Product Description

Over thirty years ago, a group of six Englishmen - well, one was Welsh and another an interloping American - rewrote the rules of comedy. Monty Python's Flying Circus, an unheralded, previously unseen half-hour show of sketches, hilarities, inanities and animations, first appeared on the BBC late one night in 1969. Its impact has been felt the world over ever since. From its humble beginnings, it blossomed into the most influential movement in modern comedy. THE PYTHONS' AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE PYTHONS is a unique look at arguably the most important comic team of the modern age, with 64 pages of photographs, many culled from the team's own personal collections, and many more seen for the first time. This is the definitive word on all things Pythonesque.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #42625 in Books
• Published on: 2005-09-15
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 544 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
That The Pythons by the Pythons is going to be an absolute treat is evident even from the book's blurb. The six men behind Monty Python's Flying Circus--the most influential of all British TV satires--are actually four Englishmen, one Welshman and an interloping American, and it's largely in the words of John Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Graham Chapman, Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam that we're told about the fractious process through which one of the great glories of British TV and film came into being.

Yes, Graham Chapman is here too, although sadly he died some years ago. The acerbic Chapman would have loved the frequent irreverent references to the fact that now he's dead. But nobody is spared in the hilarious introduction: its unsparing analyses of the post-Python careers of the participants would have most showbusiness types phoning their lawyers. But that's just one of the many joys in this chunky, arm-straining celebration of the glorious and surrealistic humour of the Monty Python team. Bob McCabe, the man who managed to corral the unruly members of the team here, has helped create this marvellous tome. It functions as a history of a well-loved comedy phenomenon, a biography of six extremely talented men and also a really eye-catching object: the book's design utilises the unmistakable animation style, created by Terry Gilliam, that was so much a part of the TV series and films. The iconoclastic attitude to the participants is perfect, but who would have accepted anything less from social critics as deadly as the Python team?

In fact, the revelation here that they were often at each others' throats suggests that inter-Python conflict may have been the catalyst that produced their inimitable humour. The only problem with The Pythons by the Pythons is resisting the temptation to read it at a sitting. --Barry Forshaw

THE HERALD
'The Python's autobiography demonstrates the virtues of oral over written material.'

Review
'As this unique glimpse into the minds of Palin, Cleese, Idle, Gilliam, Jones and Chapman demonstrates, Monty Python's peculiar brand of animation and philosophy remains a one-off comic phenomenon that changed the course of comedy... Irreverent and hilarious... This energetic insight into their collaboration is a peculiarly Pythonesque testimony to the most influential British satire of all time.' (OBSERVER )

'There is ... some wonderful material in here. If you're the kind of person who entertains friends with word-perfect renditions of Python sketches, you'll love this book.' (INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY )

'This hefty tome includes individual biographies of the Pythons, making the tale of their rise and fall more surreal and interesting.' (THE HERALD )

Customer Reviews

Not the Spanish Inquisition, but an important document
Over the years, Monty Python's Flying Circus has been elevated to a stellar status far beyond the expectations of its creators. Much of that has been achieved through continuing popularity with Americans, who didn't start to get the joke until long after the final TV episode had been screened here in the UK. And even the Pythons themselves do not quite realise their impact on the world: on this CD, Michael Palin talks about the creation of the 'Spam' sketch and the bizarre injection of some Vikings into the scene, with no inkling of the significance of spam in today's Internet world.

If you don't know Monty Python's humour, this is not the place to start. Go and buy 'Another Monty Python Record' on CD, or 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail' on DVD.

This double-CD set is aimed at Python completists, and anyone interested in how great creative teams come together, get their ideas and work together. There's nothing here that isn't also in the bumper coffee-table book of the same name, which also has many magnificent, previously unseen photos. But on this CD, you get the Pythons' own voices, so it's more intimate, and the format enables those of us who spend more time in the car than reading books, to absorb some of the material.

Sound quality is variable. Michael Palin is very clear, though the interview is frequently interrupted by phone calls (presumably from BBC producers wanting to send him off to the Amazon). At the other end of the sonic scale, John Cleese is inteviewed in what seems to be a cavern, about 30 feet from a puny microphone, and his cutlery is sometimes more audible than his voice. Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones come somewhere in between.

All the contributors put some effort into dredging up memories from the distant past, i.e. 1960s and earlier. They know this book/CD, while maybe not the definitive biography, isn't going to be yet another fanzine. By and large, they're pretty serious. (The Pythons seem to have found it harder and harder to be funny, or at least zany, since about 1980.) And they're remarkably honest -- all of them admit that 'The Meaning of Life' was not as good a film as it should have been.

There's a lot of giving credit and taking credit -- originally the entire show was billed as a total team effort, but this CD reveals a certain paradox: having first said that every sketch was subject to team review and enhancement, each writer then goes on to say of certain sketches, "That was one of mine" or "That was one I wrote with John".

The influence of 'The Goon Show' and 'Beyond the Fringe' becomes apparent from these recordings. (So much so that I went out and bought a BtF CD.) Of particular interest is the immediate predecessor to Python, namely the children's programme DO NOT ADJUST YOUR SET, written by Michael, Terry J and Eric, with cartoons added by Terry G. For me, that series is just a distant memory in black and white. But the way the Pythons refer to it here makes it seem like it was pretty much Version zero of Monty Python. Terry Jones admits that they wrote it for themselves, not for children, and it just happened to be scheduled during the children's TV slot on Wednesday afternoons. In the absence of any DVDs, videos or script-books from that series, we will just have to take their word for it.

It's fascinating to hear Eric Idle talk about the writing process: he wrote mostly on his own, but occasionally wrote with others. He comments that whereas he likes to hop around, trying to create more highlights in a sketch, John Cleese works in a very linear fashion, only progressing to the second line in a sketch when he has worked out the first line in immense detail. John Cleese talks about his dislike of puns, the lowest form of wit, in his words. Terry Jones comments on the stream-of-consciousness feel to each episode.

Hopefully this CD will enhance Michael Palin's status in the comic pantheon. John Cleese is always regarded as a god because he also created 'Fawlty Towers' and because of his previous work on 'The Frost Report'. But most of his best sketches work as well on radio as they do on TV. It's clear from this CD that Palin (as well as Gilliam) was the genius behind much of the visual humour that made Python something completely different from 'Beyond the Fringe' et al. Cleese could never be described as 'zany', if that means lovably ridiculous. Even on this CD, Cleese comes across as coldly analytical, whereas Michael is just so damned affable!

So there you go, five stars for content, minus one for sound quality. I wish it had been much longer!

I found this is my stocking!
First of all merry xmas to everyone!!
I was so deliriously excited when i opened my stocking to find this i couldn't put it down for 3 hours!As a result i didnt open my other presents.The only reason i put it down was to go to sleep,well it was 4a.m..
This is a must have for any python fan.Or any fan of comedy.
It chronicles all the of the pythons childhood and beginings in showbusiness.There are many,many pages dedicated to the tv shows and the movies.I have managed to get through the first half of it and i love it.And as for the weight of the book above stated.Yes it is a heavy book but that is because it is crammed full of a thousand never seen before pictures!In full glossyness.
overall this is a must buy!I am no going to finish the rest!!

A TRUE MUST!!!
This is by far the best book ever written about monty python. Even if you haven't seen everything they did or even you are a die hard fan (like me) here is every detail anyone could want to know. You need hours, weeks, months to see all the pictures and read everything. You can find out everything about their lives, the situation in british comedy in the sixties, how they met, the extremely detailed story of the flying circus, all the movies, the books, the albums and an enormous amount of unseen fhotos. A true achivement. Nothing less could satisfy the fans of those geniouses who made us laugh, made us think, made us better people, gave us great memories and now finaly... talk about it.
Thank you John,Eric,Graham,Terry,Michael and Terry.