Okay, the style's rather anonymous and some of the contemporary guest comedians' commentaries - particularly during the second part of this six-part series - are simply worthless and work as useless time-fillers.Apart from that, the Pythons are at their wittiest and self-revelatory best, with Idle's and Gilliam's interviews being especially interesting.For fans, this doc's a treasure to behold, though nothing's able to replace the original movies and shows for sheer enjoyment.Some details about the post-Python goings-on would've been welcome, but all in all this is a solid documentary on one of the most influential and, simply put, funniest comedy teams ever.7 out of 10 group dynamics

This documentary took the road most taken: if you're documenting Python, be Pythonesque. That's why it gets an 8 and not a 10. The mini-sketch at the beginning got to be annoying about half-way through it at the first watching. I really didn't need the joke repeated 6 times. (And it is more reminiscent of the opening scene of Gilliam's Brazil than of anything by Python, anyway.) Then there are the animations meant to be homage's to Gilliam's works. Another miss. And there's the cutting-people-off-in-mid-sentence in interviews (which, of the Pythonesque directorial touches is the one that works best, in my opinion). The interviewee-being-seen-in-a-profile motif also detracted from the documentary. In short, directorially it's in a bad shape.Having said that, the rest of it I loved. It is a candid tale of a troupe who got together only by some strange series of flukes, remained together for as long as they did because their various antics and inter-group quibbling somehow managed to cancel each other, left us an incredibly funny legacy (the highlights of which were done as quick-and-dirty solutions to some odd problems) and finally were fed up with it and went on to do other great things separately.At no point does it feel like anyone is holding anything back. For example, the group is very open about their complete lack of interest in each other's personal lives, and how that made them not see what was going on in Graham Chapman's life, even when it was too big to miss.Intermixed with this are well-chosen bits of archive footage (including interviews with Chapman that are edited in to sound just like the interviews with the five surviving members), some perspective interviews with friends and contemporary comedians (as well as some actors and musicians), and mentions of some notable fans (mostly from the music business).I am a Python fan, but (like the group itself, apparently) never dug into their personal lives, feeling that their body of work should speak for itself. So, to me, much of this was new, and I thought that just hearing the story of George Harrison's house and its connection to Life of Brian -- that alone would have made the watching of this documentary worthwhile... and there's a lot more where that came from.A solid, well deserved 8.

What a pleasure to finally watch the whole 6 episode instead of the BBC lawyer's cut!Since the format is so close to the BEATLES ANTHOLOGY,this should really really expand to 8 episode as well.flying circus still has lots of stuff to explore (the revolutionary free structure is just touched upon in the doc); meaning of life deserve a single episode as well, at least mentioning Jonsey's fun ride in CANNES... and so on and so on...Anyway, I'm extremely satisfied with this set, and it truly truly is must own for any avid python fan!

Its a documentary about a couple of guys. Well more than a couple of guys really as a couple gives the impression that there are about two of them and there is not. There is in fact 6 of them and one of them is now deceased, no more, an ex-python. So actually this is a documentary about 5 guys and 1 dead guy and how they became a group of guys, with the odd female thrown into the mix, that called themselves the Brady Bunch, no wait Monty Python, thats it! I'm a fan, I have been for awhile, ever since I watched one of Terry G's, not to be confused with Terry J, twisted cartoon links and wondered why isn't more comedy like this? 20 something years later, for me it's been longer for the guys, I'm still wondering why there isn't more comedy like this and I have come to the realization that its because....We, meaning I, interrupt this review to say go and see this film if you like Monty Python and if you have never heard of Monty Python, or if you enjoy a laugh and like to see a cow flying through space and if you don't like Monty Python and not 100% certain. If you don't like Monty Python and you are 100% certain, well done for making it this far into the review.