Monty Python Speaks
by David Morgan

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Book Reviews of Monty Python Speaks

Book Review: Python Speaks tells the team's story in their own words
Summary: 5 Stars

For Python fanatics (I count myself among them), the new book is akin to the Holy Grail that the group sought in their infamous 1975 movie. The surviving group members and many of their associates are interviewed by David Morgan, and as befits their comedic style, the Pythons are quite open and frank about the group's highs and lows. Among the many illuminated topics and tidbits are:

* Graham Chapman's alcoholism, about which he was quite open himself. (While filming one of their movies, Michael Palin came across a half-empty bottle of gin belonging to Chapman. Palin had seen the bottle completely full earlier in the day.)

* Their first American TV appearance. It was on a 1972 "Tonight Show," where guest host Joey Bishop introduced them with the immortal line, "This is a comedy group from England. I hear they're supposed to be funny."

* Python didn't have a chance in America until a PBS station manager in Texas--"Dallas, of all places," says Cleese--took a chance on them. Friends of the station manager were afraid his station would get burned down.

* Their then-manager absconded with the funds from their 1980 appearance at the Hollywood Bowl. They made no money from the gig until they released their 1982 movie of the concert.

* When ABC-TV brutally edited three of their TV episodes for a 1975 special, the Pythons sued the network, on the grounds that they'd rather make less money than have someone else censoring their work.

The ABC incident points up two concrete truths about Python: (1) Like them or not, their particular world view is uncompromised, and their fans appreciate their honesty. (2) Said view shouldn't be left in the hands of people who just plain don't understand them. The people who would "sanitize" it are the same kind of people that Python's comedy satirizes.

But maybe I romanticize Python only because I grew up with it. I completely don't get the followings for "South Park" or THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY, but I can still recite reams of Python dialogue. For others with similar bents, the new book is must reading.

Summary of Monty Python Speaks

Monty Python, the genius comedy troupe from Britain, single-handedly revolutionized sketch comedy and paved the way for everything from Saturday Night Live to Austin Powers. Now, in their official oral history, founding members John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin take readers behind the scenes in this no-holds-barred look at their lives and unforgettable comic works like "The Spanish Inquisition," "Dead Parrot," Monty Python's Life of Brian, Monty Python and the Holy Grail (inspiration for the hit Broadway musical Spamalot), and many, many more, with never-before-seen photos and rare interviews from friends and collaborators.

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