Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Monty Python and the Holy Grail
by Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones

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DVD Reviews of Monty Python and the Holy Grail

DVD Review: One of the funniest movies ever made
Summary: 5 Stars

Rather than a real story, this is a series of vignettes concerning the long-suffering King Arthur and his loyal knights of the Round Table ("We eat ham and jam and Spam-a-lot!") Among them are:

*The encounter with the Communist peasants in their autonamous collective ("HELP! HELP! I'M BEING REPRESSED!")

*The Tale of Sir Robin, the cowardly knight with a chicken on his shield.

*The king's encounter with the loony black knight, in which a ridiculous series of blood-spurtings will have you guffawing. ("You've got no arms left!" "Yes I have!" "LOOK!" "It's just a flesh wound.")

*Sir Lancelot receives a desperate note from a castle, but is the person sending it what he expects?

*The French attack.... verbally. ("Your mother was a hamster, and your father smelt of elderberries!")

*Sir Galahad is waylaid in the temptation-laden Castle of the Maidens (interestingly enough, in traditional legends Sir Galahad did go to the Castle of the Maidens, though in very different circumstances *leer*)

*The Keepers of the Sacred Word, the Knights Who Say "NI!"

*The rabbit of death, Tim the Enchanter, and so much more.

The sheer off-the-wallness is what sells this movie, and Monty Python was in rare form. Graham Chapman's primary role is King Arthur, who seems to be the most competant of the bunch but is still pretty goofy. John Cleese of "Fish" and "Fawlty Towers" fame stars as Sir Lancelot/Tim the Wizard/The Rude Frenchman, and is amazing in each role. Eric Idle plays lily-livered Sir Robin/Roger the Shrubber (don't ask)/Brother Maynard. Terry Gilliam is lower-key as Sir Gawain/Patsy; Terry Jones is also pretty low key as Sir Bedivere/Prince Herbert. Michael Palin has a hilarious series of roles including the King os Swamp Castle/Sir Galahad/Leader of the Knights Who Say Ni.

Shoring up the cast is Cleese's now-ex-wife Connie Booth as The Witch, John Young as the Historian/Dead Body, Neil Innes as the annoying Minstrel/Page Killed by Rabbit.

Perhaps the funniest move in this movie was mocking the budget limitations, with the coconut shells and so forth. The special effects are deliberately cheapened to make them sillier, such as the sprays of rather gloppy gore when someone is wounded. The script is typically hilarious, full of stupid comments and straight-faced jokes.

Frankly, it's hard to think of Camelot now without rhyming it with "I have to push the PRAM-A-LOT" and the line of tap-dancing knights. This movie is lodged in the American brain, and it ain't budging soon...

A small note: You may want to check out the Veggie Tales ep "Josh and the Big Wall," in which a respectful (yet kooky!) homage is paid to this film!

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