"Actor: Carol Cleveland"

• Monty Python's Life Of Brian | DVD | (14/04/2003) from £5.32   |  Saving you £7.67 (144.17%)   |  RRP £12.99

  There is not a single joke, sight-gag or one-liner in Monty Python's Life of Brian that will not forever burn itself into the viewer's memory as being just as funny as it is possible to be, but--extraordinarily--almost every indestructibly hilarious scene also serves a dual purpose, making this one of the most consistently sustained film satires ever made. Like all great satire, the Pythons not only attack and vilify their targets (the bigotry and hypocrisy of organised religion and politics) supremely well, they also propose an alternative: be an individual, think for yourself, don't be led by others. "You've all got to work it out for yourselves", cries Brian in a key moment. "Yes, we've all got to work it our for ourselves", the crowd reply en masse. Two thousand years later, in a world still blighted by religious zealots, Brian's is still a lone voice crying in the wilderness. Aside from being a neat spoof on the Hollywood epic, it's also almost incidentally one of the most realistic on-screen depictions of the ancient world--instead of treating their characters as posturing historical stereotypes, the Pythons realised what no sword 'n' sandal epic ever has: that people are all the same, no matter what period of history they live in. People always have and always will bicker, lie, cheat, swear, conceal cowardice with bravado (like Reg, leader of the People's Front of Judea), abuse power (like Pontius Pilate), blindly follow the latest fads and giggle at silly things ("Biggus Dickus"). In the end, Life of Brian teaches us that the only way for a despairing individual to cope in a world of idiocy and hypocrisy is to always look on the bright side of life. On the DVD: Life of Brian returns to Region 2 DVD in a decent widescreen anamorphic print with Dolby 5.1 sound--neither are exactly revelatory, but at least it's an improvement on the previous release, which was, shockingly, pan & scan. The 50-minute BBC documentary, "The Pythons", was filmed mainly on location in 1979 and isn't especially remarkable or insightful (a new retrospective would have been appreciated). There are trailers for this movie, as well as Holy Grail plus three other non-Python movies. There's no commentary track, sadly. --Mark Walker

• Monty Python and the Holy Grail -- Two-disc set | DVD | (04/03/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The second best comedy ever made, Monty Python and the Holy Grail must give precedence only to the same team's masterpiece, The Life of Brian (1979). Even though most of this film's set-pieces are now indelibly inscribed in every Python fan's psyche, as if by magic they never seem to pall. And they remain endlessly, joyfully quotable: from the Black Knight ("It's just a flesh wound"), to the constitutional peasants ("Come and see the violence inherent in the system!") and the taunting French soldier ("Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries!"). Not forgetting of course the migratory habits of European and African swallows... The film's mock-Arthurian narrative provides a sturdy framework for the jokes, and the authentic-looking production design is relentlessly and gloriously dirty. The miniscule budget turns out to be one of the film's greatest assets: Can't afford horses? Use coconuts instead. No money for special effects? Let Terry Gilliam animate. And so on, from Camelot ("it's only a model") to the rampaging killer rabbit glove puppet. True it's let down a little by a rushed ending, and the jokes lack the sting of Life of Brian's sharply observed satire, but Holy Grail is still timeless comedy that's surely destined for immortality. On the DVD: Disc One contains a digitally remastered anamorphic (16:9) print of the film--which is still a little grainy, but a big improvement on previous video releases--with a splendidly remixed Dolby 5.1 soundtrack (plus an added 24 seconds of self-referential humour "absolutely free"!). There are two commentaries, one with the two Terrys, co-directors Jones and Gilliam, the other a splicing together of three separate commentaries by Michael Palin, John Cleese (in waspish, nit-picking mood) and Eric Idle. A "Follow the Killer Rabbit" feature provides access either to the Accountant's invoices or Gilliam's conceptual sketches. Subtitle options allow you to read the screenplay or watch with spookily appropriate captions from Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part II. The second disc has lots more material, much of it very silly and inconsequential (an educational film on coconuts, the Camelot song in Lego and so on), plus a long-ish documentary from 2001 in which Palin and Jones revisit Doune Castle, Glencoe and other Scottish locations. Perhaps best of all, though, are the two scenes from the Japanese version with English subtitles, in which we see the search for the Holy sake cup, and the Ni-saying Knights who want... bonsai! --Mark Walker

• Monty Python And The Holy Grail (Extraordinarily Deluxe Edition) | DVD | (09/10/2006) from £7.55   |  Saving you £17.44 (230.99%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Yoiks! Here be the Python's tale of good King Arthur (Graham Chapman) and his knights as they quest for the Holy Grail. Watch as they face great odds and silly sods. See them wage battle against the fierce Killer Rabbit (""Run Away! Run Away!"") and (oh horrors!) see them confront the dreaded Knights Who Say ""Ni!"". Oh these be trying times. Can these good knights pass the test of valour and cut down yon tree with herring? Or will they blow themselves to smithereens with the Holy H

• Monty Python's Flying Circus: The Complete Series 2 | Blu Ray | (17/02/2020) from £26.98   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  MONTY PYTHON'S FLYING CIRCUS FULLY RESTORED IN HIGH DEFINITION FOR THE FIRST TIME! To celebrate the 50th anniversary of a genuinely iconic series, we present Monty Python s Flying Circus, starring Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin in all its HD glory! This unrivalled restoration has been produced from the best available materials, painstakingly restored... and includes just the right amount of lovely spam, wonderful spam... Previously edited sketches have been returned to their original length, while filmed sequences and Terry Gilliam s animations have been newly scanned in High Definition, adding unimaginable depth and clarity to classic moments. From the archive come genuine rarities including previously unseen studio outtakes and extended versions of filmed sketch material, making this the ultimate in television restoration and a must-have for every generation of Python fan! SERIES 2 FEATURES: The Buzz Aldrin Show: Extended & unused filmed material Live from the Grill-O-Mat: Extended Ken Clean-Air System filmed material It's a Living: Reinstated content & alternative, censored sketch audio, extended Election Night Special and School [] Prizes filmed material How to Recognise Different Parts of the Body: Reinstated content & alternative, censored sketch audio Scott of the Antarctic: Extended filmed material How Not to Be Seen: Restored animation, unused film material, extended Conquistador Coffee sketch And Now For Something Completely Different: Vic Jamison's 1970 student film shot on location with the Python team Interview with Ian Macnaughton: Recorded in November 1971 at Imperial College London

• And Now For Something Completely Different | DVD | (28/07/2003) from £4.65   |  Saving you £8.34 (179.35%)   |  RRP £12.99

  And Now for Something Completely Different, Monty Python's first feature, is a reworking of their best skits from the first two seasons of the TV series. Originally made for the US market (where the show had yet to be aired), it was shot on film outside the usual studio sets ("Nudge Nudge", for example, is set in a tavern filled with passers-by). The writing and performances are fine and the film is packed with some of their best bits: "How to Avoid Being Seen", " Hell's Grannies", "Blackmail", "The Lumberjack Song" and "The Upper Class Twit of the Year", among others. Many of the sketches have been shortened, however, and the loss of the overly bright video sheen (the film has a muddy, dull look to it) and the invigorating presence of a live audience leaves the film sluggish at times. They're still feeling out the possibilities of the feature length, which they conquered with their next movie, Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1974). --Sean Axmaker

• Monty Python's Flying Circus: The Complete Series 1 | Blu Ray | (04/11/2019) from £13.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  MONTY PYTHON'S FLYING CIRCUS FULLY RESTORED IN HIGH DEFINITION FOR THE FIRST TIME! To celebrate the 50th anniversary of a genuinely iconic series, we present Monty Python's Flying Circus as nature intended! This ground-up restoration has been produced from the best available materials, painstakingly restored, and garnished with larks' vomit... Previously edited sketches have been returned to their original length while filmed sketch sequences and Terry Gilliam's animations have been newly scanned in High Definition, adding unimaginable depth and clarity to some classic moments. From the archive come genuine rarities including previously unseen studio outtakes and extended versions of filmed sketch material, making this the ultimate in television restoration and a must-have for every generation of Python fan! SERIES ONE FEATURES: Sex and Violence: reinstated content, studio outtakes Full Frontal Nudity: studio outtakes The Ant, an Introduction: studio outtakes Untitled: extended Ron Obvious filmed material and clean end titles footage

• Monty Python's Flying Circus: The Complete Series 2 | Blu Ray | (27/01/2020) from £29.92   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  MONTY PYTHON'S FLYING CIRCUS FULLY RESTORED IN HIGH DEFINITION FOR THE FIRST TIME! To celebrate the 50th anniversary of a genuinely iconic series, we present Monty Python s Flying Circus, starring Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin in all its HD glory! This unrivalled restoration has been produced from the best available materials, painstakingly restored... and includes just the right amount of lovely spam, wonderful spam... Previously edited sketches have been returned to their original length, while filmed sequences and Terry Gilliam s animations have been newly scanned in High Definition, adding unimaginable depth and clarity to classic moments. From the archive come genuine rarities including previously unseen studio outtakes and extended versions of filmed sketch material, making this the ultimate in television restoration and a must-have for every generation of Python fan! SERIES 2 FEATURES: Limited edition digipak packaging Book by Andrew Pixley featuring an exhaustive episode-by-episode production history of series two The Buzz Aldrin Show: Extended & unused filmed material Live from the Grill-O-Mat: Extended Ken Clean-Air System filmed material It's a Living: Reinstated content & alternative, censored sketch audio, extended Election Night Special and School [] Prizes filmed material How to Recognise Different Parts of the Body: Reinstated content & alternative, censored sketch audio Scott of the Antarctic: Extended filmed material How Not to Be Seen: Restored animation, unused film material, extended Conquistador Coffee sketch And Now For Something Completely Different: Vic Jamison's 1970 student film shot on location with the Python team Interview with Ian Macnaughton: Recorded in November 1971 at Imperial College London

• Monty Python's Life Of Brian | DVD | (03/12/2001) from £5.02   |  Saving you £14.97 (298.21%)   |  RRP £19.99

  That rarest of rare treasures, Monty Python's Life of Brian is both achingly funny and seriously satirical without ever allowing one to overbalance the other. There is not a single joke, sight gag or one-liner that will not forever burn itself into the viewer's memory as being just as funny as it is possible to be, but, extraordinarily, almost every line and every indestructibly hilarious scene also serves a dual purpose, making this one of the most consistently sustained film satires ever made. Like all great satire, the Pythons not only attack and vilify their targets (the bigotry and hypocrisy of organised religion and politics) supremely well, they also propose an alternative: be an individual, think for yourself, don't be led by others. "You've all got to work it out for yourselves", cries Brian in a key moment. "Yes, we've all got to work it our for ourselves", the crowd reply en masse, "Tell us more". Two thousand years later, in a world still blighted by religious zealots, Brian's is still a lone voice crying in the wilderness. Aside from being a neat spoof on the Hollywood epic, it's also almost incidentally one of the most realistic on-screen depictions of the ancient world--instead of treating their characters as posturing historical stereotypes, the Pythons realised what no sword 'n' sandal epic ever has: that people are all the same, no matter what period of history they live in. People always have and always will bicker, lie, cheat, swear, conceal cowardice with bravado (like Reg, leader of the People's Front of Judea), abuse power (like Pontius Pilate), blindly follow the latest fads and giggle at silly things ("Biggus Dickus"). In the end, Life of Brian teaches us that the only way for a despairing individual to cope in a world of idiocy and hypocrisy is to always look on the bright side of life. --Mark Walker

• Monty Python: The Movies (Box Set) | DVD | (16/02/2004) from £28.95   |  Saving you £11.04 (38.13%)   |  RRP £39.99

  This Monty Python Movie Box Set contains all four Python movies: And Now for Something Completely Different (1971), Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1974)--the two-disc set--Monty Python's Life of Brian--including a 50-minute documentary--and Monty Python's The Meaning of Life.

• Monty Python's Flying Circus: The Complete Series 4 | Blu Ray | (25/05/2020) from £25.98   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  MONTY PYTHON'S FLYING CIRCUS FULLY RESTORED IN HIGH DEFINITION FOR THE FIRST TIME! To celebrate the 50th anniversary of a genuinely iconic series, we present Monty Python s Flying Circus, starring Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin, in all its HD glory! This pre-eminent restoration has been produced from the best available materials, painstakingly restored, and terror and destruction are sure to follow. Previously edited sketches have been returned to their original length, while filmed sequences and Terry Gilliam s animations have been newly scanned in High Definition, adding unimaginable depth and clarity to classic moments. From the archive come genuine rarities including previously unseen studio outtakes and extended versions of filmed sketch material, making this the ultimate in television restoration and a must-have for every generation of Python fan! SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES: Limited edition digipak packaging Book by Andrew Pixley featuring an exhaustive episode-by-episode production history of series four The Golden Age of Ballooning: Extended Barry Zeppelin filmed material Michael Ellis: Deleted Icelandic Honey Week filmed material, extended Toupee Department and Football Pundits filmed material LE War: Repeats extended voiceover & unused M2 filmed material, When Does a Dream Begin (clean closing titles) Hamlet: Extended Queen Victoria Handicap filmed material Mr Neutron: Reinstated content, extended Mr Neutron Takes Tea filmed material Party Political Broadcast: Extended Fanshawe-Chumleigh Dinner Party filmed material, deleted Ursula Hitler filmed material Restoring Flying Circus with Terry Gilliam In Vision archive interview from December 1974 Birds Eye Peas, Harmony Hairspray and Close-Up Toothpaste product relaunches

• Monty Python's Life Of Brian (Special Edition) | DVD | (05/11/2007) from £17.87   |  Saving you £-0.88 (N/A%)   |  RRP £16.99

  You could say this is one of the greatest comedies ever but the Monty Python team said it first! 'Life Of Brian' is all about (and here's the big surprise) the life of Brian who was born in a Bethlehem manger next door to Jesus. Three wise men believe he is the messiah but it becomes apparent that he is only Brian. It's written and performed by the Monty Python lads so you know what you're in for; if you don't put this disc down and go out while it's safe!

• Monty Python's Flying Circus - Complete - Limited Deluxe Edition Blu-Ray | Blu Ray | (10/11/2019) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Years in the making, Network is proud to present the entire original television series of Monty Python's Flying Circus, fully rejuvenated for the first time. Sketches, some edited for timing, taste and copyright reasons, have been carefully restored to their intended length and the majority of Terry Gilliam's animations have been newly scanned in High Definition and restored to a specification way beyond their original format. Hitherto unseen outtakes, film inserts and studio recordings have been retrieved, adding yet another dimension to this exclusive release. This is the ultimate television restoration and a must for every generation of Python fan. Features: 7 discs featuring all 45 episodes presented series-by-series, for the first time totally uncut and beautifully restored from original film and videotape elements. Limited exploding box Norwegian Blu-ray edition Each of the four series comes individually packaged with a book by Andrew Pixley (four books in total) detailing an exhaustive episode-by-episode production history. Previously unseen outtakes Extended scenes and sketches Restored-to-full-length sketches including Ursula Hitler, Cartoon Religions, A Book At Bedtime and more. Rare promo films And more to be announced THE RESTORATION

• Monty Python's Flying Circus: The Complete Series 1 | Blu Ray | (04/11/2019) from £10.19   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  To celebrate the 50th anniversary of a genuinely iconic series, we present Monty Python's Flying Circus, starring Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin, in all its HD glory! This ground-up restoration has been produced from the best available materials, painstakingly restored, and garnished with larks' vomit... Previously edited sketches have been returned to their original length while filmed sequences and Terry Gilliam's animations have been newly scanned in High Definition, adding unimaginable depth and clarity to classic moments. From the archive come genuine rarities including previously unseen studio outtakes and extended versions of filmed sketch material, making this the ultimate in television restoration and a must-have for every generation of Python fan! SERIES 1 FEATURES: Sex and Violence: Reinstated content, studio outtakes Full Frontal Nudity: Studio outtakes The Ant, an Introduction: Studio outtakes Untitled: Extended Ron Obvious filmed material and clean end titles footage

• Monty Python's Flying Circus: The Complete Series 4 | DVD | (25/05/2020) from £12.11   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  MONTY PYTHON'S FLYING CIRCUS FULLY RESTORED IN HIGH DEFINITION FOR THE FIRST TIME! To celebrate the 50th anniversary of a genuinely iconic series, we present Monty Python s Flying Circus, starring Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin, in all its HD glory! This pre-eminent restoration has been produced from the best available materials, painstakingly restored, and terror and destruction are sure to follow. Previously edited sketches have been returned to their original length, while filmed sequences and Terry Gilliam s animations have been newly scanned in High Definition, adding unimaginable depth and clarity to classic moments. From the archive come genuine rarities including previously unseen studio outtakes and extended versions of filmed sketch material, making this the ultimate in television restoration and a must-have for every generation of Python fan! Features: The Golden Age of Ballooning: Extended Barry Zeppelin filmed material Michael Ellis: Deleted Icelandic Honey Week filmed material, extended Toupee Department and Football Pundits filmed material LE War: Repeats extended voiceover & unused M2 filmed material, When Does a Dream Begin (clean closing titles) Hamlet: Extended Queen Victoria Handicap filmed material Mr Neutron: Reinstated content, extended Mr Neutron Takes Tea filmed material Party Political Broadcast: Extended Fanshawe-Chumleigh Dinner Party filmed material, deleted Ursula Hitler filmed material Restoring Flying Circus with Terry Gilliam In Vision archive interview from December 1974 Birds Eye Peas, Harmony Hairspray and Close-Up Toothpaste product relaunches

• Monty Python and the Holy Grail (40th Anniversary Limited Edition Gift Set) | Blu Ray | (12/10/2015) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £29.99

  Could this be the funniest movie ever made? By any rational measure of comedy, this medieval romp from the Monty Python troupe certainly belongs on the short list of candidates. According to Leonard Maltin's Movie & Video Guide, it's "recommended for fans only," but we say hogwash to that--you could be a complete newcomer to the Python phenomenon and still find this send-up of the Arthurian legend to be wet-your-pants hilarious. It's basically a series of sketches woven together as King Arthur's quest for the Holy Grail, with Graham Chapman as the King, Terry Gilliam as his simpleton sidekick Patsy, and the rest of the Python gang filling out a variety of outrageous roles. The comedy highlights are too numerous to mention, but once you've seen Arthur's outrageously bloody encounter with the ominous Black Knight (John Cleese), you'll know that nothing's sacred in the Python school of comedy. From holy hand grenades to killer bunnies to the absurdity of the three-headed knights who say "Ni--!," this is the kind of movie that will strike you as fantastically funny or just plain silly, but why stop there? It's all over the map, and the pace lags a bit here and there, but for every throwaway gag the Pythons have invented, there's a bit of subtle business or grand-scale insanity that's utterly inspired. The sum of this madness is a movie that's beloved by anyone with a pulse and an irreverent sense of humor. If this movie doesn't make you laugh, you're almost certainly dead. --Jeff Shannon

• Monty Python and the Holy Grail | Blu Ray | (08/06/2015) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £17.99

  Limited Edition Steelbook with Gloss Finish Arthur King of the Britons (Graham Chapman) assembles his Knights of the Round Table and takes them swiflty from Camelot after a message from God on a quest to find the Holy Grail! As they travel to the sound of their coconut banging servants the banner of Knights encounter a castle of heavy resistance; guards throwing cows and chickens Knights in the forest who say 'Ni!' and a cute looking rabbit that only the 'Holy Hand Grenade' can deal with. Satirising events of that time (including witch trials and the black plague) Monty Python create an hilarious take on the well known story and deliver some unforgettable moments.

• Monty Python Movies Box Set | DVD | (10/04/2017) from £29.99   |  Saving you £-14.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £15.99

  Monty Python goes to the movies in this DVD boxset packed with three of their classic cinematic adventures. Enjoy ˜And Now For Something Completely Different', ˜Monty Python and the Holy Grail' and ˜Life of Brian'. And Now For Something Completely Different Monty Python's Flying Circus is regarded as a milestone In British Comedy, This, their first feature film, is an anthology of the funniest sketches from the legendary BBC television series. Pick one of your favourites from among many, including the famous Say No More, Nudge, Nudge sequence, the Hell's Grannies and The Dead Parrot. Monty Python and the Holy Grail After a chance meeting with a rather irate God, King Arthur and his Knights of The Round Table are set the sacred task of retrieving the all powerful Holy Grail. On their long quest they encounter a number of terrifying hazards the taunts of the abusive French Knight, disgruntled peasants, the Knights who say ˜Ni' and the deadly rabbit with the big pointy teeth. (Double Disc Set) Life of Brian The Pythons deliver a scathing, anarchic satire of both religion and Hollywood's depiction of all things biblical with their third film. The setting is Judea 33 A.D., a time of poverty and chaos, with no shortage of messiahs, followers willing to believe in them, and exasperated Romans trying to impose some order. (Double Disc Set)

• Monty Python's Flying Circus: The Complete Series 2 DVD | DVD | (27/01/2020) from £13.59   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  MONTY PYTHON'S FLYING CIRCUS FULLY RESTORED IN HIGH DEFINITION FOR THE FIRST TIME! To celebrate the 50th anniversary of a genuinely iconic series, we present Monty Python s Flying Circus, starring Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin in all its HD glory! This unrivalled restoration has been produced from the best available materials, painstakingly restored... and includes just the right amount of lovely spam, wonderful spam... Previously edited sketches have been returned to their original length, while filmed sequences and Terry Gilliam s animations have been newly scanned in High Definition, adding unimaginable depth and clarity to classic moments. From the archive come genuine rarities including previously unseen studio outtakes and extended versions of filmed sketch material, making this the ultimate in television restoration and a must-have for every generation of Python fan! SERIES 2 FEATURES: The Buzz Aldrin Show: Extended & unused filmed material Live from the Grill-O-Mat: Extended Ken Clean-Air System filmed material It's a Living: Reinstated content & alternative, censored sketch audio, extended Election Night Special and School Prizes filmed material How to Recognise Different Parts of the Body: Reinstated content & alternative, censored sketch audio Scott of the Antarctic: Extended filmed material How Not to Be Seen: Restored animation, unused film material, extended Conquistador Coffee sketch And Now For Something Completely Different: Vic Jamison's 1970 student film shot on location with the Python team Interview with Ian Macnaughton: Recorded in November 1971 at Imperial College London

• Monty Python And The Holy Grail | UMD | (31/10/2005) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £17.99

• Monty Python's The Meaning of Life | DVD | (04/09/2000) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  Returning to the sketch-show format of their earlier days, Monty Python' s The Meaning of Life was always going to feel less ambitious and less coherent than their cinematic masterpiece, The Life of Brian. And inevitably given the format, some sketches are better than others. But, for a movie that has been much-maligned, The Meaning of Life actually features some of the Pythons' most memorable set-pieces: the exploding Mr Creosote has to be the most wonderfully grotesque creation of a team whose speciality was the grotesque; while the sublime "Sperm Song" mixes satire and lavish visual humour in a musical skit of breathtaking audacity. Elsewhere, Eric Idle produces another musical gem with "The Universe Song" ("Pray that there's intelligent life somewhere out in space / 'Cause there's bugger all down here on earth!"), while the Grim Reaper's appearance at an achingly tedious dinner party is the Pythons doing what they do best: mocking their own middle-class origins. Best of all, perhaps, is Terry Gilliam's modest introductory feature, "The Crimson Permanent Assurance", a 20-minute epic tale of the little men rebelling against the corporate system, a theme and a visual style that foreshadows his own masterwork, Brazil. Admittedly too many sketches sacrifice subtlety for shock tactics (the organ donation scene in particular requires a strong stomach), but when this film works it's nothing less than vintage Python. --Mark Walker