Monty Python and the Holy Grail: Difference between revisions

A complete skewering of [[King Arthur|the Arthurian legend]], it tells the story of King Arthur and his attempt to build a court at Camelot (which is, of course, a silly place). Once he assembles his crew (off-screen, mostly), he has a vision of God (or a reasonable drawing of same by [[Terry Gilliam]] based on a [[wikipedia:W. G. Grace|famous cricket player]]), informing him that to cement his name in immortality, he must [[Grail Quest|seek]] the [[Public Domain Artifact|the Holy Grail]] -- the cup used at the Last Supper of Christ, and which caught his blood after the crucifixion. After a long and roundabout search which leads them to the far corners of the Kingdom and past idiosyncratic knights, the world's oldest harem, and a [[Killer Rabbit|very nasty rabbit]], they discover the Grail is supposedly located in a very old castle, which has fallen into the hands of those heathen enemies -- the French.

Full of random quips, hilarious stand-alone scenes, and the type of comedic anarchy and anticlimax that practically ''defines'' British comedy even to this day, the movie was a low-budget success story and has become a [[Cult Classic]] over time. It also reveals [[Michael Palin]]'s versatility, as he plays something like 10ten roles over the course of the film. He's not alone, of course; the majority of people and about 80% of the lines are from the Pythonites, leading to some interesting blocking and directing decisions. (Watch Lancelot's helmet.)

Just a side note -- because [[Terry Jones]] is, in fact, an Arthurian scholar, this happens to be not just the funniest but the [[Shown Their Work|most accurate film adaptation]] of Malory's ''[[Le Morte d'Arthur]]'' ever made. Some of the humor, in fact, is derived from typical Pythonian spins on events and characterizations from the original tales.

* [[Stealth Pun]]: The ending . {{spoiler|It's a cop-out.}}

[[Category:Fantasy Films{{PAGENAME}}]]

[[Category:CultNotable ClassicQuotables]]