memorable bits include the brassy Shirley Bassey/James Bond-like title song; the bitter rivalry between the anti-Roman resistance groups, the Judean People's Front and the People's Front of Judea; Michael Palin's turn as a lisping, risible Pontius Pilate; Brian urging a throng of false-idol worshippers to think for themselves--to which they reply en masse "Yes, we must think for ourselves!"; the fact that everything Brian does, including losing his sandal in an attempt to flee these wackos, is interpreted as "a sign." Life of Brian is not only one of Monty Python's funniest achievements, it's also the group's sharpest and smartest sustained satire. Blessed are the Pythons. --Jim Emerson

From Leonard Maltin's Movie & Video Guide This Monty Python religious parable will probably offend every denomination equally, but it shouldn't. Story of a man whose life parallels Christ is the funniest and most sustained feature yet from Britain's bad boys. Copyright© Leonard Maltin, 1998, used by arrangement with Signet, a division of Penguin Putnam, Inc.

Jonathan Bowerbank from Concord, CA USA , May 25, 1998. It is not a mockery of Jesus Christ. Many people, from the writing of the press and many columnists get the idea that this wonderful and genius movie by the men of Monty Python, is a mockery of Jesus Christ. And may I be the billionth person to say that it is not. It is simply the tail of a man who was born at the same time as Christ. The first scene is with the 3 wise men entering his birthplace with frankensense and mur. They give the treasures to him, then they realize that he is not the messiah, but that they had made a mistake and that the real Messiah is in the next tent. We then enter his age of adulthood. He joins the "PFJ" (People's Front of Judeah), not the Judean People's Front. And joins them in their quest to overthrow the Roman government which has taken over Jerusalem at this time. In the meantime he is mistaken by a small following as the "messiah." It's Monty Python at their best. (well almost)