The Program
What is there to say about Monty Python that hasn't already been said?
Not much, actually. And this 40th anniversary celebration of the Pythons' legacy spends nearly eight hours saying it, extras included. Is that too much? Not enough? A Goldilocksian ideal? The answer to that depends mostly upon whether you've ever pondered the air-speed velocity of an unladen swallow.
(If you're already scratching your head, wondering what any of this has to do with swallows, might I suggest that you bow out now and read my review of Kenny G: An Evening of Rhythm & Romance instead. I've been told it's chuckle-worthy.)
(If, on the other hand, you're off to query Wolfram Alpha about the migratory routes of coconuts, there's no need to read the rest of this review, either. Just order the disc. You'll love it. Do be sure to skip to the bottom and use our Amazon link if you haven't already, though. Gotta pay the bills, you know.)
Truth be told, Monty Python: Almost the Truth (The Lawyers Cut) incorporates a lot of the same shortcomings that mar other documentary series of this sort. And I say "incorporates" rather than "suffers from," because while it does run a little long, covers a lot of the same ground that Python fans have heard covered before, and is obviously only the last big Python retrospective until the next big anniversary rolls around, assuming there are any Pythons left in ten years, the brilliance of the documentary is that it acknowledges all of these things, usually no later than the opening credits, and turns them into an indelible aspect of the program itself. But not always egregiously so. If that makes sense.
The program consists of six episodes, and follows a rather predictable route through the history of the troupe:
But in between all of that obviousness, there's a level of honesty in the interview clips that comprise the bulk of the program that shouldn't be surprising, yet somehow is. And I don't mean the sort of sensational reality-TV honesty to which we've become accustomed; I mean a genuine sort of honesty that only comes from being elderly and not giving a rip what anyone thinks about you anymore when you really didn't give a very sizable rip to begin with.
There are times, while watching the program, where one is almost inclined to say, "That John Cleese is a bit of a grumpy old douche, isn't he?" But he's not a grumpy old douche, and neither are the rest of the Pythons; they're merely giving voice to the sorts of things that any men in their position would almost certainly be (rightfully) thinking.
Lest you think Monty Python: Almost the Truth (The Lawyers Cut) is all curmudgeonly grumping, it's not; it's just that the moments here and there that break the typical back-patting-retrospective mold are what elevate this six-part series above mere "worth watching" status.
Well, that and all of the bare breasts.
The Picture
The program's 1080i AVC transfer is, for the most part, perfectly fine. Given that the bulk of the visuals center on talking heads against black backgrounds, there's not an awful lot to critique. Detail is fine, colors are fine, and the black background is about as black as you could ask for. Occasionally the clarity of the high-def transfer reveals that a background here or there was blacked out in post-production, but that's a minor quibble.
Archival clips and photographs vary in quality across the board, but look as good as could be expected.
Monty Python: Almost the Truth (The Lawyers Cut) isn't the sort of program you'll pull out to show off your projector, but there's absolutely nothing wrong with the presentation, either. It gets the job done, as it should.
The Sound
Really, the only question you ought to be asking about the audio is, "Can I hear what they're going on about?" And yes, you can. Mission accomplished. The set comes complete with two audio options -- a stereo PCM track and an old-school Dolby Digital 5.1 track -- but if you pushed the two-channel track through Pro Logic II and blindfolded me, I'd be hard pressed to tell you the difference, except during the opening credits, in which case the 5.1 track is a lot five-point-one-ier.
As with the video, the most important thing about both mixes is that neither contains anything to distract you from the program. There's no annoying hiss, no wildly fluxuating volume levels, no audio drop-outs or anything else of the like. It's a solid audio presentation that performs its task ably.
The Extras
The bonus features kick off with twenty-five minutes or so worth of some of the best-known Flying Circus sketches: "Dead Parrot," "The Spanish Inquisition," "The Fish Slapping Dance," "Ministry of Silly Walks," "Lumberjack Song," "The Cheese Shop," and "SPAM." They look a bit better here than they do on A&E's Complete Monty Python's Flying Circus: 16 Ton Megaset from a few years back (not surprisingly), but shame on you if you don't own that already.
Next up is just over an hour of Extended Interviews with Cleese, Idle, Jones, Gilliam, and Palin. And as much as I hate to say it, watching these interviews was the only time throughout more than seven hours of digging through these Blu-rays that I found myself bored. There are gems to be found within, but a lot of it feels redundant or unnecessary.
Much more entertaining is the forty-nine minutes of Outtakes from the Cutting Room Floor, a collection of bits that include a four-minute spotlight on "The Seventh Python," Carol Cleveland; a four-minute tour of "The SPAM Museum"; a seven-minute bit informing us that "Elvis was a Python Fan"; and thirty-four minutes of stuff that (unlike the Extended Interviews) also should have been left in the program proper.
Wrapping things up is a really cool Terry Gilliam Picture Gallery.
Oddly enough, the nine-minute Obligatory "Making Of" Special that aired on the IFC (and which was actually surprisingly quite good) is missing from the Blu-ray. You can download for free via iTunes, but it really should have been included here.
Final Thoughts
Monty Python: Almost the Truth (The Lawyers Cut) is an unusually serious look back at an unusually important bunch of silliness from decades past. Despite unavoidable pitfalls inherent in its form, the program is an enjoyable, exhaustive retrospective sure to appeal to Python fans, although unlikely to generate any new ones.
In some ways, yes, it covers a lot of the same ground as The Life of Python covered ten years ago, but it manages to do so with quite a different tone, and with a lot more room to breathe. And it's in high-def, so there's that.
Highly recommended for anyone who watched it on TV and forgot everything already or heard about it from a friend and said, "Ooh, I bet I'd like that."
Product Details
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