Monty
Python: THE PENULTIMATE SUPPER
Pope: John
Cleese
Michelangelo: Jonathan Lynn
Michelangelo: Good
evening, your Grace.
Pope: Evening,
Michelangelo*) . I want to have a word with you about
this "Last Supper" of yours.
Michelangelo: Oh,
yes?
Pope: I'm
not happy with it.
Michelangelo: Oh, dear. It
took hours.
Pope: No,
not happy at all.
Michelangelo: Do
the jellies worry you?
Pope: No.
Michelangelo: They
add a bit of colour, don’t they? Oh, I know, you don't like the kangaroo.
Pope: What
kangaroo?
Michelangelo: I’ll
alter it, no sweat.
Pope: I
never saw a kangaroo!
Michelangelo: It’s
right in the back. I'll paint it out, no problem. I'll make him into a disciple.
Pope: Aah.
Michelangelo: All
right, now?
Pope: That's
the problem.
Michelangelo: What
is?
Pope: The
disciples.
Michelangelo: Are
they too Jewish? I made Judas the most Jewish.
Pope: No,
no, it's just that there are twenty-eight of them.
Michelangelo: Well,
another one would hardly notice that. So, I'll make the kangaroo into a disciple.
Pope: No, no.
Michelangelo: All
right, all right, we’ll lose the kangaroo altogether, I don’t mind. I was
never completely happy with it.
Pope: That's not the point. There are twenty-eight disciples!
Michelangelo: Too
many?
Pope: Well,
of course it's too many!
Michelangelo: In
a way, but I wanted to give the impression of a huge get-together, you know. A
real last supper, not just any old last supper, but a proper final treat, a real
mother of a blowout.
Pope: There
were only twelve disciples at the last supper.
Michelangelo: Well,
suppose some of the others happened to drop by?
Pope: There
were only twelve altogether.
Michelangelo: Well,
maybe they had invited some friends?
Pope: There
were just twelve disciples and our Lord at the last supper. The Bible clearly
says so.
Michelangelo: No friends?
Pope: No
friends.
Michelangelo: Waiters?
Pope: No.
Michelangelo: Cabaret?
Pope: No!
Michelangelo: You
see, I like them, they fill out the canvas, I mean I suppose we could lose three
or four of them, you know, make …
Pope:
Look! There were only twelve disciples at ...
Michelangelo: I've
got it! I've got it! We'll call it "The Penultimate Supper"!
Pope:
What?
Michelangelo: There
must have been one, I mean if there was a last one there must have been one
before that, right?
Pope: Yes.
Michelangelo: So this, is the "Penultimate Supper"! The Bible
doesn't say how many people were there now, does it?
Pope: No,
but...
Michelangelo: There
you are!
Pope: Look!
The last supper is a significant event in the life of our Lord, the penultimate
supper was not! Even if they had a conjurer and a steel band. Now, I
commissioned a last supper from you, and a last supper I want!
Michelangelo: But look …
Pope: With twelve disciples and one Christ!
Michelangelo: One?!
Pope: Yes
one! Now will you please tell me what in God's name possessed you to paint this
with three Christs in it?
Michelangelo: It
works, mate!
Pope:
It does not work!
Michelangelo: It
does! It looks great! The fat one balances the two skinny ones.
Pope:
There was only one Saviour!
Michelangelo: Well,
I know that, everyone knows that , but, what about a bit of artistic licence?
Pope:
One Redeemer!
Michelangelo: I'll
tell you what you want, mate! You want a bloody photographer! Not a creative
artist with some imagination.
Pope:
I'll tell you what I want! I want a last supper with one Christ, twelve
disciples, no kangaroos, by Thursday lunch, or you don't get paid!
Michelangelo: Bloody fascist!
Pope:
Look! I'm the bloody pope! I may not know much about art, but I know what I like!
*)
Question: Wasn’t it Leonardo da Vinci who painted “The Last Supper”? Surely,
Dan Brown got at least that bit right.!?
Answer: Well, yes. Leonardo da Vinci’s version
is indeed the most famous of all the many “last suppers” ever painted and
the last supper in the Sistine Chapel, which contains a painting of “The Last Judgement”
by Michelangelo, was painted by a certain Cosimo Roselli (1439 – 1507).
And
to finish off, a current cartoon that needs no caption:
THE BOTTOM LINE THE BOTTOM LINE THE BOTTOM LINE THE BOTTOM LINE THE BOTTOM LINE THE BOTTOM LINE THE BOTTOM LINE