FILM CHALLENGE: 83) Monty Python and the Holy Grail

83) Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Director: Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones

Year: 1975

Plot Summary: King Arthur and his knights embark on a search for the Holy Grail.

Monty Python need no introduction. Their unique brand of quirky, bizarre and sometimes downright nonsensical humour done in an amateur style has made them iconic in British cinema. This, their parody of English history, is renowned as being their best work and it's easy to see why.

Right from the opening titles, which are supposedly messed up by a member of the crew who has added fake Swedish subtitles and extra names to the credits, it's a laugh-a-minute ride. Every single scene will have you chuckling so hard your jaw hurts while shaking your head at how ridiculous it all is. From the classic fight against the black knight in which all his arms are cut off but he continues to want to fight calling his dismemberment "only a flesh would" to the brilliant moment which pokes fun at Britain's infamous way of treating 'witches'.

Many people have tried to recreate the style of Monthy Python and failed miserably. Most notably, the creators of the spoof movies Epic Movie, Meet The Spartans, Disaster Movie, etc. But what these knock-offs lack is the intelligence. After all, behind all the stupidity and the nonsense, there is some very, very clever humour in The Holy Grail. Monty Python clearly know a lot about English history and are educated well enough, therefore, to be able to joke about it superbly. The role of the monarchy, their power and how they looked down on the poor people is poked fun at tremendously in the opening scenes. They use the way we used to treat the dead to comic effect early on too, spoofing the people who collected to dead as everyday bin men. And, best of all, are the jokes about the titles Kings used to earn with a character named Sir Robin the not-quite-so-brave-as-Sir Lancelot.

Monty Python are also, in my opinion, one of the very few comedy filmmakers that really exercise the medium of film. Constantly, Python breaks the fourth wall and lets the audience know that its just a movie in the way that couldn't be achieved in other mediums. Characters make reference to whether a scene should be cut, one part is known by the characters as Scene 24 and let's not forget the utterly unconventional final scene in which, before the final battle, the police put a stop to the filming and arrest the lead characters. It also brilliantly wears its low budget on its sleeve with the ingenious way they present the King's horses and the purposely terrible special effects.

There is very little plot development, the storytelling is awful and the character don't make any kind of changes over the course of the film, so as a narrative, The Holy Grail is terrible. But, really, I don't think narrative has anything to do with it. It sets out, simply, to make you laugh from start to finish and, to me, The Holy Grail succeeds at this. Towards the end, you're so laughed out and the jokes keep coming so fast that it's a little exhausting, but Python have once again created 90 minutes of genuine hilarity that will keep you laughing time and time again.

4/5

By Daniel Sarath with 2 comments