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And Now For Something Completely Different
Other // PG
List Price: $24.95 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
"And Now For Something Completely Different" is a collection of restaged sketches from the first two seasons of "Monty Python's Flying Circus", produced to introduce Python to American college students. Most of the best known bits -- at least, the ones you've probably heard people quote incessantly, even if they haven't seen the sketches themselves -- are included. Yes, the Dead Parrot Sketch and the Lumberjack Song (which now awkwardly and ineffectively segue into one another), Nudge Nudge Wink Wink...yes, and even a handful of Terry Gilliam interstitials. There are 28 sketches and animated sequences total, which makes for a great introduction to Python and serves as a pretty nice 'best of' for fans and completists alike.
Video: Both anamorphic widescreen and full-frame versions of "And Now For Something Completely Different" are included on the disc. This was one of the first DVDs I bought, and at the time, I was amazed at how sharp and clear it looked, almost as if I weren't watching a film shot twenty-eight years ago. What a difference a year makes. Nowadays, I complain incessantly about extremely minor imperfections. "And Now For Something Completely Different" is a little soft, though not excessively so, and there's a bit of light grain that's fairly easy to overlook. Colors and black levels seem about right. Of the Monty Python discs I've seen on DVD, this is by far the best looking, although "The Meaning Of Life" and "...Holy Grail" aren't exactly revered in DVD circles for their image quality. "And Now For Something Completely Different" really does look nice, especially considering its age and low budget.
Audio: Another in a series of recent Dolby Digital mono reviews. Not a trace of distortion as far as I could tell, but I did notice some low hissing. Then again, I'm sitting like two and a half feet from my center speaker right now, and the volume's really high. Maybe it's just my equipment... Anyway, the dialogue comes through clearly, and that's all that really matters here.
Supplements: Just cast/crew bios. The liner notes tell a little about the film and its origins, some of which I didn't know.
Conclusion: "And Now For Something Completely" different works well as a Python primer...a quick, painless way to introduce people to the Monty Python fold. Although the film contains many of the best known segments from the TV series, it should go without saying that "best known" and "best" aren't really interchangable. Despite the higher production value of the film segments compared to the episodes, a number of skits just don't have quite the same charm, with the troupe seeming as if they're almost on auto-pilot. I highly recommend "And Now For Something Completely Different" to people largely unfamiliar with Monty Python or those who are just looking for a couple choice sketches in particular. If A&E's Monty Python collection were a bunch of albums by a largely overlooked band, "And Now For Something Completely Different" would be a remastered greatest hits album. This movie may have all the Python you need, but it's best viewed as an introduction to something larger and greater. Highly recommended, if I didn't drive the point home enough already.
Video: Both anamorphic widescreen and full-frame versions of "And Now For Something Completely Different" are included on the disc. This was one of the first DVDs I bought, and at the time, I was amazed at how sharp and clear it looked, almost as if I weren't watching a film shot twenty-eight years ago. What a difference a year makes. Nowadays, I complain incessantly about extremely minor imperfections. "And Now For Something Completely Different" is a little soft, though not excessively so, and there's a bit of light grain that's fairly easy to overlook. Colors and black levels seem about right. Of the Monty Python discs I've seen on DVD, this is by far the best looking, although "The Meaning Of Life" and "...Holy Grail" aren't exactly revered in DVD circles for their image quality. "And Now For Something Completely Different" really does look nice, especially considering its age and low budget.
Audio: Another in a series of recent Dolby Digital mono reviews. Not a trace of distortion as far as I could tell, but I did notice some low hissing. Then again, I'm sitting like two and a half feet from my center speaker right now, and the volume's really high. Maybe it's just my equipment... Anyway, the dialogue comes through clearly, and that's all that really matters here.
Supplements: Just cast/crew bios. The liner notes tell a little about the film and its origins, some of which I didn't know.
Conclusion: "And Now For Something Completely" different works well as a Python primer...a quick, painless way to introduce people to the Monty Python fold. Although the film contains many of the best known segments from the TV series, it should go without saying that "best known" and "best" aren't really interchangable. Despite the higher production value of the film segments compared to the episodes, a number of skits just don't have quite the same charm, with the troupe seeming as if they're almost on auto-pilot. I highly recommend "And Now For Something Completely Different" to people largely unfamiliar with Monty Python or those who are just looking for a couple choice sketches in particular. If A&E's Monty Python collection were a bunch of albums by a largely overlooked band, "And Now For Something Completely Different" would be a remastered greatest hits album. This movie may have all the Python you need, but it's best viewed as an introduction to something larger and greater. Highly recommended, if I didn't drive the point home enough already.
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