![]() ![]() Monty Python and the Holy Grail appeals to a particular sense of humor. However the well established suspension of disbelief means that these moments never detract from the film. Periodic narration and the occasional breaking of the fourth wall make sure the audience never truly forgets they are watching a movie. A character begins an action, intermission is shown on the screen and moments later we return to the character, who has just finished the action. A man who is shown far away may suddenly appear that distance. The rules of time and space are bent to further the surreal reality adhered to in the film. Similarly, the Legendary Black Beast of Aarrgh is animated, the knights only escape from this monster when the animator has a heart attack and the monster disappears. God and the opening of the heavens is animated. Terry Gilliam’s animation serves to tie the scenes together, show the the passage of time, and create and portray characters that need not appear realistic. In typical Monty Python fashion the film blends animation and live action to show a wider range of action than either would be capable of alone. This creates the illusion of being part of the action instead of simply watching it, as well as creating a degree of confusion by altering the way the audience engages with the world of the film. Battles, retreats, and shots while ‘riding’ often have the jolting motion one associates with natural movement as opposed to the smooth movement cameras usually have. A number of shots are taken with a handheld camera giving the feel of being in the middle of the action. The film was shot on location in Scotland, particularly around Doune Castle where most of the castle scenes where shot, which gave Monty Python a dramatic backdrop to shoot against. Swelling, dramatic music is common even when the shot it accompanies is nothing more than a small band of knights traveling across the countryside. The movies soundtrack emphasizes the grandeur of film. There is never a dull moment in this film and one would be hard pressed to go many minutes without laughing. Three questions must be answered to cross a guarded bridge, neither the questions nor the answers are one might predict. A task is set by fearsome knights to improve the appearance of the forest. To defeat a deadly foe a holy relic is called for, it isn’t something any other person in Medieval England would know about. When two men appear, traveling to a castle, and clip-clopping is heard, one could logically assume the men to be riding horses, an easy mistake to make. Nothing ever goes as expected and much of the humor is derived from constantly defying expectations. A highly irreverent film, nothing in is sacred and everything is subject to mockery. Although the story may not begin with an audience knowledgeable in who made the film, they certainly know about tourism in Sweden, the majestic moose, and lamas. One of the few movies to have opening credits that are just as entertaining as the movie itself, Holy Grail has one laughing before the actors appear on screen. The premise of Holy Grail is not particularly humorous, plot is, in many ways, irrelevant to this quality of this film, it is merely a vehicle for the comedy which emerges within the scenes. After several separate adventures they eventually regroup and continue their quest together. Shortly after being given this quest by God, Arthur suggests they split up and search separately. Roughly based on the legends of King Arthur the film follows Arthur, King of the Britons (Chapman) as he and his knights, including Sir Lancelot the Brave (Cleese), Sir Bedevere the Wise (Jones), Sir Galahad the Pure (Palin), and Sir Robin the Not-Quite-So-Brave-As-Sir-Lancelot (Idle), search for the Holy Grail. The film inspired the Tony Award-winning musical Spamalot written primarily by Eric Idle. The six members of Monty Python played most of the roles in this film, each playing from four to twelve characters. They all wrote material for the film, the screenplay is credited to Monty Python as a whole. Released in 1975 the film was directed by Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam. After three successful season and a feature length film made up of sketches from the first two seasons they decided to make a more cohesive film, and thus Monty Python and the Holy Grail was created. ![]() In 1969 Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin joined forces to write and act in the British television show Monty Python’s Flying Circus. Top row, left to right: Graham Chapman, Eric Idle, Michael Palin, Terry Jones, John Cleese. ![]()
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