The Complete Monty Python's Flying Circus Collector's Edition Megaset
by Terry Hughes, Ian MacNaughton
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DVD details
Actor: Carol Cleveland, Eric Idle, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Terry JonesDirector: Ian MacNaughton, Terry Hughes
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Box set, Collector's Edition, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 1869 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-11-18
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: A&E HOME VIDEO
DVD Reviews of The Complete Monty Python's Flying Circus Collector's Edition Megaset
DVD Review: The Nitpicker's Guide to MPFC DVD sets
Summary: 5 Stars
For those who are on the fence about this set, I have to say I highly recommend it. Yes, most of the material has been released before, but the two new discs, along with the very compact new packaging, make this a must-have in my opinion. Each of the two new documentaries are an hour long, but to me they felt like two hours each. I don't mean that in a bad way... they are just chock-full of rare footage and new revelations, so I got more out of them than what you'd normally expect out of an hour-long DVD featurette.
Before The Flying Circus is completely black-and-white, but given that the bulk of the vintage film clips would be b&w themselves, leaving the new interviews in color would be rather jarring, since every five minutes or so it'd cut back to b&w film. Python Conquers America is in full-color, which is just as appropriate, and watching both back-to-back (in chronological order) makes each seem stronger. Terry Gilliam's quite detailed description of each of the four different title sequences appears on the "Before The Flying Circus" disc, as does the long-lost "Political Choreographer" sketch, both in full color.
For those like me who don't have time to watch every single disc before deciding whether to sell/trade their existing sets, I have checked the data size and creation date/time of each disc. Apart from DVD 12, all of the 14 main discs are identical to the original Mega Set (including DVD 1 being listed as a "fix", which may have happened before the original set hit store shelves). The data size for #12 is the same as the original one, but the creation date is from 2008 and for some reason the DVD-ROM content is missing. That means the link to [...] won't work, but there doesn't seem to be any other alterations to the disc.
I did notice that the disc artwork lists the first episode as "L. Henry Thripshaw's Disease" rather than "E. Henry..." as it's supposed to be, but the menu on both versions simply calls it "Henry Thripshaw's Disease". My best guess is that there was a very minor correction that needed to be made, whether in the navigation of the menus, a typo in someone's filmography or a wrong answer to a trivia question. I'm fairly confident that there's no significant difference in the new #12, and whatever may have changed is probably an improvement. The only potential worry would be if something was censored on the disc. The opening sketch is the Tudor Job Agency, so I thought there may have been something in the background that needed to be blurred out (an underage model, obscene material, etc.), but I didn't notice anything like that. It's possible that a word or two may have been dropped out of the audio track, but I've not had time to listen that carefully.
The contents of the two discs of Monty Python LIVE! are also identical to the originals at the data level, although the disc art has been updated a bit for this new set. As for the Personal Best specials, the six episodes are now on 3 dual-layer (NOT double-sided) discs rather than six individual single-layer ones. I did notice that each program is missing approximately 50MB of data as compared to the original DVDs, but the "Holy Grail" DVD trailer found on the individual "Personal Best" DVDs has been dropped, which could account for some of that. All the extras seem to have been ported over.
All in all, even if you have one of the previous sets, I would recommend buying this set and selling off the old one(s), partially for the great new documentaries, but also because the packaging for this set is the best yet, and one of the nicest sets I've ever owned. As has probably been mentioned elsewhere, the discs are in two separate fold-out "Digibook" packages. One minor gripe is that each pair of discs overlap, meaning that to get one out, you often have to remove the one in front of it (they don't actually touch). This is much better than some recent sets that put the discs in fragile cardboard pockets that could scratch them.
UPDATE: The two bonus discs are now being released on their own in a package called Monty Python: The Other British Invasion, so anyone who has the original 14-disc set and Monty Python LIVE or the 16-Ton (and 16-disc) Megaset plus all the Personal Best DVDs in one form or another really no longer has a reason to buy this set unless they want the much more compact packaging. I'm still glad I bought mine, but if the bonus discs had been released right away I probably would have kept what I had and just bought the two new discs. I suppose that's why they waited... either that or it was never intended and they're only releasing them separately now due to public demand.
At any rate, the set is still well worth the money, but it now bears thinking about when all you really have to do is buy another 2-disc set.
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