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Monty Python Speaks

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Monty Python member Michael Palin says, "I think there's a danger in Pythons analyzing their own work. I think we shouldn't do it." Unfortunately for him, he and the other Pythons spend 315 pages doing just that, in a delightful new book titled MONTY PYTHON SPEAKS. For the uninitiated, here's a quick history. Monty Python is the collective name for a group of five Britons--Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin--and a transplanted American, Terry Gilliam. They are responsible for 45 of the funniest half-hours ever broadcast on television (in Britain beginning in 1969, America in 1974) and some equally inventive movies. Chapman died of cancer on the very eve of the group's twentieth anniversary--"Worst case of party-pooping I've ever seen," said Terry Jones.

For Python fanatics (I count myself among them), the new book is akin to the Holy Grail that the group sought in their infamous 1975 movie. The surviving group members and many of their associates are interviewed by David Morgan, and as befits their comedic style, the Pythons are quite open and frank about the group's highs and lows. Among the many illuminated topics and tidbits are:

* Graham Chapman's alcoholism, about which he was quite open himself. (While filming one of their movies, Michael Palin came across a half-empty bottle of gin belonging to Chapman. Palin had seen the bottle completely full earlier in the day.)

* Their first American TV appearance. It was on a 1972 "Tonight Show," where guest host Joey Bishop introduced them with the immortal line, "This is a comedy group from England. I hear they're supposed to be funny."

* Python didn't have a chance in America until a PBS station manager in Texas--"Dallas, of all places," says Cleese--took a chance on them. Friends of the station manager were afraid his station would get burned down.

* Their then-manager absconded with the funds from their 1980 appearance at the Hollywood Bowl. They made no money from the gig until they released their 1982 movie of the concert.

* When ABC-TV brutally edited three of their TV episodes for a 1975 special, the Pythons sued the network, on the grounds that they'd rather make less money than have someone else censoring their work.

The ABC incident points up two concrete truths about Python: (1) Like them or not, their particular world view is uncompromised, and their fans appreciate their honesty. (2) Said view shouldn't be left in the hands of people who just plain don't understand them. The people who would "sanitize" it are the same kind of people that Python's comedy satirizes.

But maybe I romanticize Python only because I grew up with it. I completely don't get the followings for "South Park" or THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY, but I can still recite reams of Python dialogue. For others with similar bents, the new book is must reading.

If your intent is to locate and memorize the word play of "The Dead Parrot" sketch and other classic Python routines, well you've come to the wrong place, squire! Instead, this book is an insightful account of how six very diverse personalities gelled to form one of the 20th century's greatest comedic ensembles.

I'll second the opinion offered by the California reader from Jan. 14, 2000 - this book is mainly about the Python writing process. In particular, it details the style and output of the 'Oxford team' (Jones and Palin) vs. the 'Cambridge team' (Cleese and Chapman). Then throw Idle's clever word play and Gilliam's revolutionary graphics into the mix. The book details how a side-splitting cohesive whole was formed from these disparate elements.

Like earlier reviewers, I'd like to see more on the post-Python careers. Terry Gilliam gets a fair shake with mentions of 'Brazil,' 'Jabberwocky,' and 'The Fisher King,' but the Cleese/Palin team gets short-changed with no mention at all about 'Fierce Creatures,' their under-rated 'Fish Called Wanda' follow-up.

Furthermore, as a fan of Michael Palin's BBC travelogues, it was disappointing not to get some snippets about some of those excellent works ('Around the World in 80 Days,' 'Pole to Pole,' etc.)

All in all, if you're a Python fan, this is a quick bit of enjoyable reading that will fill in and broaden your knowledge of the group.

Having read several other accounts of Python's history - "Life of Python," "The First 20 Years of Monty Python," and "Life Before and After Monty Python" - I must disagree with some of the other comments on this site. This tome DOES offer some fresh insights into the inner workings of Python. Specifically, the group dynamic - and especially the dynamic between the two writing teams of Chapman/Cleese and Jones/Palin - is discussed in greater length than in previous books. The contributions of the late Graham Chapman are especially scrutinized, as the others reveal information surpressed until after his death. Plus, several anecdotes regarding on-set occurences pop up. True, Idle's comments are a bit cheekier and less illuminating than those of his cohorts, but Idle - always considered the most cutting and acerbic Python - is probably (and quite understandably) sick to death of talking about Python when he's done so much quality solo work. Again, the main reason to read this book is to learn more about the WRITING PROCESS of Python... and it's fascinating stuff. And, the writing was always what Python was primarily about. As they've said themselves, they were essentially a writer's collective which performed their own material as a defense against other performers mucking it up. A great read!

Having waded through Kim "Howard" Johnson's increasingly mercenary attempts at milking his Python obsession for a fast buck (and book), it was a relief to read a Python tome that got to the heart of the matter, namely the Pythons themselves: how they worked, what they thought of each other, and what the whole thing means to them now that it's over.

Think of this as the Monty Python Anthology: the surviving group members looking back with the comfort of hindsight at a time of tremendous creativity, at times cattily (Idle, Gilliam, sometimes Cleese), at times with real warmth and affection (Jones, Palin, sometimes Cleese).

One could be churlish and complain that the book reveals few "facts" per se, but then again, what more does a Python fanatic hope to discover at this stage? What counts is that the Pythons remain funny, thoughtful folks, and this book gives them to you with no intermediary. It's not always pretty -- Idle often can barely be bothered to peck out a response, and Gilliam makes no secret of his loathing for those who insist on pressuring the Pythons to re-form -- but that's how it is. Anyway, it's a hell of a lot more interesting than yet another book recounting the old sketches again.

While this book will not reveal anything earth-shattering to the average Python fan, it is a fun and witty look at one of the most influencial comedy teams ever. As a fan of Python fan, I really enjoyed it.

The five surviving members of Python and the partner of the late Graham Chapman were interviewed on a variety of topics including the origins of Python, writing the shows, making the movies, and the disbanding of the Pythons. David Morgan also catches up with the surviving members of Monty Python at their most recent reunion in 1999. The retorts to the questions are the informative yet witty replies you would expect from these comic legends.

The book gives a solid history of Monty Python in the words of the men themselves. Readers get an excellent idea of what was going on behind the scenes. Everything is discussed including the parrot sketch.

"Monty Python Speaks" is about the influential comedy sextet known as Monty Python. This book consists of intervies with the Monty Python members, excluding Graham Chapman, due to the fact that he's "bleedin' demised! He is no more! This is an ex-[Python]!" There are also interviews with Carol Cleveland, Douglas Adams, Ian McNaughton, and more, compiled similarly to "The Beatles Anthology" book.

I personally enjoyed this book. I particularly liked Terry Jones' story about one particular scene in "Life of Brian." Apparently, Mr. Jones was trying to direct the crowd of Tunisian extras to laugh at Michael Palin's Pontius Pilate's speech impediment, but to no avail. He then told the translator to tell the crowd to do what the director did. Jones then fell on his back and proceeded to laugh hysterically. Fortunately, on the first take, the extras did it perfectly. Unfortunately, they couldn't use that take, for reasons forgotten by me, so they used the second, slightly sub-par, take.

I reccomend this book to Monty Pyhton fans as well as random trivia buffs, of which, I fall into both categories. This has so many facts that you probably couldn't find elsewhere, except from the interviewees themselves. You can discover what happened behind the scenes of somme of the funniest TV shows and movies of the 70s and 80s. Why was the Undertaker sketch nearly cut? Where did the dead parrot come from? Who had to eat mud during the filming of "Monty Python and the Holy Grail"? Find out here.

This is definitely a book for those interested in the people and the work that went into Monty Python. It is not a funny book nor does it set out to be. It charts the rise of the Python team from their early days at CAMBRIDGE to meeting up with Gilliam, and onto their early days at the BBC throught the making of the three films (not including live at the Hollywood Bowl) to their solo work. The book is set out as a series of interviews covering everything from talent to alcoholism to camera angles and court battles. There is an honesty to a lot of what is said and it gives a real flavour for what it was like to be at the cutting edge of comedy at a time when British comedy was all about safe situation comedy. The author has not only interviewed the remaining pythons but also those that worked with them. If you are interested in Python then this is for you. Incidentally my copy is a much more sensible brown cover , for the reserved British public that Python set out to reform no doubt.

The promise of this book far outweighs what it delivers. While the notion of extended interviews with all the surviving Pythons as well as the various and sundry peopleinvolved in the show/movie production is wonderful, the actual facts revealed are very much what we've heard before. Very little new information is talked about. We learn that Graham Chapman's writing participation was modest at best and that Eric and John wrote a sketch together, but that's about it. Any Python fan would have asked better questions than this fellow. Such as: How did something like the Llama sketch get from concept to filming? These are the insights we'd like to know about. Instead we get lots of repetition between Terrys Jones and Gilliam over their directing styles. Eric Idle seems not to have cared much at all about this project and his entries are sparse and a little too glib. Stick with the earlier books on Python that came out around their 20th and 25th anniversaries. At least there are more pictures.

I enjoyed reading it, especially the comments of Cleese and Gilliam. However, I can't say that I learned a whole lot. Life Of Brian, my favorite film, for example, gets 30 small pages, but insights on the specifics of the script and the performances are slight, instead with too much talk about the financing and advertising of the work. That process took precedence over the creative process, which is why the book got a bit tired in the middle. Idle's "clever" quips, substituting for analysis, got especially old. But it's a nice, light skim through their history. The opening parts on how they got together and got things off the ground are the strongest, as are the different observations on each other's person. Instead of being gossipy, they gave one a strong idea of each person's strengths and weaknesses and how they contributed to the form of their body of work. The main thing that I learned was that flawed individuals can come together to do great things with the right chemistry. The main thing that I didn't learn was any useful details on their post-TV careers, both as a group and individually.

This book, from the mouths of Monty Python, offers a clear view into how their classic humor came about. All six members are much quoted. If the process of how this classic British group evolved and grew interests you then this is a must. Palin on Gilliam. Cleese on Jones. Idle on Graham. And on and on and on. Insights offered into the actual mechanics of writing a sketch or shooting a scene are as unique as the group itself. Title could easily have been Python on Python. If you are a Python fan - ORDER NOW. If not - order now.

Sincerely Yours

General Elect - Sophie Gruntswald XXOO