Monty Python's Flying Circus: The Complete Series Blu-ray delivers great video and audio in this must-own Blu-ray release
The original surreal sketch comedy showcase for the Monty Python troupe.
For more about Monty Python's Flying Circus: The Complete Series and the Monty Python's Flying Circus: The Complete Series Blu-ray release, see Monty Python's Flying Circus: The Complete Series Blu-ray Review published by Jeffrey Kauffman on January 8, 2020 where this Blu-ray release scored 5.0 out of 5.
If you grew up during the seventies and were old enough by that time to worry about seeming "hip", chances are you were among those who
became early devotees of Monty Python's Flying Circus when national Public Broadcasting System stations started picking up the series
for
airing in the United States starting in 1974. It's kind of interesting in a way that Monty Python's Flying Circus started making inroads into
the
American broadcasting airwaves about a year or so before Saturday Night
Live debuted on NBC in 1975, since each show has become so iconic in the annals of small screen comedy. The Pythons are on record as
stating how basically nonplussed American audiences were when the troupe came to perform live for them (inlcuding on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson) before
Monty Python's Flying Circus really started to take off, with the comedians encountering basically dumbstruck audiences who didn't quite
know how to react. In that regard, it's perhaps salient to note that audiences seemed to be similarly confused by Saturday Night Live in
its early gestational phase, with the now famous
opening sketch on the series, a vignette which is undeniably Python-esque in a
number of ways, reportedly causing some considerable consternation among folks in television land, even if the in studio audience seemed to be
generally appreciative. In
that regard, it's also quite interesting to hear the general lack of response from the British audiences watching the first few
episodes
of Monty Python's Flying Circus, with several sketches passing by with few if any laughs, as if that audience, too, didn't know quite what
to make of what they were watching.
Truth be told, though, it's at least arguable that Monty Python's Flying Circus, as deservedly revered as it's become, didn't really start
consistently firing on all cylinders until its second so-called series. There are certainly all time classic sketches in the first series, including the Dead
Parrot sketch and the Lumberjack sketch (and song), both of which notably occur well into the season, but there are also some lulls as the show
attempts to find its own absurdist way of doing
things. That said, I think it's arguable that by the middle of the first season, the Pythons had really begun to find their comedic legs and were
beginning to fully
integrate the almost dada-esque deconstruction of sketch comedy that the second and third seasons of the show certainly provided in droves.
Some may feel there's a bit of a drop off in overall quality in the shortened fourth season, which is also missing John Cleese, though he did contribute
some material. That said the final year has its fair share of gonzo bits, and it also features two relatively "long form" episodes, Michael Ellis
and Mr. Neutron, that have more of a through line and a bit less of the Python-esque tradition of ADHD.
Monty Python's Flying Circus: The Complete Series is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Network with an AVC encoded 1080i transfer in
1.33:1. The insert booklet includes the following information on the restoration:
Monty Python's Flying Circus was produced on 2" Quad tape as a mixture of studio sequences (shot on video cameras) interspersed with
16mm live action and animation film insert segments. The basis for this restoration were the earliest generation tapes - or direct copies of themm -
with the studio sequences being re-graded and restored, removing video drop-out (horizontal lines) as well as scratching (multiple smaller horizontal
lines) and any severe faults like off-lock (complete picture break up). Once restored, the programme then was up-scaled to High Definition.
Surviving live action film for the series was sporadic, with 16mm original negative being available for only a few episodes for series 1 to 3 but
existing for all episodes for series 4. Many of the other live action sequences were available on 16mm print but the condition was very poor with
severe colour fading, inferior film joins and general damage that required many additional hours of grading and restoration. For the animation
sections, there was more 16mm footage available on negative (as well as print) and these were scanned in HD, graded and restored before being
dropped into the episode timeline to replace the archive transfers used for the original broadcast. Any dissolves through to VT were re-created and
any text captions overlaid. The iconic main titles for all series did still exist on 16mm negative and were painstakingly restored and graded for use
throughout the respective series.
I frankly can't imagine any fan of Monty Python's Flying Circus being less than thrilled with the overall results displayed throughout this
set. While the source elements may not provide huge opportunities for detail upticks in high definition, to my eyes there was an
appreciable improvement in textures on clothing and even some of the fine line detail of Gilliam's animations. The palette is nicely suffused for the
most part, though a few of the filmed inserts can look slightly wan. The 16mm sources for the filmed segments can mean that fine detail levels
aren't always optimal, especially in some of the composited sequences that include some animated elements. There are a number of "baked in"
anomalies, especially with regard to some of
the video elements done in the studio, where passing issues like slight blurriness toward the edges of the frame can be spotted at times.
There have been some questions posed in the Forum about the "playability" of this release, and the set I received had absolutely no 50i content
whatsoever that I encountered.
On a personal note, this set's technical credits list "additional restoration" of the film inserts done by R3Store Studios. I had the great pleasure of
spending a morning at R3Store when I was visiting London last summer, and it was a delight to see a devoted team working on a variety of projects.
They can certainly be proud of their contribution to this wonderful set.
Monty Python's Flying Circus: The Complete Circus features a nice sounding LPCM 2.0 mono track that encounters no really major hurdles
across the four seasons of the show. There are distinct changes in fidelity when some of the material ventures from what I assume were more
controlled environments in the studio to filmed segments, notably some outdoor material, but I personally didn't find anything hard to hear or
understand. Musical elements sound decently full bodied as well. There are optional subtitles in a variety of languages available.
Series 3 Monologue Rushes (Mostly Mute) (1080i; 6:06)
Series Four ( Note: This series is contained on one disc.)
The Golden Age of Ballooning Extended Barry Zeppelin Filmed Material (1080i; 2:02)
Michael Ellis Deleted Icelandic Honey Week Filmed Material (1080i; 2:59)
Michael Ellis Extended Toupee Department Filmed Material (1080i; 1:04)
Michael Ellis Extended Football Pundits Filmed Material (1080i; 00:49)
Le War Repeats Extended Voiceover and Unused M2 Filmed Material (1080i; 3:18)
Le War When Does a Dream Begin (Clean Closing Titles) (1080i; 1:25)
Hamlet Extended Queen Victoria Handicap Filmed Material (1080i; 1:59)
Mr. Neutron Extended Mr. Neutron Takes Tea Filmed Material (1080i; 2:18)
Note: This is another instance where the insert booklet mentions "reinstated content" without offering any details.
Party Political Broadcast Extended Fanshawe-Chumleigh Dinner Party Filmed Material (1080i; 00:46)
Party Political Broadcast Deleted Ursula Hitler Filmed Material (1080i; 2:46)
Restoring Flying Circus with Terry Gilliam (1080i; 17:47)
In Vision Archive Interview from December 1974 (1080i; 19:43) was done to mark the end of the original broadcast run of the
series, and is presented here in a pretty badly damaged form.
The Great Birds Eye Peas Relaunch 1971 (1080i; 24:35)
Harmony Hairspray Relaunch (1080i; 6:21)
Close-Up Toothpaste Relaunch (1080i; 6:18)
Non disc supplements include:
Viewing Notes by Andrew Pixley are provided in four rather large and hefty volumes (one for each season) that get into
pretty picayune detail about the history of the show and various episodes.
Deluxe Packaging is offered which may indeed be the bane of some collectors' existences. The set comes housed in an oversized box
that
measures approximately 6 3/4" high by 7 1/4" wide by 7 3/4" deep, without the lid (the lid is obviously just a bit bigger, in order to fit around the
sides, and is itself about 2" high). Unfortunately, the
packaging design "geniuses" who put this together decided to have the "walls" of the box fold down (see the packaging image under the packaging
tab), with the four rather heavy slipcases holding the
digipacks and viewing guides placed into slots that are made of pretty flimsy cardboard. While my box wasn't damaged in any major way, two of the
cardboard slots had ripped, necessitating me taping them.
About the only negative thing that this definitely unhip but still devoted Monty Python fan can say about this set is that it doesn't include all of the
supplements and specials that the old A&E The Complete Monty Python's Flying Circus Collector's Edition Megaset DVD set does. That said, it looks like that
DVD set is going for several hundred dollars more than what I consider this reasonably priced set is going for. Technical merits are solid, given an
understanding of the sources, and while the packaging may leave a bit to be desired, the incredibly in depth viewing guides by Andrew Pixley will be a
boon to at least some fans. Highly recommended.
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