Well, the day has come today; the follow-up to the two-part cliffhanger of the series. This tape has my mind boggled, and has made me see things… that probably no one else has saw. And it even made me do something I’ve never done before. But now you, Tim the sorcerer and God himself are wanting me to “GET ON WITH IT!” Well, it’s Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
…The VHS Surprises…
Credit goes to MovieclipsPROMO for the trailer.
Yes, Monty Python and the Holy Grail. I am sad to say that this copy I have is a poisoned chalice that made me go Julian Glover in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. And yet, here I am, still writing as of today. This is going to be a long sitting.
To follow up from where we left off, Monty Python and the Holy Grail was bought at the regular VHS shop in Vinnie’s, ironically in the similar cardboard box, though is very different compared to the ‘traditional’ CEL way; it shows the artwork that would become the standard of the cover for the movie, with the knight in the grail. It is notable for carrying a strange thing on the cardboard box, which is the Cannon films logo. No, I am not making this up as I’m going along; it actually appears on the cardboard box and the tape footage, too. It also carried the Monty Video logo on the box cover, but not on the tape footage.
Also, at the time, the movie was rated M, which is in contrast to today’s modern rating, which is PG in Australia. It also carried the ‘Recorded on Hi-Fi Stereo’ certification which has appeared occasionally during the late 80’s/early 90’s. And to top it off, it includes the missing 24 seconds from the movie… would you believe it’s Dingo breaking the fourth wall and being told to ‘GET ON WITH IT’, because that is the missing piece of the puzzle. Although it does not carry the ‘wrong movie’ mistakenly played by the projector at the beginning; in fact, few are known to carry it due to its noted inconsistency.
The tape, meanwhile, has seen better days… so where do I start? Well, the top and right-side sticker is intact, whilst the front sticker is nowhere in sight. Scratches are all over this videocassette, with a splotch of paint on the spine of the tape. There are evident white spots on the tape film itself, therefore meaning that the movie will take an eternity to play. And let’s not forget the fact that it can’t eject properly. Well, it isn’t the first time I’ve been double-crossed by a tape…
Credit goes to superniokas for the opening credits. You'd be surprised over how many times people get sacked during the credits.
As for the movie, I can talk about it as is, given that I’ve seen it plenty of times. Both this film and Life of Brian are the two best film works from Monty Python, and you can see why, especially at the very beginning of the movie, where the credits keep getting interrupted by people being hijacked. The rest will keep you intrigued and interested; with the Black Knight, the Bridge Challenge, and especially the film being abruptly stopped. Don’t believe me? Just watch it.
Now you must be wondering how in all that is holy am I going to get through this tape? Well, I can’t talk about it. I’ve fast forwarded this tape twice in a vain attempt to remove the white stuff on the film tape to no avail, and had a quick look at the beginning previews, which were Life of Brian (not the Family Guy episode), Jabberwocky, and Privates on Parade. This is where my hopes of seeing the tape in whole grounded to a complete and utter halt, as I reached near the end of the movie and onto the previews, it was virtually unwatchable from start to finish.
And this had left me with two options: Finish the review early, which would be the coward’s way out, or do the unthinkable, and re-create the previews that were to be on this tape. I would say that it would be a tough choice, but given that I like to go in depth with the contents of a videocassette, and that there is a video below, you know which answer I’ve chosen.
While I am responsible for putting this together, I have to give credit to the following:
And so, after a painful flickered attempt, the same warning from Poltergeist appears at the start, which remains informative to this day. But then comes the recreated parts; The Communications and Entertainment Limited logo makes an appearance following the warning screen, as usual, but is then promptly joined by Cannon films. Well, that wasn’t what I was expecting… although it has made an appearance on tape.
After the previewtime bumper, we then see three trailers; Life of Brian (again done by Monty Python), Jabberwocky (which unusually features a clock at the beginning prior to all the scenes it shows, and also features a bumbling announcer/card slide that continues until it fades out), and Privates on Parade (with John Cleese starring in the film), as mentioned earlier. And it follows with the PBV 'Stay Tuned' Bumper as mentioned earlier in We of the Never Never.
Following that, the rest is just a guess. As the movie presumably ends without the intermission jingle (I’m following the Australian DVD copy I own, so it may be wrong), the previewtime bumper then appears again, with two additional trailers in Monty Python: Live at the Hollywood Bowl (filmed first in 1980, but wasn’t released until 1982), and Time Bandits (where it features a disobedient and illiterate narrator who would be eventually sacked by Michael Palin). The tape presumably ends with the CEL logo (which occasionally does play at the very end of the tape)… though just because it was recreated, doesn’t mean that it ended like that.
Final Score
VHS Cover: 8/10. Unlike the standard cardboard VHS covers from CEL, this one is faithful to the design that would follow to this day. Still trying to wrap my brain around Cannon taking part with the Australian distribution, though.
Videocassette: 2.5/10. Some stickers are missing from this, and has issues trying to eject.
Quality: 0/10. Virtually unwatchable, so I had no choice but to replicate what might’ve been on there.
Warning: 9/10. See Episode 9.
Logo: 7/10. While Cannon’s involvement remains questionable, it is rather surprising to see the two logos distributing a movie together on VHS.
Previews/Other Features: 9/10. Funny, and worth watching for the film.
Final Score: 35.5/60. The quality and missing pieces of the videocassette are key factors in bringing this tape down. And it’s not even the first time I’ve been disappointed with a chosen tape, itself. However, it can at least take a passing mark as a consolation.
Well I hope you enjoyed the first season of The VHS Surprises. I have to admit, it was much harder for me to get through those tapes, and with a growing mountain of items, why stop there? Well, aside from the occasional VHS cleanout, of course…
The series will return sometime in August, though there’s nothing stopping me from posting my two cents on… stuff. Stay tuned for more blogs coming up over the break.
…The VHS Surprises…
Credit goes to MovieclipsPROMO for the trailer.
Yes, Monty Python and the Holy Grail. I am sad to say that this copy I have is a poisoned chalice that made me go Julian Glover in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. And yet, here I am, still writing as of today. This is going to be a long sitting.
To follow up from where we left off, Monty Python and the Holy Grail was bought at the regular VHS shop in Vinnie’s, ironically in the similar cardboard box, though is very different compared to the ‘traditional’ CEL way; it shows the artwork that would become the standard of the cover for the movie, with the knight in the grail. It is notable for carrying a strange thing on the cardboard box, which is the Cannon films logo. No, I am not making this up as I’m going along; it actually appears on the cardboard box and the tape footage, too. It also carried the Monty Video logo on the box cover, but not on the tape footage.
Also, at the time, the movie was rated M, which is in contrast to today’s modern rating, which is PG in Australia. It also carried the ‘Recorded on Hi-Fi Stereo’ certification which has appeared occasionally during the late 80’s/early 90’s. And to top it off, it includes the missing 24 seconds from the movie… would you believe it’s Dingo breaking the fourth wall and being told to ‘GET ON WITH IT’, because that is the missing piece of the puzzle. Although it does not carry the ‘wrong movie’ mistakenly played by the projector at the beginning; in fact, few are known to carry it due to its noted inconsistency.
The tape, meanwhile, has seen better days… so where do I start? Well, the top and right-side sticker is intact, whilst the front sticker is nowhere in sight. Scratches are all over this videocassette, with a splotch of paint on the spine of the tape. There are evident white spots on the tape film itself, therefore meaning that the movie will take an eternity to play. And let’s not forget the fact that it can’t eject properly. Well, it isn’t the first time I’ve been double-crossed by a tape…
Credit goes to superniokas for the opening credits. You'd be surprised over how many times people get sacked during the credits.
As for the movie, I can talk about it as is, given that I’ve seen it plenty of times. Both this film and Life of Brian are the two best film works from Monty Python, and you can see why, especially at the very beginning of the movie, where the credits keep getting interrupted by people being hijacked. The rest will keep you intrigued and interested; with the Black Knight, the Bridge Challenge, and especially the film being abruptly stopped. Don’t believe me? Just watch it.
Now you must be wondering how in all that is holy am I going to get through this tape? Well, I can’t talk about it. I’ve fast forwarded this tape twice in a vain attempt to remove the white stuff on the film tape to no avail, and had a quick look at the beginning previews, which were Life of Brian (not the Family Guy episode), Jabberwocky, and Privates on Parade. This is where my hopes of seeing the tape in whole grounded to a complete and utter halt, as I reached near the end of the movie and onto the previews, it was virtually unwatchable from start to finish.
And this had left me with two options: Finish the review early, which would be the coward’s way out, or do the unthinkable, and re-create the previews that were to be on this tape. I would say that it would be a tough choice, but given that I like to go in depth with the contents of a videocassette, and that there is a video below, you know which answer I’ve chosen.
While I am responsible for putting this together, I have to give credit to the following:
Spoiler
And so, after a painful flickered attempt, the same warning from Poltergeist appears at the start, which remains informative to this day. But then comes the recreated parts; The Communications and Entertainment Limited logo makes an appearance following the warning screen, as usual, but is then promptly joined by Cannon films. Well, that wasn’t what I was expecting… although it has made an appearance on tape.
After the previewtime bumper, we then see three trailers; Life of Brian (again done by Monty Python), Jabberwocky (which unusually features a clock at the beginning prior to all the scenes it shows, and also features a bumbling announcer/card slide that continues until it fades out), and Privates on Parade (with John Cleese starring in the film), as mentioned earlier. And it follows with the PBV 'Stay Tuned' Bumper as mentioned earlier in We of the Never Never.
Following that, the rest is just a guess. As the movie presumably ends without the intermission jingle (I’m following the Australian DVD copy I own, so it may be wrong), the previewtime bumper then appears again, with two additional trailers in Monty Python: Live at the Hollywood Bowl (filmed first in 1980, but wasn’t released until 1982), and Time Bandits (where it features a disobedient and illiterate narrator who would be eventually sacked by Michael Palin). The tape presumably ends with the CEL logo (which occasionally does play at the very end of the tape)… though just because it was recreated, doesn’t mean that it ended like that.
Final Score
VHS Cover: 8/10. Unlike the standard cardboard VHS covers from CEL, this one is faithful to the design that would follow to this day. Still trying to wrap my brain around Cannon taking part with the Australian distribution, though.
Videocassette: 2.5/10. Some stickers are missing from this, and has issues trying to eject.
Quality: 0/10. Virtually unwatchable, so I had no choice but to replicate what might’ve been on there.
Warning: 9/10. See Episode 9.
Logo: 7/10. While Cannon’s involvement remains questionable, it is rather surprising to see the two logos distributing a movie together on VHS.
Previews/Other Features: 9/10. Funny, and worth watching for the film.
Final Score: 35.5/60. The quality and missing pieces of the videocassette are key factors in bringing this tape down. And it’s not even the first time I’ve been disappointed with a chosen tape, itself. However, it can at least take a passing mark as a consolation.
Well I hope you enjoyed the first season of The VHS Surprises. I have to admit, it was much harder for me to get through those tapes, and with a growing mountain of items, why stop there? Well, aside from the occasional VHS cleanout, of course…
The series will return sometime in August, though there’s nothing stopping me from posting my two cents on… stuff. Stay tuned for more blogs coming up over the break.