yakkowarner's Full Review: Monty Python and the Holy Grail
This is one of the greatest comedies ever made. Monty Python, along with Mel Brooks, have made some of the funniest movies over the past few decades. This is my favorite from the troupe. How many movies can you throw a quote out in a random crowd at Disneyland and expect to hear a different quote thrown right back at you, from the same movie. Not many.
This movie takes place in medieval times (mostly). King Arthur is on a mission to find the Holy Grail. He goes along recruiting brave souls to join him on this quest. The story is told in two styles, the first is through tradition live acting and movie story telling. This is just acting at its silliest. Each scene is a different place within this medieval world, but many of them include castles. The second is unique to Monty Python, they fill in the missing gaps with stop motion animation clips (that are funny in and of themselves) with a narrator speaking at times. I still laugh every time I see the merry men get what's coming or watch the sun grow legs. These two methods are blended into the story perfectly and make a story move along at a fast and smooth pace. No special interpreter is needed nor do you need to have seen any previous Monty Python movies/television shows to get their humor. It is very approachable as long as you don't mind thinking from time to time.
I am having a hard time describing their humor in my reviews. It is not your typical humor found in the factory produced comedies we see every year in the theatre. It has a subtleness to it. Some times there is sarcasm. Other times you just laugh at the stupidity of the characters they are playing. King Arthur is a great man...in his own eyes, but in the eyes of the audience he is an idiot. But a lovable idiot that is fun to laugh at. That combined with the witty lines truly make the movie. A lot of care went into these lines which may explain why so many of my generation have them memorized.
The acting is wonderful. This troop has perfected their craft. They are entertaining, witty, comical in both their actions and words. To me, this is drama. Acting on the most basic level, but acting that is done beautifully. I would use the word perfect but there is no such thing as the word "perfect" in the arts. The actors also play different characters in the film, so you see the same actors in a different character from time to time. John Cleese for instance plays 6 different characters. Gilliam even get into the actors chair in addition to his directorial duties.
But the true key to their comedy I think is in the writing. It is the writing that keeps the audience entertained. Some of the lines can get very complex and wordy. It is not a simple one word come back like in other comedies, or stupid lines, rather it is a drawn out battle of words. And many times Arthur is the loser of these forked tongue battles. It isn't a bunch of simple words, it is a carefully crafted script that is designed to entertain, build up characters, and most importantly make the audience think about the humor involved. By making the audience think I mean the dialogue forces the audience to be engaged in the film, you don't have to have an English degree to understand them. The audience is forced to dissect the usage of words the characters choose to say. Forced to figure out why something was said. And in amongst all of this, figure out what is funny. This is not a clown getting hit with a cream pie. This is about a rabbit doing something so out there that it makes you wonder "what the heck?" and then laugh over it, partly due to the lines that were used before, during, and after that great event. It is a carefully prepared event that is set up then released, like a non-flying squirrel in a clay pigeon shooter. Needless to say the movie is complex in so many ways, a complexity that has not been duplicated in any major Hollywood film since (at least in my opinion) because of the aversion to risk Hollywood has.
The pacing is dead on. You are not bored at all throughout the movie. You move swiftly from scene to scene. And the scenes themselves are not boring. Like many plays the lines almost fall on top of each other and don't give the audience much time to react, a style that I like.
Replay value is very high. This is one of those movies I can watch any day or time. Just come on over and we'll watch this with you, then the Matrix afterwards.
The Key Players Director: Terry Gilliam & Terry Jones Writers: Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry, Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, & Michael Palin. Music: Neil Innes
My End Line I've tried to give my explanation of why I think this is a great film without giving away any of the scenes or jokes themselves. And even if I did I know I couldn't explain the joke properly to give it justice. For a film on a low budget it showed what can be done if you got the right writers. This is a funny film that does not get old.
Yolks! Here be the Python s tale of good King Arthur (Graham Chapman) and his knights as they quest for the Holy Grail. Watch as they face great odds ...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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