Secret Policeman’s Private Party

Mention The Secret Policeman’s Ball and music usually comes to mind—performances by an array of top performers from the late ‘70s and early ‘80s in a series of fundraisers for Amnesty International. But comedy was always at the heart of the project. The Secret Policeman’s Private Party (out Feb. 16 on DVD) collects stand-up skits performed as part of the fundraising concert series, documented by cameras at the time before audiences howling with laughter. The Monty Python crew reprise several of their funniest skits, including the one about the dead parrot (“No, no, he’s resting”) and the talk show interview with the beekeeper. Other performers include such British funnymen as Dudley Moore, Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie, who became known decades later as the acerbic physician in “House M.D.”