Monty Python | Geekscape

A Monty Python Reunion?!?! Yes Folks, This Time It’s Real…

by Dennis FinocchiaroNovember 19, 2013

Rumors are spreading about a reunion of the comedy group Monty Python, and this time they are apparently true! The group has a press conference scheduled for this Thursday at the Playhouse Theatre in London, where Spamalot is currently playing.

The group, including John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones, Michael Palin and Eric Idle, weren’t clear on what the comeback would entail. This information is likely to be shared at the press conference.

“We’re getting together and putting on a show – it’s real,” Jones confirmed to the BBC early Tuesday. “I’m quite excited about it. I hope it makes us a lot of money. I hope to be able to pay off my mortgage!”

Idle let the cat out of the bag early via Twitter:

‘Monty Python’ Is Awesome, And So Is This Cool Kickstarter!

by Derek KraneveldtOctober 26, 2013

Briefly: We all know how awesome Monty Python is. It’s rare that more than a few days go by in which I don’t hear someone talking about the series or quoting some classic Python quotes, which seems crazy to me seeing as the group hasn’t released new content in over 30 years.

Sure, there’s been a lot (a lot) of Monty Python gear over the years, but the Monty Python Is Awesome! Kickstarter has to feature some of the coolest. It’s an entire collection of beautifully designed clothing and art prints that fit together. Each and every piece follows the same style and design cues, and each and every piece looks unbelievable compared to the myriad of other disconnected goods available today.

This stuff is so nice that Monty Python Is Awesome! has already surpassed its Kickstarter goal. The campaign still has a sweet 22 days to go, and with the holiday season fast approaching, I’m sure that many Python fans would love to unwrap some of these great goods.

Take a look at the Monty Python Is Awesome! Kickstarter video below, and head here to back the project!

Not A Documentary, Not A Monty Python Film: Watch Two New Clips From ‘A Liar’s Autobiography’!

by Derek KraneveldtOctober 26, 2012

Just a month after the first trailer was released, we’ve got some new clips for the upcoming A Liar’s Autobiography!

The film is an adaptation of the 1980 book of the same name, which was a fictional recount of the life of Graham Chapman. Chapman recorded himself reading the memoir shortly before he died of cancer in 1989. This means that 23 years after the man died, he is being credited with a new film. All of the surviving Python members (with the exception of Eric Idle) are also attached to the project.

The movie looks hilarious, and I haven’t had the pleasure to read to book at this point, so I’m really looking forward to it.

Check out the clips below, and let us know what you think!

A Liar’s Autobiography will hit theatres and EPIX on November 2nd. Here’s a plot refresher if you need it:

Graham Chapman, probably best remembered as ‘the dead one from Monty Python’, writes and stars in the animated movie of his own life story, A Liar’s Autobiography. He was born, he went to Cambridge and met John Cleese, he smoked a pipe, he became a doctor, he became a Python, he decided he was gay (well, 70/30, according to a survey he did on himself), he got drunk a lot, he stopped being drunk, he made some films, he had some sex (actually, a lot), and moved to Los Angeles. Finally, he was whisked up into space by aliens (although that might have been in a film).

Although Chapman selfishly dropped dead in 1989, he had taken the trouble to record himself reading his book, A Liar’s Autobiography – and those recordings have now ingeniously been used to provide Chapman’s voice for the 3D animated feature of the same name. Fellow Pythons John Cleese, Terry Jones, Michael Palin, and Terry Gilliam also turn up, playing themselves and other characters, along with a few surprise guests.

Not a documentary, not a Monty Python film, A Liar’s Autobiography is Chapman’s own take on his bizarre life and his search for self-knowledge. Incredible, yes. Surreal, certainly. True, who knows? At his memorial service, John Cleese called Chapman “a freeloading bastard”. Now, as the film re-unites Chapman with Cleese, Jones, Palin, and Gilliam for the first time in 23 years, he is set to earn a new title – the most prolific corpse since Elvis.

Happy Easter: The Top 5 Movies With Rabbits

by MCDaveApril 6, 2012

It’s around this time every year that we come out of our cruise-controlled desolation and get rejuvenated by the uplifting Spring weather. The birds start chirping, the house windows open up, and happiness prevails. But it isn’t until Easter when you finally know you’ve successfully turned the corner on Winter. Therefore, with Easter fast approaching this Sunday and nothing more symbolic of Easter than bunny rabbits, I decided to comprise a list of the top 5 movies to feature rabbits. My roommates and I put our heads together and reeled off a pretty strong list of films, but as always not all of them can make the cut. Before we get started, let me acknowledge the honorable mention: Space Jam, Alice in Wonderland (the cartoon), and Harvey. Now to the Top 5!

#5 Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Slightly a stretch, but who can forget the Rabbit of Caerbannog? In the 1975 British comedy Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Arthur and the knights find their quest for the Holy Grail leading them to some mystic caves. In order to gain entrance, they are forced to defeat the killer rabbit. Arthur and company do so by using the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch. Now, the Rabbit of Caerbannog sure looks sweet and lovable, but we all know what he’s capable of.

#4 Bambi

No one’s too man enough to downplay the sadness that we all felt from the 1942 (WOW!) animated Disney film, Bambi. When Bambi’s mom falls victim to the hunter, a little piece of each of us dies along with her. But thanks to the aid of Bambi’s big-eared sidekick Thumper, the pain subsides. And not only is Thumper a dose of good times, but the pink-nosed rabbit is also something of a philosophical humanitarian. Always remember, “if you can’t say something nice, don’t say nothing at all”.

#3 Watership Down

My list of the top 5 movies featuring rabbits finds itself following up Bambi with a lesser known, but equally awesome, animated film called Watership Down. The 1978 film, which was an adaptation of an English novel, centers around the epic journey of a bunch of rabbits who are forced to seek a new home after the destruction of their warren. There’s no shortage of rabbits here, and that easily helps propel Watership Down to #3 on my countdown.

#2 Donnie Darko

No hesitation required, we all loved the 2001 sci-fi drama Donnie Darko. But before Jake Gyllenhaal turned into a beefcake (please don’t question my heterosexuality), the actor began his career as the title character in Donnie Darko. Having intense visions of a demonic rabbit named Frank, the outcast teen struggles to piece everything together. After some partying and life sacrificing time travel, the credits roll and we finally understand the true purpose behind Frank. Nowhere near as lovable as our animated friends previously mentioned, Frank’s still every bit as effective.

#1 Who Framed Roger Rabbit

Christopher Lloyd plays a good tube of toothpaste, am I right?

Cue the boos. It may be an unpopular pick (I sure hope not), but my number 1 movie to feature a rabbit is the 1988 fantasy-comedy-noir Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Having been born in 1983, you can call me a sentimentalist and I’ll gladly accept (or maybe I just have a thing for Jessica Rabbit … hubba hubba). There’s very little greater than Toontown, a suburb of Hollywood where toons and humans coexist. Roger Rabbit is the quintessential hardworking husband who just wants to know that his foxy wife isn’t sleeping around. Who can’t appreciate that? Serving up laugh after laugh, Who Framed Roger Rabbit is an obvious no-brainer for the best movie to ever feature a rabbit.

What did I miss, and what did I get right? You tell me. Leave a comment and spark a debate.

When MCDave isn’t on Geekscape he’s being more cordial at MOVIE REVIEWS BY DAVE