Well, here's a film that's already been reviewed by many reviewers, so I'll try to give this review a distinctive spin, with some particular emphasis, near the end, on the "Special Edition" DVD version.

Historical Background: When Monty Python and the Holy Grail was released in 1975, the Monty Python troupe was already widely known in England, but pretty much still a cult phenomenon in America. In the thirty years since, the film has achieved the rarefied stature of a comedy classic, beloved by millions, though not universally. There has always been and likely always will be a segment of the population that just doesn't "get" the Python brand of humor. The making of this film reunited the six members of the Monty Python troupe, Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin, a year after their television series had wrapped up.

Graham Chapman was born January 8th, 1941, in Leicester, England, and died in 1989 from spinal cancer. He and John Cleese were classmates at Oxford. In the sixties, the pair began writing comedy for British television and dreamed up the idea for a comedy show that ultimately became Monty Python's Flying Circus, which ran from 1969 to 1974 and later took on cult status in some international markets, including the U.S. Chapman collaborated on writing the television show and, later, the movies, as well as performing. Chapman was the only one of the Pythons not to do a lot professionally, after 1974, independent of the others, though he did appear as an actor in The Odd Job (1978), The Secret Policeman's Other Ball (1982), and Yellowbeard (1983) (along with Idle and Cleese).

John Cleese was born October 27th, 1939, in Weston-Super-Mare, England. At 6'4" he was tall for a comedian and eccentric in style. Like Chapman, Cleese collaborated on the scripts and performed in all of the troupe's work. After the end of the television series, Cleese established a solid separate identity, appearing in television as well as films. He was especially popular as the character Basil Fawlty in the television series Fawlty Towers. His movie appearances, in addition to the Monty Python films, included Time Bandits (1981), The Great Muppet Caper (1981), Silverado (1985), A Fish Called Wanda (1988), The World Is Not Enough (1999), Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001), Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002), The Adventures of Pluto Nash (2002), Pinocchio (2002), and Die Another Day (2002). Cleese won a BAFTA for Best Actor for his work in A Fish Called Wanda, as well as earning an Oscar nomination for that film's screenplay.

Eric Idle was born March 29th, 1943, in South Shields, Durham, England. He graduated from Cambridge and met Cleese while performing in the school's Footlights revue. Idle collaborated on Monty Python scripts as well as appearing in the skits and films. He also co-authored Monty Python books, including Hello Sailor and The Rutland Dirty Weekend Book. Like Cleese, Idle established an identity independent of the other Pythons, through a television series entitled Rutland Weekend Television. His film appearances outside the Monty Python series include The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1989) and Pinocchio (2002).

Terry Gilliam has also made a name for himself apart from the Python troupe. The only American in the group, Gilliam was born on November 22nd, 1940, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. After earning a degree in political science at Occidental College, Gilliam worked as a writer and illustrator for various magazines and advertising firms. Gilliam moved to London and joined the BBC, where he soon teamed up with other members of Monty Python's Flying Circus. Gilliam was the illustrator responsible for the animated sequences, both for the television series and the films. He and the other Terry – Terry Jones – were co-directors for Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975). When the time came to strike out on his own, Gilliam continued directing, with such films as Jabberwocky (1977), Time Bandits (1981), Brazil (1985), The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1989), The Fisher King (1991), Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998), and his present fiasco, The Brothers Grimm (2005)

Terry Jones, born in 1942 in Colwyn Bay, North Wales, worked first in repertory theater. His involvement with the Python troupe included writing, acting, and directing. Jones co-directed the present film and solo directed the next two, Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979) and Monty Python's the Meaning of Life (1983), as well as Personal Services (1987) and Erik the Viking (1989), in which Cleese appeared as an actor.

Michael Palin was born May 5th, 1943, in Sheffield, England. He majored in history at Oxford, but turned to acting and writing comedies. Besides his roles in the Monty Python series and films, Palin appeared in such films as Time Bandits (1981), The Missionary (1982), Brazil (1985), A Fish Called Wanda (1988), and American Friends (1991). Palin had success in the late seventies in the British television series, Ripping Yarns. Palin, Idle, Cleese, and Jones all worked together on The Wind in the Willows (1996).

The Story: The opening credit sequence for this film is one of the most creative you'll come across and famous in its own right. The credits start running in a routine manner, but before long false Swedish subtitles begin appearing. The sequence is then briefly interrupted by an apology: "We apologize for the fault in the subtitles. Those responsible have been sacked." The credits recommence, but the bogus subtitles reappear, worse than ever. Another interruption informs viewers, "We apologize again for the fault in the subtitles. Those responsible for sacking the people who have just been sacked have been sacked." After more problems, a third message states, "The directors of the film hired to replace the other people who had been sacked wish it to be known that they have just been sacked. The credits have been completed in an entirely different style at great expense and at the last minute." The remaining credits then appear in wildly flashing, brightly colored screens.

As the film proper begins, King Arthur (Graham Chapman) appears, trailed by his squire, Patsy (Terry Gilliam). Arthur is mounted on a fine steed – or more precisely, he is galloping along on his own two legs pantomiming a man riding a horse. Patsy is banging two coconut half-shells together to mimic the sound of hoof beats. The pair approaches a castle where Arthur announces himself as the King of the Britons and requests entry. Instead, the guard atop the castle wall entangles Arthur in an extended intellectual analysis involving weight ratios, aimed at determining whether migrating swallows could have carried Patsy's coconut to England. Exasperated, Arthur rides on, reaching a plague-ravaged village where the Dead Collector (Eric Idle) is piling corpses on a wagon and crying out, "Bring out yer dead! Bring out yer dead!" One young villager wants to unload his old father, though the old man is still very much alive. The Dead Collector protests, "I cawn't take 'im like 'at!" When the youngster begs, "Isn't there something you can do?" the Dead Collector obliges by finishing the old geezer off with a blow to the head.

Riding on, Arthur encounters a peasant pulling a cart. Arthur gets off to a bad start with the fellow, Dennis (Michael Palin), by calling him "old woman," since he is neither old nor female. Dennis is, however, some kind of proto-socialist with little use for royalty. Arthur tries to explain why he is king, relating the famous story of the Lady of the Lake and the great sword, Excalibur. Dennis is unimpressed. "Listen," he says, "strange women lyin' in ponds distributin' swords is no basis for a system of government! Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony. You can't expect to wield supreme executive power just because some watery tart threw a sword at you. If I went around saying I was an emperor just because some moistened bint lobbed a scimiter at me, they'd put me away."

Arthur presses on. Soon, he and his squire come to a bridge guarded by The Black Knight (John Cleese), who is doing battle at that very moment with The Green Knight (Terry Gilliam). They're both decked out in full armor, wielding massive swords. It's nip and tuck, but The Black Knight finally tosses his sword deftly through the eye slit in the Green Knight's helmet. Duly impressed, Arthur approaches the victor, hoping to enlist him into the quest for the Holy Grail. The Black Knight refuses to even answer King Arthur, except to insist that no man shall pass over the bridge. Arthur is forced to engage the knight with his sword. After a number of thrusts and parries, Arthur manages to cut off the knight's left arm. Blood gushes from the knight's raw shoulder, but he still refuses to let Arthur pass, fighting on right-handed. Arthur slices off the man's right arm and kneels to the ground to thank God for his victory. The Black Knight, however, isn't done, kicking Arthur with his boots. Arthur slices off one of the Knight's legs, but still the feisty Knight fights on, now hopping at Arthur and bumping against him. Arthur finally slices off the other leg. The Black Knight declares, "All right, we'll call it a draw!"

Those early scenes in the film should provide enough of a sample to give you an idea if this film is likely to be to your taste. Subsequent scenes include a marvelously humorous effort to determine if a particular peasant woman is a witch, two delightful musical numbers (Knights of the Round Table and Sir Robin), a confrontation with insolent, taunting French knights, a Trojan rabbit, Sir Robin's flight from a three-headed bitchy-queen of a monster, the chaste Sir Galahad's confrontation with a bevy of babes at Anthrax Castle, a confrontation with the Knights Who Say Ni, Sir Lancelot's barbarous rescue of a "damsel" in distress, guidance from a fire-flinging enchanter, a bloody battle with the terrifying bunny rabbit guarding the Cave of Caerbannog, a telltale inscription left by Black Beasc of Arrrghhh, the challenge of the three questions at the Bridge of Death, and the final showdown at The Castle of Arrrghhh.

Themes: If one target receives the most vicious of the troupe's barbs, it's the notion of hereditary monarchy. The absurdity of royalty stands out for abuse. "A King, eh? Very nice. How'd you get that, eh? By exploiting the workers! By hanging on to the outdated imperialistic dogma which perpetuates the economic and social differences in our society." Otherwise, the writers distribute the sting of their satire across a wide swath of topics.

Production Values: The writing is brilliant and nothing is sacred when the Monty Python troupe is in action. Religious fervor, intellectualism, and both Marxist and royalist politics take a beating. Sensitive viewers might take exception to this film, if one or more of their affiliate groups get targeted. Religious groups used to complain about the cartoonish image of God appearing as a vision to Arthur and exclaiming, "Oh, don't grovel! One thing I can't stand is people groveling! Every time I try to talk to someone, it's 'Sorry' this and 'Forgive me' that, and 'I'm not worthy.'" When Arthur averts his eyes from his Lord, the Big Fellow orders him to knock if off. The film also includes quite a few implicit putdowns of women and gay men, either by dialog or stereotypical presentation of characters. I'm not sure that I can adequately judge how offensive such elements might be to viewers in those groups. One minor structural weakness in the film is that the first half has more of the great skits than the latter half. The humor throughout is multileveled, including lots of physical humor to complement the verbal wit, and even some humor based on contrasts between, for example, the music and the images, or the sets and the dialog.

The sets are outstanding, considering that the film was made on a shoestring (£250,000). The foul looking mud in the plague village, for example, is a marvel. The production team had picked a whole slew of castles from all over Scotland for the filming, but the snooty Scottish authorities felt that the film would not be in keeping with the dignity of the historical sites. All of the castle scenes ended up being shot at one privately owned castle, from different angles. The costumes, by Hazel Pithig, are quite remarkable, often adding still another layer of humor in their own right.

Each of the Monty Python regulars plays multiple parts. Chapman, as King Arthur, plays the role like a good straight man, never breaking from a heroic delivery of his lines. Cleese plays Sir Lancelot, The Black Knight, one of the Swallow-Savvy Guards, the Taunting French Guard, and Tim the Enchanter. Idle plays at least six different parts, including Sir Robin. Gilliam plays five relatively minor roles. Jones plays Sir Bedevere and the effeminate Prince Herbert. Michael Palin plays Sir Galahad, Dennis, the Leader of the Knights Who Say Ni, and about six other parts. Among the outsiders, Carol Cleveland was the most noticeable, as Lady Zoot and her twin Dingo. A one-legged stunt double, named Richard Burton (!), was hired for one part of Arthur's battle with The Black Knight.

Special Edition DVD Extras: The "Special Edition" DVD comes fully loaded with extras. I'm not as much of a fan of extras as some other movie lovers, but there are some pretty goods ones in this package. I took a look at all of them for purposes of this review. High on the value list is a choice of two different commentary tracks. One features Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones, the co-directors. Gilliam does most of the talking and is quite interesting. Jones chips in now and then. The other track features three of the other Pythons: Idle, Palin, and Cleese. They weren't actually taped together, but the editor of the track has done a nice job selecting comments. Idle has less to say than the other two. Another feature that might interest budding screenwriters is an on-screen companion screenplay, as the film plays in a small window. Then, there's the cute option of watching the film subtitled with dialog from Henry IV (that actually seems to match up to a spooky extent with the action in the film). All of that is on Disk 1 along with subtitle options in English, French, or Spanish.

Disk 2 has a less impressive array, but there's a pretty good documentary in which Michael Palin and Terry Jones pay a return visit to the Scottish castle where much of the film was shot. The tourist concession at the castle carries a ton of memorabilia relating to the film, since the film is one of the main reasons tourists flock to the site. There's a group of about half-a-dozen items under the heading "Sacred Relics," three of which I enjoyed. There's a cute skit relating to proper use of coconuts, mimicking a government information piece. There're some riotous excerpts from a Japanese version of the film where the Japanese-language dubbed dialog is given a literal translation back into English, revealing how much of the subtlety of the dialog is lost in the process. Then, there're U.S. and British trailers (only slightly different) that are considered among the most creative trailers ever done for a film. Two other items called Artifacts and Photos held no interest for me. Then, there's another group of items under the heading "Old Rubbish." It is mostly rubbish, though there is a cute version of the song "Knights of the Round Table" done with Lego™ knights.

Bottom-Line: If you're an avid Monty Python fan, I'd say you definitely want to get hold of the Special Edition DVD. I'd also recommend it for movie lovers who enjoy commentary tracks. Also, the quality of the DVD picture is a lot better than any available VHS version of the film. If you have no interest in the extras, you can find a less expensive, good quality DVD version without the second disk. The Monty Python brand of humor is unique, but if you like American television shows like Saturday Night Live or Comedy Central, you'll probably like Monty Python even more. The humor is intelligent and irreverent on the one hand, but silly and absurd on the other.

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Good for Groups
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older