Monty Python: Almost the Truth – Review

DVD Reviews, Reviews

MontyPython-Almost-the-Truth_DVD

Many documentaries have come and gone over the years trying to encapsulate the essence of Python into an hour, or a couple hours, and yet nothing really has come close because the depth of material available provides too much material to cover for a proper connect. Enter Monty Python: Almost the Truth (The Lawyer’s Cut), which at seven and a half hours covers the entire history of Python with the entire troupe (sans the late Graham Chapman) by combining archival footage, interviews with the men and perspective from some of the top comedians of today (Simon Pegg, Russell Brand, Steve Coogan, Eddie Izzard and more) to give a history of Monty Python like none that has been committed to film before.

Following the tale of the men from what could be called awkward childhoods to meaningful friendships with one another as they progressed from being class clowns to professional comedians. Following their work from before Python and through the movie trilogy and the show, this is an in-depth look at the group from beginning to end. And it’s an absolutely brilliant piece.

The greatness about the piece comes from the absolute candor displayed from the Python troupe, which infects the entire proceedings. There is an amazing amount of honesty and refreshing candor, some of it bordering on “I can’t believe we got away from this” in terms of the material they got on to the BBC. The piece doesn’t end with the television show, however, as the piece follows the troupe after the show ended and the further mythos of the troupe continued.

Following the production of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Life of Brian and the rest of their post Flying Circus works, it’s interesting to hear the group talk about the creative process that led to their two signature films (and beyond). Eric Idle has several hilarious bits he had thought out but thought were way too blasphemous for the film, including a bit where Jesus complains about the level of carpentry of his cross. The bits that didn’t get in, or the ones that weren’t deemed as cinematic as others, are comic gold as even discussing the past the Python troupe is still on top of their game in getting laughs.

Some of the interesting facts about the whole Python experience are amusing and enlightening, as Python fans are across the spectrum. Music icon Elvis Presley loved Holy Grail and used to quote the film verbatim, at one point pointing out that a dislocated finger during a game of touch football was “merely a flesh wound,” and the piece doesn’t shy away from the controversies surrounding the python over the years as well. The religious controversy surrounding Life of Brian is covered with some depth, with heavy metal luminary Bruce Dickinson (of Iron Maiden) and British writer/actor Sanjeev Bhaskar (amongst others) weighing in on both the comedy aspects of the film as well as the controversy surrounding the film during its initial release.

The a/v on this set varies wildly based on the material being used. The Python material from the television series has been cleaned and is mainly used as archival footage, and has been cleaned up substantially but is still noticeably older. The newer footage is pristine, however, in its appearance.

The Sketches features many of the more popular sketches shown throughout the documentary, including “Dead Parrot,” “Spanish Inquisition,” “The Fish Slapping Dance,” “Ministry of Silly Walks,” “Lumberjack Song,” “The Cheese Shop” and “SPAM.”

There are Extended Interviews with all the Python crew. These are the full interviews done for the piece and it’s a wealth of information from the group. Cleese talks about how he wishes his father had been around to see Fawlty Towers, as he died before it came out and never really understood Flying Circus. All told it runs slightly over an hour.

There’s a Picture Gallery of animation done by Terry Gilliam.

There’s a series of Outtakes of material not good enough for inclusion in the documentary proper.

For the diehard Python fan, Almost The Truth is a must have right next to the complete series. It gives a context and a history to it all which is second to none.


Vivendi Entertainment presents Monty Python: Almost the Truth. Directed by Alan Parker. Starring Michael Palin, Terry Jones, Eric Idle, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Russell Brand, Eddie Izzard. Running time: 360 minutes. Not Rated. Released on DVD: October 27, 2009. Available at Amazon.