MONTY PYTHON BOX SET (DVD/3 DISC) DVD

Monty Python and the Holy Grail
From its opening multi-language titles (that sure looks like Swedish) to the closing arrest of the entire Dark Ages cast by modern-day bobbies, Monty Python and the Holy Grail helped to define "irreverence" and became an instant cult classic. This time the Pythonites savage the legend of King Arthur, juxtaposing some excellently selected exterior locations with an unending stream of anachronistic one-liners, non sequiturs, and slapstick set pieces. The Knights of the Round Table set off in search of the Holy Grail on foot, as their lackeys make clippety-clop sounds with coconut shells. A plague-ridden community, ringing with the cry of "bring out your dead," offers its hale and hearty citizens to the body piles. A wedding of convenience is attacked by Arthur's minions while the pasty-faced groom continually attempts to burst into song. The good guys are nearly thwarted by the dreaded, tree-shaped "Knights Who Say Ni!" A feisty enemy warrior, bloodily shorn of his arms and legs in the thick of battle, threatens to bite off his opponent's kneecap. A French military officer shouts such taunts as "I fart in your general direction" and "I wave my private parts at your aunties." Rabbits are a particular obsession of the writers this time around, ranging from the huge Trojan Rabbit to the "killer bunny" that decapitates one of the knights. Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin collaborated on the script and assumed most of the onscreen roles, while Gilliam and Jones served as co-directors. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

And Now for Something Completely Different
Monty Python's And Now For Something Completely Different was first released in the US in 1973, but didn't really take off as a midnight-movie fixture until after the Monty Python's Flying Circus TV series began making the PBS rounds. Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin and Terry Gilliam are the Pythonites in attendance, together with semiregulars Carol Cleveland and Connie Booth. The sketches presented include such classics as "The Lumberjack Song", "Hell's Grannies", "The Upperclass Twit of the Year Race", and, of course, "The Dead Parrot". Additionally, Terry Gilliam's animated-cartoon interpolations act as buffers between sketches. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
Director Terry Gilliam adroitly applies his Monty Python sensibilities upon the "career" of famed German prevaricator Baron von Munchausen. Played herein by John Neville, the baron is seen quelling a war that he himself started, flying into the stratosphere on the back of a cannonball, ballooning to the moon, exploring the innards of a volcano, being swallowed by a whale....In short, all of Munchausen's fabulous lies are here presented as "truth," played out in full view of nonplussed witnesses Eric Idle, Charles McKeown, Jack Purvis, and Sarah Polley. Fringe benefits include several loving medium shots of jaybird-naked Uma Thurman as Boticelli's Venus and an extended unbilled cameo by Robin Williams -- that is, by the head of Robin Williams -- as the King of the Moon. Filmed under considerable duress on a budget eventually exceeding 45 million dollars, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen never quite caught on with moviegoers, though it has enjoyed a lucrative afterlife on videocassette. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Cast Graham Chapman as King Arthur John Cleese as Sir Lancelot Terry Gilliam as Patsy/Soothsayer Eric Idle as Sir Robin Terry Jones as Sir Bedevere Michael Palin as Sir Galahad Graham Chapman as Various roles John Cleese as Eric Idle as Various roles John Neville as Baron Munchausen Eric Idle as Berthold Sarah Polley as Sally Jonathan Pryce as Horatio Jackson Uma Thurman as Venus/Rose Oliver Reed as Vulcan Charles McKeown as Rupert/Adolphus Sting as Heroic Officer Winston Dennis as Bill Albrecht Robin Williams as King of the Moon Jack Purvis as Gustavus Jack Purvis as Jeremy Valentina Cortese as Queen Ariadne/Violet Bill Paterson as Henry Salt Peter Jeffrey as The Sultan Alison Steadman as Daisy Ray Cooper as Functionary Andrew Maclachlan as Colonel Mohamed Salem Badr as Executioner Kiran Shah as Executioner's Assistant Ettore Martini as First General Jose Lifante as Dr. Death

Crew Massimo Razzi - Art Director Maria Teresa Barbasso - Art Director Irene Lamb - Casting Margery Simkin - Casting Pino Penesse - Choreography Giorgio Rossi - Choreography Ray Cooper - Co-producer Gabriella Pescucci - Costume Designer Lee Cleary - First Assistant Director Michele Soavi - First Assistant Director Terry Gilliam - Director Peter Hollywood - Editor Jake Eberts - Executive Producer David Tomblin - Line Producer Michael Kamen - Composer (Music Score) Maggie Weston - Makeup Dante Ferretti - Production Designer Giuseppe Rotunno - Cinematographer Thomas Schühly - Producer Francesca Lo Schiavo - Set Designer Richard Conway - Special Effects Tony Smart - Stunts Charles McKeown - Screenwriter Terry Gilliam - Screenwriter Stratton Leopold - Supervising Producer Gottfried Burger - Book Author Rudolph Erich Raspe - Short Story Author Massimo Razzi - Art Director Maria Teresa Barbasso - Art Director Irene Lamb - Casting Margery Simkin - Casting Pino Penesse - Choreography Giorgio Rossi - Choreography Ray Cooper - Co-producer Gabriella Pescucci - Costume Designer Lee Cleary - First Assistant Director Michele Soavi - First Assistant Director Terry Gilliam - Director Peter Hollywood - Editor Jake Eberts - Executive Producer David Tomblin - Line Producer Michael Kamen - Composer (Music Score) Maggie Weston - Makeup Dante Ferretti - Production Designer Giuseppe Rotunno - Cinematographer Thomas Schühly - Producer Francesca Lo Schiavo - Set Designer Richard Conway - Special Effects Tony Smart - Stunts Charles McKeown - Screenwriter Terry Gilliam - Screenwriter Stratton Leopold - Supervising Producer Gottfried Burger - Book Author Rudolph Erich Raspe - Short Story Author Massimo Razzi - Art Director Maria Teresa Barbasso - Art Director Irene Lamb - Casting Margery Simkin - Casting Pino Penesse - Choreography Giorgio Rossi - Choreography Ray Cooper - Co-producer Gabriella Pescucci - Costume Designer Lee Cleary - First Assistant Director Michele Soavi - First Assistant Director Terry Gilliam - Director Peter Hollywood - Editor Jake Eberts - Executive Producer David Tomblin - Line Producer Michael Kamen - Composer (Music Score) Maggie Weston - Makeup Dante Ferretti - Production Designer Giuseppe Rotunno - Cinematographer Thomas Schühly - Producer Francesca Lo Schiavo - Set Designer Richard Conway - Special Effects Tony Smart - Stunts Charles McKeown - Screenwriter Terry Gilliam - Screenwriter Stratton Leopold - Supervising Producer Gottfried Burger - Book Author Rudolph Erich Raspe - Short Story Author

Monty Python and the Holy Grail
The first feature-length film from Monty Python, the quintet of physically and verbally gymnastic British sketch comics, is not only widely considered their funniest, but one of the funniest films ever committed to celluloid. Known for abruptly ending TV skits mid-stream with the segue "And now for something completely different" -- due both to their distaste for writing endings and their ADD giddiness to move onward -- the troupe finds uncharacteristic continuity here, examining one fertile topic from each of its absurd angles. Yet the movie is still comprised of distinct segments, any of which could serve as a favorite for fans who want to recite the choicest dialogue and make converts of the uninitiated. But for five minutes of sheer uncontrollable hysterics, one need only watch the scene in which Graham Chapman steadily lops the limbs from a foolishly determined knight, who continues issuing taunts even after he's been totally neutralized. Irritated more than threatened, Chapman's King Arthur keeps hacking at the prating cripple just to shut him up -- it's the only sane reaction in this ridiculous world full of delusional windbags. Chapman is a wonderful constant as the frustrated straight man, and his colleagues lob one demented set piece after another "in his general direction." The temptation is to enumerate these clever interludes, but a catapulted cow really needs to be seen to be appreciated. The only time Monty Python and the Holy Grail stumbles is at its sudden ending, a cop-out that's pure Python. Or maybe it's just that any end to such enlightened joke slinging is cause for lament. ~ Derek Armstrong, All Movie Guide
 

And Now for Something Completely Different
(not reviewed)
 

The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
The fabled Baron von Munchausen appeared in a number of live-action and animated screen incarnations prior to 1989, including Josef von Baky's 1943 UFA-funded, Goebbels-produced Munchausen. Yet Terry Gilliam bravely resisted the temptation to rework any of those prior screen versions. Instead, his film is twofold. On the most rudimentary level, he uses the Munchausen stories as a kind of loose framework on which to hang an assortment of the most audacious visual fireworks ever to illuminate the silver screen. And on that basis, the work is truly extraordinary, bringing to light effects unlike any created before or since in a Western feature, which defy all boundaries of form, dimension, and logic. Consequently, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen -- like Ray Harryhausen's 7th Voyage of Sinbad 30 years prior -- held captive the imaginations of those viewers who were fortunate enough to catch this film as children, during its initial theatrical run. From the "animated constellations" that swirl and gyrate through the celestial fabric, to the scythe-wielding Grim Reaper who bursts forth from an inert stone statue, sending stone shards flaying off omnidirectionally, to the glimpse of a white sand-filled sea of tranquility with the half-buried stone head of some obscure lunar monarch in the foreground, Gilliam plunges breathlessly and rapturously into a preadolescent visual dreamscape. If the film only functioned as a collection of visual pyrotechnics (as many assumed), it would indeed be disappointing; instead, Gilliam intuitively plunges deeper, and the film gains longevity from its thematic level. With Baron, Gilliam completed a planned screen trilogy on the theme of imagination as it triumphs over stiff-necked reason and logic. This thematic triumvirate began some eight years prior with Time Bandits, continued with 1985's only fitfully successful but equally ambitious sci-fi ragicomedy Brazil, and wraps with Baron. And that theme is the glue that holds this massively overscaled, freewheeling production together, ingeniously justifying every one of Gilliam's deliberate logical and temporal lapses (particularly in the confusing denouement). With -- as an added bonus -- the one-of-a-kind Pythonesque humor that flavors the majority of Gilliam's screen works providing much-needed lunacy and comic relief, the film earns its right to masterpiece status. Unfortunately, Western audiences did not agree. This outrageously expensive film (presumably greenlit during David Puttnam's tenure at Columbia) confounded many American viewers and slipped by others, bringing untold financial loss for the studio. Gilliam survived, however, rebounding to box-office gold two and a half years later, with the Christmas 1991 blockbuster The Fisher King. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
 

Disc Title: The Adventures of Baron Munchausen - People Awards: Dante Ferretti: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Art Direction (nominated) Dante Ferretti: British Academy of Film and Television, Best Production Design (winner) Fabrizio Sforza: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Makeup (nominated) Fabrizio Sforza: British Academy of Film and Television, Best Makeup (winner) Francesca Lo Schiavo: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Art Direction (nominated) Gabriella Pescucci: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Costume Design (nominated) Gabriella Pescucci: British Academy of Film and Television, Best Costume Design (winner) Kent Houston: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Visual Effects (nominated) Maggie Weston: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Makeup (nominated) Pam Meager: British Academy of Film and Television, Best Makeup (winner) Richard Conway: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scie, Best Visual Effects (nominated)

General Specifications: Language Options: English, Spanish, French Subtitle Options: English, French, Spanish Sound Processing: DD5.1: Dolby Digital w/ sub-woofer channel DD2: Dolby Digital Stereo Additional Features: cc DVD Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1: Theatre Wide-Screen 1.66:1: Vistavision MPAA Rating: PG DVD Discs Included: 3 DVD Sides: 3 DVD DVD Region Code: 1 Content Length: 307 min   DVD Chapters: Disc #1 -- Monty Python Box Set: And Now For Something Completely Different 1. How Not to Be Seen [3:24] 2. Man With Tape Recorder [2:16] 3. The Tobacconist [4:18] 4. Marriage Counselor [4:59] 5. The Baby Carriage [1:56] 6. "Nudge nudge" [2:28] 7. Self-Defense Class [3:47] 8. Hell's Grannies [3:29] 9. Silly Army Drills [2:12] 10. Expedition Interview [5:27] 11. Women in Bikinis [:29] 12. A Stolen Wallet [:36] 13. The Flasher [:23] 14. American Defense [4:04] 15. Musical Mice [1:46] 16. It's the Art's [3:31] 17. The Milkman Collector [1:12] 18. World's Funniest Joke [5:24] 19. The Killer Cars [3:00] 20. The Pet Shop [4:06] 21. "The Lumberjack Song" [2:18] 22. A Dirty Fork [5:49] 23. The Bank Robber [1:21] 24. Falling Past the Window [3:11] 25. Guidance Counselor [4:31] 26. Blackmail [4:28] 27. Romantic Interlude [1:15] 28. Twit of the Year [6:12] Disc #2 -- Monty Python Box Set: Baron Munshausen 1. Start [3:18] 2. Henry Salt and Son [4:57] 3. Act II [7:04] 4. A Wager [2:21] 5. "Torturer's Apprentice" [2:53] 6. Awakening Bertholdt [3:13] 7. Empty Treasury [3:07] 8. Theatre Under Siege [7:07] 9. Cannonball Express [5:51] 10. Inflatable Knickers [6:07] 11. Off to the Moon [4:10] 12. Royal Welcome [5:58] 13. Berthholdt [5:42] 14. A Jealous King [6:46] 15. With Vulcan [5:43] 16. Venus [9:18] 17. Expelled [1:43] 18. World's Other Side [5:10] 19. Adolphus & Gustavus [3:35] 20. Bucephalus & Snuff [3:13] 21. "The Town! We're Here!" [2:10] 22. The Baron Surrender's [3:10] 23. Executioner's Block [3:14] 24. Routing the Turk [5:50] 25. Victory Parade [3:04] 26. "I Met my Death" [5:02] 27. Adieu [1:14] 28. End Credits [4:54] Disc #3 -- Monty Python Box Set: Holy and the Grail 1. Main Titles [:01] 2. Coconuts [3:36] 3. Plague Village [:48] 4. Constitutional Peasants [:11] 5. The Black Knight [2:17] 6. Witch Village [:41] 7. Knights of the Round Table [:07] 8. God [1:06] 9. French Taunters [3:10] 10. The Trojan Rabbit [:11] 11. The Tale of Sir Robin [:05] 12. The Tale of Sir Galahao [1:01] 13. Scene 24 [:04] 14. The Knights Who Say Ni [3:08] 15. The Tale of Sir Lancelot [:48] 16. The Rescue of Prince Herbert [:05] 17. The Wedding Guests [:25] 18. Roger the Shrubber [:03] 19. A Herring [2:58] 20. Tim the Enchanter [:03] 21. The Cave of Caerbannog [1:06] 22. The Holy Hano Grendoe [:12] 23. The Black Beast of Aaarrghh! [:03] 24. The Bridge of Death [:57] 25. The Castle of Aaarrghh! [:03] 26. The Holy Grail [:22] 27. Prepare to Attack [1:25] 28. The End of the Film [:04]