Monty Python: Almost the Truth - The Lawyer's Cut

I just saw all of this documentary. It is a bit confusing about the episodes but I think I managed to sort it all out. It is a very good documentary, and the "greatest hits" selection of sketches from the series is also very good. I have seen all of Python's TV and film work, and this is a good addition to that ouevre. As we know, Graham Chapman is dead, so it is impossible to unite the group again. However, their impact is so big that it cannot be understated. In this documentary we learn for example that Elvis was a big fan of Holy Grail. This is no surprise since he also liked cool stuff such as Bruce Lee movies. Moreover, we hear from Tim Roth and other actors, musicians and comedians who are fans. Also it is interesting to hear from the Iron Maiden musician who was so inspired by Python that it blended into his reality. Moreover, it is interesting to hear from the people themselves who was involved with it and to hear about the backgrounds of the six characters in the group.

You can pass on above comment because when you reach the end and read "They weren't that funny anyway! " you just know that this person doesn't know the meaning of life... errrr, sorry, the meaning of humor and nonsense :)

Just look at the bonus in the DVD of their movies, and you'll see they haven't changed at all :). Still the same spirit, they have the same look in their eyes, they're just very humble, full of nonsense and funny as hell.

If you've never laugh with the Pythons, I don't really think that you can post a comment saying it's boring, not fun, and just for money and that they grew old because even when they were young you missed the point :)

This series is for hardcore Pythonistas (like myself), casual fans, and those discerning younguns who have yet to be exposed to their wacky, irreverent, and cerebral brand of humour. I am writing this having seen only 4 of the 6 installments, but so far it has been great. Although retrospectives have been assembled at 20 and 30 year anniversaries, this edition has enough new insights and behind the scenes characters to keep it fresh, and by far the most entertaining yet. Sharing with us some snippets of old TV shows and comedians (and in the case of T. Gilliam, cartoonist/publisher Harvey Kurtzman) that influenced them is quite enlightening. I really like the solitary black background interview format, the editors did a terrific job in melding the comments by the surviving 5.....and they all look great. Speaking of great looking, even in her mid 60s, Carol Cleveland is still hot! I also love the comments by the various celebs who are also dyed-in-the-wool fans. Depending on their age, they had similar first exposures to the unique brand of humour as those of us watching the documentary. Might have to buy the DVD for the extras too!

This documentary took the road most taken: if you're documenting Python, be Pythonesque. That's why it gets an 8 and not a 10. The mini-sketch at the beginning got to be annoying about half-way through it at the first watching. I really didn't need the joke repeated 6 times. (And it is more reminiscent of the opening scene of Gilliam's Brazil than of anything by Python, anyway.) Then there are the animations meant to be homage's to Gilliam's works. Another miss. And there's the cutting-people-off-in-mid-sentence in interviews (which, of the Pythonesque directorial touches is the one that works best, in my opinion). The interviewee-being-seen-in-a-profile motif also detracted from the documentary. In short, directorially it's in a bad shape.

Having said that, the rest of it I loved. It is a candid tale of a troupe who got together only by some strange series of flukes, remained together for as long as they did because their various antics and inter-group quibbling somehow managed to cancel each other, left us an incredibly funny legacy (the highlights of which were done as quick-and-dirty solutions to some odd problems) and finally were fed up with it and went on to do other great things separately.

At no point does it feel like anyone is holding anything back. For example, the group is very open about their complete lack of interest in each other's personal lives, and how that made them not see what was going on in Graham Chapman's life, even when it was too big to miss.

Intermixed with this are well-chosen bits of archive footage (including interviews with Chapman that are edited in to sound just like the interviews with the five surviving members), some perspective interviews with friends and contemporary comedians (as well as some actors and musicians), and mentions of some notable fans (mostly from the music business).

I am a Python fan, but (like the group itself, apparently) never dug into their personal lives, feeling that their body of work should speak for itself. So, to me, much of this was new, and I thought that just hearing the story of George Harrison's house and its connection to Life of Brian -- that alone would have made the watching of this documentary worthwhile... and there's a lot more where that came from.

A solid, well deserved 8.

A documentary on the history on British comedy group Monty Python. Features interviews with the five surviving members plus other comedians and artists whose careers they have influenced.

Superb. Having seen a few Monty Python documentaries, all of which were good but a bit dry, I can confidently say that this the essential Python documentary. Very comprehensive - six episodes each of an hour and each episode covering a stage in Monty Python's history. For example, Monty Python and the Holy Grail gets an entire episode and makes for incredibly interesting viewing, as you see and hear what went into making the classic movie.

What makes this so good is the interviews with the five surviving Pythons (plus archival footage of Graham Chapman interviews). Through this you get the definitive story on what happened, plus some interesting side information. Moreover, just through their discussions you can sense the individual intelligence and creativity that went into the making Monty Python so brilliant.

The interviews with non-Pythons are generally interesting and useful, though some are a bit of a the cheerleading type which tend to litter documentaries. I could have done without Russell Brand showing off how many big words he knows. What a pompous prat.

The only other negative was the intro, involving the lawyer getting nuked. Got very tiresome very quickly and got used in all six episodes!

Despite this, a superb documentary and one of the greatest documentary series ever made.