Holy Flying
Circus (2011/Acorn Media Blu-ray)
Picture: B Sound: C+ Extras: C- Film: C
The Monty Python crew has
been one of my favorite comedic pleasures since I discovered them at a very
young age after viewing Monty Python and
the Holy Grail. Soon thereafter I
discovered the joys of Monty Python I
uncovered that they had a host of other projects that are just as creative,
interestingly hilarious, and insane (beyond insane) as The Holy Grail. One of those
said projects was Monty Python and the
Life of Brian, a hilarious, twisted satire of the story of Jesus Christ;
instead following the life of a man named Brian, who mistakenly gathered the
following of the messiah. This is not a
review of that film…
Monty Python and
the Life of Brian came after the huge success of Monty Python’s Flying Circus British TV series and Monty Python and the Holy Grail film. The comedy troupe after satirizing Arthurian
Legend had joked that they were setting their eyes and quick wit on Jesus. After much back and forth a script was
written; no longer focusing on Jesus himself but an unassuming man of the same
era. The project was pitched to a studio
and soon The Life of Brian was green
lit; but just before filming began the film was canceled by the studio…Eric Idle
say they must have finally read the script.
It was in actuality (interesting to note) former Beatle George Harrison
(a fan of the group) who heavily funded the crazy crew’s venture and got the
project off the ground at a cost of three million dollars. In the end, Harrison
even makes a short cameo; can you spot him?
The controversy didn’t end there; eventually the film hit the big screen
and was a major monetary success, with a nice box office return. Who it wasn’t a hit with was the Christians
or at least the church. The film was
essentially band and even led to a televised debate between Python alums John
Cleese and Michael Palin with a Bishop and TV Personality. This eventually inspiring the Python made TV
film Holy Flying Circus, which
satirizes those events. A satire of a
satire? How artistic.
The film is not a documentary
and is not a comedy, it is somewhere in between. The story is LOOSELY based on true events,
but insane Python antics take center stage and in doing that the line between
reality and fiction is blurred. Of
course what was going on here was that the Monty Python crew were attempting to
take out their frustrations by mocking/satirizing the events that were
unfolding around them. The problem with
this offbeat take on true events (at least in this case) is the film is not
very funny; this on top of the fact that it isn’t giving any hardcore facts
either. In the end, the film feels to be
a bit of a waste of time. I love Monty
Python, but this is a definite miss for them; almost feeling like a pet project
for the crew to present inside jokes. The
problem is inside jokes are only funny to the people in the know; sadly we
aren’t in the know.
The technical features on this new Blu-ray from Acorn media get the
job done, but are far from perfect. The
1080i 1.78 x 1 digital high definition image is nice enough but clarity isn’t
the best, colors are weak, and the black levels are far from framing. The sound is a 2.0 PCM track is adequate,
being a dialogue driven presentation, but as it comes solely from the front it
can be a bit drab. Dialogue is clear.
Extras are limited and disappointing as I wanted to see more (perhaps
vintage footage and new interviews), but sadly extra features only include:
·
Deleted Scenes
·
Outtakes
- Michael P. Dougherty II
