Monty Python: The Movies (4 Disc Box Set) [DVD]

Really enjoyed watching the life of Brian which caused a massive stir when released. It was so funny that my DVD player failed to play anything afterwards. Have bought a new player and hope to watch the rest of the DVDs

I'm going to assume that just about anyone looking here will already know all about these films and whether they like them, so with that in mind I will try to concentrate on the discs themselves.First of all, at the time of writing this the price is only £14 for all four films. Even if you don't like one its great value for money. The whole set comes in a cardboard slip box with brief desciptions of all the films on the back and some technical information on the bottom. Inside are 4 cases containing 2 discs for 'Grail' and one disc for each of the other films.AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENTThis first film was basically a remake of sketches from the TV series, but made with a bigger budget, so its more or less the same scripts as the TV but better sets and costumes.Considering the age of the film the picture on this is very good indeed. Its an anamorphic widescreen picture which shows very few signs of age. The sound is only mono, but extremely clear.HOLY GRAILThis is the jewel in the crown of this box set. The film has been remastered and the picture quality is fantastic. The sound has also been remastered in 5.1 surround.The first disc contains the main feature, looking brand new, with a huge range of options. There is a choice of audio commentaries: one from the two directors and another from the other 3 remaining Pythons. The subtitle choices include seeing the screenplay superimposed on the film, or (for people who do not like the film) the lines from Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part II instead of the actual film lines.In a pastiche of The Matrix's special features, there is a "Follow the killer rabbit" option where at various points you can jump to trivia like the receipts for props.The second disc contains even more extras. The main one is a modern documentary where Michael Palin & Terry Jones revisit the film locations and reminisce. One single castle in Scotland provided nearly all the internal locations, and its fascinating to see how it was adapted and dressed to serve many purposes. This feature is about 45 minutes. Of the many shorter extras, the highlights are a 15-minute location film made by the BBC during filming, the Camelot singing scene re-created in Lego, singalongs for 3 of the musical segments (including instructions on head-bashing for the monks' chants) and lots of original artwork. Both discs feature animated Terry Gilliam menus.The quality of this transfer and the quality and quantity of extras makes this disc alone worth the total cost!LIFE OF BRIANThe picture and sound quality are nowhere near as good as for 'Grail'. In fact the picture is not as clear as for 'And Now...'The only extras are a theatrical trailer and an on-set documentary, but the documentary is a good one, with lots of interviews with all the cast members, and about 45 minutes long.THE MEANING OF LIFEProbably not many people's favourite Python Film. It is little more than a series of sketches tied together by a loose theme, but does contain some great set-pieces, like the exploding Mr Creosote and the big 'Every sperm is sacred' song and dance routine. The picture and sound are not great, considering that this is the most recent of the films. The box says that the sound is in two-channel stereo only, although there did seem to be a couple of surround effects in the middle of the film. No extras.For me, this set is well worth the expense for the two 'proper' films and their extras, but the other two films can be dipped into for the best sketches. Its a shame 'Brian' did not get the full 2-disc treatment that 'Grail' did, but that does not make it any less enjoyable.

These films are absolutely brilliant. They have so many clever ideas woven among the comedy. Their use of anachronism, especially parachronism is hilarious. In The Holy Grail they put modern day ideas into the mouths of people in King Arthurs time ( 500 CE). One of the peasants talks to the King about an anarcho syndicalist commune. Even the mixing up of time zones by having modern day police drive into the ancient scene. One of the earliest written accounts of the King Arthur legend is by Geoffry of Monmouth in 1138. It was Chretien de Troyes who later added the Lancelot and Holy Grail ideas to the legend. The Meaning of life has many thought provoking comic moments. Their discussion restaurant with its menu of topics to talk about made me laugh, as I've often been stuck for something to talk about in such situations. I was interested to hear their mention of the clever philosopher Nietzsche as I've just been reading his 'Thus spake Zarathustra'. Nietzsche writes many insightful wise words into the mouth of the prophet Zarathustra who is imagined to have lived long ago.

my whole family love the monty python seriece this must be one box set that must never be forgotten...it is the funniest! most classic! the most enjoyable box set in the world.the people to who made these films/programmes are legends of comedy! they are at the top! in fact they are bursting through the roof of there league!if you want:1. a funny film2. one that you can sit there from 30 mins- forever3. a family classic (ive watched them since i was 3 years old and i never get tired of there jokes)then buy this. the price for this is really cheap for the pleasure you get from it i sit there now and watch the life of brian and find it class because 'im brian and so's my wife'.lolbuy it or regret it forever and ever.

There's no doubt that this a great value collection (£14 for four films is almost always good value). Two bona fide five star classics (Holy Grail and - especially - the Life of Brian are the pinnacle of Python's achievements), plus a decent collection of classic sketeches from the TV show (And Now For Something Completely Different) and their fair-to-middling final film, The Meaning of Life. All four films in individual plastic cases boxed together - a smart addition to any collection.The only niggle is The Meaning of Life dvd. Grail has by far the best set of extras: a whole second disc devoted to them, so I'm sure this is the definitive set for that film. Brian has, like Grail, been remastered, but only has one documentary as an extra (admittedly it is a good one, filmed on set). I can live with that though. ANFSCD has no extras, but has good picture quality as compensation, and several trailers for other Python-related films. And as it isn't really a film in it's own right, I can live with that as well.But Meaning of Life has a 2-disc special edition set out there already. Yet the version in this collection is a single disc, with no extras and no remastered picture. It's not even anamorphic, despite the claims of the back cover. And the chaptering is basic, only a few throughout the entire film. A shame then, as the inclusion of the special edition rather than this duffer would raise it to five star status for me. At least it's not the best film they did. And it's probably better than any VHS version (just about).All in all though, a worthy collection, especially at this low price.

Brought for present, arrived well packaged and on time. All played well

What’s not to like? Classic Monty Python. Bought the full set before they are banned for not being politically correct. Great humour and people quote the scenes and lines even now.

Great dvd, sit back and enjoy,

These DVDs shipped from England and are coded Region 2 so my Region 1 DVD player will not play them. They are completely useless to me. Do not order DVD's from overseas if you do not know your DVD player can play DVDs from another region.

J'espérais qu'il y aurait des sous-titres même pas ! livraison non effectuée car "produit en transit" depuis 10 jours. Le vendeur refuse d'annuler la vente d'un produit pas conforme et pas arrivé mais débité sur le compte. Tout le monde n'est pas parfaitement bilingue. Très déçue. M. TRINH-VAN

Doesn’t work

I would give it no stars if I could. Each DVD says it wouldn't play in this region. Have not heard from seller to get my money back.

These DVD were for Europe, I was not able to see them in the US due a different format