Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Directed by Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones
Starring Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Michael Palin and Terry Gilliam
King Arthur, accompanied by his squire, recruits his Knights of the Round Table, including Sir Bedevere the Wise, Sir Lancelot the Brave, Sir Robin the Not-Quite-So-Brave-As-Sir-Lancelot and Sir Galahad the Pure. On the way, Arthur battles the Black Knight who, despite having had all his limbs chopped off, insists he can still fight. They reach Camelot, but Arthur decides not to enter, as "it is a silly place".
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Reviews
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★★★★★ review by DirkH on Letterboxd
Dear 90% of modern comedy,
You don't entertain me, unfunny pig dogs. Go and boil your bottoms, you sons of a silly person. I blow my nose at you, so-called "comedy," you and all your silly, uninspired friends.
I don't want to watch you no more, you empty headed animal food trough wiper. I fart in your general direction. Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries.
Sincerely,
Ni
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★★★★★ review by DirkH on Letterboxd
The thing about comedy is that it is maybe the most personal genre there is and therefore I think comedies are the most difficult films to get right. Python has been in my life for as long as I can remember, so to say that that particular gang of people has shaped my sense of humour is an understatement.
This film to me is the Holy Grail of comedies .....pauses for laughter..... it appeals to everything I find funny. It is completely absurd, off its rockers, very witty and silly without resorting to the cheap shots of the 'Oh my God I farted' variety.
Usually their films feel like an unstructured string of sketches. Here, however, they manage to find some kind of coherence in their insanity which actually works really well. Each member of the group is fantastic, held together by the incredible Chapman, of whom I still wish he was around, I would really have loved to have seen what he would have gotten up to post-Python.
One of the best comedies ever made? Hell yes!
Oh, and your mother smells of elderberries, you son of a motherless goat!
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★★★★★ review by Wesley R. Ball on Letterboxd
Strange women lying in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government. If I went around saying I was an emperor, just because some moistened bint lobbed a scimitar at me, they'd put me away!
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★★★★½ review by Ben Hibburd on Letterboxd
What can I say about this film that hasn't already been mentioned... Monty Python and the Holy Grail is a wonderful, absurdist piece of comedy. It's equal parts cerebral and puerile. It's blasphemous whilst being theological. It's one of the best comedies ever made, and it still holds up remarkably well by today's standards both thematically and technically. I don't really have much to add other then it's a great film!
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★★★★ review by Sally Jane Black on Letterboxd
It's probably been a decade since I last saw this, and this was the first time I saw it on something other than VHS. I must say, it looked a lot better in a digital format than the scratchy tapes I remember. It also seemed to have more to a few scenes than I remember, though my friend David seemed to say that the extra bits were just things I had forgotten and not some expanded edition (the meta-bit in the middle of the Castle Anthrax skit stands out as an example).
I tried very hard to focus on the background this go-round, but ultimately, I failed. I always get drawn in despite myself. I did pause a few times to read all the random stuff in the opening credits--didn't notice anything new, but it's still as funny as ever. My only complaint is that it feels just slightly overlong in places. When it's on, it's the funniest thing I can fathom, but there are a few spots where it's just watching a ship crossing water or a bit too much on the repetition.
Also, I think the Knights Who Say Ni are the least funny bit.
The runner about the blatant murder of the famous historian was probably the piece that stood out this time. Castle Anthrax is a favorite of mine not just for its blatant prurient value, but more for the ending as Galahad is dragged away and desperately trying to convince Lancelot to stop. That exchange always kills me. Also, the way the witch says, in the weighing scene earlier, "it's a fair cop" is one of the best moments of the film I rarely hear quoted.
So, top five--three, sir--three moments of this film?
3. The credit about the moose slightly to the left.
2. The insanely gory rabbit fight.
1. That lady beating that cat against the wall for no sane reason. - See all reviews