And Now for Something Completely Different (1971)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Ian MacNaughton

Writers:

Graham Chapman (written by) &
John Cleese (written by) ...
(more)

Release Date:

22 August 1972 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

An anthology of Monty Python's best sketches from their 1st & 2nd seasons of their original TV show.

Plot Keywords:

Monty Python | Blackmail | Lumberjack | Twit | Dead Parrot

Cast

Graham Chapman	...	Brother / British pedestrian / Mr. Harrison (Apricot) / Sergeant-Major / 'Hell's Grannies' policeman / Jimmy Blankensop / Sir Edward Ross / Restaurant patron #1 / Letter Writer / Oliver St. John Mollusk
John Cleese	...	Announcer / Hungarian Man / Self-Defence Teacher / Sir George Head / Policeman / Interviewer / Mr. Praline / Second General / Christopher Columbus / Mungo the Cook / Bank Robber / Accountant #2 (falling past the window) / Vocational Guidance Counselor / Vivian Smith Smythe Smith
Terry Gilliam	...	Self-defence nun / Flasher / Uncle Sam / Caterpillar man / Sign holder
Eric Idle	...	Prosecutor / Marriage Counselor / Arthur Nudge / Self-defence student #4 (interested in pointed sticks) / 'Hell's Grannies' analyst / Arthur Wilson / Arthur Wilson Two / Nightclub Emcee / Linkman / First General / Restaurant Manager / Lingerie Shop Owner / Accountant #1 (falling past the window) / Fairy Godmother / Rita Fairbanks / Simon Zinc Trumpet Harris
Terry Jones	...	Stage Manager / Tobacconist / 2nd Hungarian Man / Squire / Self-defence student #3 / Tenant #1 / Flasher / Mouse Organist Ken Ewing / Fat Soldier / Waiter / Nude Organist / Brian / Nigel Incubator Jones
Michael Palin	...	Man with tape recorder / Phrasebook Author / Arthur Pewtey / Self-defence student #2 / Tenant #2 / Lost His Wallet / Shrill Petrol Announcer / Milkman / Ernest Scribbler / Bevis (pet shop employee / lumberjack) / Headwaiter Gilberto / Herbert Anchovy / Gervais Brookhamster
Carol Cleveland	...	Dierdre Pewtey / Storyteller / Milkman Collector / Restaurant Patron #2 / Elsbeth
Connie Booth	...	Best Girl
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Neville Chamberlain	...	Himself (with Munich Accord) (archive footage) (uncredited)
Winston Churchill	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Adolf Hitler	...	Himself (speech to RAD, from T.d.W.) (archive footage) (uncredited)
Lesley Judd	...	Distraught Mother (uncredited)
King George VI	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Richard Nixon	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)
Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother	...	Herself (archive footage) (uncredited)

Directed by
Ian MacNaughton

Writing credits
Graham Chapman		(written by) &
John Cleese		(written by) &
Terry Gilliam		(written by) &
Eric Idle		(written by) &
Terry Jones		(written by) &
Michael Palin		(written by)

Produced by
Patricia Casey	....	producer
Victor Lownes	....	executive producer
David Gil	....	executive producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Douglas Gamley

Cinematography by
David Muir

Film Editing by
Thom Noble

Art Direction by
Colin Grimes

Makeup Department
Ivy Emmerton	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Kevin Francis	....	production manager
Tim Hampton	....	post-production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Douglas Hermes	....	assistant director

Art Department
Bob Hedges	....	property master
Leo Mason	....	construction manager
Tony Noble	....	assistant art director

Sound Department
Dennis Berry	....	sound supervisor
John Brommage	....	sound mixer
Terry Poulton	....	dubbing mixer

Special Effects by
John Horson	....	special effects consultant

Camera and Electrical Department
Nobby Cross	....	gaffer
Brian Grainger	....	camera operator
Roy Rodhouse	....	best boy
Douglas Webb	....	still photographer

Animation Department
Terry Gilliam	....	animator

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Ken Lewington	....	costumer

Editorial Department
Peppa Fairfax	....	assistant film editor

Other crew
Zelda Barron	....	continuity
Jack Hawtree	....	production accountant
Sally Pardo	....	production secretary (as Sally Hyman)

Production Companies

• Columbia Pictures Corporation
• Kettledrum Films
• Playboy Productions
• Python (Monty) Pictures

Distributors

• Carlotta Films (2003) (France) (theatrical)
• Carlotta Films (????) (France) (DVD)
• Cine-Studio (1984) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Coline (1974) (France) (theatrical)
• Columbia Pictures (1972) (USA)
• Columbia TriStar (video)
• DNC Home Entertainment (????) (Italy) (video)
• Future Film (2004) (Finland) (DVD)
• José Frade Producciones Cinematográficas S.A. (1990) (Spain) (theatrical)
• Outsider Diffusion (1994) (France) (theatrical) (re-issue)
• Rosenbergs Filmbyrå (1978) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Sherlock Media S.L. (1999) (Spain) (theatrical) (re-issue)
• Transvídeo (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)

Other Companies

• Bob Godfrey Films Ltd.  animation photography
• Dark Star  publicity: France (re-issue: 2003)
• Lee Lighting  grip and lighting equipment

Also Known As:

Monty Python's And Now for Something Completely Different (UK) (complete title)
A teraz pora na cos zupelnie innego (Poland) [pl]
Die wunderbare Welt der Schwerkraft (West Germany) [de]
E ora qualcosa di completamente diverso (Italy) [it]
Elämä on Pythonia (Finland) (DVD title) [fi]
La première folie des Monty Python (France) (reissue title) [fr]
Livet e' python (Sweden) [sv]
Monty Python overgiver sig altid (Denmark) [da]
Monty Pythonin paremmat pilat (Finland) [fi]
Monty Pythons bättre bitar (Finland: Swedish title) [sv]
Monty Pythons wunderbare Welt der Schwerkraft (West Germany) [de]
Pataquesse (France) (original subtitled version) [fr]
Se armó la gorda (Spain) [es]
To adelfato me tis... trelles (Greece) [el]
To adelfato ton trellon poiiton (Greece) (reissue title) [el]

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Netherlands:16 | Finland:K-3 (new rating: 2001) | France:U | Australia:PG | Finland:K-10 | Iceland:L | Sweden:11 | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) (1986) | USA:PG | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Black Park, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

When Terry Gilliam asked British animation legend Bob Godfrey if he could use his camera to recreate his animated sequences for the movie, Godfrey didn't know who Gilliam was and told him to "bugger off". Later, Godfrey found out that Gilliam was a member of the Monty Python team and helped him complete the sequences for the movie.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the animation following the "People falling out of tall buildings" sketch, when the caterpillar walks into his house and climbs into the bed the door to the bedroom is still open. Once the caterpillar falls asleep and the camera fades out, when the camera fades back into him, the door is now closed.

Quotes:

Restaurant patron #1: Lucky I didn't tell them about the dirty knife.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Directors: The Films of Terry Gilliam (#1.2)" (????)

Soundtrack:

Unter dem Doppeladler (Under Double Eagle)

Contractual Obligation

This film really didn't need to be made - but at the time, after two excellent TV series, the Pythons were under pressure to produce a big-screen version for wider distribution.

Thus a number of sketches from the first two series were rewritten, tightened up, and re-enacted, entirely on film. The actual new material is probably around 2% of the script, and I hold the view that many of the sketches were inferior to their TV versions, and much of the better series 1 and 2 stuff (Spanish Inquisition, Silly Walks etc.) didn't even make it to ANFSCD for some reason.

It's interesting to watch the differences in production and compare this material to how it was originally done, and the new devices for linking one sketch to the next keep you on your toes.

But ultimately if you want to watch early python sketches, the TV versions are more rewarding.