I have always been a fan of Monty Python. Therefore, when I was going through the bargain books at Barnes & Noble years ago, you can imagine my excitement when I came across "Monty Python Live!" In addition, the book was marked down to $5.98 from a $24.99 original price. Purchasing it was a no-brainer! Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin made a great team artistically and comedically. It should also be fair to mention that Carol Cleveland and Neil Innes added very important supporting roles.
The book is described by Eric Idle in the "Foreplay" section. "What follows is a collection of pictures and reminiscenses from our live stage appearances, with anecdotes from the survivors plus the sketches used on these occasions." The troupe had a clever knack of blending history, religion and philosophy into their routines. Published in 2009 by Hyperion Books, the artwork is handled exclusively by Terry Gilliam. This shouldn't come as a surprise due to his animation on the Flying Circus television series.
In one of their skits, Michelangelo is listening to the Pope's displeasure over his painting of "The Last Supper." Michelangelo answers the Pope by stating, "if there was a Last Supper there must have been one before that, so this is The Penultimate Supper. The Bible doesn't say how many people were there, does it?" As I read the script, I can envision the action taking place on stage. I am not afraid to say that this is one of my favorite skits! Some of the other popular skits included in the book are "Crunchy Frog," "Argument," "The Ministry of Silly Walks," "The Silly Olympics" and "Nudge Nudge," among many others.
"Immanuel Kant was a real pissant / Who was very rarely stable / Heidegger, Heidegger was a boozy beggar / Who could think you under the table / David Hume could out-consume / Schopenhauer and Hegel / And Wittgenstein was a beery swine / Who was just as sloshed as Schlegel." That was the beginning of a song usually sung by the Bruces during "The Bruces" skit. The whole lot of them were very adept at pulling off tunes leading to laughter. As with most British comedy, plenty of material is crammed into such short skits that it is easy to walk away missing something.
The book is designed to look like a used book, with some photos appearing to be paperclipped to the pages. This is Monty Python after all, the only bunch of guys who would invest in a dead parrot. They even include an excerpt from "Drama Queen For Beginners" by James Lipton Teabag. This is a must-have for any Monty Python fan, if you could still find a copy in this time of Kindle. If you can't find the book, it's probably because "the actions of these vicious men are a violent stain on the community and the full penalty of the law is scarcely sufficient to deal with their ghastly crimes!"
