When I was in basic, our drill sergeant was yelling and screaming about marching up and down the square. I knew he was a Monty Python fan. However, when he asked if we would rather being doing something else, we didn't dare answer. I always wondered what he would have done if I raised my hand and said I want to take a nap.
@Armchair Psycho do you have the slightest idea how scary it would be. I don't know about the british army, but the drill sargent from where I live would straight up hit you, ignoring the fact that you have the constitution-granted right to not get beaten up for jokes
@Armchair Psycho In my country we have made up a famous person (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C3%A1ra_Cimrman) and if you were to quote any relevant info out of official plays, or seminars preciding them at ANY oral test, at worst examiner will pretend you said nothing, or at best it will be taken as correct answer. Though i guess Monty Python is not as wide spread in england as Cimrman in Czechia.
@@kubapicha5124 that reminds me of a saying from Moldova. The army man doesn't tell you to cook a goat if the lamb has been eating the pepper. Ha ha ha
Flamel This is genuinely what they are like in real life too, trust me 😂 Half the time you’re terrified and the other half you’re terrified of bursting out laughing at some of the one liners they come out with.
My grandfather was one of the soldiers in this scene. Sadly passed away now a day or so ago but absolutely loved it whenever my nan, my dad or I reminded him of this hilarious scene. Know this scene off by heart and can't help but laugh. RIP grandad, you'll never be forgotten.
I remember my lot being asked for a volunteer by the Sgt Major once. I sheepishly raised my hand, got called forward. He made me march up to him before saying. ''Well volunteered...enjoy your weekend. As for the rest of you...lets carry out this inspection of the shop floor shall we?'' That was the best 40 minutes of free time in my life. xD
That's interesting! The advice given to me about the army was: never volunteer! Example: "Do we have any music lovers here?" Five hands go up. "Great. There's a piano that wants moving!"
@@g-man8705 As a general rule you shouldn't. Some senior NCO's do occasionally change it around because they are SICK F#C&$! The advice I got was in our branch name. US Navy. N.A.V.Y.- Never Again Volunteer Yourself. Volunterring others is quite acceptable though.
@@g-man8705 Yeah, agreed. Normal rules are never volunteer. However, at the time I saw it as an opportunity to get me and my mates away quicker for the weekend. As in, there's a shit job, I'll just do it so we can go. Turns out I got one of the very few, very fortunate times that it didn't end up in a dicking.
@@TheBehm08 It's actually a very common British military word, it used to be that all field exercises were called "schemes." You still see phrases like "scheme of maneuver" used in military settings.
I noticed many people find different detail that they love. For me that would be moment what he says "PPPRACTICE" and I'm pretty sure he spat on this guy a little bit.
@@ontheroad5317 I think Chapman wouldn't have been good in this particular role. He had the aloof, upper class, half out of touch, appointed by family rather than ability British officer of the 19th and 20th Century down perfect, but I couldn't see him doing such an over the top Cockney type non commissioned officer.
"Sarge? Bloody Sarge? There's two kinds of Sarge in this man's Army. Massage, and Sausage, and if you massage the sausage, you are calling me a wanker!" SGT Raes, Bad Lads' Army
I remember one lad said sarge and the reply he got was "Sarge? Bloody Sarge?! Call me that again and I will masARGE my SausARGE up your back passARGE!"
One of the best scenes ever in a film. Also the best thing Michael Palin has ever done on screen. His face when he says "WOULD YOU NOW?!" And of course, "LEARNING THE PEE-AA-NNOO!!" Also, watched this for years before I even realised it was a big pencil under his arm, lol. I just love it :)
This Michael Palin at his very best. I watched this years ago with a Viet Nam vet (I was 4-F), and my dear friend doubled over and fell to the floor in such paroxyms of laughter I momentarily feared for his well being. I think that scene hit a chord for him. Thanks much.
As a young student I saw all their shows on Dutch television and loved it. Seeing it now, it strikes me how fresh it still is. Again I have a big grin on my face.
Palin was so good. You can see one guy holding back a laugh at :50 and on. Must have been so hard to stay in character with Palins facial expressions and intonation.
Michael Palin is the best out of all the Pythons. He's also a very nice man. I met him March of this year and he was extremely friendly, signed one of his books for me because I do a TV show like his old ones, except mine's about GPS treasure-hunting. Can't wait to get another chance to see him, might ask him to help me march up and down the square!
I just LOVE the echo from his voice when he screams “learning the piano?”, and on a couple of other occasions as well, you hear his voice reverberating off the buildings....😂
I've got a sergeant exactly like that in the RAF were doing drill as he suddenly gos today we will be marching up and down the square upon him saying this I burst out laughing, he strides over to me and go' "why we're you laughing??" I reply "don't know sgt sorry sgt" he then says "are you a MP fan?" me "yes sgt" then what shocked me the most was him going "good man my respect for you has gone up" and walked off :P
"RIGHT, OFF YOU GO!" the one right after the piano guy... Michaels hat bobbles back and forth perfectly right after he says it. Never notice, but it makes this scene just like his facial expressions do. This scene is literally perfect.
Michael Palin as usual is absolutely brilliant, hysterical, and bonkers at the same time with such panache. Love the facial expressions in synch with the falsettos that makes this video a timeless classic.
Stayed at that barracks briefly during basic 1977 remember going to local pool to do swimming test one of the guys did a back wards flip into the shallow end 😢😢😢 don't know why broke his neck never saw him again .
I love how they do the camera at the beginning where it's like he pops up from beneath and it's zoomed so it's all in-your-face. I agree, Palin is brilliant.
michael palin and eric idle are a perfect match in my eyes palin is one of britons all time great comedy actors his timing is second to none..gotta love him in fish called wonder btw..brilliant!!
This absolutely classic sketch, which will always be one of the greats, starts with "Don't stand there gawping! Like you've never seen the hand o' God before!". It's brilliant from start to finish, a masterclass in comedy.
"Don't stand there gawping like you've never seen the Hand of God before". This line is perfect. It illustrates exactly the state of mind of a drill sergeant. His absolute priority is being, or appearing to be, in complete control of any situation, because that's how the cadets must view him. No matter what crazy shit happens, he will act like it was part of his plan, or if it's particularly crazy shit, to the point that it can't have been part of his plan, he will just shrug it off.
The fact that I’ve spend the last month watching Michael’s travel documentaries and never once wondered what he was like in monty python, this kills me help I need to watch monty python
He's in a tough position because Atkinson is in front of him and the soldier who wants to read his book is behind him. So he has to show courage under fire so to speak. It's a brilliant scene.
I get the praise for the Piano lessons and book reading bits, but something about the mundane wholesomeness of Atkinson's preference for spending the afternoon with his family instead of marching up and down the square and his willingness to admit that to the Sarge will always crack me up.
Michael Palin is one of my favourite human beings of all time. There's a lot in this clip but check out the way he says, "Now!" right near the beginning. I'm finished from that point on everytime😭🤣
Grenadier Guards with the old color berets. As an ex Guardsman myself, I can confirm that, as guardsmen, these boys spent indecent amount of time 'marching up and down' squares.
This is eerie . Two days ago I thought about this sketch which I have not seen nor thought about in decades and now my RU-vid feed presents it to me with zero prompting from me . This is fucking eerie .
We used to thrash our pushbikes up and down that square. It’s now a car park and Cavalry Barracks, Colchester is now a medical centre and yuppie flats/offices…
