This program is a one-off show, produced by the entertainment dept. of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) to compete in the Montreux Festival Rose D'Or in 1979. My parents are credited with the idea, and both my father Knut (1943 - 2016) and I can be seen in various "roles" throughout the show (he is the viking chieftain thrown off a horse (the pain is still there); I "play" the author Henrik Ibsen as a child, complete with snowsled and whiskers). John Cleese was riding high at the time on the back of "Fawlty Towers", and I believe the agreement to use him for this was made prior to his second round of global fame; hence a viable expense.
I thought this was hilarious, great comedy. It's quite sad that many of the Norwegians commenting here are offended by it. The only non Norwegian in it is John Cleese. Modern Norwegians have lost their sense of humour.
I don't think those whiners represent modern Norwegians. My friends from Norway are incredibly funny, their humor leans towards the absurd, and they'd love this. I honestly think the few complainers are just weird, humorless outliers who like to bitch online. Hope I'm right about this, anyway...
+Iceandale I think it's funny. of course, when someone says something bad about something or someone you care about, it's not FUN, but i believe that it was all in good sport/all for fun. :)
As a Norwegian I can confirm that Norway is a fictional country, allthough fictional our national sport is skullbumping, preferably after some drinking.
+Dag Ut It's all too far fetched; I don't believe it exists. Ireland, now that I could believe, although I won't make a final judgement. But Norway? Made up in the '70s by a group of students as a project.
+The Monty Python Museum there is a lot of true facts, but usually the overexcadurating comes after. For excsample there is a lot of skiing, even directly from the homes, but not that many, nor do we ride the tram with skiis on, use stairway shaped skiis or repair pur skins like that. Its great to watch when you understand it though.
Non-Norwegian but still Norwegian by descent, as the character portrayed in the documentary (and, who knows, perhaps in reality as well)! All the best! 🙂
@@victorrock1997 At 2:09 he says "in a boat like this, my ancestor left the shores of Norway". I doubt he's joking about that. I think he's part Norwegian.
What a shame it was a 'one off' project. What a pleasure to stumble across it 41 years later having never heard of it. Loved the daily ski activities - emergency forces ha ha.
CakeIsSo Good Wrong. Sweden and Norway existed as we know them, pretty much. Similar borders and the same people - until recently, when multiculture was introduced by politicians.
Briliant production, as always, by John Cleese! Very 'pythonesque', shall we say. All the best to everyone reading this! Skål and may Odin be with you!
This was really funny. Thanks for uploading and sharing. I laughed all the way through. And Yes, this is all true. It's how Norway really is - every person, every day.
6:47 - I hate it when that happens! Three times this week I've ended up going home with someone else's staff! I've been cursing Odin all evening, I'm so upset!
That's correct, it was Norway's (NRK)'s) contibution that year, and it won 2 of the prices at "Festival Rose d'Or". I think it was the Press Price, and the City of Montreux Price.
I must strongly protest for the gross inaccuracies of this nonetheless compelling documentary - the spray can shall not to be accredited to Raghebell in 1928 but to the more appropriate Eric Rotheim in 1926.
that is just very funny. im not norwegian but living in there and that is just so true:D. in the beginning was also laughing about many of those things, now doing it myself:):). for example the backbag is the most comfortable bag to have:):). locals should probably also enjoy that clip, though some of them do not have a sense of selfirony:D
I remember just the section on food airing on a Nickelodeon program called Turkey TV. To this day, there's a certain item at the local Chinese buffet that I refer to as "Terrrrrfisk".
As the uploader, I must say that I am surprised to discover this video is so popular, or at least, so hotly debated! Was it mentioned on some other website perhaps? (Yet the analytics don't show it to be widely embedded.)
I think it's popularity comes from that many Norwegians like Cleese, and people who is talking about Norway. So I think most of the views comes from Norway.
I think what you are seeing is a new generation of Norwegians sharing the link on social media with each other. =) I'm a long time Cleese fan, but for some reason I had never seen this skit before. As we are used to being somewhat invisible to the world, *everyone* wants to see what little international attention we get.
He forgot the famous Holmenkollen Contest, rolling a boat-like thing down a track, to be able to ring the bell, placed on a pole in the lake!!! The lake sadly disappeared with the new - Danish Constructed Skijump, being built!! Combining flatlander Danes with skies, is a bad thing!
I wanted to share this video with a Norwegian friend, but couldn't find it. I thought it was a Monty Python skit. "Skit?" sounds like a Norwegian word to me and I should know, I've never been there. Trolls, etc.
I've heard it said, Norway has the highest absenteeism from work than any other European country. . .when it's a nice day, many people go to their log cabins in the woods and mountains. If this is true. . . .I'm coming!. . . .
The Monty Python Museum Finland is "famous" for having one the highest suicide rates in the world. Don't think Norways has a particularly high suicide rate. And Finland is not one of the scandinavian countries;)
A Bettum Depends which website you check, and for which year, but all of Scandinavia scores pretty high. Which often includes Finland and Iceland or even sometimes Greenland.
At the 4:20 mark, it's hard not to be confronted with a serious Jawa vibe, given the high pitched speeded up gibberish voiceover admixed with the brown robed and hooded figures.
:D ..in keeping with the theme of the program -- I've seen parts of this before(bits of this has been recycled), and genuinely believed up until now that it was actually made by a Norwegian comedy trio in the 80's, in isolation from everything else around the world up here in the cold north. I'm sorry. I truly am. Also, angry. A little bit. Not too much.
Hindsight being what it is I very much hope this was made with love. Nora's departure(s) in the Ibsen Doll's House sequence made me laugh out loud. But lest I laugh too loudly the sequence at 17:23 very nearly happened to me...in Pittsburgh.
A sad insight into Norways decay since then. Many Norwegian woman today don't even blink if you want to do "it" without Skis on. #degenerates (Seriously though: The bit about skis had me in tears from laughter)
I love how almost everyone in Norway wears a backpack at all times xD
Its there from our Viking genes, we are still plundering.
I love backpacks
As a Swede, I approve this message.
Sorry, but the approval of two Swedes is required.
It is most preferable that one of them is the Swedish Chef from The Muppets.
@@donaldgraham6414 th-cam.com/video/3CjcfEQ77fA/w-d-xo.html
@@donaldgraham6414 As the second Swede I also approve this message. Bork bork bork!
@@kerberos623 Very sorry, but in the fine print it says that one of the two Swedes has to be either from Abba, the Roxettes or The Muppet Show.
Vi skal ta tilbake Jemtland.
This program is a one-off show, produced by the entertainment dept. of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) to compete in the Montreux Festival Rose D'Or in 1979. My parents are credited with the idea, and both my father Knut (1943 - 2016) and I can be seen in various "roles" throughout the show (he is the viking chieftain thrown off a horse (the pain is still there); I "play" the author Henrik Ibsen as a child, complete with snowsled and whiskers). John Cleese was riding high at the time on the back of "Fawlty Towers", and I believe the agreement to use him for this was made prior to his second round of global fame; hence a viable expense.
I thought this was hilarious, great comedy. It's quite sad that many of the Norwegians commenting here are offended by it. The only non Norwegian in it is John Cleese. Modern Norwegians have lost their sense of humour.
I don't think those whiners represent modern Norwegians. My friends from Norway are incredibly funny, their humor leans towards the absurd, and they'd love this. I honestly think the few complainers are just weird, humorless outliers who like to bitch online. Hope I'm right about this, anyway...
+Iceandale I'm Norwegian and found it very amusing :D There will always, in any nation, be some who just don't get it :p
Lolindir Surion Very true. Unfortunate for them, but more fun for us ! There are few personality traits less appealing than humorlessness...
+Iceandale I think it's funny. of course, when someone says something bad about something or someone you care about, it's not FUN, but i believe that it was all in good sport/all for fun. :)
The cut to the laughing Egyptian is comedy gold!
A cut from russian, who says that Norway is situated in North America.
@@ArnoldLokman Hehehehe! 😆
As a Norwegian I can confirm that Norway is a fictional country, allthough fictional our national sport is skullbumping, preferably after some drinking.
+Dag Ut It's all too far fetched; I don't believe it exists. Ireland, now that I could believe, although I won't make a final judgement. But Norway? Made up in the '70s by a group of students as a project.
+The Monty Python Museum there is a lot of true facts, but
usually the overexcadurating comes after. For excsample there is a lot of skiing, even directly from the homes, but not that many, nor do we ride the tram with skiis on, use stairway shaped skiis or repair pur skins like that. Its great to watch when you understand it though.
+minitas Wait, are you saying that this is not 100% accurate?! :o No way...! :p ;)
+Dag Ut skal ikke mye alkohol til før normen dunker skaller da :)
+tony andreassen eller starter en god gammeldags nevekamp/fistfight.
As a Norwegian I cracked and went to the floor in cramps
"Tørrrfisk, a delicatly fish flavoured baseball-bat." Lol
For those who don't read the credits: this was a Norwegian production. The only non-Norwegian in it was Cleese, and he didn't write it.
It does seem like something out of KLM
He certainly had a say in it though. The humor screams Clease
Maybe he wrote the credits.
Non-Norwegian but still Norwegian by descent, as the character portrayed in the documentary (and, who knows, perhaps in reality as well)! All the best! 🙂
@@victorrock1997 At 2:09 he says "in a boat like this, my ancestor left the shores of Norway". I doubt he's joking about that. I think he's part Norwegian.
What a shame it was a 'one off' project. What a pleasure to stumble across it 41 years later having never heard of it. Loved the daily ski activities - emergency forces ha ha.
9:48 "Gravlax - Cured Salmon. What it was cured of, we'll never know."
"Even now, the committee is in the process, go away, of reaching a final decision" 😂
as a norwegian and I find this incredibly funny lol
As a Norwegian, i can confirm this
This is me every time I return home, happy and excited then i you land😮
!!!!EPIC!!!! 🤣😂🤣
John Cleese is Epic.
Indeed, you can definitely say that again! All the best!
I'm from Norway and this is probably the best way and describe us. Viking power
But we all know that Swedes were the REAL Champions of Valhalla!
okay. I would say that both Norway, Sweden and Denmark are Viking land's. and that we all are champions of Valhall.
Jonathan Falk there was no norway or sweden back then...
Jonathan Falk What fjords were they sailing in?
CakeIsSo Good Wrong. Sweden and Norway existed as we know them, pretty much. Similar borders and the same people - until recently, when multiculture was introduced by politicians.
Briliant production, as always, by John Cleese! Very 'pythonesque', shall we say. All the best to everyone reading this! Skål and may Odin be with you!
How tremendous.
Omg never seen this before.
Teas ready!
I live in Norway, and its sad how true this is.
What i am norwegian and this is so far from anything true... may been true for 100 years ago or longer
No, it`s funny how true it is!:D
especially the backpacks and skies. no other form of transportation!
The critique of the Nobel Peace Prize Committee is on point and still accurate
having never been. i am now thoroughly compelled.
Skullbumping. Brilliant.
It's true, we all wear backpacks, all the time.
@iconoclast ah, that explains it. I'm from longer before 1990 than after. 😂😉
I must be Norwegian then, I go everywhere with one too.
Thank god for the invention of waterproof fabrics- we can now wear our rucksacks in the shower and while swimming!
God bless Cleese!!
thank you! i remember watching this in the late 70s/early 80s when it was on tv after the holy grail. i haven't seen it since...until now of course.
This was really funny. Thanks for uploading and sharing.
I laughed all the way through.
And Yes, this is all true. It's how Norway really is - every person, every day.
Norway in a nutshell. Loved this video. Thanks for the upload.
Thank you very much for this little gem
Pure gold, i ve never seen this, men det var jævlig gøy :)
Nøyaktig! Det er helt akkurat Norweglish!
Great Feature.
I Love it. And I'm from Norway !
6:47 - I hate it when that happens! Three times this week I've ended up going home with someone else's staff! I've been cursing Odin all evening, I'm so upset!
Love this video !
Cheers from Norway !
That advertisement poster for smoke said "every blow is a pleasure".
Thanks for putting this up! I think it was made as the Montreux festival entry for Norway that year.
That's correct, it was Norway's (NRK)'s) contibution that year, and it won 2 of the prices at "Festival Rose d'Or".
I think it was the Press Price, and the City of Montreux Price.
I remember seeing this in 1979. Hilarious. The bit with the Nobel Peace Prize is inspired.
Hahaha, I'n Norwegian and I find this hillarious! :) Have some humor people!! :)
Ahahahahha I'm laughing so hard now hahahha!! Yes this is exactly how we are especially the ski part hahaha I love it
Elsker at ALLE har ryggsekk!
I must strongly protest for the gross inaccuracies of this nonetheless compelling documentary - the spray can shall not to be accredited to Raghebell in 1928 but to the more appropriate Eric Rotheim in 1926.
I have not seen this since it first aired. Thank you!
Haha, didn't know Cleese and the guys made a video about Norway, at least not this good! They actually got some real cultural stuff in there :)
This is some of the most trippy shit I've ever seen.
Ewwww.
The bikers on skis in the drive thru! The skis made for going up stairs! LOL😂
Jeg liker hvordan alle går med ransel.
I love how everyone walks with a backpack.
I couldn't help but notice that myself. I wonder why?
Gisbrekt the lion tamer Because it's very common for Norwegians to go on hikes, ski trips etc. And then we usually bring backpacks
Good one john! I really enjoyed that!
No culture is off limits with john and the pythons.I love it.I have french blood and i make fun of them too!
Aww, and the first thing we see is a Fjord horse... 💕🐴 They're so lovely.
Thanks for uploading, I am enjoying it.
(In days long ago, before youtube and such, I made tapes for others, always writing on the cover: Enjoy
my wife is norweigan, this video makes sense.
does she....... "pine for the fjords"?
"It was on a ship like this that my ancestors sailed to Britian and raped my forefathers...foremothers sorry" hahahahahaha
Im from norway, and i find this movie very funny! haha! to bad i was not alive in the good old days
The ski gags are good
silliness at it's finest
3:35-5:47 The chanting is hilariously memorable.
Finally found it. A friend told me about this years ago.
Norway & Cleese did fake news before it was cool!
Pythonesque :-) ! Thanks for uploading!
that is just very funny. im not norwegian but living in there and that is just so true:D. in the beginning was also laughing about many of those things, now doing it myself:):). for example the backbag is the most comfortable bag to have:):). locals should probably also enjoy that clip, though some of them do not have a sense of selfirony:D
those backpacks! :D
I remember just the section on food airing on a Nickelodeon program called Turkey TV. To this day, there's a certain item at the local Chinese buffet that I refer to as "Terrrrrfisk".
If he made it 10 years later it would have had black metal i suppose... I loved this doco ever since it came out.
Hahaha at 12:54 you can actually see a typical Norwegian coming home from a vacation.
I'm glad I was born in the late 90's. It looked so dull back in the day.
This is so surreal
As a Viking I'd just like to applaud this documentary. I thought for a moment it was only a British comedy.
As the uploader, I must say that I am surprised to discover this video is so popular, or at least, so hotly debated!
Was it mentioned on some other website perhaps? (Yet the analytics don't show it to be widely embedded.)
I think it's popularity comes from that many Norwegians like Cleese, and people who is talking about Norway. So I think most of the views comes from Norway.
I think what you are seeing is a new generation of Norwegians sharing the link on social media with each other. =)
I'm a long time Cleese fan, but for some reason I had never seen this skit before. As we are used to being somewhat invisible to the world, *everyone* wants to see what little international attention we get.
All Norwegian schoolchildren are required to watch this every morning before their hour of skullbumping practice.
Hey !! That is offensive. We are not required to watch this before skullbumping.
Vegard Fjeldberg I think you are a fake Norwegionist Person.
Small details are really cool. Every Norwegian has a backpack 😅
As a Norwegian American, I fully endorse this.
ah.. memories! {sigh}
Makes ya want to go on a cruise!
Who put that tab of acid in my tea?
Hahaha i love the humor!!!!!
I learned more about my ancestry from watching this than any of those damn dna tests... Suddenly everything starts to make sense. Bravo!
nie wierz w te bzdury
Herlig absurd slapstickonacid humor. Aud Schøneman som formann i nobelkomiteen, Jorun Kjeldsberg som Nora. Strålende.
It took me 14 min 2 understand that this is a joke.
No i live in the KINGDOM of Norway
Wait, the ski bit didn't clue you in? Or the backpacks? Or the fact that it's narrated by John Cleese?
j0njn nope
...WOW
August Pettersen Or the whole "raped my forefather"?
Wat d hell! Makes me laugh in the middle of the night :-) :-) goodnyt..
He forgot the famous Holmenkollen Contest, rolling a boat-like thing down a track, to be able to ring the bell, placed on a pole in the lake!!!
The lake sadly disappeared with the new - Danish Constructed Skijump, being built!! Combining flatlander Danes with skies, is a bad thing!
I wanted to share this video with a Norwegian friend, but couldn't find it. I thought it was a Monty Python skit. "Skit?" sounds like a Norwegian word to me and I should know, I've never been there. Trolls, etc.
In Norwegian, skit would be pronounced sh*t
Veldig morsom !
Iceland has a viking festival in June in Halfnafjordir south of Reykjavik.
Take a spoonful of cod liver oil. I dare you.
I knew a lot about my ancestors but had no idea that they were so funny, or that they all wear backpacks.
Everyday we learn, don't we? :)
Oh, how the mighty have fallen!!
;^}
Finland , Finland , Finland The country where I quite want to be.
I've heard it said, Norway has the highest absenteeism from work than any other European country. . .when it's a nice day, many people go to their log cabins in the woods and mountains. If this is true. . . .I'm coming!. . . .
+Jack Mann Yes but also, high suicide rate.
+The Monty Python Museum that's Finland...
+A Bettum Scandinavia in general, I thought?
The Monty Python Museum Finland is "famous" for having one the highest suicide rates in the world. Don't think Norways has a particularly high suicide rate. And Finland is not one of the scandinavian countries;)
A Bettum
Depends which website you check, and for which year, but all of Scandinavia scores pretty high. Which often includes Finland and Iceland or even sometimes Greenland.
0:28 I'm giggling already :) The Russian guy named the wrong side of the Atlantic, and the sub makers got the wrong side of the equator!
At the 4:20 mark, it's hard not to be confronted with a serious Jawa vibe, given the high pitched speeded up gibberish voiceover admixed with the brown robed and hooded figures.
John, .. Please. :-)
:D ..in keeping with the theme of the program -- I've seen parts of this before(bits of this has been recycled), and genuinely believed up until now that it was actually made by a Norwegian comedy trio in the 80's, in isolation from everything else around the world up here in the cold north.
I'm sorry. I truly am. Also, angry. A little bit. Not too much.
You evidently missed the credits.
Oh My...
wish I could live in Norway..
Hindsight being what it is I very much hope this was made with love. Nora's departure(s) in the Ibsen Doll's House sequence made me laugh out loud. But lest I laugh too loudly the sequence at 17:23 very nearly happened to me...in Pittsburgh.
Hello, is there not any other of this serie? I liked this very much and I would like to check the others
I would say america is the home of the giants, if you catch my drift!
Haaha!
+NorseWarriorFromNorway No... We norwegians don`t catch your drift.
Can anyone please tell me the name of the song played when "Nora" flies with her umbrella? (I know it's from Mary Poppins but I don't know the name)
A sad insight into Norways decay since then.
Many Norwegian woman today don't even blink if you want to do "it" without Skis on.
#degenerates
(Seriously though: The bit about skis had me in tears from laughter)
My sister was ønce bitten by a Moose.
Norway: Home of the New York Giants
I love how the trolley-riders who can't afford to ride first-class are hitched to the back of the car dragged behind it on their skis!!!
:D