Friday, October 31, 2008

Shakespeare Makes a Brief Guest Appearance on Monty Python’s Flying Circus

“Beethoven’s Mynah Bird.” “Archaeology Today.” By Monty Python et al. Perf. Terry Gilliam, John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Terry Jones, Michael Palin, and Eric Idle. Monty Python’s Flying Circus. Episode 21. BBC. 17 November 1970. DVD. New Video, 1999.

Shakespeare makes a minor—really, a transitional—appearance in this Monty Python sketch. In general, the sketch is about the family lives of "Great Men." Beethoven's having trouble with his symphony, Shakespeare had been thinking that "David" was a good name for his Danish Prince character, and Michelangelo has come up with a new name for his latest sculpture:


Links: Monty Python's Official Site.

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Bardfilm is normally written as one word, though it can also be found under a search for "Bard Film Blog." Bardfilm is a Shakespeare blog (admittedly, one of many Shakespeare blogs), and it is dedicated to commentary on films (Shakespeare movies, The Shakespeare Movie, Shakespeare on television, Shakespeare at the cinema), plays, and other matter related to Shakespeare (allusions to Shakespeare in pop culture, quotes from Shakespeare in popular culture, quotations that come from Shakespeare, et cetera).

Unless otherwise indicated, quotations from Shakespeare's works are from the following edition:
Shakespeare, William. The Riverside Shakespeare. 2nd ed. Gen. ed. G. Blakemore Evans. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1997.
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