About

Celebrating the films of iconic British comedy troupe Monty Python, this program brings together the silver screen collaborations of Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin.

After beginning their careers writing and acting for various comedy television and radio programs, the group joined together to create the BBC TV comedy program ‘Monty Python’s Flying Circus’. This absurdist and wildly inventive sketch show became one of the most influential television comedies of all time, mixing broad slapstick with endlessly creative surrealism.

The success of their program led to their theatrically released films, including the re-filmed revitalisations of their most beloved sketches in And Now For Something Completely Different 1972, the classic spoof of medieval epics Monty Python and the Holy Grail 1975, the ribald religious parody Life of Brian 1979, and the bawdy musical-comedy Meaning of Life 1982.

These films are presented here, alongside a selection of films that reunited different Monty Python alumni after the troupe had disbanded, showcasing the comic bonds between the group and the screen legacies of the members.

QAGOMA acknowledges the generous assistance of the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia, Canberra in providing materials for this program.