Come and see the violence inherent in the system

Posted on 14th March 2024

They say the necessity is the mother of invention, and I doubt there’s a better exemplar of the maxim than Monty Python and the Holy Grail, a film that, as the posters said at the time, made Ben Hur look like an Epic. Given Python’s world domination over the intervening forty plus years it’s hard to believe that the inspired idea to use coconut shells instead of horses was more to do with money than comedy. In short, they didn’t have any cash, and had to stretch their imaginations to cover the gaps. The end result was easily the most imaginative, definitely the silliest, and arguably the funniest, of the Python movies.

The film holds up visually as well. Jointly directed by the two Terrys, its easy to see Gilliam’s nascent skills developing on screen as the anarcho-syndicalist peasants dig for mud, Tim the Enchanter sets fire to the countryside and rolling mist envelops Castle Anthrax. The film is, however, all about the comedy. King Arthur’s quest for the Holy Grail is a vehicle for a string of sketches that range from the funny to very funny indeed. The Black Knight, the rude Frenchman, the Knights that say Ni, the Rabbit of Caerbannog, the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch, and the Bridge of Death are just some the highlights that tiresome schools boy, such as I, have been quoting from ever since the film first appeared in cinemas.

As you would expect from Python, the ensemble cast play a range of characters, and they do so with enthusiasm and energy. Graham Chapman is outstanding, playing Arthur entirely straight while the others bounce off him with varying degrees of lunatic charm. If you’ve ever seen the reruns of the TV series, and been perplexed by how unkind time has been to all but the classic sketches, then worry not. The Holy Grail is Python at its ridiculous best. Whether you come to the film to wallow in nostalgia, or if you’re one of the happy few seeing it for the first time, you’re in for a treat.