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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Some gems here, but a lot of filler, November 23, 2001
This review is from: Secret Policeman's Ball [VHS] (VHS Tape)
I gave this four stars because there are two or three sketches that really deserve five stars, plus a lot of things that really ought to have been edited out, but for the star appeal of their contributors. Clive James gives a reasonably amusing monologue, for example, which would have been fine on stage, but does not bear repeated viewing. Similarly, Ken Campbell and Sylvester McCoy are two of my favourite people, but their antics here are far better suited to a large stage with participating audience, rather than the constraints of the small screen. The real stand outs are Peter Cook and Rowan Atkinson's (with support) Will This Wind, something that has me almost hysterical every time. Cook also pairs up well with John Cleese with Cook's E.L. Wisty finding the perfect foil in Cleese's straight man. Cleese and Palin also re-visit their cheese-shop sketch, perhaps putting in the definitive performance (notably this sketch has since been skitted by Rik & Ade and Goodness Gracious Me). There are a couple of good musical interludes too from Tom Robinson and Pete Townshend, but despite their quality, they seem a little out of place. All in all, this is a good record of a concert and a good chance to catch some things that are not available elsewhere.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Classic Sketches That Will Outlive These Reviews, January 2, 2004
By A Customer
This review is from: Secret Policeman's Ball [VHS] (VHS Tape)
A brilliant set of sketches performed by the best of British comedians, and musicians. Several of the routines have provided quotations that have entered the comic lexicon [and not just in our family]: "Will the wind be so mighty, as to lay low the mountains of the earth?" (Rowan Atkinson and Peter Cook), "Interviewer" (Atkinson and John Cleese), "Wensleydale? Oh no, that's my name" (Cleese and Michael Palin). And the live performances of the songs (by Pete Townshend, Phil Collins, and Sting) are terrific. A tragedy that Rhino hasn't released it on DVD yet, but I remain hopeful.
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9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sketches filmed live, some of the best M-P on video., December 8, 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: Secret Policeman's Ball [VHS] (VHS Tape)
These sketches were filmed live, and Monty Python is brilliant. Be sure to get "The Secret Policeman's Other Ball" filmed a year later for yet another fund raiser. It's way out there, and the famous Cheese Shop skit is in here, as well as many other classic sketches, without the movie censor looking over their shoulders, they get truly wild, and it is the funniest and purest Monty Python you can get, since they no longer perform live. (Though I hear that 1999 may have a reunion show...which would be fabulous.)
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