Best part of this movie is the fact that the historian was killed by a knight on a horse and none of the knights had horses, so we don't actually know who killed the historian.
The first time I watched this movie, I spent the entire movie waiting for the moose to show up. And of course, there was no moose. When it comes to trolling an audience, nobody did it better than Monty Python, ever.
@@SalvoG in keeping with the ridiculousness of this, Life of Brian or Meaning of Life. From other filmmakers, Airplane and Blazing Saddles are both must see films
@@KurtAnderson812 My vote from that list is Airplane. You may not get some of the jokes because they are made for the time period of the movie but you will get most of them. And SO many famous people that you may not recognize are in that movie. It was made in 1980 and they brought back a bunch of aging stars from the 50's and 60's to be in the movie. The genius of the movie is they are all serious actors parroting themselves being serious and being super funny at it. Leslie Neilson for example is in the movie. If you saw any of the naked Gun movies, he plays his role in the Naked Gun films just like he does in Airplane. But until Airplane he played nothing but super serious roles.
Pestilence was just having a grand old time until proper antibiotics came around. Of course, he still gets a foot in the door with the odd pandemic once in a while.
My sister and I quote this movie all the time. "It's just a flesh wound", "I fart in your general direction." "Run away! Run away!" and "Let me face the peril!" 🤣🤣🤣
Fun Fact: The coconuts were used because the budget couldn't afford more than one real horse, and they used that one for the knight that killed the professor. This was their solution to scenes that had more than one rider, and they just went with it for the whole movie.
Let me just say; first off, that before Star Wars; movie credits were always played at the start of a film. Star Wars was the first film to role credits at the end of a film. This would revolutionize the Movie industry. The reason for the long end; was pure comedy, nothing more. Monty Python were masters of the Sketch comedy, and trying to translate that into film wasn't easy. By breaking things down into smaller segments, made things easier for the crew to create this amazing comedy movie. Before this movie; I wasn't much into Monty Python, but after, I found a new found appreciation for them
The reason for the coconuts & pretending to ride a horse is that the budget didn’t have room for horses. The gag became to use the coconuts to simulate the sound of the horse galloping. Other Monty Python favorites include their TV show with the same kind of sketches, called “Flying Circus,” and another movie called “Life of Brian.”
My sense of humor was formed (warped) by Monty Python. First by the Flying Circus, then by the movies. You may not have realized it, but the same 5 actors played all the roles.
Apparently at the time of the production of the film the budget was so small they couldn’t afford horse training the actors so instead had to pantomime being on them by clanking coconut shells together.
A few points about some of the scenes... While it may seem ridiculous, there is actual history behind the scene of the peasants gathering mud. Mud was used as a building material - mainly by the poor - they would build a wooden/wicker frame for a hut and then coat it with mud, it was a form of "daub and wattle" construction. The scene with the two knights fighting at the "bridge" was based on Arthurian legend, in the tales there were frequently rogue knights that guarded bridges and crossroads and had to be defeated to allow passage. The scene of Castle Anthrax (with the young women) is also a nod to Arthurian myth. Often the knights would be sent on side quests to rescue groups of "damsels in distress" usually imprisoned by ogres or giants. A lot of reactors get upset that there is no closure - the Grail is never found. In Arthurian myth it was finally found, but the knight that found it died while praying at it (Galahad or Gawain IIRC) so it was never recovered.
Another bit of absurdity with some historical basis is the killer rabbit. They actually do show up in medieval illustrations. They’re generally depicted as more anthropomorphic, but quite murderous, nonetheless.
At this point in time, it was the norm to have the movie credits at the beginning of the film. It wasn't until the first Star Wars film in 1977 when that began to change (although it didn't become predominant until the mid to late 80s). In fact, credits not being at the beginning of films was so rare that George Lucas had to fight the studio system tooth and nail in order to hold off the credits until the end of "Star Wars: A New Hope." Lucas was not only forced out of the Director's Guild for his decision but he was also fined $250,000 for his insistance to continue to do so.
I don't know if you have seen The Flying Circus stuff but there is a compilation "movie" of some of tthe best sketches called: 'And Now For Something Completely Different...' I recommend that and as others said 'Life of Brian'. There is also a musical called 'Spamalot' which is a lot of fun and has a slightly more cohesive story.
Trivia: - The image of God is really a photo of W.G. Grace with a crown drawn over it - A modern motor dinghy appears in the corner of the screen just as the dragon boat reaches the island '- Scene 24' is actually scene 13, but when the old man from that scene reappears as the bridge keeper, THAT in fact is scene 24
It helps somewhat to have been familiar with Python's brand of humor. It is surreal, absurd and silly every time. They used to have a TV show back in the late 60s and early 70s that we were pretty hooked on. This movie is just an extension of the same philosophy. Here they took King Arthur ans set him against some of the realities of living during that time - the filth, the dead, the religious aspects, etc. At first, it is hard to tell what you think but they grow on you. My dad didn't get them either--at first--but always showed up to watch every weekend. As I understand it, the end of the movie was a 'cop out' because they mostly ran out of money and didn't have an ending anyway. But the buried joke is that there are no ending credits because they sacked the credit people. No one to do them. Basically, it is Monty Python.
The trick to this movie is to turn your brain off and just let it happen. Graham Chapman " Arthur" was a severe alcoholic and was wasted to his entire shoot. This movie is what it is. I for one love the dialogue. Funny stuff. "Are you suggesting coconuts migrate?" Just brilliant.
I disagree wholeheartedly. If you turn off your brain while watching this the movie is just a silly rendition of Arthur and the Grail. And not even a good one, it has no start, no middle, no ending. But there is so much more.
My favorite line is in the castle when the girls try to undress him and he says 'They're doctors??| and the answer is "Well, they have a basic medical training, yes" (Just like every massage studio in the day!)
Monty Python! 😍😍😍 I've lost count of the times I've quoted their stuff over the years. They're so silly, but silly is AWESOME. 'It's just a flesh wound!' is one of my faves from this one. And the Knights of Ni. Just classic. Life of Brian next, with classic quotes including my personal favourite 'He's not the Messiah! He's just a very naughty boy!' Also includes a great musical number...🤣🤣🤣
You didn't read the credits' subtitles - they're their own form of humor, and yes, it's part of the movie. And now, you know why the credits were at the start..... ;) The two people digging in the ground while complaining about being oppressed are digging peat to burn. Monty Python are the kings of absurd humor, you can't escape the absurdity, just give in and laugh at it. Also, notice the cruelty to cats throughout the film: a dancer in Camelot steps on one, the woman they ask about the shrubbery is beating a rug with one (it cries out MEOW every time she hits the rug), etc. Finally, you missed something in the scene with the prince and king at the top of the tower before the wedding - when the king is *saying* "land", he's indicating with his hands that the bride has large breasts. Gives "she's got huge... tracts of land" a whole new meaning. ;)
@@arandomnamegoeshere It wasn’t just common, there were consequences to not giving credits at the beginning of the film. For example, George Lucas was fined $250,000 by the Directors Guild of America for not crediting the director at the beginning of the Star Wars films. It was extremely rare for movies not to have opending credits before the mid to late 1980s.
I've noticed that a lot of American reactors don't get the humour in this and other British comedies. 'They always look for meanings and explanations for what's happening when there are none. They don't seem able to just go with it and stop trying to analysing everything. Most peculiar. I don't what the reason for it is, but I've seen it enough to know it's definitely a thing.
Bahahaha! Welcome to the definition of absurdist humor with some very smart social and period commentary. I hope you can find it in your heart to love it.
"That was a little bit ridiculous" pretty much sums up anything by Monty Python. I was introduced to their TV show, Monty Python's Flying Circus, in the seventies. It was on a local public broadcasting channel here in Vermont. It quickly became a must see event every week. We would gather at the home of the person who got the channel, get baked, and proceed to laugh ourselves silly at this program that contained stuff we had never seen before. Hilarious!
I raised my kids on Python. 35 years later we still quote the dialog when we get together. Also, I bought coconuts, cut them in half, cleaned and sanded them and gave them to my grandkids. I still smile thinking how they're driving my kids nutty by clopping their horses around the house all day.
Live action and animated had been combined much earlier, see Mary Poppins (1964) for example. Thanks to Terry Jones (your favourite Prince) the medieval culture and Arthurian lore is pretty accurate. The French still claim to have the Grail held in secret.
Once one can fully accept that the absurd is possible, Python becomes brilliant. Embrace the silly and enjoy the humor. I hope you check out Life of Brian, Meaning of Life, and the tv series Flying Circus.
The only way to get Monty Python is to understand that there is nothing to get. They are just silly for the sake of being silly. This movie however, is a satire of the Middle Ages where people believed in witches and the plague killed one third of the population of Europe so it was quite common place. The horse gag was done because the budget wouldn't allow for real ones and the actors couldn't ride them anyways.
George Harrison bank rolled Life of Brian....put his house up for insurance. Both Led Zeppelin gave money and Pink Floyd gave them money to film the Holy Grail.
Your reaction to this reminds me of trying to introduce my new American friends to three things. Monty Python, Doctor Who and Broon's Books (& oor Willie). Luckily we had music in common or I'd have had no friends until college 🤣🤣🤣. What is funny is that now Doctor Who and Monty Python are well loved in America (I guess Broon's Books are too Scottish 💯🤣). Several of my American friends, not to mention my wife and kids, still use the phrase"large tracts of land" in roughly the same sense. Among a myriad of others. I was raised in Ayrshire Scotland🏴. When, in 1970, my parents decided I would live in America (Seattle) full time I was 13. The biggest thrill for me was living in the hometown of Jimi Hendrix. Even at that tender age I recognized greatness when I heard it. A few years later I would hear & see Rush for the first time.
"They roll the credits at the beginning. That's ridiculous." That was the standard for centuries. But here comes the important question: Wi nøt trei a høliday in Sweden this yër?
All through the 70s and 80s Monty Python and the Holy Grail was shown as a double feature with Blazing Saddles... And Airplane, Stir Crazy, The Jerk and This Is Spinal Tap should go on your list, too.
The reason they used coconuts and not horses was because they couldn't afford to rent the horses. Also, the scenes with the police were put in because when filming the end, the police turned up and kicked them off the land they were filming on because they didn't have permission to be there, so they added in the police. 😁.
First time I saw this was in high school English class before we started our "Once And Future King" unit 😂. Although obviously they fastforwarded the Sir Galahad section...
"Monty Python and the Holy Grail": A riotous romp through 10th century Britain with King Arthur. A ROTFLMAO delight, too!;) Of "Coconut horses," Swallows, and a French knight/Master insulter.
To understand Monty Python... you don't want to do that! They started on British television in the late 1960s. They have a sketch about a penguin on the tele by the way. You might be able to find that skit on RUclips. My favorite skits are Argument Clinic; Four Yorkshiremen; Travel Agent; The Parrot Sketch. You might enjoy their songs: Lumberjack Song; Eric The Half A Bee; Australian Philosophers. Monty Python first appeared on American television in the early 1970s (unedited - BTW) on PBS. Their skits were put onto vinyl and made available to those of us still trapped in a time before VHS or Betamax was available. The major stations later picked up Monty Python which showed the edited versions. Telling others about Monty Python can become a bad habit! One of the members of The Beatles, George Harrison, actually funded the movie "Life Of Brian" because he wanted to see that movie. Enjoy!
Running the credits at the start of the movie was common practice up until the seventies, in part because George Lucas wanted to just jump right into the story of Star Wars. In older films, all they would have was a cast list at the end. And yes, the ending was a literal cop-out.
About the animation: When Monty Python's Flying Circus was on, Americans kept wondering why they put the animation in because most of us didn't find it all that funny but apparently Brits do.
Hahaha. Excellent you watched that old classic! Please check out a two part movie. 100 on rotten tomatoes and just incredible, “Jean de Florette” and “Manon of the spring” hope you’ll check those classics out! Unbelievable twists!
Actually, movies back from about the eighties thru earlier times, began with all the credits rolled at the beginning. I kind of like it because I like to see the cast before watching it. Audiences used to clap when the movie ended, I remember this as a child growing up in the 60's/70's.
These guys are brilliant! I still use I will fart in your general direction LOL The Life of Brian has to be next. They used live and animation in their TV shows all the time. The first one came out in 1969. Crazy British comedy. As others had mentioned both Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd contributed money to produce this film. George Harrison contributed to produce the Life of Brian. You will get a singing sequence in the Life of Brian LOL
One of my favourite all-time movies. :D For some context, this kind of absurdist/surrealist humour became popular in Europe around that time, particularly Britain and France; Post-modern fourth wall-breaking and otherwise mundane events being made bizarre. A good example from France is a movie called 'The Phantom of Liberty', which was a series of sketches, much like Monty Python's TV show. The UK has long been enamoured with this style of comedy, sometimes becoming incredibly dark or controversial in some other examples. :)
It feels like you came into this film not knowing the legend of Arthur and the Holy Grail. Things would have made more sense then. The monks with the boards slapping themselves in the face is a parody of penitents, who would chant to got while whipping themselves in the back (over the shoulder). The man with the shaving cream can be seen as Eric Idle's character first brings the witch into the village, he's in a hut getting shaved by the local barber-surgeon and jumps out of his chair to see the commotion.
"There's no way it's gonna go further"......clearly you are not familiar with the gang of Monty Python! 😂🤣🤪 British humor at best! "Why did he just roast him like that?".......clearly you're not familiar with the French either LOL!
I first watched this in a theater with a friend and we were both high. It made for an interesting time. If you can you should watch their hilarious TV series "Monty Pythion's Flying Circus" they had so many classic scenes.
😂Hope you guys enjoyed the reaction. Unedited full version on Patreon. What movie next?
★★ Please Consider ★★
©1981 Heavy Metal
It is a R rated animated film that has a
Most excellent Soundtrack.
Here are some other films with Great Soundtracks
1973 Live and Let Die
1982 Fast Times at Ridgemont High
1993 Dazed and Confused
1999 Outside Providence
2000 Almost Famous
All on that list have great Soundtracks...
Monty Python's Life of Brian.
Holy Grail is a very funny movie, but Life of Brian is the funniest movie I've ever seen.
Life of Brian is my favorite Python movie. Also check out Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl if you want more brilliance in front of a huge crowd.
Those women are asking to be raped and sexually assaulted infact they worship the idea of it .
Best part of this movie is the fact that the historian was killed by a knight on a horse and none of the knights had horses, so we don't actually know who killed the historian.
Oh wow what an observation 😂
Certainly the woman at the end is the original Karen, who convinces the police to arrest the wrong knights!
Omg, I can't believe I never caught that part. Bwahahahahaha.
@@michaelconnor1542 That will teach you to Pay Attention!
The best part of the movie was the entire movie.
O Lord, bless this thy hand grenade, but with it thou mayst blow thy enemies to tiny bits, in thy mercy.
The first time I watched this movie, I spent the entire movie waiting for the moose to show up. And of course, there was no moose. When it comes to trolling an audience, nobody did it better than Monty Python, ever.
Were you not a-moose'd?
This is the BEST comment I have read in ages!!! 👏👏👏
They blew the entire moose budget on all the coconuts and the one horse.
I’ve been quoting this movie since the 70’s. Definitely more movie reactions!
What should I watch next
@@SalvoG in keeping with the ridiculousness of this, Life of Brian or Meaning of Life. From other filmmakers, Airplane and Blazing Saddles are both must see films
@@KurtAnderson812 My vote from that list is Airplane. You may not get some of the jokes because they are made for the time period of the movie but you will get most of them. And SO many famous people that you may not recognize are in that movie. It was made in 1980 and they brought back a bunch of aging stars from the 50's and 60's to be in the movie. The genius of the movie is they are all serious actors parroting themselves being serious and being super funny at it. Leslie Neilson for example is in the movie. If you saw any of the naked Gun movies, he plays his role in the Naked Gun films just like he does in Airplane. But until Airplane he played nothing but super serious roles.
@@KurtAnderson812 The Meaning Of Life would be my recommendation as well.
the 70ies. You were quite in advance on the trend
Seriously, when I feel down, I look up the script at night in bed and read it out loud, then laugh myself to sleep.
"Brng out your dead" is exactly what was happening during the times of bubonic plague, which that scene is referencing.
Pestilence was just having a grand old time until proper antibiotics came around. Of course, he still gets a foot in the door with the odd pandemic once in a while.
In Warcraft III, if you kept clicking on the knights they said "Let me face the peril", and "I never say Ni!"
My sister and I quote this movie all the time. "It's just a flesh wound", "I fart in your general direction." "Run away! Run away!" and "Let me face the peril!" 🤣🤣🤣
Monty Python's Flying Circus. A Saturday night event for years.
THIS... is an EX-parrot. Another Monty Python classic.
Fun Fact: The coconuts were used because the budget couldn't afford more than one real horse, and they used that one for the knight that killed the professor. This was their solution to scenes that had more than one rider, and they just went with it for the whole movie.
You at the beginning "That was a little ridiculous." Me, "Man hold on to your hat."
He’s not the Messiah, he’s a very naughty boy.
Let me just say; first off, that before Star Wars; movie credits were always played at the start of a film. Star Wars was the first film to role credits at the end of a film. This would revolutionize the Movie industry. The reason for the long end; was pure comedy, nothing more. Monty Python were masters of the Sketch comedy, and trying to translate that into film wasn't easy. By breaking things down into smaller segments, made things easier for the crew to create this amazing comedy movie. Before this movie; I wasn't much into Monty Python, but after, I found a new found appreciation for them
The reason for the coconuts & pretending to ride a horse is that the budget didn’t have room for horses. The gag became to use the coconuts to simulate the sound of the horse galloping. Other Monty Python favorites include their TV show with the same kind of sketches, called “Flying Circus,” and another movie called “Life of Brian.”
I was 18 when I first watched this movie, and now at 66 its still funny.
Instead of trying to figure out what the movie is all about just enjoy it
0:57 Dude, prior to _Star Wars_ (1977) it was customary to show the credits at the start of the movie.
To explain the ending where the filming was stopped by police, it was a literal "cop out"
My sense of humor was formed (warped) by Monty Python. First by the Flying Circus, then by the movies. You may not have realized it, but the same 5 actors played all the roles.
Technically, that’s not completely true. Zoot, and the four score of young blondes and brunettes in the castle Anthrax for example. 🤣
✌🏼😎
@@randyhochstein8455 I always think Connie Booth played Zoot, but I don’t think that she did. I think it was a different actress.
@@annmc3878 not sure about that, but I too thought it was Connie Booth. ✌🏼😎
Booth played the witch
@@annmc3878 I think it was Carol Cleveland
Like the Princess Bride the lines from this movie live permanently in my brain and find ways to leak out into general conversation.
A King Arthur scholar I know of said that this film captured the medieval period more accurately than any other film.
Terry Jones was a medieval historian, so that makes sense
Apparently at the time of the production of the film the budget was so small they couldn’t afford horse training the actors so instead had to pantomime being on them by clanking coconut shells together.
A few points about some of the scenes... While it may seem ridiculous, there is actual history behind the scene of the peasants gathering mud. Mud was used as a building material - mainly by the poor - they would build a wooden/wicker frame for a hut and then coat it with mud, it was a form of "daub and wattle" construction. The scene with the two knights fighting at the "bridge" was based on Arthurian legend, in the tales there were frequently rogue knights that guarded bridges and crossroads and had to be defeated to allow passage. The scene of Castle Anthrax (with the young women) is also a nod to Arthurian myth. Often the knights would be sent on side quests to rescue groups of "damsels in distress" usually imprisoned by ogres or giants. A lot of reactors get upset that there is no closure - the Grail is never found. In Arthurian myth it was finally found, but the knight that found it died while praying at it (Galahad or Gawain IIRC) so it was never recovered.
Another bit of absurdity with some historical basis is the killer rabbit. They actually do show up in medieval illustrations. They’re generally depicted as more anthropomorphic, but quite murderous, nonetheless.
And the bridge that the black knight was guarding was like three feet across a narrow stream that could have easily been stepped over 🤣😂
@@SC-gp7kt Well, to be fair, Arthur's horse was probably tired and might not have been able to make it.
@@taun856 I didn't think of that 🤣😂🤣
Its a wonderful parody of King Arthur movies. Also, the ending is the final joke... its a "cop out".
I never get tired of peoples’ reaction to the last scene of this movie. That state of shock after realizing exactly what is going on never gets old
The literal cop out
The guy who did the art for the transisitons and stuff was the only American of the group.
Terry Gilliam.
At this point in time, it was the norm to have the movie credits at the beginning of the film. It wasn't until the first Star Wars film in 1977 when that began to change (although it didn't become predominant until the mid to late 80s). In fact, credits not being at the beginning of films was so rare that George Lucas had to fight the studio system tooth and nail in order to hold off the credits until the end of "Star Wars: A New Hope." Lucas was not only forced out of the Director's Guild for his decision but he was also fined $250,000 for his insistance to continue to do so.
The ending is a literal cop-out.
My favorite credit was “Suggestive poses for moose suggested by …”
I'm sure this is the first of MANY MORE times that you will watch this movie. It's the gift that keeps on giving.
Back in the day credits rolled before the movie began. You can see this in any film released under the "studio system" before the 60's/70's.
Monty Python used animation in their tv series, which was the precursor to this movie.
I don't know if you have seen The Flying Circus stuff but there is a compilation "movie" of some of tthe best sketches called: 'And Now For Something Completely Different...' I recommend that and as others said 'Life of Brian'. There is also a musical called 'Spamalot' which is a lot of fun and has a slightly more cohesive story.
Trivia:
- The image of God is really a photo of W.G. Grace with a crown drawn over it
- A modern motor dinghy appears in the corner of the screen just as the dragon boat reaches the island
'- Scene 24' is actually scene 13, but when the old man from that scene reappears as the bridge keeper, THAT in fact is scene 24
It helps somewhat to have been familiar with Python's brand of humor. It is surreal, absurd and silly every time. They used to have a TV show back in the late 60s and early 70s that we were pretty hooked on. This movie is just an extension of the same philosophy. Here they took King Arthur ans set him against some of the realities of living during that time - the filth, the dead, the religious aspects, etc.
At first, it is hard to tell what you think but they grow on you. My dad didn't get them either--at first--but always showed up to watch every weekend.
As I understand it, the end of the movie was a 'cop out' because they mostly ran out of money and didn't have an ending anyway. But the buried joke is that there are no ending credits because they sacked the credit people. No one to do them.
Basically, it is Monty Python.
The trick to this movie is to turn your brain off and just let it happen. Graham Chapman " Arthur" was a severe alcoholic and was wasted to his entire shoot. This movie is what it is. I for one love the dialogue. Funny stuff. "Are you suggesting coconuts migrate?" Just brilliant.
I disagree wholeheartedly. If you turn off your brain while watching this the movie is just a silly rendition of Arthur and the Grail. And not even a good one, it has no start, no middle, no ending. But there is so much more.
The French holding the castle against Arthur is a direct reference to the Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas.
actually credits at the start of the movie was the norm....star wars changed that
as for the ending...a literal cop out 😁
You know that thing you asked at the beginning, "Am I being trolled?" …
My favorite line is in the castle when the girls try to undress him and he says 'They're doctors??| and the answer is "Well, they have a basic medical training, yes" (Just like every massage studio in the day!)
Monty Python! 😍😍😍 I've lost count of the times I've quoted their stuff over the years. They're so silly, but silly is AWESOME.
'It's just a flesh wound!' is one of my faves from this one. And the Knights of Ni. Just classic.
Life of Brian next, with classic quotes including my personal favourite 'He's not the Messiah! He's just a very naughty boy!' Also includes a great musical number...🤣🤣🤣
I love the Monty Python films and all of their sketches. We need a group like them now more than ever
The lack of credits at the ending also meant that those who were responsible for the credits have been sacked! Try Monty Python's Life of Brian.
You didn't read the credits' subtitles - they're their own form of humor, and yes, it's part of the movie. And now, you know why the credits were at the start..... ;) The two people digging in the ground while complaining about being oppressed are digging peat to burn. Monty Python are the kings of absurd humor, you can't escape the absurdity, just give in and laugh at it. Also, notice the cruelty to cats throughout the film: a dancer in Camelot steps on one, the woman they ask about the shrubbery is beating a rug with one (it cries out MEOW every time she hits the rug), etc. Finally, you missed something in the scene with the prince and king at the top of the tower before the wedding - when the king is *saying* "land", he's indicating with his hands that the bride has large breasts. Gives "she's got huge... tracts of land" a whole new meaning. ;)
It was also pretty common at that time to have opening credits.
@@arandomnamegoeshere It wasn’t just common, there were consequences to not giving credits at the beginning of the film. For example, George Lucas was fined $250,000 by the Directors Guild of America for not crediting the director at the beginning of the Star Wars films. It was extremely rare for movies not to have opending credits before the mid to late 1980s.
I've noticed that a lot of American reactors don't get the humour in this and other British comedies. 'They always look for meanings and explanations for what's happening when there are none. They don't seem able to just go with it and stop trying to analysing everything. Most peculiar. I don't what the reason for it is, but I've seen it enough to know it's definitely a thing.
Bahahaha! Welcome to the definition of absurdist humor with some very smart social and period commentary. I hope you can find it in your heart to love it.
You may find it interesting to note that much of the funding for this project came from Led Zeppelin.
The genius absurdity of Monty Python! My family couldn't get enough of Monty Python's Flying Circus & all of their movies. Thank you for reminding me.
I saw this in the theater several times. When I was a child my parents let me stay up Past my bed time to watch monte python good memories
Great memories I’m sure
The Pythons were the most brilliantly, silly troupe ever.
By the way, LEGO did an entire recreation of the “Camelot” song and dance routine using LEGOs. It nearly perfect and very much worth watching!
The Prince of Swamp Castle is my favorite character from this film. One of my favorite Terry Jones performances ever.
"That was a little bit ridiculous" pretty much sums up anything by Monty Python. I was introduced to their TV show, Monty Python's Flying Circus, in the seventies. It was on a local public broadcasting channel here in Vermont. It quickly became a must see event every week. We would gather at the home of the person who got the channel, get baked, and proceed to laugh ourselves silly at this program that contained stuff we had never seen before. Hilarious!
I raised my kids on Python. 35 years later we still quote the dialog when we get together. Also, I bought coconuts, cut them in half, cleaned and sanded them and gave them to my grandkids. I still smile thinking how they're driving my kids nutty by clopping their horses around the house all day.
Live action and animated had been combined much earlier, see Mary Poppins (1964) for example. Thanks to Terry Jones (your favourite Prince) the medieval culture and Arthurian lore is pretty accurate. The French still claim to have the Grail held in secret.
Once one can fully accept that the absurd is possible, Python becomes brilliant. Embrace the silly and enjoy the humor. I hope you check out Life of Brian, Meaning of Life, and the tv series Flying Circus.
The only way to get Monty Python is to understand that there is nothing to get. They are just silly for the sake of being silly. This movie however, is a satire of the Middle Ages where people believed in witches and the plague killed one third of the population of Europe so it was quite common place. The horse gag was done because the budget wouldn't allow for real ones and the actors couldn't ride them anyways.
Monty Python are GENIUS!! More PYTHON!!! Life of Brian!!!
George Harrison bank rolled Life of Brian....put his house up for insurance. Both Led Zeppelin gave money and Pink Floyd gave them money to film the Holy Grail.
@@sarahdaw6648 COOL! I knew about Harrison, but not Floyd or Zeppelin. Makes me love those bands even more!!
This was the go to movie for subs when I was in high school. Watched it all the time 🤣
Wow seriously? Lol
"Start the movie"... it already started... minutes ago ;)
Your reaction to this reminds me of trying to introduce my new American friends to three things. Monty Python, Doctor Who and Broon's Books (& oor Willie). Luckily we had music in common or I'd have had no friends until college 🤣🤣🤣.
What is funny is that now Doctor Who and Monty Python are well loved in America (I guess Broon's Books are too Scottish 💯🤣). Several of my American friends, not to mention my wife and kids, still use the phrase"large tracts of land" in roughly the same sense. Among a myriad of others.
I was raised in Ayrshire Scotland🏴. When, in 1970, my parents decided I would live in America (Seattle) full time I was 13. The biggest thrill for me was living in the hometown of Jimi Hendrix. Even at that tender age I recognized greatness when I heard it. A few years later I would hear & see Rush for the first time.
Monty Python are so ridiculously funny.
"Bring out your dead"... the Black Plague was a historical thing.
This is a silly silly movie and we can't have enough silly
"They roll the credits at the beginning. That's ridiculous." That was the standard for centuries. But here comes the important question: Wi nøt trei a høliday in Sweden this yër?
I would recommend The Life of Brian. Also, Hot Fuzz, Snatch, Lock Stock And Two Smoking Barrels.
"Bring Out Yer Dead!" .... They had Plagues in those Times ya know!
All through the 70s and 80s Monty Python and the Holy Grail was shown as a double feature with Blazing Saddles...
And Airplane, Stir Crazy, The Jerk and This Is Spinal Tap should go on your list, too.
The reason they used coconuts and not horses was because they couldn't afford to rent the horses. Also, the scenes with the police were put in because when filming the end, the police turned up and kicked them off the land they were filming on because they didn't have permission to be there, so they added in the police. 😁.
First time I saw this was in high school English class before we started our "Once And Future King" unit 😂. Although obviously they fastforwarded the Sir Galahad section...
Ni!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
"Monty Python and the Holy Grail": A riotous romp through 10th century Britain with King Arthur. A ROTFLMAO delight, too!;) Of "Coconut horses," Swallows, and a French knight/Master insulter.
To understand Monty Python... you don't want to do that! They started on British television in the late 1960s. They have a sketch about a penguin on the tele by the way. You might be able to find that skit on RUclips. My favorite skits are Argument Clinic; Four Yorkshiremen; Travel Agent; The Parrot Sketch. You might enjoy their songs: Lumberjack Song; Eric The Half A Bee; Australian Philosophers. Monty Python first appeared on American television in the early 1970s (unedited - BTW) on PBS. Their skits were put onto vinyl and made available to those of us still trapped in a time before VHS or Betamax was available. The major stations later picked up Monty Python which showed the edited versions. Telling others about Monty Python can become a bad habit! One of the members of The Beatles, George Harrison, actually funded the movie "Life Of Brian" because he wanted to see that movie. Enjoy!
Running the credits at the start of the movie was common practice up until the seventies, in part because George Lucas wanted to just jump right into the story of Star Wars. In older films, all they would have was a cast list at the end.
And yes, the ending was a literal cop-out.
This movie was HUGE in geek/nerd circles back in the 80s. All us kids were running around quoting the heck out of it.
We are now the Knights who Say… ekki-ekki-ekki-ekki-ptang-zoom-boing-mrowr!
Glad you'll be doing movie reactions!
Pure genius.
The credits were ridiculous? Oh boy, you were not prepared for the rest of this movie, lmao.
About the animation: When Monty Python's Flying Circus was on, Americans kept wondering why they put the animation in because most of us didn't find it all that funny but apparently Brits do.
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 The best ever!!!
Hahaha. Excellent you watched that old classic! Please check out a two part movie. 100 on rotten tomatoes and just incredible, “Jean de Florette” and “Manon of the spring” hope you’ll check those classics out! Unbelievable twists!
Actually, movies back from about the eighties thru earlier times, began with all the credits rolled at the beginning. I kind of like it because I like to see the cast before watching it. Audiences used to clap when the movie ended, I remember this as a child growing up in the 60's/70's.
These guys are brilliant! I still use I will fart in your general direction LOL The Life of Brian has to be next. They used live and animation in their TV shows all the time. The first one came out in 1969. Crazy British comedy. As others had mentioned both Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd contributed money to produce this film. George Harrison contributed to produce the Life of Brian. You will get a singing sequence in the Life of Brian LOL
One of my favourite all-time movies. :D
For some context, this kind of absurdist/surrealist humour became popular in Europe around that time, particularly Britain and France; Post-modern fourth wall-breaking and otherwise mundane events being made bizarre. A good example from France is a movie called 'The Phantom of Liberty', which was a series of sketches, much like Monty Python's TV show. The UK has long been enamoured with this style of comedy, sometimes becoming incredibly dark or controversial in some other examples. :)
I have watched numerous reactions to this movie & only one seemed to appreciate this comedy classic. Maybe it is generational thing.
It feels like you came into this film not knowing the legend of Arthur and the Holy Grail. Things would have made more sense then.
The monks with the boards slapping themselves in the face is a parody of penitents, who would chant to got while whipping themselves in the back (over the shoulder).
The man with the shaving cream can be seen as Eric Idle's character first brings the witch into the village, he's in a hut getting shaved by the local barber-surgeon and jumps out of his chair to see the commotion.
Credits at the start of the film used to be the norm.
Movie credits used to always be at the beginning. It wasn't until the first Star Wars that this changed.
A claaaassssiic! Oh my god! This movie is a masterpiece! hahahahaha...
Credits at the start of a movie was the norm for decades...
There are no closing credits because those responsible for the subtitles (at the beginning) had been sacked.
They did not have a big enough budget for horses. The coconuts were the result.
Life of Brian next please.
A true "Cop Out"!. 🙂
The bring out your dead scene is about The Black Plague, and yeah - there were mass graves. 1/3 of the population of Europe died.
"There's no way it's gonna go further"......clearly you are not familiar with the gang of Monty Python! 😂🤣🤪 British humor at best!
"Why did he just roast him like that?".......clearly you're not familiar with the French either LOL!
I first watched this in a theater with a friend and we were both high. It made for an interesting time. If you can you should watch their hilarious TV series "Monty Pythion's Flying Circus" they had so many classic scenes.
Monty Python specializes in ridiculous
Old movies started with credits first