Monty Python's And Now for Something Completely Different (1971)

90% of critics liked it
(21 reviews)
85% of users liked it
(61,672 ratings)

Monty Python's And Now For Something Completely Different was first released in the US in 1973, but didn't really take off as a midnight-movie fixture until after the Monty Python's Flying Circus TV series began making the PBS rounds. Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael… More Monty Python's And Now For Something Completely Different was first released in the US in 1973, but didn't really take off as a midnight-movie fixture until after the Monty Python's Flying Circus TV series began making the PBS rounds. Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin and Terry Gilliam are the Pythonites in attendance, together with semiregulars Carol Cleveland and Connie Booth. The sketches presented include such classics as "The Lumberjack Song", "Hell's Grannies", "The Upperclass Twit of the Year Race", and, of course, "The Dead Parrot". Additionally, Terry Gilliam's animated-cartoon interpolations act as buffers between sketches. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: PG, 1 hr. 29 min.
Directed By: Ian McNaughton, Terry Gilliam
Written By: Graham Chapman
Genres: Television, Comedy

In Theaters: Jan 1, 1972 Wide
On DVD: Aug 3, 1999
Studio: Sony Pictures

Critic Reviews

Don Druker, Chicago Reader
Fans will have most of it memorized by now.
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
A kind of insane logic seems to connect the sketches, if you look hard enough, but mostly the movie seems to exist in the present and be willing to try anything for a laugh.
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
Essential viewing for fans of Monty Python and British comedy, this film consists of some wonderful sketches, even though Terry Gilliam doesn't appear in them.
David Gurney, Common Sense Media
Best of Monty Python sketches in one neat package.
Douglas Pratt, DVDLaser
A collection of deliberately unlinked comedy sketches and animated filler, the film is a workable sampler of the group's humor.
, TV Guide's Movie Guide
Although the cast is brilliant and the material generally funny, the film fails to take advantage of the big-screen format.
Mark Bourne, DVDJournal.com
However, by refilming the sketches for a cinematic format, with new editing, camerawork, close-ups ... yet without the give-and-take energy of a live studio audience, what on TV was seat-of-the-pants fresh is here flat and overproduced.
Tom Milne, Time Out
All good stuff.
Christopher Null, Filmcritic.com
Old-school fans will dig it, and Python newcomers will see what all the fuss is about.
Pablo Villaca, Cinema em Cena
Como toda antologia, tem momentos mais e menos inspirados, mas, de modo geral, impressiona por sua inventividade.
, Austin Chronicle
The first feature-length Monty Python film is a collection of some of their best bits from the show.
Carlo Cavagna, AboutFilm.com
Monty Python's best known sketches reshot and compiled on film, with slight variations and occasional profanity. Great sketches, but a rather pointless exercise.
, Film4
A compilation of classic sketches.
James Rocchi, Netflix
If you know this material, you know it well; if you don't, you're in for a bizarre surprise as these six gifted men -- in their youthful glory -- blend the surreal and the scatological, the high with the low, manufacturing oddly brilliant comedy.

Read all 14 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

Alexander D

Laugh yourself purple.
Thomas B

Full on Python brilliance without the restraint of scripts or plot. Full review later.
xGary X

And Now For Something Completely different is a compilation from the Monty Python team comprised of some of the funniest moments from their early work and as such doesn't really feel like a "movie". But the sketches are genuine classics as Python pretty much invented… More
And Now For Something Completely different is a compilation from the Monty Python team comprised of some of the funniest moments from their early work and as such doesn't really feel like a "movie". But the sketches are genuine classics as Python pretty much invented the non sequitur and introduced the comedy of the absurdly surreal to the mainstream. The biggest problem of course is the sheer familiarity of it all but the talent involved are amongst the best in the business and it's amazing how a skit that I know, and have known for the better part of two decades, word for word can still make me laugh. Some of the jokes have fared better than others over time, but the highlights are true all-time comedy classics and it's worth it for Terry Gilliam's desecrations of artistic masterpieces alone!
Cassandra M

Produced in 1971 on a shoestring budget with the aim of breaking the Python team in the States (which eventually happened when the TV series began running on PBS), this film consists of classic moments from the first two series of Monty Python's Flying Circus, lovingly reprised,… More
Produced in 1971 on a shoestring budget with the aim of breaking the Python team in the States (which eventually happened when the TV series began running on PBS), this film consists of classic moments from the first two series of Monty Python's Flying Circus, lovingly reprised, and in some cases improved upon. The 'Vocational Guidance Counsellor' sketch with Michael Palin's chartered accountant who wants to be a lion tamer is certainly better than the TV version, as is the bank robber in a lingerie shop sketch, which is performed here in such a dry, straight-faced, understated way, it makes me laugh every time. There are lots of other classics to enjoy - the dirty fork, Hell's Grannies, the Upper Class Twit of the Year show, Blackmail, camp square-bashing, the Killer Cars...if you can look past the obviously low budget (the sound mix makes some scenes sound as if they were recorded in a cake tin), you'll find one of the most tirelessly inventive sketch comedies of all time. And remember, it's NOT pining, it's passed on!
Randy T

Classic skits, including The Dead Parrot, Joke Warfare and Upper Class Twit of the Year. Python fans will be in virtual heaven (the rest of you will incur hemorrhages and gout).
Chris G

Of course this movies good, it's Monty Python. A collection of sketches presented with a linear quality that they can only achieve. A classic film that contains a ton of sketches that most of you nerds out there can recite by heart. There's not much more you can say about… More
Of course this movies good, it's Monty Python. A collection of sketches presented with a linear quality that they can only achieve. A classic film that contains a ton of sketches that most of you nerds out there can recite by heart. There's not much more you can say about this one other than it's a nice little piece of the TV show.
Sarah G

Review soon... Love Monty Python. Contains every classic sketch from the first two series of the show and just brilliant to watch. Difficult to write a review on so I recomend to watch the show when you can..
Anthony L

Considering it's just a re-hash of all the best sketches from the TV series, Monty Python's And Now for Something Completely Different is really good and certainly stands alone as a very capable film.
Gordon A

Effectively captures the spirit of the TV series with a selection of classic sketches cleverly linked with Gilliam's innovative animations.
Cindy I

OK, but these skits from the TV series don't seem to be as funny this time around. It's like they are too rehearsed, or maybe I just know them too well. Still, any Python is better than no Python.
Kalel J

The film that nigh on invented the modern look at the term "random", in a film that brings the utmost connotations of strangeness and insanity packed into a feature film. In saying that, it's a hard film to rate, due to it's zany nature. But, it is this quirkiness… More
The film that nigh on invented the modern look at the term "random", in a film that brings the utmost connotations of strangeness and insanity packed into a feature film. In saying that, it's a hard film to rate, due to it's zany nature. But, it is this quirkiness that makes it so enjoyable as we witness their sketches that mock political issues, the evolution of thought and response, and the everyday life of a common man. "Random" is a concept that is taken lightly until viewing this film.
Steve B

I guess if you've never seen the Flying Circus, this is a good primer to get you started -- otherwise, move on to LIFE OF BRIAN or THE HOLY GRAIL.
Michael G

Not their best, but still entertaining.
Dillon L

It cant help but feel like the rehash of the television series that it is, but 'And Now For Something Completely Different' is funny and will suffice for entertainment.
Burger S

Get the complete set. But you can't go wrong with a little Monty.
Nicolas K

From the opening sketch of "Lessons of how not to be seen" till the end, you cannot stop laughing!
Sylvester K

A good compilation of the sketches
Ed Fucking H

Collection of Monty Python skits. Some made me laugh. Other's didn't. A mixed bag really. I've never fully understood what it is people love so much about the Python. The Holy Grail was also the only thing I had seen by them prior to this, which I loved. Worth seeing… More
Collection of Monty Python skits. Some made me laugh. Other's didn't. A mixed bag really. I've never fully understood what it is people love so much about the Python. The Holy Grail was also the only thing I had seen by them prior to this, which I loved. Worth seeing for the uninitiated, and obviously there fans will get what they want. As of right now I prefer their films to their skits though. (Not really saying much as I usually hate the TV show format anyways.)
Lauren D

This was the first Monty Python thing I ever saw. I wasn't really sure whether they were any good after watching it, as I liked some of it but I watched Holy Grail 5 minutes after finishing this and fell in love. This movie is just some of their sketches from the show redone and… More
This was the first Monty Python thing I ever saw. I wasn't really sure whether they were any good after watching it, as I liked some of it but I watched Holy Grail 5 minutes after finishing this and fell in love. This movie is just some of their sketches from the show redone and some of them are better than the original sketch. Especially the pet shop sketch. I found the original to be a bit rushed, where in this one it seems more natural and the timing is much better.
Audrey L

The original,with Gregory Peck!