"Actor: Michael Palin"

• Monty Python's Life Of Brian | DVD | (14/04/2003) from £5.32   |  Saving you £7.67 (144.17%)   |  RRP £12.99

  There is not a single joke, sight-gag or one-liner in Monty Python's Life of Brian that will not forever burn itself into the viewer's memory as being just as funny as it is possible to be, but--extraordinarily--almost every indestructibly hilarious scene also serves a dual purpose, making this one of the most consistently sustained film satires ever made. Like all great satire, the Pythons not only attack and vilify their targets (the bigotry and hypocrisy of organised religion and politics) supremely well, they also propose an alternative: be an individual, think for yourself, don't be led by others. "You've all got to work it out for yourselves", cries Brian in a key moment. "Yes, we've all got to work it our for ourselves", the crowd reply en masse. Two thousand years later, in a world still blighted by religious zealots, Brian's is still a lone voice crying in the wilderness. Aside from being a neat spoof on the Hollywood epic, it's also almost incidentally one of the most realistic on-screen depictions of the ancient world--instead of treating their characters as posturing historical stereotypes, the Pythons realised what no sword 'n' sandal epic ever has: that people are all the same, no matter what period of history they live in. People always have and always will bicker, lie, cheat, swear, conceal cowardice with bravado (like Reg, leader of the People's Front of Judea), abuse power (like Pontius Pilate), blindly follow the latest fads and giggle at silly things ("Biggus Dickus"). In the end, Life of Brian teaches us that the only way for a despairing individual to cope in a world of idiocy and hypocrisy is to always look on the bright side of life. On the DVD: Life of Brian returns to Region 2 DVD in a decent widescreen anamorphic print with Dolby 5.1 sound--neither are exactly revelatory, but at least it's an improvement on the previous release, which was, shockingly, pan & scan. The 50-minute BBC documentary, "The Pythons", was filmed mainly on location in 1979 and isn't especially remarkable or insightful (a new retrospective would have been appreciated). There are trailers for this movie, as well as Holy Grail plus three other non-Python movies. There's no commentary track, sadly. --Mark Walker

• The Death of Stalin | DVD | (26/02/2018) from £6.99   |  Saving you £-2.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £4.99

  The internal political landscape of 1950's Soviet Russia takes on darkly comic form in a new film by Emmy award-winning and Oscar-nominated writer/director Armando Iannucci. In the days following Stalin's collapse, his core team of ministers tussle for control; some want positive change in the Soviet Union, others have more sinister motives. Their one common trait? They're all just desperately trying to remain alive. A film that combines comedy, drama, pathos and political manoeuvring, The Death of Stalin is a Quad and Main Journey production, directed by Armando Iannucci, and produced by Yann Zenou, Kevin Loader, Nicolas Duval Assakovsky, and Laurent Zeitoun. The script is written by Iannucci, David Schneider and Ian Martin, with additional material by Peter Fellows.

• Monty Python's 'Meaning of Life' | DVD | (06/06/2011) from £5.99   |  Saving you £5.00 (83.47%)   |  RRP £10.99

  Those six pandemonium-mad Pythons are back with their craziest adventure ever! These naughty lads offer the usual tasteful sketches involving favorite bodily parts and functions the wonders of war the miracle of birth and a special preview of what's waiting for us in Heaven. Nothing is too sacred for the probing Python crew. After seeing them in action you'll never look at life in quite the same way again. It's far-out frank and jolly good fun!

• Life of Brian / Monty Python and the Holy Grail - Set | DVD | (03/10/2011) from £6.99   |  Saving you £1.00 (14.31%)   |  RRP £7.99

  Monty Python and the Holy Grail:Arthur, King of the Britons (Graham Chapman) assembles his Knights of the Round Table and takes them swiflty from Camelot, after a message from God, on a quest to find the Holy Grail! As they travel to the sound of their coconut banging servants, the banner of Knights encounter a castle of heavy resistance; guards throwing cows and chickens, Knights in the forest who say 'Ni!' and a cute looking rabbit that only the 'Holy Hand Grenade' can deal with. Satirising events of that time (including witch trials and the black plague), Monty Python create an hilarious take on the well known story and deliver some unforgettable moments.Life Of Brian:The second movie from the comedy team of Monty Python takes them back to biblical times, following Brian; born just a few doors down from Jesus, growing up a jew in Roman occupied Judea. As he falls for an attractive young rebel, Brian joins the separatist movement that will lead him to confront Roman Centurions and the well-known Pontius Pilate to determine his fate! Again satirising the times, Monty Python bring laughter to spectacles that at the time would be no laughing matter. Filmed in Tunisia, and with guest appearances including George Harrison and Spike Milligan, Life Of Brian is another hit from the comedy genius that is Monty Python.

• Pole To Pole With Michael Palin | DVD | (01/03/2004) from £12.65   |  Saving you £7.34 (58.02%)   |  RRP £19.99

  In Pole to Pole, Michael Palin follows the success of his original global trek, Around the World in 80 Days, with a race against time to get from the North Pole to the South Pole. Palin balks at nothing, tries just about anything and always finds time for a spot of tea. En route Palin stars in a crayfish documentary in Novgorod, attends a baby-rolling ceremony at a Cypriot wedding, gets stuck in a Nile traffic jam, buys chicken in Wadi Halfa, goes camel shopping in Khartoum and is prescribed tree bark by a Mpulugu witch doctor to get rid of his evil shadow. Even when things go according to plan, Palin travels in unusual ways--by dogsled on Spitsbergen, barge down the Dnieper, train roof across the Nubian Desert, van through the Sudan, hot-air balloon over Kenya and down Lake Tanganyika on the "African Queen". With curiosity, courage and his standard aplomb, Palin plunges himself into the local cultures, beating himself with birch branches in a Finnish sauna and wallowing in mud in an Odessa sanatorium. It all makes for an armchair traveller's delight. --Tara Chace

• The Death of Stalin | Blu Ray | (26/02/2018) from £8.95   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  'The Death Of Stalin' follows the Soviet dictator's last days and depicts the chaos of the regime after his death.

• Michael Palin: Travels of a Lifetime | DVD | (05/04/2021) from £5.99   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

• Monty Python The Meaning Of Life (4K Ultra HD) | Unknown | (14/04/2025) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Those six pandemonium-mad Pythons are back with their craziest adventure ever! Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin have returned to explain The Meaning of Life. The gang offers the usual tasteful sketches involving favourite body parts and bodily functions, the wonders of war, the miracle of birth and a special preview of what's waiting for us in Heaven. You'll never look at life in quite the same way again! Bonus Features: The Meaning of Monty Python: 30th Anniversary Reunion Sing-Along Version Prologue with Eric Idle The Meaning of Making The Meaning Of Life Feature Commentary with Terry Jones & Terry Gilliam Soundtrack For The Lonely Snipped Bits Un Film De John Cleese Education Tips Song & Dance Songs Unsung and much more!

• Monty Python and the Holy Grail -- Two-disc set | DVD | (04/03/2002) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The second best comedy ever made, Monty Python and the Holy Grail must give precedence only to the same team's masterpiece, The Life of Brian (1979). Even though most of this film's set-pieces are now indelibly inscribed in every Python fan's psyche, as if by magic they never seem to pall. And they remain endlessly, joyfully quotable: from the Black Knight ("It's just a flesh wound"), to the constitutional peasants ("Come and see the violence inherent in the system!") and the taunting French soldier ("Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries!"). Not forgetting of course the migratory habits of European and African swallows... The film's mock-Arthurian narrative provides a sturdy framework for the jokes, and the authentic-looking production design is relentlessly and gloriously dirty. The miniscule budget turns out to be one of the film's greatest assets: Can't afford horses? Use coconuts instead. No money for special effects? Let Terry Gilliam animate. And so on, from Camelot ("it's only a model") to the rampaging killer rabbit glove puppet. True it's let down a little by a rushed ending, and the jokes lack the sting of Life of Brian's sharply observed satire, but Holy Grail is still timeless comedy that's surely destined for immortality. On the DVD: Disc One contains a digitally remastered anamorphic (16:9) print of the film--which is still a little grainy, but a big improvement on previous video releases--with a splendidly remixed Dolby 5.1 soundtrack (plus an added 24 seconds of self-referential humour "absolutely free"!). There are two commentaries, one with the two Terrys, co-directors Jones and Gilliam, the other a splicing together of three separate commentaries by Michael Palin, John Cleese (in waspish, nit-picking mood) and Eric Idle. A "Follow the Killer Rabbit" feature provides access either to the Accountant's invoices or Gilliam's conceptual sketches. Subtitle options allow you to read the screenplay or watch with spookily appropriate captions from Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part II. The second disc has lots more material, much of it very silly and inconsequential (an educational film on coconuts, the Camelot song in Lego and so on), plus a long-ish documentary from 2001 in which Palin and Jones revisit Doune Castle, Glencoe and other Scottish locations. Perhaps best of all, though, are the two scenes from the Japanese version with English subtitles, in which we see the search for the Holy sake cup, and the Ni-saying Knights who want... bonsai! --Mark Walker

• Monty Python And The Holy Grail (Extraordinarily Deluxe Edition) | DVD | (09/10/2006) from £7.55   |  Saving you £17.44 (230.99%)   |  RRP £24.99

  Yoiks! Here be the Python's tale of good King Arthur (Graham Chapman) and his knights as they quest for the Holy Grail. Watch as they face great odds and silly sods. See them wage battle against the fierce Killer Rabbit (""Run Away! Run Away!"") and (oh horrors!) see them confront the dreaded Knights Who Say ""Ni!"". Oh these be trying times. Can these good knights pass the test of valour and cut down yon tree with herring? Or will they blow themselves to smithereens with the Holy H

• A Private Function | DVD | (17/04/2019) from £49.99   |  Saving you £-35.00 (N/A%)   |  RRP £14.99

  In post-war Britain, food rationing continues, leading a married couple to become involved in the flourishing bacon black market.

• Time Bandits BD | Blu Ray | (26/08/2013) from £9.99   |  Saving you £10.00 (100.10%)   |  RRP £19.99

  The film that established Terry Gilliam as more than just Monty Python’s resident animator this delightfully inventive children’s fantasy is about young Kevin (Craig Warnock) who finds himself travelling through holes in the space-time continuum in the company of half a dozen fractious dwarfs. Along the way he encounters Agamemnon (Sean Connery) Robin Hood (John Cleese) Napoleon (Ian Holm) and winds up as a passenger on the Titanic although not necessarily in that order. But is this just random entertainment laid on for history fan Kevin’s benefit or part of a wider struggle between the forces of good (Ralph Richardson) and evil (David Warner)? At the time this was a rare example of a small-budget British film successfully taking on American blockbusters. Now it's a much-loved fantasy classic bursting with inspired images and ideas: Gilliam and co-writer Michael Palin (who also appears) are clearly enjoying themselves as much as their audience. Special Features: Brand new 2k-resolution restoration of the film from the original camera negative approved by director and co-writer Terry Gilliam Original uncompressed PCM Stereo 2.0 and 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio options Optional English SDH subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing Chasing Time Bandits: A new interview with Terry Gilliam Writing the Film that Dares Not Speak its Name: A new interview in which Michael Palin discusses co-writing and acting in Time Bandits The Effects of Time Bandits: A new interview in which Kent Houston founder of the Peerless Camera Company discusses Time Bandits’ optical effects Playing Evil: A new featurette in which actor David Warner remembers producer George Harrison and playing Evil in Time Bandits The Costumes of Time Bandits: A new interview with costume designer James Acheson The Look of Time Bandits: A new interview with production designer Milly Burns From Script to Screen – A new animated featurette in which Milly Burns takes us through her production notebooks locations photographs and storyboards revealing how twentieth century Morocco was transformed into Ancient Greece Original Trailer Restoration Demonstration Collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by critic James Oliver “An extraordinarily inventive fantasy” - Time Out

• Around The World In 80 Days | DVD | (22/09/2003) from £9.99   |  Saving you £10.00 (100.10%)   |  RRP £19.99

  In 1989 Michael Palin recreated the famous voyage made in 1873 by Phileas Fogg in Jules Verne's epic Around the World in 80 Days. This 10-part (eight-hour) BBC documentary featured Palin and his passepartout using only the modes of transport available to the novelist's intrepid traveller. Hiring Palin was the masterstroke that ensured the series became a television milestone; despite being one of the comedy-surrealists of Monty Python's Flying Circus and the perpetrator of Ripping Yarns, he proved to be the most amiable travelling companion imaginable. His charm and ingenuity, coupled with the race-against-time format and the opportunity to visit at second-hand places most of us will never see, made Around the World in 80 Days an unmissable television event. So much so that Palin soon returned to the travel format in Pole to Pole (1992), Full Circle (1997) and Sahara (2002). --Gary S Dalkin

• A Fish Called Wanda | Blu Ray | (18/09/2017) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  This 1988 comedy starred and was scripted by John Cleese and directed by Charles Crichton, veteran Ealing Comedy director. After 1986's Clockwise--in which he played a manic loser similar to Basil Fawlty--A Fish Called Wanda saw Cleese opting for a more sympathetic lead role. Cleese plays Archie Leach (Cary Grant's real name), a barrister living a typically English life of quiet desperation, who falls prey to the American charms of Jamie Lee Curtis. Posing as a law student, she's actually involved in a diamond robbery with psychotic but occasionally clueless Kevin Kline ("The London Underground is not a revolutionary movement!") and Michael Palin, an animal rights' activist. A Fish Called Wanda is, typically of Cleese, well constructed but the romantic heart of the movie softens it a little. It was intended as a satire on Anglo-American differences but most people remember it for a running joke involving squashed dogs, the chips up Palin's nose and the scene where Cleese is hung out of a window by his ankles. The same cast reassembled for 1997's vastly inferior Fierce Creatures.--David Stubbs

• Do Not Adjust Your Set (DVD) | DVD | (16/09/2019) from £26.19   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Innovative and influential, and originally envisaged as a children's show Do Not Adjust Your Set was a madcap early-evening comedy sketch show that quickly acquired a cult following with Swinging Sixties adults, who rushed home from work to see it. Written by and starring Michael Palin, Terry Jones, Eric Idle, with great performances and additional material from David Jason and Denise Coffey, it also provided an early showcase for the hilarious animations of Terry Gilliam, and the brilliantly bizarre musical antics of the legendary Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band. For the first time anywhere all the fully existing episodes from the Rediffusion and Thames series of the show are brought together at last in one place for a deluxe package that includes five episodes new to DVD, at least two of which were previously thought lost, alongside new interviews with series director creator and producer Humphrey Barclay, writer and performer Michael Palin, uninvited guest star Tim Brooke-Taylor, animations from Terry Gilliam's personal collection, and a new documentary about the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, featuring new interviews with 1960s originators and key personnel Neil Innes, Rodney Slater, Roger Ruskin-Spear and 'Legs' Larry Smith. Special features: Includes all 14 fully surviving episodes, from both the Rediffusion and Thames series, five of which have never been previously released on DVD New digital transfers of rare animations by Terry Gilliam (Brazil, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas) from his own film elements Newly recorded interview with Michael Palin Newly recorded interview with uninvited guest star Tim Brooke-Taylor (2019) Newly recorded interview with series creator and producer Humphrey Barclay (2019) Bonzo's on the Box: : Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band members reflect upon the history of the group and their appearances on television, in a special documentary made up of new interviews with key 1960s originators and personal Neil Innes, Rodney Slater, Roger Ruskin-Spear and 'Legs' Larry Smith (2019) ***FIRST PRESSING ONLY*** fully illustrated booklet with new writing on the series by the BFI's Vic Pratt and full series credits Other extras TBC

• Jabberwocky | Blu Ray | (20/11/2017) from £17.44   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £N/A

  Welcome to the kingdom of Terry Gilliam: his solo-directing debut, a gonzo medieval comedy Amid the filth and muck of England in the Dark Ages, a fearsome dragon stalks the land, casting a shadow of terror upon the kingdom of Bruno the Questionable. Who should emerge as the town's only possible saviour but Dennis Cooper (Life of Brian's MICHAEL PALIN), an endearingly witless bumpkin who stumbles onto the scene and is flung into the role of brave knight? The first outing as a solo director by TERRY GILLIAM (Brazil)inspired by Lewis Carroll's poem Jabberwocky and made on the heels of Gilliam's success as a member of the iconic comedy troupe Monty Pytho - showcases his delight in comic nonsense, with a cast chock-full of beloved British character actors. A giddy romp through blood and excrement, this fantasy remains one of the filmmaker's most uproarious visions of society run amok. BONUS FEATURES DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES New 4K digital transfer from a restoration by the BFI National Archive and The Film Foundation, approved by director Terry Gilliam 5.1 surround mix, supervised by Gilliam and presented in DTS-HD Master Audio Audio commentary from 2001 featuring Gilliam and actor Michael Palin New documentary on the making of the film, featuring Gilliam, producer Sandy Lieberson, Palin and actor Annette Badland New interview with Valerie Charlton, designer of the Jabberwock, featuring her collection of rare behind-the-scenes photographs Selection of Gilliam's storyboards and sketches PLUS: An essay by critic Scott Tobias

• A Fish Called Wanda | DVD | (10/02/2003) from £7.57   |  Saving you £16.68 (264.34%)   |  RRP £22.99

  Barrister Archie (John Cleese) falls in love and tosses off more than his wig for sexy thief Wanda (Jamie Lee Curtis) - who can charm the pants off anyone! To make things worse Wanda is already using her charms on fellow partner-in-crime Otto (Kevin Kline in an Oscar-winning performance) a dim-witted intellectual psychopath who thinks the London Underground is a political movement! Meanwhile Otto is making eyes at henchman Ken (Michael Palin) an animal loving multiple dog-kille

• Monty Python's Flying Circus - Series 1 | DVD | (26/03/2007) from £5.98   |  Saving you £19.01 (317.89%)   |  RRP £24.99

  And now for something completely different...

• Jabberwocky | DVD | (17/02/2003) from £6.91   |  Saving you £6.08 (87.99%)   |  RRP £12.99

  A medieval comedy-adventure starring Michael Palin and directed by Terry Gilliam, Jabberwocky is an episodic adaptation of Lewis Carrolls surreal poem. Having previously directed Monty Python and The Holy Grail (1975) with Terry Jones, Jabberwocky marked Gilliams solo directorial debut--is it coincidental that Jones is killed by the titular monster in the opening scene? Palin plays the naive Dennis Cooper, a man seeking his fortune just as the Jabberwocky is laying waste to the country. Its much the same world as Holy Grail, with all the trappings of the romantic Hollywood epic being liberally coated with literal and metaphorical muck. Palins character causes unwitting mayhem wherever he goes--one stand-out scene involves the destruction of a maintenance shop for damaged knights-in-armour--though as much humour comes from exposing the foibles of the people he meets. And those people constitute a roll call of contemporary British comedy: Harry H Corbett as a sex-mad squire, Warren Mitchells Mr Fishfinger, plus Annette Badland, Max Wall, John Le Mesurier, Rodney Bewes, John Bird, Neil Innes and John Gorman. Jabberwocky lacks the hilarity of Holy Grail, but is a consistently amusing, exceptionally atmospheric, gleefully gory yarn which points the way to Gilliams Time Bandits (1981) and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988). On the DVD Jabberwocky is distinguished by an engaging and enthusiastic commentary from Gilliam and Palin, in which they delight in the amazing cast and ponder how such a handsome film was made. Otherwise the extras are a short sketch-to-screen comparison, three posters and three trailers (only one for Jabberwocky). Transferred anamorphically enhanced at 1.77:1, the picture is variable, with many beautifully lit indoor scenes looking fine, while other exterior, daylight shots appear washed out. There is some minor print damage. The sound is a revelation for a low-budget 1970s film originally released in mono. Given a full Dolby Digital 5.1 remix the tremendously detailed, rich and involving soundscape really brings Gilliams world alive and puts many much more recent and expensive titles to shame. --Gary S Dalkin

• Monty Python Almost Everything Box-set | DVD | (02/02/2009) from £N/A   |  Saving you £N/A (N/A%)   |  RRP £99.99

  Monty Python's Flying Circus Complete Series 1: 1. Whither Canada? 2. Sex and Violence 3. How to Recognise Different Types of Trees from Quite a Long Way Away 4. Owl-Stretching Time 5. Man's Crisis of Identity in the Latter Half of the 20th Century 6. The BBC Entry for the Zinc Stoat of Budapest 7. You're No Fun Anymore 8. Full Frontal Nudity 9. The Ant an Introduction 10. Untitled 11. The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Goes to the Bathroom 12. The Naked Ant 13. Intermission Monty Python's Flying Circus Complete Series 2: 1. Dinsdale! 2. The Spanish Inquisition 3. Deja Vu 4. The Buzz Aldrin Show 5. Live from the Grill-o-Mat 6. It's a Living 7. The Attila the Hun Show 8. Archaeology Today 9. How to Recognise Different Parts of the Body 10. Scott of the Antarctic 11. How Not to Be Seen 12. Spam 13. Royal Episode 13 Monty Python's Flying Circus Complete Series 3: 1. Njorl's Saga 2. Mr. and Mrs. Brian Norris' Ford Popular 3. The Money Programme 4. Blood Devastation Death War and Horror 5. The All-England Summarise Proust Competition 6. The War Against Pornography 7. Salad Days 8. The Cycling Tour 9. The Nude Man 10. E. Henry Thripshaw's Disease 11. Dennis Moore 12. A Book at Bedtime 13. The British Showbiz Awards Monty Python's Flying Circus Complete Series 4: 1. The Golden Age of Ballooning 2. Michael Ellis 3. The Light Entertainment War 4. Hamlet 5. Mr. Neutron 6. Party Political Broadcast And Now For Something Completely Different (1971): England was such a proper place - until the day the Python arrived. Monty Python that is a Flying Circus that slithered up the funnybone of an entire nation and gave it fits of laughter. Here's Monty Python's first feature film - a hilarious collection of their very best twits skits and bits from their popular TV series. The Holy Grail (1974): Yoiks! Here be the Python's tale of good King Arthur (Graham Chapman) and his knights as they quest for the Holy Grail. Watch as they face great odds and silly sods. See them wage battle against the fierce Killer Rabbit (Run Away! Run Away!) and (oh horrors!) see them confront the dreaded Knights Who Say Ni!. The Life Of Brian (1979): You could say this is one of the greatest comedies ever but the Monty Python team said it first! Life of Brian is all about (and here's the big surprise) the life of Brian who was born in a Bethlehem manger next door to Jesus. Three wise men believe he is the messiah but it becomes apparent that he is only Brian. Live At The Hollywood Bowl (1982): Live lewd and unleashed for the first time the Pythons take on the legendary Hollywood Bowl in a sell out show that serves up some of their best known songs and sketches in addition to brand new material that never appeared in the Flying Circus TV series. The Meaning Of Life (1983): Those six pandemonium-mad Pythons are back with their craziest adventure ever! These naughty lads offer the usual tasteful sketches involving favorite bodily parts and functions the wonders of war the miracle of birth and a special preview of what's waiting for us in Heaven.