Review by Stuart O'Connor
Stars Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Terry Jones, Terry Gilliam, Carol Cleveland | Written by Eric Idle & John Du Prez
UK certification 12 | UK RRP £22.99 | DVD Region 2 | Runtime 91 minutes | Directed by Aubrey Powell
Is it really 40 years since those wacky Monty Python guys changed the face of television comedy? Really? And 30 years since their best film, Life of Brian, had me falling off my cinema seat? (It was the stoning scene what done it.)
To mark the occasion, Eric idle takes over London's Royal Albert Hall for a night to present his take on Handel's Messiah. With the help of his Spamalot co-writer, John Du Prez, he's written an oratorio, called Not The Messiah (He's a Very Naughty Boy). And yes, it's based on Life of Brian. But unlke the Broadway/West End musical Spamalot, this is more of an opera. And not being a big opera fan, a lot of this left me cold. Also disappointing is that not all the Pythons turn up to take part – John Cleese is noticable by his absence.
Don't get me wrong, the music is wonderful, and feature some simply awesome British opera singers – soprano Shannon Mercer, mezzo Rosalind Plowright, tenor William Ferguson and bass Christopher Purves – but it's just not my cup of tea, really. I don't actually understand half the words, and would rather see somethng like Spamalot. But that's just me; if you love opera, and Monty Python, you're going to adore Not The Messiah. For me, the highlights both involve Michael Palin – at the start, when he comes on stage wearing a lovely blue evening dress and a Maggie Thatcher wig, and at the finale where he performs his classic Lumberjack Song.
EXTRAS ★★★ Three behind-the-scenes featurettes - The Road to the Albert Hall, Showtime! and The Bright Side … - plus six "Sing-A-Long" songs, including You’re the One, Take Us Home and Always Look on the Bright Side of Life. Plus, being a Blu-ray disc, there's movieIQ+sync and BD-Live.