Monty Python's Flying Circus
1969–1974 · Ended · 4 seasons
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Sign in- First aired
- Oct 5, 1969
- Last aired
- Dec 5, 1974
- IMDb rating
Overview
And now for something completely different: Monty Python's Flying Circus was simply the most influential comedy program television has ever seen. Five Englishmen, all working under the constraints of conventional TV shows such as The Frost Report (for which the five Englishmen wrote), gathered together with an expatriate American in the spring of 1969 to break the rules. The result, first airing on BBC-1 on October 5, 1969, has influenced countless future men and women in the media and comedy since.
Won 3 BAFTA 4 wins & 7 nominations total
via OMDbEpisodes
Specials · 67 episodes
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Aug 22, 1972 88 min
A collection of re-filmed sketches from the first and second series of the cult TV comedy show "Monty Python's Flying Circus". Includes such classics as "Nudge, Nudge", "Hell's Grannies", "Killer Cars", "Dead Parrot", "Lumberjack Song", "Blackmail" and "Upper Class Twit of the Year
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May 10, 1975 92 min
The movie starts out with Arthur, King of the Britons, looking for knights to sit with him at Camelot. He finds many knights including Sir Galahad the pure, Sir Lancelot the brave, the quiet Sir Bedevere, and Sir Robin the Not-Quite-So-Brave-as-Sir Lancelot. They do not travel on horses, but pretend they do and have their servants bang coconuts to make the sound of horse's hooves. Through satire of certain events in history (witch trials, the black plague) they find Camelot, but after literally a quick song and dance they decide that they do not want to go there. While walking away, God (who seems to be grumpy) come to them from a cloud and tells them to find the Holy Grail. They agree and begin their search. While they search for the Grail, scenes of the knight's tales appear and why they have the name they have. Throughout their search they meet interesting people and knights along the way. Most of the characters die; some through a killer rabbit (which they defeat with the holy hand grenade), others from not answering a question right from the bridge of Death, or die some other ridiculous way. In the end, King Arthur and Sir Bedevere are left and find the Castle Arrrghhh where the Holy Grail is. They are met by some French soldiers who taunted them earlier in the film, so they were not able to get into the castle
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E3 JabberwockyApr 15, 1977 105 min
After the death of his father the young cooper 'Dennis Cooper' goes to town where he has to pass several adventures. The town and the whole kingdom is threatened by a terrible monster called 'Jabberwocky'. Will Dennis make his fortune? Is anyone brave enough to defeat the monster? A medieval tale with Pythonesque humour.
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Aug 17, 1979 93 min
Brian is born in a stable on Christmas, right next to You Know Who. The wise men appear and begin to distribute gifts. The star moves further, so they take it all back and move on. This is how Brian's life goes. The Jews are looking for a release from the Romans, Spiritual and political decay, keep looking for signs and a group decides Brian is the Messiah. He cannot convince them he is not. He joins the Peoples' Front of Judea, one of several dozen separatist groups who actually do nothing, but really hate the Romans. While not about Jesus, it is about those who hadn't time, or interest to listen to his message. Many Political and Social comments. Written by John Vogel {jlvogel@comcast.net} The Monty Pyton team tells the life, death and resurrection (?) of Brian from Nazareth, an unwilling prophet who wants to free his land from the oppression of Rome. When Brian covers a huge wall with the writing "ROMANI ITE DOMUM" (Romans go home), a local revolutionary group begins to take him seriously...
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Jun 25, 1982 77 min
A collection of skits that made the Python troup famous, performed live at the Hollywood Bowl. Included are the singing philosophers, lumberjacks, the pope, and a suspiciously-male looking seabird vendor.
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Oct 16, 1983 107 min
The comedy groups last full length movie returns to the feel of the hugely popular BBC TV show. It features small comedy sketches dealing with all of the stages and trials of life. Expect the un-expected. Plenty of religious, vulgar, and sexual humor may offend some groups. There are even musical numbers, but with that same unmistakable brand of Python humor. The Monty Python group examines the meaning and purpose of life in a series of sketches from conception to death and beyond. In typical Monty Python fashion they satirizes and humourizes almost everyone
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Jan 3, 1972 45 min
The Pythons had planned to rearrange sketches from the two German specials into a sketch film had Life of Brian not been filmed. With Brian completed, these German shows were not introduced in America in their entirety until the Python retrospective 17 and 24 February 1989. The Museum of Television and Radio in New York introduced these unseen hours in part to celebrate the Pythons' 20th anniversary and, hopefully, to release the specials to a TV network or to video. The second special for WDR was the Pythons' rebuttal of a BBC proposal to send a compilation show to Germany. This program was filmed with one less burden: the cast could speak in English. Connie Booth had begun writing with John Cleese by this time, and the two turned out the "Fairy Tale" sketch, later reprinted in The Brand New Monty Python Bok. Other sketches are summarized in Kim "Howard" Johnson's book The First 280 Years of Monty Python, published by St. Martin's Press.
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Dec 18, 1972 45 min
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Oct 5, 1989 72 min
Parrot Sketch Not Included - 20 Years of Monty Python was a tribute special to the Monty Python comedy group. It was hosted by Python fan and actor Steve Martin, who introduced several sketches from the group's television series Monty Python's Flying Circus, as well as some sketches from the German remake Monty Python's Fliegender Zirkus. The Dead Parrot sketch was not included.
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E10 Live at AspenMar 21, 1998 30 min
"Live at Aspen" reunites the five remaining Pythons (the sixth one, Graham Chapman, also "appears" in the form of his ashes - a gimmick that is both macabre and moving) on stage for the first time in about 16 years. But although it's included in the same DVD ("Monty Python Live!") with "Live at the Hollywood Bowl", it's not really a live show. It's more of a documentary / tribute.
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E11 Python NightOct 5, 1999 30 min
Python Night - 30 Years of Python was a special run of Monty Python related programs broadcast on BBC2 on October 5, 1999, the 30th Anniversary of the first broadcast of Monty Python's Flying Circus.
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Jan 1, 2007 30 min
A look at the careers of John Cleese, Eric Idle, Graham Chapman, Michael Palin, Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam in the years after Monty Python's Flying Circus.
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May 12, 2009 30 min
In 1979, Monty Python's Life of Brian opened in cinemas around Britain, finding a place for itself in movie history. However, the film's release was plagued by controversy, causing many local authorities to ban showings of the feature. By 2009, the ban only remains in place in Aberystwyth. This documentary reveals how Sue Jones-Davies, the city's mayor — and the actor who played Brian's girlfriend in the movie — has campaigned to have the ban lifted. Includes contributions by Pythons Michael Palin and Terry Jones
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Jan 1, 2007 30 min
A documentary about the making of the controversial Life of Brian and the surrounding accusations of blasphemy
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Mar 16, 1990 60 min
The Life of Python was a special run of Monty Python related programs broadcast on BBC2 on October 5, 1999, the 30th Anniversary of the first broadcast of Monty Python's Flying Circus.
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Oct 3, 2009 30 min
To commemorate the 'Ruby Jubilee' of Monty Python, this film takes us on a journey telling the story of the Pythons from start to finish. Starting with the very humble beginnings of how the legendary British comedy troupe emerged, we learn how the cast met, their early influences and how they went on to create ground-breaking television, and their transition into movies that would change the face of comedy forever. Featuring brand new interviews with John Cleese, Terry Jones, Terry Gilliam, Michael Palin, and Eric Idle as well as archive interviews from Graham Chapman, this film explores the highs and the lows, and examines how Monty Python became a British institution. This is the first time the Pythons have come together for a film project since 1983's Monty Python's The Meaning of Life.
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Jan 11, 1973 30 min
The sketch so controversial that it had to be dropped by the BBC before it could be seen again.
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Oct 19, 2011 90 min
In 1979, Monty Python made Life of Brian and the debate about what is an acceptable subject for comedy was blown wide open. This is a fantastical re-imagining of the build-up to the release of the film and the controversy it caused.
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Nov 9, 1979 30 min
Friday Night, Saturday Morning was a live chatshow, that was one day in 1979 the site of one of a strange debate between on the one hand John Cleese and Michael Palin, representing Monty Python, and on the other hand malcolm muggeridge and the bishop of Southwark. The subject was wether or not "Life of Brian" was a blasphemous movie or not. As one of the Pythons commented later, it was a very strange scene, quite a Python sketch in itself, except that the Pythons discussed the matter seriously while their opponents were quite ludicrous in their statements. Also, it is one of the few occasions where Michael Palin gets angry.
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Nov 2, 2012 30 min
An animated, factually incorrect biography of Graham Arthur Chapman, one of the founding members of the comedy group Monty Python.
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Mar 25, 2010 30 min
In celebration of 40 years of Monty Python, the creators of Spamalot turn to Life of Brian, blowing the biblical parody to orchestral proportions in a live, one night only performance.
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Jul 20, 2014 30 min
Knotted hankies at the ready: it's Monty Python's historic last stand broadcast live from London's O2 Arena. It's been more than three decades since they last appeared on stage together for a Hollywood Bowl show. But now surviving Pythons John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin - combined age: 357! - are dusting down those classic comedy routines for their final farewell. There was a phenomenal demand for tickets when this run of ten reunion shows at the O2 Arena was announced. The legendary quintet promise a selection of their finest sketches with modern, topical and suitably Python-esque twists. It's certain to be one of the greatest live events of the year, as well as an emotional experience for the Pythons and their fans. Expect laughter and tears. But mostly laughter.
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Oct 8, 1999 30 min
Monty Python's 30th birthday was celebrated by the (UK) Paramount Comedy Channel with this program which showed a few of the deleted scenes from Life of Brian - unrelated to "Python Night" on the BBC that same year. Jonathan Ross interviews the (living) members of Monty Python. Ross tells a fake story about how they found the deleted scenes but the truth is, they had been released on the criterion LaserDisc 2 years earlier in 1997. (Although the 'rushes' of the film really were destroyed around this time when the Handmade Films company was sold!)
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Nov 13, 2014 30 min
After making comedy history with the screening of their last-ever live show - Monty Python Live (Mostly), UKTV Gold teams up with the Pythons again for an exclusive one-off documentary. BAFTA award-winning director Roger Graef OBE has been given unprecedented access to the five surviving Pythons for the 90-minute film, Monty Python: The Meaning of Live. The film includes never before seen footage from their early live shows including 1980's Live at the Hollywood Bowl and goes behind-the-scenes of their 2014 reunion shows, which were watched by millions around the world.
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Apr 16, 1971 30 min
Highlights of this special produced for entry in the 1971 Golden Rose of Montreux Festival include selections mainly from the second series such as "Scott of the Sahara"; the Gas Cooker sketch; the semaphore version of "Wuthering Heights"; the "Ministry of Silly Walks"; plus some new material including an exploding version of the "Blue Danube".
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Nov 12, 2009 56 min
The pre-Monty Python years of the six members of the group. Covers their school and university days, their first individual forays into comedy, how the parts slowly came together and Monty Python's eventual formation.
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Nov 12, 2009 30 min
Monty Python's road to success in America and its influence is recounted in this documentary through exclusive interviews with luminaries of American comedy. Includes conversations with Judd Apatow, Hank Azaria, Matt Stone & Trey Parker, Carl Reiner, Jay Roach, Paul Rudd, Luke Wilson and many more...
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Nov 12, 2009 30 min
Collection of all Personal best contained in the 40th anniversary collection boxset.
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Jun 29, 2014 30 min
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Dec 19, 1974 30 min
An documentarian from the BBC visits the set of Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975). This documentary shouldn't be viewed as a making of the film, but rather a goof-off session that is simply there to conjure up laughter
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Sep 7, 2019 60 min
From ‘something completely different’ to icons of comedy and national treasures, this is a collection of rarely-seen Monty Python moments from the BBC archives, following the group’s encounters with ‘Auntie’ over the past 50 years. Highlights include Terry Gilliam showing how he created his unique Python animations, Graham Chapman discussing the pressures of life as a homosexual, alcoholic comic, John Cleese explaining why he had to quit the final TV series, and Michael Palin promoting The Life of Brian on a children’s programme. Capturing them at the height of their powers, it is a smorgasbord of insightful interviews, on-location encounters, chat-show conversations and behind-the-scenes silliness from the 70s, 80s and beyond, some of which has been buried in the vaults for decades.
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60 min
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8 min
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60 min
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5 min
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60 min
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14 min
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60 min
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11 min
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60 min
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9 min
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60 min
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12 min
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6 min
A short film by Monty Python made in the early 1970s, never intended to be seen by the public, only for the employees of Harmony Hairspray.
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6 min
A short film by Monty Python made in the early 1970s, never intended to be seen by the public, only for the employees of Close Up toothpaste.
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E92 Pythonland
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2 min
The Charwoman animation was originally intended to be followed by the E. Henry Thripshaw sketch.
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1 min
This animation was intended to link the Blood Donor sketch with the Wife Swapping sketch.
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18 min
Terry Gilliam is taken through some of the restoration work done for the new blu-ray release
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Dec 6, 1974 20 min
To coincide with the transmission of the final episode of the of Monty Python, several of the Pythons appeared on the BBC2 show "In Vision.
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E103 Birds Eye Peas25 min
The Great Birds Eye Peas Relaunch of 1971
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E106 The Entire UniverseDec 26, 2016 60 min
Musical about The Entire Universe in one hour, with lots of jokes.
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E107 Animated GilliamNov 12, 2009 16 min
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E108 Meet the Chaps9 min
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E109 Python-isms3 min
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E110 Gilliam's Attic2 min
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E111 Nudge, Nudge Live3 min
Nudge, Nudge live on stage
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E112 Silly Occupations4 min
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1 min
View of Python merchandise
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E114 Crunchy Frog Live5 min
Crunchy Frog live on stage
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E115 Hysterical Figures5 min
Cast 6
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Michael Palin
Michael Palin
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Terry Gilliam
Terry Gilliam
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Graham Chapman
Graham Chapman
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Eric Idle
Eric Idle
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John Cleese
John Cleese
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Terry Jones
Terry Jones