Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
Writers: Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin
Cast: Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin, Connie Booth, Carol Cleveland, Neil Innes
Synopsis:
Arthur, King of the Britons (Chapman), along with his dutiful knights Sir Launcelot (Cleese), Sir Galahad (Palin), Sir Bedevere (Jones), Sir Robin (Idle) and the aptly named Sir Not Appearing in This Film, set off on a quest to retrieve the Holy Grail. On their journey, they are beset by all manner of peril, including the vicious Black Knight (also Cleese), vile taunting Frenchmen, the Knights Who Say Ni and the dreaded killer rabbit. Silliness ensues.
First Impressions:
This movie was released a year before I was born, so I didn't get to catch it in theatres. I wasn't introduced to the genius that is Monty Python until I was in high school, as is the case for many nerds my age. I took immediately to the dry, yet quite silly, British humour presented in the seminal sketch show Monty Python's Flying Circus. It wasn't long later that my friends and I rented this classic on film, and we all loved it. To this day, I still rank it among my favourite comedies of all time. I'm a little concerned about reviewing this film as much of the Pythons' humour was of a different era, and it may seem less funny to a modern ear.
Story/Direction:
"Listen, strange women, lying in ponds, distributin' swords is no basis for a system of government."
What can I say about this film's story? It's...it's...well, it's stupid. There's no other way to look at it. It's incredibly stupid. Don't get me wrong, I don't mean that negatively at all. By stupid, I mean that it's incredibly smart but cloaked in a thick veneer of silliness. This film is mostly a group of loosely connected skits build around an overall narrative. Most of these skits revolved around poking fun at medieval society and the British class system (there I go bringing class into it again).
I particularly love King Arthur's interaction with Dennis the Serf, who is very clearly upset with the class disparity in Britain (that's what I'm all about if only people would listen). The Knights Who Say Ni bit is also so completely absurd that it (arrrrgh!) that you can't help but laugh at it (arrgh!). Of course, I must also mention Sir Launcelot's daring raid on Swamp Castle (the strongest castle in these isles) as a particular favourite, mostly because of the guard with a terrible case of the hiccups.
However, it's not just a disjointed mess of random sketches, and Jones and Gilliam do a good job of sprinkling in several running jokes throughout the film that give some continuity. These include Arthur's constant confusion of the numbers 3 and 5, Robin's minstrels and the excessive interest in a swallow's capabilities (what do you mean? An African or a European swallow?). At this point in the review, any of you that haven't seen the movie already must be completely lost as to what it's (arrrgh!) about but don't let that frighten you; you're supposed to feel that way.
Acting:
I think the performances in this movie are pretty spot on, across the board. The Pythons are all masters of comedic acting, and they all bring the goods here, especially since they all play multiple characters. I particularly enjoyed late Graham Chapman's performance as Arthur (King of the Who?). One of the main reasons this film works so well is that Chapman plays the oft-confused king completely straight and sincere. The fact that he clearly isn't in on the joke makes the movie that much funnier. Top marks.
I also want to highlight a pair of performances by John Cleese. First is the brave but dangerous Sir Launcelot, who is always gearing for a fight. Like Arthur, Launcelot is played mostly seriously (though not as much), which really makes the rest of the absurdity that much better. The other Cleese performance I want to talk about is the leader of the taunting Frenchmen (what are they doing in England?). With a film set during a time in history where taking a castle was a long and bloody undertaking, the fact that the Knights of the Round Table (or Kuh-nig-its) were bested by the barbs of a witty individual with an outrageous accent makes it that much funnier.
Visuals:
The film looks like it had an effects budget of about $17.34, but instead of letting that impede the film, the fellows used it as a source of more humour. Can't afford horses? Let's just have the actor mime riding while another actor follows behind, banging two empty coconut halves together to simulate the "clipping" of hooves. Can't afford to build exterior sets? No problem, let's shoot the same castle from various angles to look like different castles. Can't afford expensive on-location shooting? We'll just shoot our gorge scene on a highway embankment in Scotland. Genius.
Score/Music:
There's not really much of a score here, just a few bars here and there, but that doesn't mean the film doesn't have kick-ass music. There are a few great songs in this movie, written primarily by Idle and Neil Innes, including We're Knights of the Round Table and Robin's minstrels crooning about the various horrible ways he could possibly die (and, of course, bravely running away). Great stuff.
Action:
There is actually some action in this film, and, like the rest of the movie, it's all ridiculous. I've already mention Launcelot's assault on Swamp Castle, during which he brutally murders several unarmed wedding guests. There's also the attempted taking of the Frenchman's castle and, of course, the classic duel between King Arthur and the Black Knight. None of it is well choreographed, and it looks pretty shoddy, but it's funny, and that's all that counts.
Final Verdict:
I kind of feel like this whole review is a bit of a cheat since there wasn't really any chance my opinion of this movie would change after this most recent viewing. Still, I think it's a classic amongst comedies and still remains my favourite comedy of all time. If you're into British humour, I highly recommend it.
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