The Life of Python
by
George Perry
Order:
USA
Can
Pavilion, 2007 (1984)
Softcover
Reviewed by Hilary Williamson
T
hough I can't claim to be a huge Monty Python fan (heresy I know), my teen sons regularly subject me to their own re-enactments of Python skits, as well as the originals (they have the entire collection in DVDs) - and I do share their appreciation for the martial arts sequence, in which combatants are armed with different fruits.
I
n his 1999
Introduction
(whatever you do, also read his hilarious
Acknowledgements
) to
The Life of Python
, George Perry speaks of '
the amazing decade of the 1960s, at the very end of which Monty Python sprang into glorious existence
', and of the evolution and subsequent
dumbing-down
of British comedy. He tells us that
Monty Python
worked so well because '
Six quick-witted young men of superabundant clowning talent came together and allowed a synergy to occur.
' He discusses the impact of their Oxbridge educations, and their individual careers since the days of Python glory. The book is generously illustrated with photos and artwork.
P
erry goes on to cover the birth of the Pythons in 1969 London, England via the debut of
Monty Python's Flying Circus
as a '
mewling infant
' on British television, heavily influenced by radio comedy. He continues with chapters on the backgrounds and contribution of each of the six comic geniuses: Michael Palin, '
the nice one
' whose '
interest in the Arthurian legend
' inspired
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
; Welsh Terry Jones, whose '
range of enthusiasms is breathtaking
'; American Terry Gilliam (who provided the graphics) and his foot fetish; John Cleese, '
prickliest of the Pythons
', who has married three Americans and has mellowed; the apparently calm but unpredictable Graham Chapman, who sadly died of cancer in 1989; and Eric Idle, '
the group loner
' and '
tongue-twisting wordsmith
'.
F
inally, Perry talks of how the show got its name and signature tune, its choice of locations in the wilds of Britain, its stock figures, its introduction of a style of comedy that mocked the '
very essence of television
', its wild success and '
sheer bloody genius.
' He covers the books and movies, and a threat of censorship during the third television series. He also describes what the Pythons achieved once each struck out on his own. A multitude of
Monty Python
fans (including my sons) will devour this delightful tribute to a team that '
changed the face of British comedy - forever.
'
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