Released for the first time on DVD, Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl presents some of the Python lads' finest, funniest (and foulest) work. Cut from their four night stand at the Hollywood Bowl in 1980, this DVD is jam-packed with sketches, songs and a host of their finest gags from their TV series.

Numbers include the sexually confused lumberjack, the Ministry of Silly Walks, the Argument Clinic and the exploding balladeer. Some of the group's funnier short-film pieces are featured as well, including the International Philosophy Match (Germany vs. Greece) and Terry Gilliam's animated pieces. Monty Python aficionados will enjoy seeing the lads do their thing for a live crowd, and there's a fantastic rapport with the audience. The sketches are looser and less hermetic than those in the Monty Python TV shows or films. Aside from the unusual setting, there's nothing particularly revelatory about Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl... But for Python fans and fanatics--and they are legion--this won't matter a jot. --Nick Poppy