This short movie was originally just one sketch in Monty Python's Meaning of Life (in the Part Middle Age, I think) and was to be done by Terry Gilliam by his famous animation style. Gilliam, however had directed his first movies by then (Jabberwocky and Time Bandits) and was somewhat bored with animation. So, thankfully he got to do this one live-action with his own actors, own budget and own will. So it became the only Python budget to go over the budget and the sketch bloated from five minutes into fifteen. So, the movie didn't fit into the center of the movie, so it was made as a "starter" to the feature movie. The Pythons themselves surprisingly do not feature all in this short. Only Michael Palin and Terry Gilliam can be seen as window cleaners and Eric Idle's voice can be heard when the pirates are singing Accountancy Shanty. This is only good, because the short makes you really confused, whether you have gone to a wrong movie. The best thing about this short is that it's so visually great. Every time I see it, I'll find something new. And the connections between accountancy and piracy are hilarious. Using filing cabinets as cannons and so on are very funny inventions. Every Gilliam fan will love it, but if you hate not only Gilliam, but do not like Python either, then avoid. 8/10
