Monty Python and The Holy Grail | Canadians First Time Watching | Hahaha wtf is this movie?! | React

[@CineBingeReact]

Interesting tidbit: it turns out various scenes of this film (french soldier, witch burner..etc. etc.) were sold in audio only format and there for categorized as albums. So when we were uploading the initial.. oh god, dozen versions, we kept getting copyright blocked. Turns out its because the audio of those scenes are considered 'music', and we had hell of a time cutting and recutting them until we got a version of the video that wasnt blocked.

[@daveemerson6549]

Yeah, you'll probably run into this a lot with Monty Python movie reactions. All the songs from their movies have been released on albums multiple times over the years.

[@wesleyrodgers886]

Explanation of the plot? = it's Monty python ☺

[@classicslover]

Well, thank you so much for your must have been exhausting diligence in bringing this too us! It is very much appreciated. Life would be less rich without Simone's reaction to Sir Bedevere releasing a bird attached to a coconut. Oh! And for a better explanation of the Holy Grail, watch Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

[@sean---the-other-one]

Thanks for persevering. Now to watch Monty Python’s Life Of Brian. A more structured movie, but still with the absurd and brilliant humour that the Monty Python team is renowned for.

[@TTM9691]

That's not an interesting tidbit.....that's a frustrating tidbit! What bums me out about that is I don't want you to get sick of a particular movie because you have to keep going back to re-edit it! I hope this doesn't keep you away from "Life Of Brian", but if it does, I understand. :( Thanks for going the extra mile to share this with us, I REALLY enjoyed it! I had to watch every scene twice, just to catch each of your reactions!

[@andrewgrant6516]

Interestingly, we know that Arthur and co are innocent of the historian's murder, because the suspect actually had a horse - the only one in the movie.

[@spinynorman887]

Damn... 47 years after the fact, and I never realized that until you said (typed) it!

[@adamclark9459]

@@spinynorman887 Damb dude me too !:)

[@noremac7216]

It was actually one of the knights from the singing in Camelot scene lol Guess he was mad they decided Camelot was too silly a place 😂

[@wolfkniteX]

Literally, the only reason they used those coconuts in the first place was because there wasn't enough in the budget for horses and the one horse that did show up was a rental used for one scene. XD

[@Billsbury]

🤯

[@Farbar1955]

When I saw this as a college student in 1975 I was on a date with a beautiful girl who had lost a leg much earlier in her life. When the sword fight between Arthur and the Black Knight was going on and the knight lost a leg I was horrified because of my date. I looked over at her and she was laughing so hard that she was crying!! She loved it! It was a good date. Sherry, wherever you are, I will always remember that moment.

[@vincentlyon7448]

That scene opened so many people to cosplay who had missing limbs. There is an absolutely brilliant quadruple amputee cosplayer who shows up at conventions all the time in his black knight outfit.

[@TTM9691]

What a fantastic, beautiful memory, Farbar! Thank you so much for sharing it with us! So cool. Awww, I love that!

[@gregall2178]

Is it bad I was thinking her name was going to be Eileen? :-p

[@sister1976]

@@vincentlyon7448 That's brilliant!!

[@11DNA11]

She probably knew that it was just a fleshwound.

[@VeerleTakino]

My parents said that when they first watched this when it came out - they hated it. It was strange nonsense and they didn't laugh once. Until they went home and tried to explain what they just watched to a friend. They could not explain a *single scene* without breaking down laughing, and since then it's been one of their favorites.

[@gokaury]

That's hilarious.

[@ugaladh]

i already knew them from watching the Flying Circus on TV regularly. So I loved the movie, except the end- that pre-battle build-up was the best I'd seen in a movie and then....

[@lewisner]

I grew up watching Monty Python on TV and I guess their brand of humour takes a while to get into. We used to act out scenes from the TV show in the school yard the next day.

[@Name-ps9fx]

Back in the day, "English humor" was hated by many/most Americans. They didn't bother to try to understand things that were different. I grew up during the '70s, and we were taught differently than those who grew up in the '50s...we understood silly and ridiculous things.

[@johnalden5821]

Their initial response was the same as my father's when I insisted he go see it. But, he never did get to the laughing part.

[@seraiharper5553]

LOL, I know the French taunting sounds silly as hell, but here's the wonderful thing about it: it's absolutely accurate. Men-at-arms would indeed taunt enemies that were outside, daring them with insults to get them to come closer so they could shoot arrows or drop things on them. (Though not usually animals.) And the insults? ALSO accurate. For instance, in medieval times, grapes were for the rich, so poor folk made wine from whatever was available. In England, elderberries were a favorite. And rodents were well known to be extremely prolific. Thus "your mother was a hamster" = "your mama was a 'ho", and "your father smelt of elderberries" = "your daddy was a drunk". 🤣

[@fubar1217]

I especially like "go boil your bottoms".....ie: taking a bath.

[@keysersoze4658]

Saying someone smelled of elderberries was slang for someone who smelled of alcohol or was a drunk. cheers

[@seraiharper5553]

@@keysersoze4658 Yeah, that's what I said.

[@k.v.7681]

@@fubar1217 That's not exactly an insult, people bathed during medieval times. Cleanliness was a virtue. It's later on that people started to believe a sort of pseudoscience (hot water dilates the pores, making diseases free to enter the body) and stopped bathing often.

[@willvr4]

Thanks for the historical insight, I never knew what that meant I just thought it was a hilarious random insult when I first saw this as a kid.

[@WisteriaDrake]

Personally, my favorite bit is the brick joke with the French Taunter. He tells Arthur that his Lord won't be interested in questing for the Holy Grail because he already has one, and it's very nice. Since the French Taunter is also at the Castle Augh, where the Grail is hidden, it turns out that the French DID have a holy grail, and it is very nice.

[@Travelinmatt1976]

I told him we already got one

[@RideAcrossTheRiver]

What is he doing in England?

[@Mr.Dobalina_Mr.BobDobalina]

@@RideAcrossTheRiver Mind your own business!

[@RideAcrossTheRiver]

@@Mr.Dobalina_Mr.BobDobalina What a strange person!

[@JayMallow]

My favorite tidbit from this movie is that John Cleese actually forgot the name of the Enchanter. So his little hesitancy when he says "There are some who call me... Tim?" is totally real. And everyone else in the scene just went with it.

[@bbaff8622]

John, who is a shrubbier, they call him John the shrubbier.

[@netrider5]

In an interview John Cleese claims he didn’t forget his name. The pause was for comedic effect.

[@bobbybobbatunday9959]

And the rest is magic the gathering lore

[@EmileJoulbert]

'Tim' was always his name in the script. Not even 'Tim the Enchanter'. Just 'Tim'. Cleese and Chapman were mainly responsible for this sequence, and Cleese explains in the DVD-commentary that they just thought it funny to have an intimidating character called Tim, more likely making you think of the word 'timid', rather than 'intimidating'. I'm paraphrasing, of course.

[@the.seagull.35]

@@bbaff8622 Roger the shrubber

[@victorsixtythree]

Pretty amazing watching two people who not only haven't seen the movie but also had never even heard of Monty Python, having absolutely NO IDEA what to expect!

[@sherigrow6480]

Let alone never having heard of the Holy Grail!

[@spacemanspiff3052]

Too true. I couldn’t believe that Python was unknown to these two. Well, in the end, then being unaware of this comic greatness made watching them react to Holy Grail so much more entertaining.

[@MrAdamloring1985]

Kids man.

[@Johannicus]

This is the gold of reaction watching. When you see someone that has no idea what the movie is about and you get a genuine reaction.

[@0doVo0]

@@MrAdamloring1985 checking for grey hair now.....also British humor falls off on many

[@alanhembra2565]

The ending is a literal “cop out”.

[@arandomnamegoeshere]

Also kinda fun - if you watch closely, you'll see people in the charging army wearing bluejeans.

[@blankmike4613]

Thank you 4 saying it.

[@Trebor74]

Like the whole Jesus crucifixion thing,total cop out.

[@lestatdelc]

@@Trebor74 - This ending was LITERALLY a "cop out". That's the joke the Pythons said was the film's punch line.

[@scienceandponies]

I also love that amongst all the swords and spears and heavy artillery, that cop grabs a shield and says "That's an offensive weapon!"

[@vsGoliath96]

"I don't know what to say about this movie" is the single most accurate thing anyone has ever said about this movie.

[@awmperry]

“Where do they have this many castles?” Scotland. I grew up there, and I had nine castles, two crannogs, several hill forts and a Palaeolithic chambered cairn within a twenty-minute drive. And despite that, almost all the castles in this film are just lots of different angles of Doune Castle… And the sets are amazing because they’re pretty much just the actual castle interiors dressed to look right.

[@kevinthetruckdriver353]

They only can get one castle to film in. So all castle shots are from the same castle. But the Castle of Camelot was indeed a model. I saw this film about seven times between 1975 - 76. I just loved it since I used to watch their British TV series called *"Monty Python Flying Circus"* on Public TV.

[@awmperry]

Yes, as I mentioned ("almost all the castles ... are just lots of different angles of Doune Castle"). There are a few exceptions, though; individual scenes were also shot at Bodiam Castle, Castle Stalker and Kidwelly Castle.

[@MWSin1]

"I grew up there, and I had nine castles, two crannogs, several hill forts and a Palaeolithic chambered cairn within a twenty-minute drive." I honestly thought that sentence was going to end after "cairn". Like you were listing off the various properties you owned, as though that was a typical Scottish back yard.

[@awmperry]

@@MWSin1 To be fair, there are still people who do have all sorts of things on their land.

[@scalefree]

Doune was the only castle they could get filming rights to so they made the most of it.

[@peterzerfass4609]

"Strange women lying in ponds, distributing swords is no basis for a system of government" has to be my alltime favorite Monty Python quote

[@lewisner]

It's pretty much the basis for the Royal Family though.

[@Boog1137]

You can't expect to wield Supreme executive power just because some watery tart threw a sword at you!

[@davecisneros5285]

You have to understand, Monty Python was a British comedy troupe and had a show, Monty Python's Flying Circus. It was, as you can imagine, filled with silly skits but in that very unique British comedic style. The Holy Grail was sort of their first full-length comedy skit. A classic for sure. Everybody grew up quoting this movie for decades!

[@DMichaelAtLarge]

There's only one way to explain this film: it's Monty Python.

[@johnlee7164]

True, if you watch the TV comedy series, it's on brand for Monty Python.

[@camillaroberts6476]

Many people think the story ends the way it does "just because its Monty python", but beyond that tradicional Arthurian legends/troubadour songs about his quest would always end with them not finding the grail at the last minute. Since reaching the grail would be achieving perfection, the stories would always have knights facing all odds to get to it, with miraculous savings and all (like the animator with the heart attack) and right in the last moment, they wouldn't manage.. So MP used a traditional Arthurian troubadour storyline, and then did their - amazing - thing.

[@thefloatingrock]

"Now we see the violence inherent in the system..." maybe the single greatest line of dialogue ever penned.

[@victorsixtythree]

Just think...when they made the movie with the subtitles gag at the beginning they couldn't have anticipated that in the future we would have optional subtitles available for home viewing. And now the subtitles gag is even better! With people fumbling with their remote controls trying to turn them off or set them to the proper language. (It's kind of like the Andy Kaufman TV special where he purposely messed with the vertical hold on the picture so people around the country would get up off of their couches and try to adjust their televisions.) I'm also picturing people in the theater when it first ran, at the end sitting in their seats wondering "Is that it? That can't be it right?" and just sitting there with that music playing waiting for something to happen...

[@urizen7613]

It was more a matter of suspecting that there wasn't any more content but having to stay just in case there actually was!

[@karlmortoniv2951]

Not many reactors notice the subtitles. They set the movie up rather well, or rather they adjust a viewer’s expectations. Monty Python always had a lot of fun with fourth wall type stuff - the first DVD version of “Holy Grail” starts playing the wrong movie for a few minutes, some random black and white comedy from the ‘60s with no connection to Python at all that nobody remembers. Then Gilliam (I think?) does an ancient-sounding, coughing voice that’s meant to be the projectionist moaning about how he has to deal with switching the film, then the random movie stops and “Holy Grail” begins properly. I’ve often wondered how many people returned their discs as defective?

[@karlmortoniv2951]

@Krister L One of the few reasons I regret blowing off vinyl as a sound reproduction medium. 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@karlmortoniv2951]

@Krister L Ÿęš, rēællÿ! 😄

[@merchillio]

Oh Monty Python are a category of movies all by themselves, but can’t wait to see your reaction to this one. Pressing play!

[@daghalfrunt2160]

Fun fact: if you say to Alexa "I fart in your general direction" she responds with "your mother was a hamster and your father smells of elderberries"!🤣

[@MetisRose95]

Idk if it is still, but used to be you could ask Siri "What is the air speed velocity of an unlaiden swallow?" and the response was "African or European?"

[@joyfulzero853]

@@MetisRose95 My says "that depends if it is an African or European swallow"

[@joyfulzero853]

It's true! She still says it!

[@reecedignan8365]

Funnily enough an actual historical insult. “Your mother was a hamster” - your mother liked to sleep around a lot “And your father smelled of Elder Berries” - your father was a drunkard

[@Y_.R]

@@joyfulzero853 mine said “The last person that asked me that ended up in a crevasse.” 🤣🤣🤣

[@ZonnexNecton]

The interesting thing about the ending is, while a satire, also happened for Arthur's quest for the Holy Grail in terms of that he never got the Grail in the end. I think it was quite brilliant in that sense.

[@roonilwazlib9877]

All the members of Monty Python are highly intelligent and well-educated. They did a gret deal of research to get the details correct in Holy Grail and Life of Brian.

[@Hexon66]

@@roonilwazlib9877 There is no *actual* King Arthur and Holy grail quest to be researched. It's all legend, and the existence and/or identity of Arthur cannot be definitively confirmed.

[@OronOfMontreal]

"Excalibur" from the late 70s is also about Arthur's quest for the Holy Grail, and about a lot more, too. "Excalibur" started the entire Swords & Sandals trend in movies that prevailed in the 1980s. It was also the first movie for four of today's biggest male acting stars: Liam Neeson, Patrick Stewart, Gabriel Byrne and Ciaran Hinds. "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" was the very first movie about the Dark Ages to show dirt and excrement on people's clothes and bodies. and so changed forever the look of movies. Monty Python's animator was one of this movie's directors: Terry Gilliam, the only U.S. member of the troupe. He went on to be one of the most innovative and influential filmmakers of the Sound Era of Cinema. Gilliam's films include "Brazil", "Time Bandits", "Twelve Monkeys" and "The Fisher King". "Holy Grail" is the cup from which Jesus and his twelve disciples drank, at the Last Supper. Since the wine that they drank is supposed to represent the blood of the Christ, in French/Latin the cup is called the Sangreal, "sang" being French for blood. The third "Indiana Jones" movie is about indy's searcg for the grail. Thus endeth the lesson.

[@brianthom6798]

I wasn't aware of the "swords and sandals" trend to which you refer, and I haven't seen a ton of 80's movies. The only ones I could think of that would fit that description are Conan the Barbarian and Willow. And maybe Highlander, which I don't think I've seen for about 30 years. What else is there?

[@Madbandit77]

Excalibur came out in 1981.

[@roonilwazlib9877]

It floored me to learn that Terry Gilliam is American as he has such a British-sounding name.

[@seraiharper5553]

Fun fact: Excalibur was the film John Boorman went off and did in a huff after Tolkien told him NO WAY NO HOW HELL NO when Boorman approached him with his ideas for adapting The Lord of the Rings. If you want to know what he proposed, you just have to look at Excalibur, because most of it was shifted over to that film. I don't blame the Professor for freaking out.

[@scottcharles3126]

Excalibur is great but hardly a 'swords and sandals' movie. Excalibur is set in medieval Britain, where swords and sandals movies are mostly Greco-Roman and about the Egyptians, Assyrians, and Etruscans.

[@Timmah73]

This movie is why so many games, specifically RPGs love to sneak in a harmless little animal that is insanely overpowered.

[@jean-paulaudette9246]

"Looki' th' BONES!"

[@hard_drive.system]

If i recall Fallout 2 had a TON of holy grail references.

[@seraiharper5553]

That rabbit was actually a medieval thing. If you look at pictures of the pages of manuscripts back then, the copyists would amuse themselves by drawing weird animal doing weird things in the margins, and for some reason rabbits predominated there. Rabbits chasing knights, rabbits killing peasants, rabbits dancing and playing instruments. What the hell, the Middle Ages were weird.

[@RideAcrossTheRiver]

Manky Scots git

[@Gort-Marvin0Martian]

To answer your question, "Are there any other movies where they find The Holy Grail?" Yes, Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade.

[@LeChaunce]

And Excalibur.

[@SadPeterPan1977]

@@LeChaunce And 'The Da Vinci Code' and 'The Fisher King' I guess.

[@luckymustard]

I've only watched two of their reactions so far, this and Raiders. They need to continue watching the Indiana Jones movies.

[@jonathanmelia]

Excalibur (1981).

[@tuschman168]

...only the penitent man will pass ...penitent man ...penitent

[@donhadfield2835]

Much of this is filmed at Doune Castle in Scotland, I had the pleasure of re-enacting several scenes, unfortunately we couldn't get on the wall to taunt each other. One funny bit was when I went to the spot the knights were being taunted to get a picture someone came up to me to watch for flying cows. The final castle is about an hour away.

[@dr.burtgummerfan439]

Fun fact: during sieges, dead cows and animals were catapulted over the walls into the fortifications as an early form of biological and psychological warfare.

[@mckenzie.latham91]

Yep the gang were only given the right by the government to shoot at Doune Castle alone the ministry in charge of the keep and governance of the castles and estates etc. were worried the monty python boys would not treat their historical castles and properties with respect as such, the crew used models for outer shots of the other castles, and would use the interior halls and rooms of Doune to represent the halls and rooms of those other castles. And yes the ramparts even then were in disrepair and it was dangerous John cleese (the frenchmen) was actually quite pissed off every time they made him go up there, cause it was so dangerous and the stairs were falling apart. So he would force them to shoot all of his scenes first, so he cold sod off the wall as soon as he was done.

[@jennymckinnon9528]

same

[@seraiharper5553]

There was only Doune Castle. It was the only place that would let them shoot on site. The last one they could only film from a distance. When they get up close, they're back at Doune. They got very creative about filming it from different angles and spots so it looked like different places.

[@donhadfield2835]

@@seraiharper5553 I saw where someone bought Castle Stalker & occasionally does tours. We had a great time recreating scenes, like the Camelot song, "What, the curtains", we even tried to recreate Launcelot storming the castle. Great castle, interesting commentary from the Monty Python boys, lots of fun.

[@Engy_Wuck]

Monty Python were (one of?) the first postmodern comedians. Quite a few movie tropes were also invented by them - or at least made popular. So much, that they now appear mundane and "ah, well, seen it before..."

[@s.oliver3687]

In my opinion "Life of Brian" is the best Monty Pythons movie. "The Meaning of Life" is partially good.

[@merchillio]

Meaning of life is excellent but the pacing is so slow…. Life of Brian is just a masterpiece

[@klausrasmussen2307]

Agree. Life of Brian is a masterpiece.

[@vincentlyon7448]

I agree life of Brian is a better movie. It has a more coherent story. But I think the dialogue in this one is just a little bit better.

[@TTM9691]

Absolutely agree with both statements. (And of course the original TV show itself was brilliant.)

[@ksattesahn]

Agreed. TheMeaning of Life has some good scenes (every sperm is sacred, eg), but is inferior to my fave, Life of Brian) and The Holy Grail.

[@herbertkeithmiller]

There's a very subtle running gag throughout this movie. A person is injured or about to die and says I'm not dead yet I'm getting better. It starts with the bring out your dead skit, that is repeated several more times.

[@RandomTrinidadian]

"Help Help! Im being repressed!" This movie had some gems

[@11anonymous6]

You gotta love Dennis’ tirade against the monarchy

[@buffstraw2969]

"Did they ever find the Holy Grail?" Yes, but in another movie: "Excalibur" (1981) directed by John Boorman. It's the serious version of the King Arthur story.

[@bobbendesky3851]

There was a movie theater in Philly which often ran double features which were thematically linked. One pairing was Borman’s Excalibur and Python’s Holy Grail. One to build up the legend, the other to tear it down.

[@parissimons6385]

Glad you enjoyed that wonderfully crazy movie! Did you know that Monty Python's Flying Circus was a comedy TV series starring an ensemble of six (five British and one American, who was also the animator) comedians, who are better known, collectively, as Monty Python? After several seasons of the TV series were finished, the guys decided to make a movie, based around the myths of King Arthur and the quest for the Holy Grail. This is a very established myth story from the Medieval period of Western Europe (Thomas Malory's "Le Morte d'Arthur" from 1485 is one example). Their next movie, Life of Brian, makes fun of a better known set of myths... Python humour builds on the foundation of British wit and humour evident in The Goon Show (Spike Milligan, Peter Sellers, Harry Secombe), Beyond The Fringe (Alan Bennett, Peter Cook, Jonathan Miller, Dudley Moore), Marty Feldman, etc. And since the Pythons, the next generation included Not The Nine O'Clock News and others. Btw, a member of Beyond the Fringe (Peter Cook) and a member of Not The Nine O'Clock News (Mel Smith) were both part of the cast in The Princess Bride. So there is a (rather tenuous) connection. Don't want to give any spoilers, but if you want to see another movie built around a similar myth, try Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (Indy III in the franchise). Plus, there are plenty of other books, movies, and TV shows about King Arthur and his knights of the Round Table.

[@Shawaeon]

"I don't think we should think about it too much" Yup. That's applies to pretty much everything Monty Python has ever made.

[@tracycarico648]

Life of Brian is my favorite. You know you are in good company when you can quote a line from one of the movies in a room full of strangers, and someone will respond with the next line.

[@wwoods66]

_"Romanes Eunt Domus!"_

[@tracycarico648]

@@wwoods66 People call Romanes, they go, the house?

[@11anonymous6]

@@wwoods66 you stole my line

[@Warlock_UK]

"Where did they film this where there are so many castles?" There's hundreds of castles in the UK :)

[@SandJosieph]

And yet most of the castles were a single castle shot from different angles.

[@Warlock_UK]

@@SandJosieph There is that. I just mean they have a ton of choices :D

[@SandJosieph]

@@Warlock_UK According to some of the comments it seems like the vast majority of those choices were off limits.

[@cjkoehler]

All of the scenes in and outside of a castle were at one particular privately-owned castle in Scotland that they rented for production.

[@johnmaynardable]

This is one of the great film comedies of all time. I love Monty Python. From the TV series to all of their films.

[@bluetarantulaproductions6179]

I remember my dad showing me this movie when I was a kid back in the early 90's, soon afterwards I started watching reruns of the TV series "Monty Python's Flying Circus" on VHS from my local library.

[@AtlasBlizzard]

I love watching people react to this film for the first time. It always produces golden reactions. Also: you guys calling a 90 minute movie short made me feel old. Most movies I grew up with in the 90s were approx. 90 minutes.

[@Fenr]

I have to echo what some people have said. Life of Brian is amazing and I'd go as far as to call it Monty Python's magnum opus. It has social commentary that still holds up after 40 years.

[@jeffreysmith236]

you mean like Stan demanding to be called Loretta?

[@mudageki]

What would LIfe of Brian be like if the Circus crew was born in Baghdad?

[@Tom_McMurtry]

It's great

[@joebloggs396]

@@jeffreysmith236 More people being stupid followers.

[@simenkvamme3003]

The Life of Brian is a bit more linear and understandable. It's a must watch if you guys enjoyed this. It's no sequel, but it's really funny!

[@Semi-C-Samurai]

In High School, my friends and I loved Monty Python and this movie so much, that we would act-out scenes from it; at parties! I actually could act-out the entire movie....literally! I used to drive my wife (ex) crazy when we watched it, because I would be doing the lines, all through the movie.

[@danadagostino948]

My friends and I did exactly the same thing and even tried our hand at writing and filming Pythonesque skits. Fun times!

[@MarcosElMalo2]

You, sir, are a nerd as it is only nerds that act out scenes from Monty Python. Your friends were also nerds of the highest order (or lowest). Tell me, my good sir, were any of you also members of your high school band? With regard to your good lady wife, I commend her patience with your recitation of lines of dialogue. That must have been annoying. If you don’t mind my asking, does your wife enjoy photography? Nudge, nudge, wink, wink.

[@Cheepchipsable]

This was filmed around one set of castle ruins, but just from different angles to make it look like more than one castle.

[@williamjones6031]

1. What about the moose? 2. In the credits they talk about the moose. 3. Perfect Monty Python where you can just get sucked into something where you don't have to think about anything and just let yourself go. 4. "What ya gonna do? Bleed on me." 🤣 5. That said, The ending sucked. It was a cop out. 6. The only horse in the film is ridden by the guy that killed the historian. Two suggestions for silly: "Airplane" and "Blazing Saddles"

[@pH7screwtube]

Well....... I like that you paid attention William Jones. And yes, wonderful silly on number 6 my friend. These "reviewers" were just not up to par. I guess I got old. But they were just sad.

[@flyingardilla143]

Their mission was to seek the Holy Grail - not necessarily obtain it.

[@egapnala65]

When the film was released it was common practice for music to be played when a film finished and the lights went up. You would not be expecting the music to be part of the film as it is here, you would just think it was over.

[@screennamemissing]

The literal "Cop-out" ending, because they ran out of $ is just Top Tier comedy! xD

[@screennamemissing]

...sorry I was 2 years late to explaining. xD

[@hughjarse3808]

The best line in this film is that they dont say` retreat` they shout `run away` ! The scene where they fire a cow over the wall is actually fact , in one medieval siege they fired food at them to show how well they were provisioned . Dont try to rationalise it , its Monty Python!!

[@braces2]

Nearly all the castle exterior and interior shots were taken at Doune Castle in Perthshire, Scotland. When I was 10 in 1963 I lived 4 miles away from Doune Castle and visited it often.

[@samuelchan699]

Despite the apparent randomness of this movie, it is actually following the script to the letter! I had a copy of the working script and every scene and joke you see on screen was on paper. It was a fun to see you have the same experience I had when I first saw this movie! If you want to see the more complete, and VERY serious, movie of King Arthur and the Holy Grail, check out the 1981 movie "Excalibur". It had a bigger budget and a run time of 2h 20m ;)

[@chris...9497]

When Excalibur was released, there was a lot of complaint about the run time. Back then, movies ran about 90min, and critics said no one would tolerate the over-2-hour length. Frankly, I would have been happier with a LONGER run time, as the editing of this epic ended up uneven and a lot of filming ended up on the editor's floor. The action was so uneven, with key scenes well-paced, but the action rushed in between them.

[@lesnyk255]

Your laughter is all the explanation there is to this movie. It's funny. It defies analysis, but its unbridled silliness makes you laugh. You don't need to know why other than it tickles the inner 6-year old in each of us. Whee!

[@seraiharper5553]

By the by, "this many castles"? There's only one. The Pythons had a hell of a time even getting that one. So they had to get creative and film it from different angles to make it seem like it was more than one place. Also, the coconuts were purely because of the low budget. They could only afford one horse, for the knight that attacked the professor, for one day, so... coconuts. Of course, they realized they couldn't just let that stand, so they wrote the coconuts into the script as an absurdist running joke, and made the whole thing even funnier. They were very, very good at that.😂

[@dabe1971]

If you've never seen the original BBC TV series, Monty Python's Flying Circus, there's a good compilation of their best sketches that were refilmed and made into a movie in an attempt to break the US market. It's worth seeking out if you can. It's called 'And now for something completely different.'.

[@TTM9691]

With all due respect, I think that's a terrible substitute for seeing the original TV show.

[@dabe1971]

@@TTM9691 I don't know how available the original series would be over there but I would imagine there would be more chance of finding 'ANFSCD' on a streaming service. And Python isn't for everyone especially as there are as many poor sketches as classics when you look back. John Cleese freely admits that looking back retrospectively there "was an awful lot of dross..." but that's understandable when they were breaking new ground in comedy. Another option might be the 'Monty Pythons personal best' DVD set as that showcases the Pythons individual best work. For the record I have the original series, and the best of, and the original movies too plus books, CD's etc and I treasure them. But I know people who have been put off Python by the poorer elements of the original series and have missed out on some brilliant comedy as a result. Python at it's best is fantastic - but it wasn't always at it's best. If they enjoyed 'ANFSCD' they might well go on to enjoy the original series. it's a good litmus test.

[@TTM9691]

@@dabe1971 The USA? The series is all over the place, way more available then "ANFSCD". And as far as the series is concerned, I'm well aware of what it was like, thanks, though. A girl is going through all the Python episodes right now, it's great. Doing one of the compilation videos is fine, too, or just doing skits, but I wouldn't waste my time with "ANFSCD". It's the TV series that was a big hit "over here" in the USA, not "ANFSCD". There are tons of classic sketches that aren't in "ANFSCD". PS: Here's a link to Dawn, who has been going through all of the Python TV episodes, for anyone interested: kzbin.info/www/bejne/lWaZqqZjbbyUm68

[@plp50000009]

“This is bananas” oh just wait, there’s so many more levels to this beautiful tower of chaos

[@Elim-meister]

The grail is the cup that they said Jesus drank from at the Last Supper. Glad you're watching this! It's hilarious!

[@classiclife7204]

"What is The Grail?" - is actually a very good question. No one really knows the origin. Is it Celtic, pre-Christian? Or is it High-Medieval Christian? The Grail probably began as a mystical cup or bowl, pagan in origin, and eventually became the very cup Jesus drank from at the Last Supper. Until the various fighting scholars sort it out, just call it a magic cup, I guess

[@ronmaximilian6953]

I thought it was a cup that contained the blood of Jesus after he was lanced.

[@classiclife7204]

@@ronmaximilian6953 That also, yes. What's interesting to me is the idea of sacred or magic containers.

[@dudermcdudeface3674]

Merovingian (early French) script didn't have space breaks between words because the Franks learned how to write from Latin. So talking about royal lineage "sang real" (royal blood) looked the same as "san greal" (holy cup). Writings claiming that descendants of Jesus existed in their time were misinterpreted by later monks as referring to a physical object.

[@ronmaximilian6953]

@@dudermcdudeface3674 sorry, but it was Graal Sant in French. Nouns precede adjectives in French.

[@ksattesahn]

Legend has it that Joseph of Arimathea, who buried Jesus, captured Jesus’ blood in the Grail while on the cross. Or maybe I just got that from an Indiana Jones movie. :) There’s a whole lot of legend concerning The Holy Grail, much involving King Arthur.

[@danadnauseam]

Holy Grail is a deconstruction of the heroic adventure with assorted stabs at other genres. Amazingly, it was made on a budget of about 250,000 pounds.

[@exceedcharge1]

So as it turned out, coconuts can fall and land in the ocean where they then drift with the current and land on different shores where they take root. So yes, coconuts do in fact migrate

[@ugaladh]

The Holy Grail is supposedly the cup that Jesus drank from at the Last Supper. One of the members of Monty Python was an animator, they had to give him some parts.

[@MrGBH]

"Where did they film this where there's so many castles." England, we've got lots of the blasted things. Can't walk for half a mile without tripping over some old ruins.

[@iKvetch558]

"Is it for kids?" Well, the movie almost has spanking in it, so...no? 😁😜😂

[@sirkylanthered]

Fun fact, on top of all the others: Graham Chapman the guy that played Arthur, was so wasted on set every day that they had to have que cards of screen for him so he could deliver his lines. Any time you see Arthur looking off screen that's Chapman checking his next line.

[@PaulMurrayCanberra]

The world is smaller than it used to be. What once was an epic quest across nameless misty lands is now a half-hour drive on the motorway. Sherwood Forest is long, long cut down, and housing estates built on the site. There's a ferry will take you to Avalon for a day trip. Monty Python and the Holy Grail is as much about that as anything.

[@willvr4]

My parents played a joke on me and my neighbor when we were like 10 yrs old, and made us watch this after religion CCD class. They made it seem like it would be a religious movie so we were less than thrilled to put it mildly. It was a pretty good twist when we realized it was just a comedy haha

[@angelheadedhipster2214]

Remember the closing credits were at the start. Lol.

[@josephwalsh7546]

Apparently no one recalls that a year or two after the movie came out President Carter was on ( I believe it was a fishing ) trip, actually got attacked by a rabbit, and it was compared to the movie eliciting lots of chuckles.

[@richgreenhalgh8160]

Thanks guys....fun to watch you react to that. One of my favs.

[@Nickel138]

They broke all the rules of a movie. That’s what makes it so amazing. 😂

[@ravenwind1062]

The end of the movie is literally a "cop out". Now you need the see "The meaning of Life", "Life of Brian", and "Live at the Hollywood Bowl"(which is just them doing skits from their show).

[@stevenskorich7878]

"I'm not going to try to make sense of this." Wise, very wise.

[@pamelahofman1785]

"I fart in your general direction" is a term used often in my household when I was growing up. There are so many gems in this movie. It's considered a classic. One point: The whole thing with the coconuts being used to make horse riding sounds came about because this was made with a small budget and they couldn't afford to pay for real horses.

[@surfersilver6610]

3:20 that was the FOLEY sound engineers from back in the day before film was invented.

[@minty_Joe]

The police constable with the megaphone is the film's director, btw.

[@CrocodileKeyboards]

The white rabbit in the film was borrowed from a local family for the day. They finished filming very late and had no place to clean it on set and so they had to return it covered from nose to tail in fake blood. The family were not impressed.

[@dan.j.boydzkreationz]

Stephen Fry noted in Qi once that the grail was actually a tray, holding such cups

[@greggarber9109]

Still one of my favorite movies of all time. Never get tired of seeing it.

[@davidmckie7128]

In the TV series "Monty Python's Flying Circus" they would often have sketches with no real punchline, they just segwayed into the next sketch, or there would be a random animated sketch between sketches. So this literal "cop-out" ending would not have been such a baffling surprise.

[@worland102688]

Them piling mud is visual pun on the term Muckraker. "Muckraker definition, a person who searches for and tries to expose real or alleged corruption, scandal, or other wrongdoing, especially in politics"

[@Ubernerd3000]

The name of the master of the castle protected by THE FRENCH TAUNTER (he who already had a very nice Holy Grail) is GUY DE LOMBARD, which could be translated into English as GUY LOMBARDO, who was a famous big band leader of the 50’s-60’s, whose signature tune was OLDE LANG SYNE, the song that is played at the start of every NEW YEAR...

[@firebladetenn6633]

Those huge swords are called Claymores. A two handed sword used by strong men who need to be good with it because they couldn’t use a shield, they had to use the claymore.

[@ahedjehad8514]

it's amazing when you find out that this movie's main cast is just 5 people who just play various roles. for example, The Black Knight is also the taunting frenchman.

[@irishbears2103]

Every scene with a castle, it's actually all the same castle filmed from different sides and angles.

[@void_presence]

the Holy Grail is mostly famous from the King Arthur legends; it was the most famous of his quests.

[@Seraphis1911]

Anything Monty Python is just simply amazing.

[@ztellaluna]

Movies weren’t always 2 or 3 hours long. And when they were, there was sometimes an intermission to allow folks a break - like going to the theatre.

[@kennethlauder6327]

Just came across this. They only had a Budget of something like £75,000 . A lot of it was filmed at our local Castle at Doune Scotland and a lot of locals were used as Extras. My in Laws B&B was used as editing and dressing rooms. In the Witch scene, the lady waving Broom in full white headress is my wife's late Grandma . I was only 11 or 12 when they were filming ,so I wasn't allowed to be involved but my good mate was an extra in a few scenes as he was older.

[@EyMannMachHin]

The Holy Grail is one of the very first Mac Guffins ever used to tell a story ;)

[@bryanfox5457]

The ending is a literal “cop out.”

[@BluDrgn426]

Ive watched this movie several times and only now did I notice that Sir Bedevere the wise is trying to see if a swallow can carry a coconut, LOL

[@tremorsfan]

I wish every version of this movie included the 2008 joke. Before the movie starts we see the opening credits to a completely different movie called "Dentists on the Job". After the credits we hear a projectionist mutter about having the wrong film canister.

[@unxprienced9548]

Fun Fact: The Holy Grail actually originated as an Irish folk tale from the 1000-1400's!

[@sdaniels160]

"Why are they just piling mud?" They are literally muck-raking.

[@drwhatson]

I really don't see how you can appreciate this classic by watching snippets taken out of context and in the wrong order. That's why it's a "short film".

[@derworfnet]

"On second thought , let's not go to Camelot. 'Tis a silly place."

[@angelalurtz3638]

The cops were wrapping up the investigation into the historian's murder, but it was also a pun, a literal cop out at the end because there was no good ending lined up 😂

[@exile220ify]

Y'all need to watch some Monty Python's Flying Circus episodes, which is what spawned this movie. Absurdist comedy at its greatest. One episode is named "Wither Canada?" :)

[@DrDaveW]

In medieval British it was said that you could detect a witch by throwing the woman in a pond. If the sank and drowned they were not a witch. If they floated they were killed. Lose - lose situation.

[@CowardlyViking]

For the record, the reason the end of the film is them getting arrested is because they couldn't afford a massive fight scene as they were on a limited budget. It was a literal cop out.

[@shadow50119]

This 'Movie" isn't your traditional movie but a series of skits from their TV Show put together. The TV Show was called ... Monty Python Flying Circus. It was created in England with their British Humor.

[@patrickginther8527]

For the ending I think that part of it is that today King Arthur and his knights would just be considered a gang of violent loonies who'd get arrested. And rightly so. Think of it as a book end for the 'Constitutional Peasants' scene.

[@lawsonic]

If you have the DVD you get the documentary on the making of it, answers a few of of your questions

[@russellhoyt588]

Back in 1999 (maybe 2000) I borrowed this VHS from a friend. That was my first time seeing this movie, and it's been a favorite ever since!