gridoon Review of Parrot Sketch Not Included: Twenty Years of Monty Python

Parrot Sketch Not Included: Twenty Years of Monty Python (1989 TV Special)

Monty Python Live, Part II: Not Exactly Live

[5/10 · 10 July 2005]

I suppose if you see this compilation as a stand-alone feature, you'll probably find it good enough. But I saw it as part of the 2-disc "Monty Python Live!" DVD edition (and this comment is meant ONLY for those who see it this way), and although it has some funny moments ("nobody ever expects the Spanish Inquisition!"), it is largely a waste of time. For one thing, you can see all these sketches elsewhere. For another, you can see many of them on the SAME DVD PACK. And for another, most of the best sketches ("The Argument", "Lumberjack's Song", "World Forum") are infinitely better executed in "Live at the Hollywood Bowl" (which is included on the other disc). If anything, this film helps you gain a greater appreciation of that film, and of how much experience improved the Pythons over the years. This disc also includes the first "German Episode", which is alternately brilliant (with some of Terry Gilliam's best animation) and labored, and mostly of historical interest.