Monty Python Speaks, Revised and Updated Edition - by David Morgan (Paperback)

About the Book

"In Monty Python Speaks!, David Morgan has collected interviews with Monty Python's founding members, actors, producers, and other collaborators to produce a no-holds-barred look at the Pythons legendary sketches and films, including Monty Python's Life of Brian, Monty Python and the Holy Grail (the inspiration for the hit Broadway musical Spamalot), and Monty Python's The Meaning of Life. Featuring four new chapters that focus on the groups oeuvre since the first edition's publication twenty years ago, as well as a new foreword and updated resources, Monty Python Speaks! offers a fascinating peek behind the scenes of the Pythons' creative process--including the friendships and feuds--that catapulted a comedy revolution"--Back cover.

Book Synopsis

With a Foreword by John Oliver, host of Last Week Tonight

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of its BBC debut, a revised and updated edition of the complete oral history of Monty Python--an insightful, in-depth portrait of the brilliant and hysterically funny show that transformed modern comedy.

Broadcast by the BBC between 1969 and 1974, Monty Python's Flying Circus introduced something completely different: a new brand of surrealistic, stream-of-consciousness comedy that pushed the traditional boundaries of format, style, and content. Blending brilliant satire with slapstick silliness, The Pythons--Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin--spoke to a generation eager to break free of the conventional. Making their way across the Atlantic and the world, the Pythons' zany approach to comedy would have a monumental influence on modern popular culture, paving the way for farcical entertainment from Saturday Night Live to The Simpsons to Austin Powers.

In Monty Python Speaks, David Morgan has collected interviews with Monty Python's founding members, actors, producers, and other collaborators to produce a no-holds-barred look at the Pythons' legendary sketches and films, including Monty Python's Life of Brian, Monty Python and the Holy Grail (the inspiration for the hit Broadway musical Spamalot), and The Meaning of Life. Featuring four new chapters that focus on the group's oeuvre since the first edition's publication twenty years ago, as well as a new foreword and updated resources, Monty Python Speaks offers a fascinating peek behind the scenes of the Pythons' creative process--including the friendships and feuds--that catapulted a comedy revolution.

From the Back Cover

An insightful, in-depth portrait of the brilliant and hysterically funny group that transformed modern comedy.

Debuting on the BBC in 1969, Monty Python's Flying Circus introduced something completely different: a new brand of surrealistic, stream-of-consciousness comedy that pushed the traditional boundaries of format, style, and content. Blending brilliant satire with slapstick silliness, the Pythons--Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin--spoke to a generation eager to break free of the conventional. Making their way across the Atlantic and the world, the Pythons and their zany approach to comedy had a monumental influence on modern popular culture, opening the door for farcical entertainment from Saturday Night Live to The Simpsons to Austin Powers.

In Monty Python Speaks!, David Morgan has collected interviews with Monty Python's founding members, actors, producers, and other collaborators to produce a no-holds-barred look at the Pythons' legendary sketches and films, including Monty Python's Life of Brian, Monty Python and the Holy Grail (the inspiration for the hit Broadway musical Spamalot), and Monty Python's the Meaning of Life. Featuring four new chapters that focus on the group's oeuvre since the first edition's publication twenty years ago, as well as a new foreword and updated resources, Monty Python Speaks! offers a fascinating peek behind the scenes of the Pythons' brilliance--including the friendships and feuds--that catapulted a comedy revolution.

Review Quotes

"A cheerful and peppy survey of what those amazing TV shows and movies looked like to the men behind the curtain. . . . The nearest thing imaginable to a group autobiography." - San Francisco Gate

"Insightful and entertaining perspectives on comedy writing, television and film." - Publishers Weekly

"Morgan's informed questions elicit much detail that affords a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at the creative process." - Booklist

Praise for the original publication of Monty Python Speaks:

"A witheringly honest oral history of the brilliant comedy troupe." - Entertainment Weekly