Monty Python's Fliegender Zirkus Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		5.0

Monty Python's Fliegender Zirkus Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman June 19, 2026

John Cleese appeared in my hometown of Portland, Oregon a couple of years ago and he began his performance with the single best opening line for a Portland audience I have ever experienced in decades of attending all sorts of concerts and stand up presentations. Cleese strode onstage and in an avuncular tone said, "How nice to see all of you. I'm sure many of you are wondering why I'm performing here on the outskirts of Seattle". (If you're from either Seattle or Portland, you will most definitely get the joke.) Cleese went on to regale us with all sorts of hilarious anecdotes, and one of the funniest, maybe at least for those of a certain "persuasion", involved the Monty Python troupe getting invited to Germany, where a German television producer was very excited to employ them. For reasons that Cleese said were still unclear to him to this day, when the gang arrived in Munich, they discovered their host had arranged for them all to tour Dachau — like, immediately, straight from the airport. And so they set off in a limousine for the former concentration camp, only to discover when they got there the host had miscalculated, and it was a day they were closing early and no one else was being admitted inside. The host excused himself from the vehicle and went up and was arguing with a guard about it when Graham Chapman evidently poked his head out of a rear window and shouted, "Tell them we're Jewish!" Suffice it to say the exciting (?) visit to Dachau didn't work out, but German interest in Python most definitely did.

One of the things the prevalence of things like internet databases and the like have provided is that fans who are, say, collectors of vinyl or other "antique" technologies can suddenly peruse decades of information and discover heretofore unknown gems, like rare 45s. Something quite similar is going to be on hand for lovers of Monty Python's Flying Circus: The Complete Series, since the bulk of the content on the two German produced episodes is surprisingly "new". Yes, some bits have been recycled, but others, like the hilarious "twit race", have been refashioned (here as part of 1972 Munich Olympics). Fascinatingly, and perhaps adding to the hilarity, the first episode was shot in German (it sure sounds like the Pythons are all speaking German themselves), while the second was shot in English. One of the added allures of these episodes is seeing Terry Gilliam's insouciant animations with German text (I've provided a couple of screenshots of these moments).

Monty Python's Fliegender Zirkus Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Monty Python's Fliegender Zirkus is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Mercury Studios with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.33:1. Much like the restoration of the original series that I reviewed several years ago, things look surprisingly spry throughout both episodes. The restoration demo included on the disc as a supplement details some of the challenges encountered in getting this into such good shape, but the result is organic looking and really doesn't show any signs of egregious digital tampering. As such, there are definitely some variations in densities, clarity and grain, but even the original Monty Python's Flying Circus exhibited many of these same anomalies. There are several sequences with burnt in subtitles that can look a bit degraded at times.

Monty Python's Fliegender Zirkus Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

As mentioned above, the first episode is in German and the second in English, with both delivered via an LPCM 2.0 Mono track. Everything sounds fine, even though the restoration demo specifically mentions some dropouts that needed to be addressed. It's a hoot (if I may be permitted such a quaint adjective) to hear the show in German. Both languages are presented without any real issues. Optional subtitles in several languages are available.

Monty Python's Fliegender Zirkus Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Note: In what could have been a modern day Python skit, it may have taken a certain reviewer a couple of minutes to realize the supplements are all authored together as a group with a total running time of 44:05. You can access each separately, but for anything other than the last supplement that functions as a Play All button which then moves on to subsequent bonus items, kind of like the way Well Go USA used to author its Blu-ray releases.

• Euroshow 1971 (HD) is the group's contribution to the German produced Euroshow 1971, a show aired to help celebrate May Day. Various supposed British May Day traditions are explored.


• Montreux Special 1971 (HD) aggregates various Python classics in this BBC entry into The Rose d'Or Awards (whatever those are/were).


• Mountain Stream Outtake (HD) is in German.


• Swimming Lessons (HD) is in German.


• Restoration Demo (HD) offers side by side looks at the SD source and HD upgrade.

Kind of interestingly, Mercury Studios is offering this Limited Edition in SteelBook packaging. The outer panels reproduce Gilliam's memorable title treatments, with the front panel offering some nice red tones. The interior panels offer more Gilliam whimsy (with some German adornments). A kind of unusual glossy paper "J card" is taped to the SteelBook and has an inner print detailed episodes and bonus items.

Monty Python's Fliegender Zirkus Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Well, they may not have been able to get into Dachau, but Monty Python definitely got into the German television broadcast arena with these two absolutely wonderful episodes. Any fans of Python will find some probably unknown or at least lesser known bits here, in both German and English. Technical merits are surprisingly solid, and the supplements including handsome SteelBook packaging are fun. Highly recommended.