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thewayneWe picked this up recently at Barnes & Noble for around $25. It collects three John Cleese movies made in the mid 70's and include: How To Irritate People, The Strange Case of the End of Civilization As We Know It, and Romance with a Double Bass. Aside from Cleese, Connie Booth is the only Python to appear in all three. (I think she deserves credit as a Python considering how often she appeared in the series)
First, quality of production. It really isn't very good. The transfer did not include a cleanup of wherever they got the movies from and it shows it. That's not to say that the quality is bad, it just isn't very good. It's acceptable for 70's TV. Also, there is zero bonus material on these three disks. That was rather disappointing, but when you see what a low-budget production this is, you won't be surprised. One can only hope that some day they are fully restored and re-released. The three movies are 65 minutes, 55 minutes, and 45 minutes long respectively, and they're all at the television standard 4x3 aspect ratio.
On to the films!
How To Irritate People (1968). For me, this was the weakest film of the three. It played like a series of Python sketches, unfortunately some of the poorer sketches. Michael Palin and Graham Chapman appear in several of the sketches, that lifts the production but doesn't make it soar. I was rather hoping that it was a collection of some of the "office productivity" videos that Cleese shot a few years after Python broke up, alas, it was not. It's still worth watching (after all, you paid for it), but don't expect to be wowed.
The Strange Case of the End of Civilization As We Know It (1977). Sherlock Holmes grandson in modern (mid 70's) London, accompanied by the (imbecile) grandson of Watson and up against the grandchild of Moriarity! Lots of fun, featuring cameos/pastiches of pretty much every television detective from the 70's. Very amusing, well worth multiple viewings, something that I can't say about Irritate.
Romance with a Double Bass (1974). Wunnerful movie! Based on a short story by Anton "nuclear wessels" Chekov, it features Connie Booth as a princess about to be wed and Cleese as a musician who has arrived rather early to play as part of the small orchestra at the festivities. As he is early and the majordomo tells him to go away, he wanders away until he finds a pleasant place next to the river to go swimming. Booth decides to do a little fishing and napping next to the river. Cleese spots her slumbering and contrives something slightly unclear to me to express his affection. Said contrivance doesn't quite work, but it results in Booth losing her "royal" fishing lure and in her disrobing to swim and find it. Cleese, also au natural, is a second victim as a peasant makes off with their clothes. Hilarity ensues as they try to get back into the palace and on with the day's events.
Double Bass also has Andrew Sachs in it (Miguel from Fawlty Towers), but I didn't spot him. I have no doubts that I'll be watching it again.
An interesting side note is that the IMDB cover photos are for this particular DVD release! They're collages, looks like someone did some Photoshopping after some video capturing. One thing that I found amusing about the photos for the sleeve/insert cover of Double Bass is that it has a photo of Cleese that is not a scene in the film!
The best thing about Strange Case and Double Bass is that we get to see a young(ish) Cleese doing consistent acting in a long format, as opposed to the shorter sketches of Flying Circus. He's sort of manic like he was in Fish Called Wanda and lots of fun to watch. And, as a bonus, we get lots of shots of a fully naked Connie Booth in Double Bass, what a lovely lady! (With HUGE... tracts of land!) Cleese is also naked, but they don't have any full frontals of him. Booth was also naked in a Python Sketch (whose title I will not get precisely correct), 'A Day in the Life of a Stockbroker.'
I so wish the US didn't have this 'violence good, nudity bad' attitude as opposed to the reverse throughout a lot of the rest of the world.
First, quality of production. It really isn't very good. The transfer did not include a cleanup of wherever they got the movies from and it shows it. That's not to say that the quality is bad, it just isn't very good. It's acceptable for 70's TV. Also, there is zero bonus material on these three disks. That was rather disappointing, but when you see what a low-budget production this is, you won't be surprised. One can only hope that some day they are fully restored and re-released. The three movies are 65 minutes, 55 minutes, and 45 minutes long respectively, and they're all at the television standard 4x3 aspect ratio.
On to the films!
How To Irritate People (1968). For me, this was the weakest film of the three. It played like a series of Python sketches, unfortunately some of the poorer sketches. Michael Palin and Graham Chapman appear in several of the sketches, that lifts the production but doesn't make it soar. I was rather hoping that it was a collection of some of the "office productivity" videos that Cleese shot a few years after Python broke up, alas, it was not. It's still worth watching (after all, you paid for it), but don't expect to be wowed.
The Strange Case of the End of Civilization As We Know It (1977). Sherlock Holmes grandson in modern (mid 70's) London, accompanied by the (imbecile) grandson of Watson and up against the grandchild of Moriarity! Lots of fun, featuring cameos/pastiches of pretty much every television detective from the 70's. Very amusing, well worth multiple viewings, something that I can't say about Irritate.
Romance with a Double Bass (1974). Wunnerful movie! Based on a short story by Anton "nuclear wessels" Chekov, it features Connie Booth as a princess about to be wed and Cleese as a musician who has arrived rather early to play as part of the small orchestra at the festivities. As he is early and the majordomo tells him to go away, he wanders away until he finds a pleasant place next to the river to go swimming. Booth decides to do a little fishing and napping next to the river. Cleese spots her slumbering and contrives something slightly unclear to me to express his affection. Said contrivance doesn't quite work, but it results in Booth losing her "royal" fishing lure and in her disrobing to swim and find it. Cleese, also au natural, is a second victim as a peasant makes off with their clothes. Hilarity ensues as they try to get back into the palace and on with the day's events.
Double Bass also has Andrew Sachs in it (Miguel from Fawlty Towers), but I didn't spot him. I have no doubts that I'll be watching it again.
An interesting side note is that the IMDB cover photos are for this particular DVD release! They're collages, looks like someone did some Photoshopping after some video capturing. One thing that I found amusing about the photos for the sleeve/insert cover of Double Bass is that it has a photo of Cleese that is not a scene in the film!
The best thing about Strange Case and Double Bass is that we get to see a young(ish) Cleese doing consistent acting in a long format, as opposed to the shorter sketches of Flying Circus. He's sort of manic like he was in Fish Called Wanda and lots of fun to watch. And, as a bonus, we get lots of shots of a fully naked Connie Booth in Double Bass, what a lovely lady! (With HUGE... tracts of land!) Cleese is also naked, but they don't have any full frontals of him. Booth was also naked in a Python Sketch (whose title I will not get precisely correct), 'A Day in the Life of a Stockbroker.'
I so wish the US didn't have this 'violence good, nudity bad' attitude as opposed to the reverse throughout a lot of the rest of the world.
