And Now for Something Completely Different (1971)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Ian MacNaughton

Writers:

Graham Chapman (written by) &
John Cleese (written by) ...

Release Date:

22 August 1972 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

An anthology of Monty Python's best sketches from their 1st & 2nd seasons of their original TV show.

Plot Keywords:

Monty Python | Blackmail | Lumberjack | Twit | Dead Parrot

Cast

Graham Chapman	...	Brother / British pedestrian / Mr. Harrison (Apricot) / Sergeant-Major / 'Hell's Grannies' policeman / Jimmy Blankensop / Sir Edward Ross / Restaurant patron #1 / Letter Writer / Oliver St. John Mollusk
John Cleese	...	Announcer / Hungarian Man / Self-Defence Teacher / Sir George Head / Policeman / Interviewer / Mr. Praline / Second General / Christopher Columbus / Mungo the Cook / Bank Robber / Accountant #2 (falling past the window) / Vocational Guidance Counselor / Vivian Smith Smythe Smith
Terry Gilliam	...	Self-defence nun / Flasher / Uncle Sam / Caterpillar man / Sign holder
Eric Idle	...	Prosecutor / Marriage Counselor / Arthur Nudge / Self-defence student #4 (interested in pointed sticks) / 'Hell's Grannies' analyst / Arthur Wilson / Arthur Wilson Two / Nightclub Emcee / Linkman / First General / Restaurant Manager / Lingerie Shop Owner / Accountant #1 (falling past the window) / Fairy Godmother / Rita Fairbanks / Simon Zinc Trumpet Harris
Terry Jones	...	Stage Manager / Tobacconist / 2nd Hungarian Man / Squire / Self-defence student #3 / Tenant #1 / Flasher / Mouse Organist Ken Ewing / Fat Soldier / Waiter / Nude Organist / Brian / Nigel Incubator Jones
Michael Palin	...	Man with tape recorder / Phrasebook Author / Arthur Pewtey / Self-defence student #2 / Tenant #2 / Lost His Wallet / Shrill Petrol Announcer / Milkman / Ernest Scribbler / Bevis (pet shop employee / lumberjack) / Headwaiter Gilberto / Herbert Anchovy / Gervais Brookhamster
Carol Cleveland	...	Dierdre Pewtey / Storyteller / Milkman Collector / Restaurant Patron #2 / Elsbeth
Connie Booth	...	Best Girl

Also Known As:

Monty Python's And Now for Something Completely Different (UK) (complete title)

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Netherlands:16 | Finland:K-3 (new rating: 2001) | France:U | Australia:PG | Finland:K-10 | Iceland:L | Sweden:11 | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) (1986) | USA:PG | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Black Park, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

When Terry Gilliam asked British animation legend Bob Godfrey if he could use his camera to recreate his animated sequences for the movie, Godfrey didn't know who Gilliam was and told him to "bugger off". Later, Godfrey found out that Gilliam was a member of the Monty Python team and helped him complete the sequences for the movie.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the animation following the "People falling out of tall buildings" sketch, when the caterpillar walks into his house and climbs into the bed the door to the bedroom is still open. Once the caterpillar falls asleep and the camera fades out, when the camera fades back into him, the door is now closed.

Quotes:

Bevis: I didn't want to do this, you know. I wanted to be a lumberjack!
Mr. Praline: Yes, this is irrelevant.
Bevis: Yes! A lumberjack! Leaping from tree to tree as they float down the mighty rivers of British Columbia! The smell of fresh cut timber! The giant redwood! The larch! The fir! The mighty Scots pine! With my best girlie by my side, we'd sing... sing... sing!
[sings]
Bevis: I'm a lumberjack and I'm OK/I sleep all night and I work all day.
Mounties Chorus: He's a lumberjack and he's OK/He sleeps all night and he works all day.
Bevis: I cut down trees, I eat my lunch, I go to the lavatory/On Wednesdays I go shopping and have buttered scones for tea.
Mounties Chorus: He cuts down trees, he eats his lunch, he goes to the lavatory/On Wednesdays he goes shopping and has buttered scones for tea./He's a lumberjack and he's OK/He sleeps all night and he works all day.
Bevis: I cut down trees, I skip and jump, I like to press wildflowers/I put on women's clothing and hang around in bars.
Mounties Chorus: He cuts down trees, he skips and jumps, he likes to press widlflowers.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Directors: The Films of Terry Gilliam (#1.2)" (????)

Soundtrack:

The Lumberjack Song

Very good introduction to the insane world of Monty Python

Produced in 1971 on a shoestring budget with the aim of breaking the Python team in the States (which eventually happened when the TV series began running on PBS), this film consists of classic moments from the first two series of Monty Python's Flying Circus, lovingly reprised, and in some cases improved upon. The 'Vocational Guidance Counsellor' sketch with Michael Palin's chartered accountant who wants to be a lion tamer is certainly better than the TV version, as is the bank robber in a lingerie shop sketch, which is performed here in such a dry, straight-faced, understated way, it makes me laugh every time. There are lots of other classics to enjoy - the dirty fork, Hell's Grannies, the Upper Class Twit of the Year show, Blackmail, camp square-bashing, the Killer Cars...if you can look past the obviously low budget (the sound mix makes some scenes sound as if they were recorded in a cake tin), you'll find one of the most tirelessly inventive sketch comedies of all time. And remember, it's NOT pining, it's passed on!