Not The Messiah ( He's A Very Naughty Boy) DVD
On October 23rd 2009, to celebrate Monty Python’s 40th anniversary, a very special one night only event took place at London’s famous Royal Albert Hall.
Recorded for posterity the incredibly ambitious musical version of Monty Python’s Life of Brian was brought to the stage in a 90 minute production and is now released on the unsuspecting public through Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.
Never were those immortal words uttered by John Cleese so many years ago more apt..’And now for something completely different…’
How different can you possibly get? While Cleese himself is the only surviving member of the team not to be involved in Not The Messiah, the production does bring together Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam.
Eric Idle and John Du Prez who were responsible for the amazing success of Spamalot join force once again, creating a unique masterpiece of a show that combines all the unforgettable bits of Life of Brian with the overblown grandeur of operatic soloists, a full blown orchestra and chorus.
Despite being a life long Python fan I must admit to having reservations prior to watching the DVD, musicals are not really my thing and the trailer suggested something more akin to opera anyway, so with trepidation I pressed play.
The always cheeky Eric Idle put me at ease and by the start of the show I had a pleasant grin plastered on my face, amused and relieved to see ‘Mrs Betty Palin’ appear on stage as narrator.
For the first twenty minutes or so, while there were a few laughs, I imagined that once I had reviewed the disc I would not care to watch it again.
But fair to say the show picks up comedy wise as it goes on and half way through I found myself enjoying an art form that I had previously had no experience of.
The laughs come thick and fast in the second half of the show and there are some excellent non Life of Brian moments thrown in, such as Idle’s impression of that other Messiah, Bob Dylan, with the full choir suddenly appearing with harmonicas and playing for laughs.
From the start it is obvious that this is a very special show and it is very evident that the entire cast, orchestra and chorus, who remain on stage throughout, are bang up for it and are going to have the night of their lives whatever.
It really works and there are some magical performances from all involved including some rather unexpected moments from members of the band.
By the end I no longer felt that the DVD would be tossed away after this review, instead I felt that I wanted to watch the whole thing again, a remarkable achievement for this production of Not The Messiah.
Not The Messiah – Trailer
Not the Messiah (He’s a Very Naughty Boy) is released on June 14th and will be available on Blu-ray for RRP £22.99 and DVD for RRP £15.99.
DVD Special Features Include:
“The Road to the Albert Hall” Featurette – A 30 minute behind the scenes documentary featuring interviews with the cast and crew rehearsing and preparing for the show.
“Showtime!” Featurette – A unique look at the fascinating backstage mechanics of the show including last minute nerves and excitement, backstage near misses and mayhem and hasty moustache adjustments.
“The Bright Side…” Featurette – Composer Eric Idle talks us through writing this surprisingly upbeat comedy classic song!
6 Sing-A-Long Songs including “You’re the One,” “Take Us Home” and “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life”
Blu-ray Disc Exclusive:
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The Blu-ray Disc version of Not the Messiah (He’s a Very Naughty Boy)isBD-Live enabled, allowing users to get connected and use the disc as a key to unlock exclusive content and features via an Internet-connected Blu-ray player. Download exclusive content and give feedback through our survey and more!
Not the Messiah (He’s a Very Naughty Boy) has a running time of approximately 91 minutes and is rated 12.
