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Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Rating

Director

Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones

Screenplay

Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones, Michael Palin

Length

1h 31m

Starring

Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones, Michael Palin, Connie Booth, Carol Cleveland, Neil Innes, Bee Duffell

MPAA Rating

PG

Basic Plot

Monty Python take on the traditionally uncomedic tale of King Arthur and his search for the Holy Grail.

Review

The Holy Grail is a symbol of the Christian church movement. It was the cup from which Jesus Christ and the twelve disciples drank at the Last Supper on the night before Christ would be arrested.

King Arthur, with the help of several knights, went in search of this grail to bring honor to the kingdom. The legend has lasted for centuries and even found its way briefly into the television adpatation Merlin.

Only Monty Python could have taken such a dramatic tale and turned into a classic of modern cinema. “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” is a droll comedy that takes simple ideas and makes the funny. It is this ability that makes the film so enjoyable, especially on repeat viewing.

The comedy begins not in the narrative, but its screen credits which overlap the beginning of the film. From the beginning subtitles take the credit titles and turn them into mock Swedish. “Mønti Pythøn lk den Hølie Grailen” is the first, but soon branches away going so far as to place a “signed Richard M. Nixon” tagline after the “All similarities to actual events…” standard. Then it degrades further to a discussion of a moose having bitten one of the subtitle writers’ sisters. Those responsible are sacked, then the ones who hired them are sacked and then, at great expense, the remaining credits are shifted, at great expense we are told, from moose-related humor to llama-related.

We then open on a foggy hilltop where we here a horse trotting in the distance. When the rider comes into view we see he is not riding a horse, but mimicking it with his assistant clacking two coconut halves together to make a galloping sound. The horseman, King Arthur we learn, comes upon a castle where he asks to speak with the owner to persuade him to join his quest. The person who answers over the wall makes some snide comments about the rarity of coconut as a tropical fruit and then gets off on the topic of swallows carrying them across in non-migratory fashion.

This is only a sample of the humor that flows through the rest of the film. We find later that Arthur has collected his knights and goes off in search of the Grail. There are so many funny moments that I would love to mention them all, but I’d recite the entire film. Instead I’ll leave you to see this truly funny film.

The only thing that prevents the film from receiving a higher grade is the poor production quality. There is very little effort put into its lighting or set design.

Despite its low-budget status, “Holy Grail” is a tribute to the talents of its authors known as Monty Python. Their film is a long-lasting tribute to comedic film history and one to be savored over and over again.

Review Written

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