Holy Flying Circus
Holy Flying Circus | |
---|---|
Theme music composer | Jack C. Arnold |
Country of origin | United Kingdom |
Original language | English |
Production | |
Producers | Polly Leys Kate Norrish |
Cinematography | Richard Mott |
Editor | Billy Sneddon |
Running time | 90 minutes |
Production companies | Talkback Thames HillBilly Television |
Original release | |
Network | BBC Four |
Release | 19 October 2011 |
Holy Flying Circus is a 90-minute BBC television comedy film first broadcast in 2011, written by Tony Roche and directed by Owen Harris.
The film is a "Pythonesque" dramatisation of events following the completion of Monty Python's Life of Brian, culminating in the televised debate about the film broadcast in 1979.
Plot
At a meeting in the offices of their film distributor, the members of
Much of the film is taken up with preparations for a debate on the BBC2 chat show Friday Night, Saturday Morning. Initially, the Pythons are reluctant to take part but decide that Cleese and Michael Palin should represent the troupe on the programme. Palin's wife is depicted with a remarkable resemblance to Terry Jones (Rufus Jones plays both parts).[1] The production team of the BBC chat show eventually manage to gain a commitment from Malcolm Muggeridge and Mervyn Stockwood, then the Bishop of Southwark, to oppose the two Pythons. Portions of this televised discussion are recreated towards the end of the film.
Cast
- Darren Boyd as John Cleese
- Charles Edwards as Michael Palin
- Steve Punt as Eric Idle
- Rufus Jones as Terry Jones and Michael's Wife
- Tom Fisher as Graham Chapman
- Phil Nichol as Terry Gilliam
- Michael Cochrane as Malcolm Muggeridge
- Roy Marsden as Bishop of Southwark
- Tom Price as Tim Rice
- Stephen Fry as God
- Ben Crispin as Jesus
- Simon Greenall as Barry Atkins
- Paul Chahidi as Harry Balls
- Jason Thorpe as Alan Dick / Desmond Lovely
- Mark Heap as Andrew Thorogood
Title sequence
The title sequence for the film was created using a two meter tall Terry Gilliam-inspired Phonotrope created by Jim Le Fevre. It consisted of over 2000 laser-cut frames and was 1.8 meters wide at its base.[2]
Reception
The film received mixed reviews from critics, while receiving just over half a million viewers on
References
- ^ Rufus Jones "Holy Flying Circus: Making a drama of Monty Python", BBC tv blog, 19 October 2011
- ^ Interview with Jim Le Fevre, title sequence creator, on BBC Comedy website
- ^ Harvey, Chris (19 October 2011). "Holy Flying Circus, BBC Four, review". The Telegraph. London. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
- ^ Dyess-Nugent, Phil (8 April 2012). "Holy Flying Circus". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
External links
- Holy Flying Circus at BBC Online
- Holy Flying Circus at IMDb