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Rating: Even today, nearly thirty years later, the comedy of the Monty Python remains as irreverent as it once was. "The Flying Circus," "The Life of Brian," or "The Meaning of Life" were fundamental for the history of English comedy: uninterrupted sketches, paradoxical situations, and sharp jokes made up the perfect recipe for timeless humor.
"Live At The Hollywood Bowl" is yet another testament to the exceptional talent of Cleese, Chapman, Gilliam, Idle, Jones, and Palin. The live versions of old sketches like "Elbow, Elbow" or "The Ministry of Silly Walks" (Cleese is lethal) are splendid. Chapman outdoes himself with the wrestling match against himself, the Palin-Cleese duet is unstoppable in "Excuse me, I’ve come to have an argument," Neil Innes offers a wonderful "How Sweet to Be an Idiot," and Carol Cleveland as always assumes the title of maid of honor. Jones revisits the "Whizzo" pastry chef sketch, and Idle concludes the show with the legendary "Lumberjack Song." The "revival" is accompanied by new material like Gilliam's wonderful animations, or the "Silly Olympics" sequence. Interesting is the "Four Yorkshiremen" sketch, originally proposed with Marty Feldman in "The 1948 Show." Or how could we forget Idle as Michelangelo, who has just painted "The Last Supper" with three Christs, 28 disciples, and a kangaroo?
One of the funniest moments is the football match between the philosophers of Germany and ancient Greece. On one side we have Martin Luther coaching a team formed by Kant, Marx, Nietzsche, Hegel, and others... on the other, Captain Socrates leading Plato, Heraclitus, Anaxagoras, and all the important ancient philosophers. Confucius is the referee, St. Thomas and Saint Augustine are the linesmen. Archimedes has an epiphany and kicks the ball. The victory belongs to the Greeks.
Once again, the magnificent six ruthlessly attack institutions, from the Church to the Government, in a splendid carousel that wavers between nonsense and top-quality satire. Unfortunately, today many viewers are no longer accustomed to such original and (allow me to say) complex comedy. It's not just about wordplay, but a whole social context full of hypocrisy and irrationality. Only six Englishmen like them could have brought the negative side of their own society to the screen, and in part ours as well.
A true masterpiece. The Monty Python, in addition to cinema and comedic songs, have also left their mark in theater. Not to be missed.
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