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Monty Python's Flying Circus

  • TV Series
  • 1969–1974
  • TV-14
  • 30m
IMDb RATING
8.8/10
83K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
2,163
175
Monty Python's Flying Circus (1969)
Trailer for Monty Python's Flying Circus
Play trailer0:31
13 Videos
99+ Photos
FarceSatireSketch ComedySlapstickComedy

The original surreal sketch comedy showcase for the Monty Python troupe.The original surreal sketch comedy showcase for the Monty Python troupe.The original surreal sketch comedy showcase for the Monty Python troupe.

  • Creators
    • Graham Chapman
    • Eric Idle
    • Terry Jones
  • Stars
    • Graham Chapman
    • John Cleese
    • Terry Gilliam
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    8.8/10
    83K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    2,163
    175
    • Creators
      • Graham Chapman
      • Eric Idle
      • Terry Jones
    • Stars
      • Graham Chapman
      • John Cleese
      • Terry Gilliam
    • 92User reviews
    • 38Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Top rated TV #62
    • Won 3 BAFTA Awards
      • 4 wins & 7 nominations total

    Episodes45

    Browse episodes
    TopTop-rated

    Videos13

    Monty Python's Flying Circus: Missing Wallet
    Clip 0:46
    Monty Python's Flying Circus: Missing Wallet
    Monty Python's Flying Circus: The Killer Joke
    Clip 1:11
    Monty Python's Flying Circus: The Killer Joke
    Monty Python's Flying Circus: The Killer Joke
    Clip 1:11
    Monty Python's Flying Circus: The Killer Joke
    Monty Python's Flying Circus: Agatha Christie Sketch
    Clip 1:14
    Monty Python's Flying Circus: Agatha Christie Sketch
    Monty Python's Flying Circus: The Brain Specialist
    Clip 1:02
    Monty Python's Flying Circus: The Brain Specialist
    Monty Python's Flying Circus: The Frog Curse
    Clip 1:14
    Monty Python's Flying Circus: The Frog Curse
    Monty Python's Flying Circus
    Trailer 0:31
    Monty Python's Flying Circus

    Photos569

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    + 563
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    Top cast99+

    Edit
    Graham Chapman
    Graham Chapman
    • Various…
    • 1969–1974
    John Cleese
    John Cleese
    • Announcer…
    • 1969–1973
    Terry Gilliam
    Terry Gilliam
    • Various…
    • 1969–1974
    Eric Idle
    Eric Idle
    • Various…
    • 1969–1974
    Terry Jones
    Terry Jones
    • Various…
    • 1969–1974
    Michael Palin
    Michael Palin
    • It's Man…
    • 1969–1974
    Carol Cleveland
    Carol Cleveland
    • Various…
    • 1969–1974
    John Hughman
    • Alfred Lord Tennyson…
    • 1970–1974
    Monty Python
    • Themselves
    • 1973–1974
    Ian Davidson
    • Brain Surgeon…
    • 1969–1970
    Frank Lester
    • Blood Donor…
    • 1972–1974
    The Fred Tomlinson Singers
    • Amantillado Chorus…
    • 1969–1973
    Bob Raymond
    • 'Dad'…
    • 1974
    Connie Booth
    Connie Booth
    • Animated Mother…
    • 1969–1974
    Lyn Ashley
    Lyn Ashley
    • Algon Girl…
    • 1970–1972
    Rita Davies
    Rita Davies
    • Argument Secretary…
    • 1969–1972
    Maureen Flanagan
    • Anona Winn…
    • 1969–1970
    Peter Brett
    • Door-to-Door Martial Arts Salesman…
    • 1972–1974
    • Creators
      • Graham Chapman
      • Eric Idle
      • Terry Jones
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews92

    8.882.5K
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    Summary

    Reviewers say 'Monty Python's Flying Circus' is celebrated for its iconic sketches like "The Dead Parrot Sketch" and "The Ministry of Silly Walks," known for absurdity and clever wordplay. The show's unique humor, innovative Gilliam animations, and boundary-pushing comedy have had a lasting impact. Notable sketches include "The Argument Clinic" and "The Funniest Joke in the World," though some find the surreal style inconsistent or hard to follow.
    AI-generated from the text of user reviews

    Featured reviews

    JohnnyJohnHildegaard

    The Circus is On...

    Monty Python's Flying Circus is a show with great comedy. It's so weird anything could be done in it. Like selling an albatross, or having a knight hit you with a chicken... It's so hilarious, you'll drop right off. It's a very classic show for people with British taste. The movies were good... but it never made a benchmark like the TV series did. People... get off trashy Saturday Night Live and try "Something Completely Different"!
    10BroadswordCallinDannyBoy

    A staged and carefully crafted presentation of absurdity and chaos

    The original sketch comedy show that has a very deserved cult following.

    It's... hilarious. It's... absurd. It's... very hard to describe, because it is so freakin' random! Almost every little sketch takes such bizarre twists and turns into something completely else that you'll literally never see it coming. Terry Gilliam's innovative, and equally absurd, animations are no different in their appearances between sketches. Often serving as transitions, but really this is just one side-splittingly funny compilation of sheer absurdity.

    Poking fun at just about everything that you could possibly imagine - talk shows, courts, daily life, the Spanish Inquisistion, the military, etc... - and it is all put together in a way no less random. Skits end unexpectedly, some shots are used many times, random characters appear only to speak one line, and all that makes for what is quite possibly the best crafted presentation of absurdity and chaos ever made. 10/10

    Not Rated and suitable for most viewers, but very cautious parents will undoubtedly object to the crude humor.
    wishkah7

    How can anyone not like Monty Python?

    Monty Python's Flying Circus is superb British humor at it's best! All the Monty Python movies were excellent, too! My favorite actors in this are John Cleese and Eric Idle. I have my older brother to thank for getting me into this show! I got into Monty Python at the ripe old age of 11. My brother was watching it one day, and I asked him if I can watch too. He gave me his okay, and after I saw the delirious humor of this, I quickly became a fan! And watched it everytime it came on.

    I also own some Monty Python cassette tapes and my brother has some on vinyl! I have far too many favorite Monty Python bits to name,some of my faves are "The Lumberjack Song", "It's the Mind", and "The Bishop"! And who can forget that caveman who can only say, 'its'? Also, anyone remember that one about the self-defense class involving a 'Poi-ted stick'? Pure timeless classic! Monty Python cracks me up all the time! Even if you're not in a good mood, watching this will put you in one!

    I highly suggest this to anyone who is a stickler for British humor. Also, watch their movies: The Holy Grail, And Now for Something Completely Different, and The Life of Brian. I give Monty Python's Flying Circus 5 out of 5 stars! Watch it if you can!
    agrawalmannu

    Monty Python's and their unique brand of humor

    A gentleman (John Cleese) enters a pet shop and wants to register a complaint that the parrot that he had bought from that very boutique just half an hour ago was in fact a 'dead parrot'. The owner (Michael Palin) tries to convince him that the Parrot, a Norwegian Blue, was not really dead and was just resting. The argument continues and gets sillier and sillier until an army colonel (Graham Chapman) pops out of nowhere and stops the sketch abruptly because it was getting very silly. If this kind of humor doesn't interest you, read no further and plan on watching something else. But if it does and if you have not seen Monty Pythons Flying Circus you haven't seen nothing yet.

    Monty pythons pretty much invented and perfected their unique brand of humor which can be categorized as 'surreal'. One can argue that 'the Goon Show' was the archetype for Monty pythons, which is true, but then Monty Pythons took it to territories that had never been explored before. They created a world where you can get a government grant for silly walks or buy an argument in an argument clinic. A world in which a father and son could have the age old "romantic vs. a simple coal miner" argument, just that in this world the son is a regular coal miner whereas it's the father whose head is full of useless novels and poems. Just like the Beatles they took something and created something completely new out of it. The comparison is valid because Monty Pythons at their peak enjoyed the status of any of the rock stars in those days (including groupies) and the Beatles, George Harrison in particular, were their biggest promoters.

    Terri Gillian's stream of consciousness art work is pretty bizarre and holds all the sketches together. John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Michael Palin, Eric Idle and Terry Jones play all the characters (including women's) themselves with dead seriousness. This is insane humor at it's brilliant best.
    bat-5

    Silliness to the extreme!

    Any episode of Monty Python will reduce one to fits of laughing that will produce bouts of tears that will render the viewer on the ground. Great physical comedy on all parts, but especially John Cleese in the Ministry of Silly Walks sketch, which is his least favorite sketch. Great writing that walks that fine line between genius and silly, and meshes the two. These guys also knew when and how to start end a sketch. Still funny thirty years later, wish the same could be said about Saturday Night Live. Too bad there wasn't some knight who could hit Lorne Michaels with a chicken.

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The usual casting process for a sketch was that the lead role would be given to the member who came up with the idea. Sir Michael Palin has said that if he'd known the abuse he would have to tolerate as the "It's..." man, he never would have suggested the idea.
    • Goofs
      The Air Tube that operates Mr. Tree's mouth can be seen in the profile shot, when light starts glinting off it.
    • Quotes

      BBC Announcer: We interrupt this program to annoy you and make things generally irritating.

    • Crazy credits
      Episode 41 Michael Ellis (1974) begins with the opening theme song, followed by a screen that says "THE END," followed by the end credits, and then the show begins. This was to allow the unusual ending of that particular episode which would have been ruined by the closing credits.
    • Alternate versions
      The VHS and DVD releases by A&E contain the full-length versions of the shows. Several episodes run over 30 minutes, and were previously edited by PBS to fit into a 30 minute time slot.
    • Connections
      Alternate-language version of Monty Python's Fliegender Zirkus (1972)
    • Soundtracks
      The Liberty Bell
      (1893) (uncredited)

      Music by John Philip Sousa

      Performed by The Band of the Grenadier Guards

      (opening theme music)

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    FAQ30

    • How many seasons does Monty Python's Flying Circus have?Powered by Alexa
    • What is the translation of the "World's Deadliest Joke"?
    • Who was in the suit of armour wielding the dead chicken?
    • What is the origin of the gumby character?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 2, 2018 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United Kingdom
    • Languages
      • English
      • Arabic
      • French
      • German
      • Italian
      • Mandarin
      • Spanish
    • Also known as
      • England, wie es sinnt und lacht
    • Filming locations
      • BBC Television Centre, Wood Lane, Shepherd's Bush, London, England, UK(Studio)
    • Production companies
      • British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
      • Python (Monty) Pictures
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      30 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
      • Stereo
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1

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