SNMR 2.28: "Monty Python and the Holy Grail"

Fifty-eight movies in fifty-two weeks. And what fun we've had reviewing them all just for you.

Tonight marks the FIRST ANNIVERSARY OF SNMR, here on this blog. Marking the occasion in a truly off the wall sense is why the good people (okay, it's just me) who bring you SNMR every week without fail have chosen "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" (1974, PG, 89 minutes) as this week's film. The film stars, John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones, Connie Booth, Carol Cleveland and Neil Innes. The film was directed by Terry Jones, Terry Gilliam and some llamas.

I've watched this film in its entirety or parts of it or quoted lines from it so many times that I can't even begin to tell you. I probably first watched this film in those glorious pre-high school, be the first on your block to own a VCR, halcyon days of the 1980's. And will likely watch it many more times in the years to come.




From www.amazon.com:

The movie starts out with Arthur, King of the Britons, looking for knights to sit with him at Camelot. He finds many knights including Sir Galahad the pure, Sir Lancelot the brave, the quiet Sir Bedevere, and Sir Robin the Not-Quite-So-Brave-as-Sir Lancelot. They do not travel on horses, but pretend they do and have their servants bang coconuts to make the sound of horse's hooves. Through satire of certain events in history (witch trials, the black plague) they find Camelot, but after literally a quick song and dance they decide that they do not want to go there. While walking away, God (who seems to be grumpy) come to them from a cloud and tells them to find the Holy Grail. They agree and begin their search. While they search for the Grail, scenes of the knight's tales appear and why they have the name they have. Throughout their search they meet interesting people and knights along the way. Most of the characters die; some through a killer rabbit (which they defeat with the holy hand grenade), others from not answering a question right from the bridge of Death, or die some other ridiculous way. In the end, King Arthur and Sir Bedevere are left and find the Castle Arrrghhh where the Holy Grail is. They are met by some French soldiers who taunted them earlier in the film, so they were not able to get into the castle.

From Martin and Porter's DVD & Video Guide 2007, p. 758:

The Monty Python gang assault the legend of King Arthur and his knights in this often uproariously funny, sometimes tedious, movie.

From Muze, Inc.

This classic Monty Python comedy, directed by Pythons Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones, is a hilarious send-up of the grim circumstances of the Middle Ages as told through the story of King Arthur and framed by a modern-day murder investigation. When the mythical king of the Britons leads his knights on a quest for the Holy Grail, they face a wide array of horrors, including a persistent Black Knight, a three-headed giant, a cadre of shrubbery-challenged knights, the perilous Castle Anthrax, a killer rabbit, a house of virgins, and a handful of rude Frenchmen. In addition to the set pieces, the film also includes the same kind of surreal animation that Gilliam contributed to the television series. Throughout the irreverent adventures, the Python crew eschews realism in favor of anachronistic social satire, a recipe it later returned to in the 1979 biblical farce MONTY PYTHON'S LIFE OF BRIAN. Melding the ridiculous with the sublime, the film quickly inspired a cult following, generated a host of quotes, and even inspired a computer game 20 years after its release. The numerous songs and hysterical vignettes are sidesplittingly unforgettable.

This is absolutely one of the funniest films ever made. The Monty Python crew have a wonderful way of ripping any subject. Though some, just don't understand the British sense of humor, which I quite frankly can't understand, and will think this film is just plain dumb. A joke is a joke, right? The script is fantastic and each of the main players does a wonderful job in their many different roles. What more can I say than this is a classic film which should be watched, quoted from and owned by everyone. I'll give this film five out of five llamas, um stars. Yeah stars.