A Book about the Film Monty Python's Life of Brian

A Book about the Film Monty Python's Life of Brian
Author: Darl Larsen
Publisher:
Total Pages: 496
Release: 2019-09-06
Genre: Life of Brian
ISBN: 9781538134443

This book identifies the plethora of cultural, historical, and topical references in the film Monty Python's Life of Brian. The author cites and explains virtually every allusion--from first-century Jerusalem through 1970s Great Britain, from terror groups ancient to modern, from Pontius Pilate to Margaret Thatcher--that appears in the film.

Monty Python's Tunisian Holiday

Monty Python's Tunisian Holiday
Author: Kim Howard Johnson
Publisher: Macmillan
Total Pages: 443
Release: 2008-10-28
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1429994258

"One of the finest and most accurate records of the making of the film that I have ever read. I just wished I could remember what actually went on then." --Terry Jones "If anyone can remember more about making the Life of Brian than me, it's Kim ‘Howard' Johnson. He came, he saw, he got into costume. While the rest of us were fighting to upstage each other, Howard had a notebook hidden in his toga." --Michael Palin "Since I've forgotten everything, it will be great to read what was actually going on in Tunisia. Just as long as I'm the most quoted, the most vital to the shooting, and the most interesting. You don't have to mention my stunning good looks if you don't want to." --Terry Gilliam "Of all the books that I am planning to read in my dotage, there is none I am more looking forward to than Monty Python's Tunisian Holiday. . . . Not only does ‘Howard' Johnson know more about Python than anyone outside of the IRS, he was in Tunisia for most of the filming of Life of Brian, and is the only person who captured every thoughtless remark, heated exchange, embarrassing detail, petty insult, and spiteful act of indifference." --John Cleese "Kim ‘Howard' Johnson was invented by Graham Chapman during an idle moment on the set of The Life of Brian. ‘Let's invent a person,' he said. ‘An American fan from the Midwest,' chimed in Michael Palin, ‘who keeps a daily diary of Python filming. And then doesn't publish it for years and years.' How we laughed, and each day we'd make up stuff this ‘person' would write about us." --Eric Idle In 1978, Kim "Howard" Johnson ran away to join the circus---Monty Python's Flying Circus, that is. The Pythons converged on Tunisia to film their timeless classic, Life of Brian, and Howard found himself in the thick of it, doubling for nearly all the Pythons, playing more roles in the film than John Cleese, and managing to ruin only one shot. He became the unit journalist, substitute still photographer, Roman soldier, peasant, Biggus Dickus's double, near-stalker, and, ultimately, friend and confidant of the comedy legends. He also kept a detailed journal of what he saw and heard, on set and off, throughout those six weeks. The result is a unique eyewitness account that reveals the Pythons at work and at play in a way that nothing else written about them could do. Now, for the first time ever, the inside story of the making of the film is revealed through the fly-on-the-castle-wall perspective. Even the most diehard fans will get a fresh take on the comedy greats through some never-before-revealed nuggets of Python brilliance: what John Cleese offered to exchange for suntan lotion; Terry Jones directing in drag; Michael Palin's secret to playing revolutionaries and peasants; Graham Chapman gets naked; Terry Gilliam gets filthy; Eric Idle haggles; the secret of the Thespo-Squat; Mrs. Pilate; talk of George Harrison; the cake-flinging that jeopardized the production; badminton, impromptu cricket, and erotic frescoes; and the first-ever presentation of "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life." Here, uncensored, are the legendary Pythons in their prime. It was a period of comedy history that will never be duplicated, and Monty Python's Tunisian Holiday captures the wit, the genius, and the sheer silliness of the six men that comprised Python.

Always Look on the Bright Side of Life

Always Look on the Bright Side of Life
Author: Eric Idle
Publisher: Crown Archetype
Total Pages: 314
Release: 2018-10-02
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1984822608

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the ingenious comic performer, founding member of Monty Python, and creator of Spamalot comes an absurdly funny memoir of unparalleled wit and heartfelt candor—now featuring a new afterword. “A hilarious, charming book by this incredible, i̶n̶s̶u̶f̶f̶e̶r̶a̶b̶l̶e̶ interesting genius.”—Steve Martin We know him best for his unforgettable roles on Monty Python—from the Flying Circus to The Meaning of Life. Now, Eric Idle reflects on the meaning of his own life in this entertaining memoir that takes us on a remarkable journey from his childhood in an austere boarding school through his successful career in comedy, television, theater, and film. Coming of age as a writer and comedian during the Sixties and Seventies, Eric stumbled into the crossroads of the cultural revolution and found himself rubbing shoulders with the likes of George Harrison, David Bowie, and Robin Williams, all of whom became dear lifelong friends. With anecdotes sprinkled throughout involving other close friends and luminaries such as Mike Nichols, Mick Jagger, Steve Martin, Paul Simon, Lorne Michaels, and many more, as well as John Cleese and the Pythons themselves, Eric captures a time of tremendous creative output with equal parts hilarity and heart. In Always Look on the Bright Side of Life, named for the song he wrote for Life of Brian and which has since become the number one song played at funerals in the UK, he shares the highlights of his life and career with the kind of offbeat humor that has delighted audiences for five decades. 2019 marked the fiftieth anniversary of The Pythons, and Eric commemorated the occasion with this hilarious memoir chock full of behind-the-scenes stories from a high-flying life featuring everyone from Princess Leia to Queen Elizabeth.

A Book about the Film Monty Python and the Holy Grail

A Book about the Film Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Author: Darl Larsen
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 633
Release: 2015-03-06
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 1442245549

Monty Python’s Flying Circus aired from 1969 until 1974, but the conclusion of the series did not mark the end of the troupe’s creative output. Even before the final original episodes were recorded and broadcast, the six members began work on their first feature-length enterprise of new material. Rather than string together a series of silly skits, they conceived a full-length story line with references to the real and imagined worlds of the mythical King Arthur, the lives of medieval peasants, and the gloomy climate of 1970s Britain. Released in 1975, Monty Python and the Holy Grail was a modest success but has since been hailed as a modern classic. In A Book about the Film Monty Python and the Holy Grail:All the References from African Swallows to Zoot, Darl Larsen identifies and examines the cultural, historical, and topical allusions in the movie. In this entertaining resource, virtually every reference that appears in a scene—whether stated by a character, depicted in the mise-en-scène, or mentioned in the print companion—is identified and explained. Beyond the Arthurian legend, entries cover literary metaphors, symbols, names, peoples, and places—as well as the myriad social, cultural, and historical elements that populate the film. This book employs the film as a window to both reveal and examine “Arthurian” life and literature, the historical Middle Ages, and a Great Britain of labor unrest, power shortages, and the common man. Introducing the reader to dozens of medievalist histories and authors and connecting the film concretely to the “modern” British Empire, A Book about the Film Monty Python and the Holy Grail will appeal to fans of the troupe as well as medieval scholars and academics who can laugh at themselves and their work.

The Complete Monty Python's Flying Circus

The Complete Monty Python's Flying Circus
Author: Monty Python
Publisher: Pantheon
Total Pages: 350
Release: 1989-11-12
Genre: Humor
ISBN: 0679726470

***ALMOST CERTAINLY NOMINATED FOR SOMETHING SOMEWHERE*** The complete scripts from the four Monty Python series, first shown on BBC television between 1969 and 1974, have been collected in two companion volumes. Characters' names, often not spoken, are given as in the original scripts, along with the names of the actual performer added on their first appearance in each sketch. This first volume contains twenty-three classic episodes, featuring some of the most entertaining writing to have gone into television anywhere. The minister of silly walks, the dead parrot, banter in a cheese shop - here is every silly, satirical skit, every snide insult, every saucy aside.

Very Naughty Boys [EBK]

Very Naughty Boys [EBK]
Author: Robert Sellers
Publisher: Titan Books (US, CA)
Total Pages: 429
Release: 2013-09-24
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 1783290773

The incredible, hilarious insider's story of Britain's favourite film company! It all started when Beatle George Harrison stepped in to fund Life of Brian when Monty Python's original backers pulled out. His company, HandMade films, went on to make some of the best British films of the 80s (Withnail and I, Time Bandits and Mona Lisa among them), but then things started to go wrong... This is the incredible and often hilarious insiders' story of what happened...

The Very Best of Monty Python

The Very Best of Monty Python
Author: John Cleese
Publisher: Methuen Publishing
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2006
Genre: English wit and humor
ISBN: 9780413776150

The essential gags, sketches, and songs, handpicked and introduced by the surviving members of the Python team. The book features full-color pages of Monty Python classics in a brilliant paperback format and includes gems such as Spamalot, The Meaning of Life, and many more enduring classics.

And Now for Something Completely Different

And Now for Something Completely Different
Author: Kate Egan
Publisher: Edinburgh University Press
Total Pages: 256
Release: 2020-09-21
Genre: Electronic books
ISBN: 1474475175

Examining Monty Python's enduring status as an unconventional, anti-authoritarian comedy touchstone, this book reappraises Python's comedy output from the perspective of its 50 years of cultural circulation. Reconsidering the group's originality, impact and durability, a range of international scholars explores Python's influences, production contexts, frequently controversial themes, and the cult status and forms of fandom associated with Python in the present day. From television sketches, including The Funniest Joke in the World, Hell's Grannies, Dead Parrot and Confuse-a-Cat, to the films Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Life of Brian and The Meaning of Life, to songs from the albums and live shows, this book is a ground-breaking critical analysis of the Monty Python phenomenon.

Gilliamesque

Gilliamesque
Author: Terry Gilliam
Publisher: Canongate Books
Total Pages: 624
Release: 2015-10-01
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1782111077

Now is probably as good a time as any to make a full confession. . . Telling his story for the first time, the director of Time Bandits, Brazil, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen, The Fisher King, 12 Monkeys and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas - not to mention co-founder of Monty Python's Flying Circus - recalls his extraordinary life so far. Featuring a cast of amazing supporting characters, including George Harrison, Robin Williams, Jeff Bridges, Robert De Niro, Brad Pitt, Uma Thurman, Johnny Depp, Heath Ledger and all of the fellow Pythons, Gilliamesque is a rollercoaster ride through late twentieth century popular culture. Packed with never-before-seen artwork, photographs and commentary.