Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl

First of all; it's just amazing seeing the legendary Pythons performing the most popular sketches live, in front of a huge audience, similar to a music concert. The crowd is so into it, they seem to know the lines by heart. Still, they just love it and it makes for a very special event with a fantastic atmosphere.

My favourite sketch (and it IS hard to pick just one!) is the "Church Police" sketch. Why? Because the otherwise super-professional Pythons can't keep from laughing themselves as things go slightly wrong. Just look when Terry Jones' wig comes right off as he jumps... They crack up. I have never seen that happen before, and every time I see it I laugh so hard it hurts.

If you have never seen the TV-series before, this may not seem as all that much of a great movie. But being an almost fanatical fan of the Pythons, seeing these sketches live is a wholly enjoyable experience.

The only sad thing is that most of us never attended the bloody thing. Nonetheless, this is a must see.

Most of the sketches and skits are adapted from ones shown on the TV show; there's little that's new, which is mildly disappointing. Good thing, then, that the MP troupe is so adept; familiarity seems to be the point, and allows fans to sit back and enjoy the film.

A few parts drag- I wasn't too thrilled with the musical numbers, nor with the History of Slapstick.

The most disappointing thing about this movie is a problem only for those who watch it on laserdisc; there are no chapter breaks, and side one ends abruptly -IN THE MIDDLE OF A SCENE-! This is quite disconcerting, and ruins the sketch.

This is a recording of the team doing many of the most popular bits from the Flying Circus live on a stage. It is immensely clear that the audience consists largely of fans, as they recognize quite a few of the sketches just as these are beginning. I imagine it must have been a pretty amazing experience to go to this in '82. With that said, it is a good watch, even if the cameras don't capture each and every thing(had they not been instructed on what would happen? I would guess that such is procedure, and there were no other technical difficulties), and in spite of the occasional hiccup in the comedy department. I can't say for sure if there is new material, because it's simply been too long since I caught the series in its entirety; a couple of things have been restructured, and characters that we know from the show address or walk amongst the ticket-holders. The performances aren't lacking, if a handful of the things worked better the first time they did them. Some of the best of this are Idle's lengthy charter flight rant, the "japes" routine(poor Gilliam) and the four rich guys talking about their poverty-stricken childhoods. The good far outweighs the bad, and little slows down the pace. I recommend this to anyone who loves the Pythons; if you don't already, I would direct your attention to their TV activities between '69 and '74, as well as their three movies. 8/10

Many of my favourites were here (including the classic travel agent sketch: "Kellogg's Bornflakes"). But many of my favourites were also in And Now For Something Completely Different, and I didn't really like that. Something about the live atmosphere made this work, the fits of giggles adding to the occasion, not detracting from it. Best of all was the brand new stuff - the Silly Olympics, the History of Slapstick etc. I wish I was there.

This is probably the movie which made me watch "life of brian" and "the holy grail". It is brilliant, I first heard of MP after I saw what I consider to be one of the best comedies ever filmed, "a fish called wanda", and I have seen every MP flick since then. In this masterpiece they have picked only the best scenes from their best movies: Silly walk, ..say no more..,silly Olympics, Michealangelo and many more. Even if you only have the slightest sense of humor you still must see this one it might change they way you judge comedies in the future.

41/2 out of 4 possible