John Cleese on criticism of his Fawlty Towers script.
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- Опубліковано 1 жов 2024
- John Cleese comments on criticism of his Fawlty Towers script, and the how basically no one knows what they are talking about, in general. Footage owned by Channel 4 Television, UK.
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essentialcreden...
I loved all these works by John Cleese. I remember, though, I was criticised for giving a very positive review of the Life of Brian on commercial radio. I am a priest. I got it - Brian is a very naughty boy! But many others thought it blasphemous. I am now 76 and retired, and I haven't changed my opinion. Brilliant work. But Fawlty is for me, the greatest of his works.
The biggest problem with "Life of Brian" that most people had was they thought it made fun of Jesus. But if anything he was treated very respectfully by the filmmakers and it was religion and how people interpret the words that they were making fun of. I mean how can you see the scene where they're arguing over "blessed are the cheese makers" and not get it?
I agree. In the show with the American it is so real I find it hard to watch. I have loved so hard I have to leave the room. It’s weird but feels a lot more than 12 shows.
I’m with you on that.
If you watch the debate between John Cleese/Michael Palin and Mervyn Stockwood/Malcolm Muggeridge where the latter two do nothing but denigrate the film and tell you how awful it is and how it will soon be forgotten (of course, it's considered one of the best comedy films ever made and certainly the best comedy that takes place in the Biblical era) ... You realize that the two antagonists missed the beginning of the film where it's made clear that the film is NOT about Jesus and does not mock his teachings. It's all about those who blindly follow religion without thinking and those at the top taking advantage of that.
Can’t fault you on that line of argument. Bang on.
God bless George Harrison
Keith Bellew he did the same for Shanghai Suprise! 😱
Bless George Harrison. You can omit the ‘God’ bunk.
Dope smokers know funny. Yes we do.
Got spooked when I saw this. I share the same name. And no relation to that one.
@MichaelKingsfordGray it's a figure of speech you petty little troll
So the world owes George Harrison another creative debt----being the only one with the balls to back "Life Of Brian." Thanks again, George!
"Almost nobody knows what they are talking about."
is so true.
Never more true than Trump lol.
Cleese doesn't know what he's talking about.
I do
When I was a child I thought adults were smart and knew everything. Turns out they were all just faking it.
He got it. Cleese makes me smile.
Fawlty Towers is one of my all-time favorite comedy shows. Cleese is soo good in it.
Second best has to be, “The Young Ones”.
How in the world do you find this clip, and then proceed to watch it, if you hated Python or Towers?? I understand UA-cam wormholes are vast...but really...you hate Python and Towers and Fish, and you saw this link, clicked it, watched it, and then posted how much you hate them. What were you watching right before you found the link to this? I just don't get it.
"I wanted to see the film" - that hilarious line of reasoning is SO George Harrison, I have no doubt it's completely true.
It makes you realise how many amazing films and TV series we've missed out on just because some blase exec didn't have the imagination to see it's potential
*its potential
“Believe only half of what you see and nothing that you hear.”
― Edgar Allan Poe
I believe half of that quote
As someone who never knows what he's talking about, I can attest to Cleese's pearl of wisdom here!
"Life of Brian"......tks to the great George Harrison!!!
"I wanna see the moovie ... " :-D
I watched Fawlty Towers full movie here twitter.com/9a1df98e96056bbd0/status/824453126048489472
Yep, he crowd sourced it.
Absolutely! It's a real treasure of comedy. I need to watch it again soon which would be in the 100s of times over the years
Absolute legend of British Comedy. Give him a knighthood!
He has turned it down three different times.
Well deserved too.
Cleese is so damned right when stating, "Nobody knows what they are talking about." He is just a shade older than me and I have a general lifetime of likewise experiences...my superiors, my best friends, my co-workers, clents and at times, yours truely, hadn't a fucking clue what was up from down.
robert glenn Very few people have wisdom and good judgment about things. It is a rare gift and is not necessarily learned from experience. That is why the world is always in such a mess. :(
+p123 Have you noticed that everyone has a belief, a rock solid belief in many things, however, lack wholesale "knowledge" a necessary precursor to wisdom.
robert glenn
Give some examples. I am interested. :)
Examples? Well, society today reflects millions who have solid beliefs yet understand nothing rendering them functionally illiterate. Most are readily willing to accept as truth such convoluted nonsense as the Warren Commission and the 9-11 Commission without even so much as considering it necessary to question official conclusions or proclamations even in the glare of the obvious improbability of said conclusions. As long as one persists in the belief that Lee Harvey Oswald killed JFK or that a herd of Arabs knocked down two skyscrapers with hijacked airplanes, he will forever fail to understand the intimate nature of government and power. Everything then becomes inanely simplistic as one marches through life wholly unaware of the reality about him.
You sound like you've failed to achieve. It's okay Cleese talking like this. It sounds stupid from a nobody.
Who's here after a fawlty towers episode got taken down? 🙋♂️
It's not taken down now (only for 2 days 11/06-13/06). There is now a message ''extra guidance and warnings’ about ‘potentially offensive content and language'' when te episode starts.
www.timesofisrael.com/bbc-to-reinstate-fawlty-towers-episode-with-slurs-after-adding-advisory/
I lived for Monty Phython! Fawlty Towers was hysterical! All of the productions took a concerted effort and talent to pull it off and these "guys" were fantastic! Thank you Monty Phython and John Cleese for the great memories and entertainment!!
1:17
Whelp, I have one MORE reason to be grateful for George Harrison existing.
“Almost nobody knows what they’re talking about.”
That must be why if something is successful, we copy it and adopt it as if it were our own invention.
Handmade Films IS George Harrison. Look for any film with that name and you can find George's name in there somewhere. He's been a friend of The Pythons for decades!
Speaking of George Harrison, he wrote the BBC after watching the very first show of Monty Python in 1969, raving how good it was. The man was a life long fan and did quite a few projects with the pythons.
John Lennon saw Fawlty Towers in 1980 and raved over how good it was as well as John Cleese.
I've watched the Mighty Boosh countless times and I'm so used to it that I simply snicker every now and then ("Not if I kill you first, ya grissly bastards!"). The same goes for Black Books which is one of my favourite sitcoms. Same for Seinfeld, The Office, Curb Your Enthusiasm etc. But Fawlty Towers, every time I binge watch it, breaks me down into hysterical tears at least six times a series. I bloody love it.
What you've described is every funny thing ever written. On paper, everything is just words. It takes soul, character, timing, and willingness to believe in your role. Seinfeld's characters were all cliche. Without Jerry's trademark whine it would just be some white guy spewing out unfunny, unmemorable lines for 23 minutes. You've basically described every written piece ever. Shakespeare in the hands of a dullard is just words spoken.
Fawlty Towers is a special tv programme. It ended when it needed to (as the final episode basically hinted that the hotel was going to close down) and the show as a whole was at its prime. Still stands, after 40+ years, as one of the best sitcoms ever made.
+SJMJ91 I agree with what you are saying but considering only 12 episodes were made, to describe it as at its prime sounds rather odd. It didn't really have time to be anything else, that's a short series by most standards.
SJMJ91 how did it hint that?
imperatorrm Because it was still considered great at that time.
10titanic10 Well, the health inspector saw the rat after a 24-hour health and safety warning. So, yeah I think just how Sybil and Polly reacted in the final shot while Manuel was dragging a fainted Basil out of the room indicated it too.
You might want to update the "Reception" section of the Fawlty Towers Wikipedia page then. :-)
Casually sitting next to Channing Tatum
My step Dad always says: "Everyone is an idiot." There is some truth to that...
George Harrison made Life of Brian possible and Elvis Presley loved the holy grail and would constantly repeat the gag... It's only a flesh wound... When u got beatles and Elvis as your Fans it's pretty cool...
This show was not only very funny, it's the way all the characters related too each other that kept you laughing. Plus the fact that this show is very close to what goes on in the smaller Hotels/BB. I have worked in a small hotel in San Fran many years ago, we had a lot of fun. But in the end we took care of the residents.
I love John Cleese.
I loved Faulty Towers. I still watch it now. Life of Brian is pure brilliance! Holy Grail is a cult classic.
They are all shit. John Cleese is always bigging himself up.
Maybe just the subjective opinion of someone who doesn't know what he's talking about, but bigs himself up while complaining of a successful person doing so. People have different tastes anyway, and the popularity of Fawlty Towers, The Life of Brian and A Fish Called Wanda effectively supports Cleese's point about the poor judgment of those who could not see their qualities and discounted their potential success.
mizofan
Cleese is a "has been" now. He isn't funny any more. He is also up his own arse.
I really like Michael Palin- he's a good guy
mizofan
I like Palin, and Eric Idle is a brilliant musician. In fact Cleese is the only one I don't like, mainly because of his huge ego and lack of humility.
I have no idea what I'm writing about.
Well then looks like you're going to make it.
Atheeizm
I have no idea what you're writing about.
I wish Hollywood producers were actually like that - "I'll give you the money to make it cos it looks like something I'd wanna watch!"
Fun fact: John Lennon called Fawlty Towers "The greatest show i've seen in YEARS!" :)
Then he punched his kid and wife!
Is there a causal link being established here?
The AntiStormShaun ! Quit talking out of your ass.
Well, back in those days I said "I don't like sitcoms", too. But that was before I met Fawlty Towers.
Well... I used to say "I don't like sitcoms", too .... that was before I met Fawlty Towers, though.
not true, I always know what I'm talking about.
I'm talking about subjects that I haven't the faintest clue as to what they may or may not be.
10 people have no idea why they hate this clip
John Cleese. Absolutely love fawlty towers and the movies he has done fish called wanda etc but for some reason I hate monty python. Wish I could get it into it but just cant!!
Things like this just go to show that TV and film execs literally have no idea what they're talking about. They're not artists. They're businessmen who don't *get* what it is they're selling and have to rely on what the charts and focus groups think.
This guy has been one of the funniest I have ever seen and some people just need to enjoy life a bit more....
That is so relieving to hear from Mr. Cleese that "...very few people know what they are talking about..." , I've been suspecting this for a while know.. .
Not knowing what you are talking about is absolutely essential if you are going to be a script reader at BBC or any
of the film companies. In show business it’s not what you know, it’s who you were at Cambridge with that counts so knowing anything is totally irrelevant
Also helps if you are a raging poofter
The British have some of the best comedies ever seen.
The Americans have little imagination but their stand up comedy is not bad.
@@paulohara8967 Seinfeld?
Most recently Brexit....
1:59 - possibly the wisest words on the whole of UA-cam.
Manuel, there still is too much butter, on those trays! (no no sen~or, uno, dos, tres!) RIP Andrew Sachs, his Manuel was actually a very good bellhop.
He was wonderful as manuel...hilarious writing and supreme acting RIP 😢
1:15 .. "I want to see the movie." .. That is why I collect Dvds. Somebody put up like a 100 million to make that film, which you can pick up for about 10.
I've never really liked FAWLTY TOWERS because I don't like farce, but GOD-DAMN is that show's writing some of the most intimidatingly tight and marvelous comedy ever put to page. And when you apply the physical talent of Cleese and Sachs, it's just pure virtuoso. So it's easy to see why people borrow from it endlessly; they pretty much perfected the farce with that show, maybe even better than I LOVE LUCY.
And still you have never really liked it?
I've never seen Channing Tatum look more out of place. Haha
William Goldman (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid & Magic) made this same statement in his 1983 book, Adventures In The Screen Trade. (A worthwhile read.) Also, a movie exec never loses his or her job by saying "no" to a movie project. Both are correct statements about the Hollywood & indie film biz. Risk is subjective.
This man is a true comic genius. 😀
They don’t make them like that anymore.
So true that originality is often met with confusion and dislike. Look at The Office when it premiered (either version). Both were panned by confused critics.
John Cleese is an absolute legend!
Who knew George was the money man. Amazing!
I did. Hes in it as well.
"I wanna see the film". Brilliant!
We all did, for decades now.
I did. And he was also involved in the Rutles-movie. actually played a cameo. Wonderfull!!!
I did too - It's a major credit "Handmade Films" I think
I think you are wrong on almost every level. When you say "overrated"....what you mean is , the script isnt to your personal taste,
If you dont like the scripts, fine, your right, however, its my right to think they are bordering on genius and are extremely funny and well written.
I love Fawlty Towers :-)
WTF i cant remember paul ogrady having such good guests, i remember it as weekday, supper time trash
Life of Brian was written and shot between 77-78! 79 was when it was released and when Cleese went back to record Fawlty!
That's the problem with TV and publishing industry they'd rather make a reality show or publish a book about some realtiy star who's been on big brother or i'm a celeb than create comedies and films like Fawlty towers or Only Fools and Horses, we get nothing like that I've been in that industry and seen some of the best ideas turned down. Such a shame! God Bless people like George Harrison.
"Ai wand to see tha muuhvie" ;-)
My favorite response (true, I swear!) from a book publisher: "This is original, important, and needs to be done properly: that makes it a problem for us."
Damn
@@RC000000000 My second favorite publisher response, this on the phone: "We have read the manuscript and agree that it opens crucial fundamental questions about its subjects and will change present understandings. So we delayed our written response because we're hoping it will go away."
John is the voice of clarity, talent and truth.
It is true, most people haven't got a clue!
I'm a bit of a fan of the Monty Python films too. It might be more accurate to say 'Most pepole think they know what they're talking about'. When in fact they are incorrect in their assumptions.
My Beatle...Georgie Boy. U had a vision. We had a classic Comedy. John Cleese ur funny funny funny and funny.
By 1980 Cleese had done his best stuff. I thought A Fish Called Wanda & Clockwise were both pretty weak.
ALL I know is that extremely intelligent and creative person has been totally ruined (financially) by a not so good looking woman
Cleese is correct
I think that John just gave us an important truth. Most people don't know what their talking about, especially (I find) in positions of power.
Fuck me dead, George Harrison is to thank, OMG! Thats Insane, but somehow MontyPythonic itself. The main problem with people like John Cleese is that not only he have a posh education BUT he is intelligent and knows what he is talking about.
very dangerous combination. Love You
I don't think it's as much that people don't know what they are talking about when they see something different as much as people don't want to take a risk and prefer to stick with a formula they know works. If I'm an intern for the BBC and asked what do I recommend they put on the air, if I have a choice between a copy and paste sitcom that I know will be popular or take a risk on something different even if I think it might be better I might take the safe option just to preserve my job.
Thats what creative thinking is all about. Do stuff that hasn't been done before.
Decca rejected the Beatles. The executives felt that "guitar groups are on the way out" and "the Beatles have no future in show business"
Wrong!
Maybe he did season two (1979) when shooting of "Life of Brian" had begun, but that's it!
Great guy.
love the analogues between English and American humor, still it's worth Monty Python enormous humor, and was a teenager back then lucky had a humor bone in my body, lucky me
"Almost nobody knows what they're talking about" So good. XD
To be fair, "A Touch of Class" is the weakest of all the episodes.
"Very few people have any idea what they are talking about -
and most people have no idea at all."
Wise words to keep in mind ;-)
HAS to be the best summary of this - "Almost nobody knows what they're talking about."
yes i am a creative person and i just have taken note :)
God bless George Harrison!!
I love that tv advert when hits a police car with a bush should have gong to ?
Specsavers.
Best show ever made x
He's not wrong you know. Nobody knows what they're talking about. Including me. I'm just making this up as I go along. Probably talking complete crap.
Yeah, you are. I'm not, though . . .
Is that Channing Tatum next to Cleese?
One of the best sit coms shame they did not produce more episodes...........
+NicBunnymen That's one of its best and most endearing features - it wasn't worn thin.
One of the reasons it didn't go on was because it took him 6 months to write.
+NicBunnymen They could have done at least one more series without damaging the series. It should have been done in the 80s or 90s but too late now.
+Everything80s I agree, thanks.
+Tvjunkie145 wow...06 months!!!1
Life of Brian is fantastic.
He's spot on when he says most people have no idea what they're talking about.
yeh haha, pretty eclectic guests on the paul o'grady show
My opinion of George Harrison has gone way up after learning he was responsible for Life of Brian getting made.
I love Fawlty Towers. Pure brilliance.
Hilarious
More power to you.
@sockington1 Lilly Savage
It must be great being John Cleese.
Watching this in 2020. I wonder what Cleese has to say about "The Germans" episode.
is that channing tatum?
"Very few people know what they're talking about and most people have no idea at all".
John cheese 🧀
Wise words.
Was he says about ignorants on comedy is true.he is a master of comedy and yet,nobody has the formula for a comiclong play film.
Perhaps it's too much to ask who the interviewer is.
Who the fuck thought it was a good idea to put that guy on the right next to an emperor like John Cleese.