"And now for something completely different…" The legendary comedy troupe Monty Python first took their particular brand of inspired absurdity from television to the big screen nearly forty ears ago, producing three original features that likely rank among the world's most rewatched films. Come see them on the big screen this spring at AFI Silver-- whether for the first time or if you know every line by heart.

 AFI Member passes accepted at all films in the Monty Python series.

Spawning a hit musical, plush killer bunnies and a generation of comedy nerds, this irreverent cult classic is the Pythons' unique take on the legend of King Arthur. After recruiting the Knights of the Round Table to join him in Camelot (turns out it's a silly place), Arthur and his coconut-clopping crew set out on a noble quest to find the Holy Grail. Featuring limbless knights, a Trojan Rabbit and wisecracking Frenchmen, the troupe's first original feature mixes absurd set pieces with Terry Gilliam's trademark animation, in the only Python film he directed.

DIR/SCR Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones; SCR Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Palin; PROD Mark Forstater, Michael White. UK, 1975, color, 91 min. RATED PG

Fri, Apr 13, 12 midnight; Sat, Apr 14, 9:00; Wed, Apr 18, 6:30 (Montgomery College Show); Thu, Apr 19, 9:00

Monty Python delivers a scathing, anarchic satire of both religion and Hollywood's depiction of all things biblical in this hilarious epic. The setting is Judea 33 AD, a time of poverty and chaos. At the center of it all is Brian Cohen (Graham Chapman), a reluctant, would-be messiah who rises to prominence as a result of a series of absurd circumstances (and a bit of mistaken identity for that better-known prophet). The Pythons, each playing multiple roles, nail the topical humor of the day: ex-lepers, Pontius Pilate, the art of haggling, the Romans ("What have they ever done for us?") and crucifixion.

DIR/SCR Terry Jones; SCR Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam, Michael Palin; PROD John Goldstone. UK, 1979, color, 94 min. RATED R

Sat, Apr 14, 7:00, 11:00; Wed, Apr 18, 9:15

With sketches including "The Dead Parrot," "Hell's Grannies," "The Lumberjack Song" and "Nudge Nudge," this film of re-staged material from their British TV show was intended to introduce Monty Python to an American audience, but it wasn't until a re-release some years later that the film caught on as a midnight-movie sensation.

DIR Ian MacNaughton; SCR Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones, Michael Palin; PROD Patricia Casey. UK, 1971, color, 88 min. RATED PG

Sun, Apr 15, 6:20; Wed, Apr 18, 4:30

"It took God six days to create the Heavens and the Earth, and Monty Python just 1 hour and 48 minutes to screw it up." The final feature by Monty Python harkens back to their comedy beginnings and was awarded the Grand Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival by Orson Welles. The sketch film examines life, death and everything in between. From "Every Sperm is Sacred" to the infamous world's fattest man's final meal, the film handles monumental ideas in the Pythons' typically defiant and irreverent fashion.

DIR/SCR Terry Jones; SCR Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Michael Palin; PROD John Goldstone. UK, 1983, color, 107 min. RATED R

Sun, Apr 15, 8:15; Tue, Apr 17, 9:30