Crappy film

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

In a typically ambitious show, Eddie Izzard opens with a discussion of the old testament and the creation of the world itself by God as played by James "The Voice" Mason. From here he covers the siege of Troy, the new testament, revelations, the construction of the ark, settings on toasters and showers and the noise baboons make when being punched.Eddie Izzard is perhaps an acquired taste – his film career has mostly been successful when he doesn't fly along surreal flights of fancy but his stand-up is where his style really comes though. His subjects are not really anything particularly new but where he takes them is almost always funny. And so it is with this 1997 show that sees him roughly have a structure of the bible and history but does bounce around rather randomly in the way that his material does. Of course having seen one of his live shows after having heard it on a CD from another place first I can confirm that it is as tightly scripted as you can get. In a way this is actually more impressive because Izzard does keep the sense of spontaneity and creativity alive no matter how many times he repeats it.His material here is typical. At its weakest I found it amusing if a little silly but at its best it was taking me by surprise and drawing laughs from me so suddenly that I once nearly did that thing that people in films do when they have just been surprised after taking a gulp of water (except mine was noodles – which was as unattractive as it sounds). Of course those that don't like Izzard will not enjoy it for the same reasons as I did, but why then are you watching? Those unfamiliar will find this as good a place to start as any but, if you're not into it after 30 minutes then just give up as it is what it is. To me though it worked really well and it was only a weak ending (where he sort of apologetically closes the show) and the movie spoof at the start (which was a great idea but needed to look more professional to really be funny) that stood out in my mind as being misfires.Overall then, yet another funny stand-up show from Izzard with all the things that his fans love him for. Of course those that don't find it funny will hate it for the same reason but that to one side, I personally rarely found it less than amusing and comical.

I just finished watching this video about 5 minutes ago, and it has joined the list of my top 5 favorite comedy movies/shows. I saw Izzard's other show, Dress To Kill, first. Unfortuneately, the local video store doesn't have most of his other shows, but they do have Glorious. My parents had seen it and told it wasn't as funny as DTK. I rented it today out of curiosity as to why they thought it wasn't very good, but now that I've seen it, I disagree. It is every bit as funny as DTK, if not funnier! His thought process is amazing. From interviews I have read, Izzard makes almost no preperation for shows and that his act is highly improvised. It shows, as sometimes he will be doing a bit of "dialogue" (he faces one way speaking as one character and then faces the other way to play the other character, and goes back and forth), and he'll accidentally switch voices or things like that, or sometimes he'll have a character he plays say back to him, "You don't know what you're talking about, do you??" The stream-of-conciousness process of his act is amazing. He opens by talking about the Old Testament, and ends with the Book of Revelations and Armageddon, covering everything from the Trojan War and the X-Files in-between. And his bit near the end about trying to get a computer to print is hysterical because it's word-for-word what really happens, at least from my personal experience, with computers: "It's 5 in the morning! I'm just trying to print this one f**king file-- ohhhh, no, don't-- don't you crash on me, you b**tard!" I hope I can find tapes of some of his other shows. It is indeed glorious. Even if you had to pay 100 dollars to buy this tape, believe me, its worth it.

I have two videos of Eddie Izzard now. I love them both. He has a clever wit, making the most of keen observations, and applying good exaggerations and body language... Irreverent often...funny always... Highly recommend it!

Not quite as polished as Dress to Kill, Glorious is still a good example of the quick wit and intelligent observations that Izzard is known for. The quality of the video interferes with the viewer's enjoyment but his commentary still shines through. Moving from the Bible to the Trojan War with side trips through giraffe impressions, you have to see this to truly appreciate Izzard's creativity. Any fan of thought-provoking comedy is in for a good time with this video.