In the two years and three months since Monty Python and the Holy Grail was released in America and the time Elvis Presley died, The King loved the movie so much he reportedly would watch it dozens of time. And people in his inner circle say Presley would walk around Graceland and on tour reciting jokes and dialogue from the movie.
The idea of Presley saying in his southern drawl, “Well, she turned me into a newt” or “We are the knights who say,’Ni!'” just goes to show how the movie changed pop culture and comedy for the last 50 years. It’s hard to watch the movie with fans without them reciting dialogue. John Cleese, one of the members of the comedy troupe, said when they performed live once the audience wasn’t laughing much. When he went backstage he was able to look better at the audience and could see people mouthing the dialogue from their famous bits.
Technically, when the movie was released to the American public on this date, April 28, in 1975, it was their second feature movie after And Now For Something Completely Different. But it was their first movie that told somewhat of a plot, even though it’s just basically a bunch of skits surrounded by a premise of King Arthur (Graham Chapman) and the Knights of the Round Table seeking the Holy Grail.
This was the first time either Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones would direct a movie and you can sense some of Gilliam’s style that he would later use in movies like Brazil, Time Bandits and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen. Much of the financing was from investments by Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Elton John and Ian Anderson from Jethro Tull. Record companies like Island Records, Charisma Records and Chrysalis Records also invested money. But the movie was still made very cheaply.
The inexperience of the Pythons and the low budget actually helps the movie’s look and feel. It’s been reported that the gag of having the Knights mime riding a horse while their servants bang coconuts behind them was because they couldn’t afford to use real horses. It’s also one of the first and best jokes of the movie that leads to the argument Arthur and his trusty servant Patsy (Gilliam) have with people at a castle over how they “found” coconuts in a temperate zone.
To tell the truth if you have and haven’t seen the movie, there’s no need for me to try to tell some of the jokes. It’s a movie that shows how great the Python troupe was at working together. I’ve often thought most filmmakers work best when they’re forced to be more imaginative and creative. Movies now cost well over $100 million and the special effects and story lines are just terrible.
Starting out in the year 932 A.D., it’s quite possibly one of the more accurate retellings of history at the time. Most knights only had metal helmets they wore. There was no shining armor. And a lot of them probably did wear chain mail which Arthur wears. However, because of budgetary reasons, only Arthur’s costume had real chain mail. The rest was knitted wool which got very wet and uncomfortable while they were filming in Scotland during cold and wet conditions.
The Python troupe have called it one of the most uncomfortable filming experiences as not only did they have to deal with weather conditions, but their lodging accommodations weren’t the best. They recalled that every day when filming ended, it was a mad dash back to the hotel because it didn’t have much hot water. So, some people didn’t have a nice hot shower or bath at the end of a long day.
They also ran into a problem with the number of castles they could use. Initially they had planned to use more castles. However, Jones (who also plays Sir Bedevere as well as other roles) said that two weeks prior to principal photography, the Scotland Department of Environmental declined their permission out of fear of damage. So they had to change the background scenery around Doune Castle for many of the interior shots. Hanging miniatures were also used and they were only allowed to film exteriors of castles.
To complicate matters more, Chapman was battling alcoholism for years. But he tried to lay off the drinking during filming which only made matters worse. Also, filming scenes such at the Bridge of Death were rough because Chapman suffered from acrophobia. Chapman would later become sober three years after filming was completed.
Despite all these problems, I really do think it makes the movie a lot more enjoyable. Times during this period probably weren’t the most advanced. It’s been said the reason people were discouraged from using their left hand is that’s the one they cleaned with after they had to defecate. And that leads to one of the best jokes when the Collector of the Dead (Eric Idle) comments that Arthur must be a king because he “hasn’t got shit all over him.”
The jokes move from the absurd to slapstick to crude at a rate that we’d later see in Airplane! and through the trio Jim Abrahams, David Zucker and Jerry Zucker. Since the Hays Code had been lifted a decade earlier, most movies were pushing the envelope. However, it’s PG-rated material despite a scene where Sir Galahad (Michael Palin) goes to the Castle Anthrax which is only occupied by young women, with identical twin sisters Zoot and Dingo (Carol Cleveland). It’s here where they throw in sex-related jokes.
Yet on later movies like Life of Brian and The Meaning of Life, they would push the limits more. Just like Airplane!, Top Secret! and The Naked Gun, it’s good that they keep it somewhat clean for a wider audience, even though they outrageous violence would garner a PG-13 rating today. This of course is the scene where Arthur fights The Black Knight (Cleese) who comically keeps fighting despite losing his arms and a leg.
And then there’s the Killer Rabbit scene where you can tell it’s obviously a hand puppet in some close-up scenes. The cheapness actually helps. It’s their way of saying, “Relax, it’s just a movie.” That’s why the plot doesn’t really matter, even though some people have gotten upset over the ending, which I think is hilarious.
You see because of the smaller budget, they didn’t have enough money for Arthur, Bedevere and others to storm the Castle Aaargh where the French people are hiding the Holy Grail. Instead, Arthur and Bedevere are arrested on suspicion of murdering a historian (John Young). Some people have noted how this modern touch is a reference to the climax of Blazing Saddles where it goes from 1874 Arizona to a crane shot showing us it’s a backlot on the Warner Bros. studio lot in 1974 Hollywood.
In many ways, this shows how the Pythons can set up a joke or plot and then pull the rug right out from you without it feeling like a cheat. They were famous on their show Flying Circus for just ending a skit they didn’t find funny and walking off the set. Breaking the fourth wall works if you use it at the right times. That’s a problem with comedy movies nowadays.
There’s no reason to see Arthur and the army take siege to the castle to get the Grail. This isn’t that type of movie. It’s already parodied the heroics earlier Sir Lancelot (Cleese) storms the Swamp Castle because he thinks he’s saving a woman but it’s really Prince Herbert (Jones). That and the way Bors (Gilliam) and other knights are defeated by the Killer Rabbit, it wouldn’t make sense for Arthur to be victorious.
The Pythons, ZAZ and Mel Brooks don’t play by the rules. They make absurd comedies where the joke is more important. But they have achieved the task of making this a medieval style movie the way Blazing Saddles is a western comedy and Airplane! is a disaster movie comedy. It’s another thing parody/spoof movies don’t do as good nowadays.
Part of my initial criticism of the movie when I saw it over 30 years ago was the overuse of Gilliam’s animation which I think acted more like a distraction. I think others might have felt this way which is why the animation is only used in the opening credits of Life of Brian. However, the gag where Gilliam has a fatal heart attack as the knights are being chased by the beast in the cave is another great example of how to break the fourth wall and keep on with the story. Also the way Gilliam lets out a large grunt and flips comically on his back is one of the best slapstick gags in all movies.
But still the animation shows how the Pythons are an acquired taste. Monty Python’s Flying Circus didn’t start airing in America until October 1974, so American audiences weren’t as familiar with the comedy as those across the pond were. I think the movie probably benefited a lot from Brooks’ comedies Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein, both released in 1974, even though it didn’t make near the amount of money those did.
But you can see where Brooks’ brand of comedy works with the Pythons. I can almost see them doing a skit like “Springtime for Hitler” if Brooks hadn’t done it first. Both Chapman and Cleese in their youth looked just like you’d think of when you mentioned “British Chaps.” Yet both of them have shown a darker sense of humor. I had already been introduced to Cleese’s humor through A Fish Called Wanda. And even though I didn’t really care for it, I had watched Chapman’s Yellowbeard in the 1980s.
The legacy of The Holy Grail has appealed more and more to Americans as the years have gone by. It’s often been quite a debate between fans on which is better, this one or Life of Brian? Americans prefer Holy Grail while those in the U.K. like Life of Brian. Maybe it’s because they don’t take religion as seriously across the pond as we do.
When Holy Grail was broadcast on network TV in 1977, the Pythons were upset the profanity was cut as well as the violence. So, since then they have refused for the movie to be shown except on TV stations that don’t edit it for content. This may have helped establish the popularity because it’s always best to watch a movie as it’s intended.
The movie’s success led Idle to work with Mike Nichols and others to turn it into a Broadway musical, Spamalot. However, a movie based on the musical was nixed by two of the Python members even though Idle has refused to identify them. I don’t think it would’ve worked as a movie. It’s like the 2005 musical version of The Producers doesn’t have the same punch to “rise below vulgarity” of the original.
Still, it’s quite a feat that there are four remaining members still alive to witness this milestone. Chapman died in 1989 of cancer at the age of 48. Jones passed away in January of 2020 from complications from dementia. He was 77. Cleveland, who has also been called the seventh Python, is still alive at 83. The Pythons often appeared in drag to play women roles but Cleveland was there for them to do certain roles and bits. And she worked best with the group.
The other “seventh Python” was Neil Innes, who appears as the main minstrel of Sir Robin (also Idle.) Like Cleveland, he worked very well with the troupe. Reportedly, it was his idea for the “Sit on my Face” skit where they appear as waiters singing the song only to turn around and they’re not wearing any thing below the waste beside their aprons showing their bums to the audience. Innes like Idle was often involved in writing and performing music and songs. He died of a heart attack in late December 2019 at the age of 75.
They’ll probably never be another troupe like Monty Python. Broken Lizard and The State have come close but they don’t have what the troupe had. Luckily, more and more younger people are introduced to them each year.
What do you think? Please comment.
Zane Says 