The Secret Policeman's Balls

"In 1976, John Cleese of the Monty Python troupe was approached by the British branch of the human rights organization Amnesty International in hopes of putting together a fundraiser for the group. Cleese responded by calling some friends and colleagues, and he quickly assembled a star-studded cast of British comedy legends for a revue he called +A Poke In The Eye (With A Sharp Stick). The show was an overwhelming success, and it became the first in a series of Amnesty benefits Cleese would help stage. The third show was called +The Secret Policeman's Ball, and the name stuck, with several benefits that followed using variations on the name. Most of the Amnesty shows were filmed for later broadcast and cinema release, and Shout Factory has gathered five of them into one box set called The Secret Policeman's Balls. The set includes Pleasure At Her Majesty's (which documented +A Poke In The Eye along with copious rehearsal and behind-the-scenes footage), The Secret Policeman's Ball, The Secret Policeman's Other Ball, The Secret Policeman's Third Ball and The Secret Policeman's Biggest Ball. Pleasure At Her Majesty's and The Secret Policeman's Biggest Ball are presented in the full-frame aspect ratio of 1.33:1, while the other three features have been given widescreen transfers, letterboxed at 1.78:1 and enhanced for anamorphic playback on 16:9 monitors. The Secret Policeman's Biggest Ball was shot on tape, and the combination of transfers from a PAL source and steady improvements in video technology since 1989 give the program a soft look on DVD with a slightly dull color palate. The other four features were shot on 16mm film, and the source print for Pleasure at Her Majesty's is a bit scratchy and faded, while all suffer from the tell-tale grain of small-gage film and shooting under less-than ideal circumstances (as well as occasional splices). Ultimately, none of it impedes the entertainment value of these performances, but anyone expecting this to look state-of-the-art should revise their attitude before viewing. The audio for all five features has been mastered in Dolby Digital Stereo, with the later features in true stereo while the first three titles retain their original monophonic sound mixes. The fidelity is usually serviceable at best, but thankfully the quality is noticeably better for the musical segments, which seem to have been miked with greater care. The performances are in English, with no multiple language options or subtitles included. Pleasure At Her Majesty's, The Secret Policeman's Ball and The Secret Policeman's Other Ball all feature optional commentary tracks from Martin Lewis, who was a producer for the Amnesty films, and he talks about how the shows came together, how the stars were recruited for the programs, and occasionally provides context for material and performers unfamiliar to American viewers. Lewis also contributes brief opening and closing comments on the other two features. Other bonus materials featured on this set includes Remember The Secret Policeman's Ball?, a BBC documentary which traces the history of the benefit revues and the impact they had on fund-raising for political and social causes; it includes interviews with a number of the participants in the Balls, many of whom (as the title suggests) have a hard time jogging their memories about certain details. Other bonuses include three sketches from The Mermaid Frolics (the 1977 follow up to +A Poke In The Eye), additional musical performances by Pete Townshend and Sting, a television spot for an LP drawn from The Secret Policeman's Ball, a mock-newsreel promotional film shot at the premiere of The Secret Policeman's Other Ball, TV and theatrical trailers for the same film, and title sequences created for re-edited U.S. releases of the ""Secret Policeman"" films. Finally, a twelve-page booklet includes an essay by Martin Lewis giving further background on the shows. While the presence of John Cleese and other Monty Python associates is the key drawing card for most American viewers, some of the most important names in British comedy from 1960 onward are also on board for the ""Secret Policeman"" films, and any students of UK comedy will find these films both hilarious and enlightening, in addition to supporting a very worthy cause with their purchase."