when literally every scene in the movie is iconic

#MontyPython #videoessay
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Monty Python and the Holy Grail is basically a 90 minute compilation of legendary scene after scene after scene. Released in 1975, Holy Grail was the first feature film made by Monty Python. For those unfamiliar with the movie, let today's video be your official introduction. For those who very familiar with its innumerable bits of ridiculousness, let it be an opportunity for us all to revel in it together. Next time, I'll delve even deeper into the Holy Grail's behind the scenes production stories. So stay tuned.
Written & edited by Danny Boyd

[@CinemaStix]

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[@gabeshaffer5444]

just watched this last week such an iconic performance by tom hardy

[@VIK_1903]

THANK YOU FOR THIS VID! I wish KZbin Cinema would touch more on classics like this.

[@resurrectedsunlight155]

Still one of the best movies I've ever seen, and one of only a few with the ability to make me shed a tear after many watches.

[@willows-bl3kk]

Thank you for sharing this it made me laugh and remember my childhood and Monty Python on public television, ❤

[@Nerfunkal]

Saw it in theater once. Came with a heartened announcement before the show from the theater manager "I KNOW ALL THE QUOTES, YOU KNOW ALL THE QUOTES, NOBODY WANTS TO HEAR YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS QUOTE THE WHOLE MOVIE, SO SHUT UP AND JUST WATCH!"

[@ChiefSlacc]

I definitely can appreciate that and would do my best not to have an outburst but I would be STRAINING.

[@joshuamullins5278]

I had the misfortune of seeing this movie for the first time under opposite circumstances- I accidentally went to a “quote along”. Worst theatrical experience of my life.

[@ND-nr6mx]

Nothing worse than everyone quoting a movie or singing a song so loudly that the audio is drowned out and the participants go off-tempo.

[@ggsilik]

I wish they would do this for Rocky Horror; or at least have a night without the guys doing the additional dialogue for the whole movie.

[@logandarklighter]

@@ggsilik Are you KIDDING? Rocky Horror Picture show at it's best is an audience participation event! Someday - you MUST attend a showing at an actual STAGE theater for a full volunteer costumes and props floor show in front of the action on screen! 🤣🤣🤣

[@uzytkownik15]

This is one of the most important movies in modern Polish-English translation. Until Monthy Pyton the translation to Polish was either literal 1:1 or poetic interpretation (in cases like Shakespeare). But sińce both languages are so phonetically and structurally deifferent, something always got lost along the way. Then Tomek Beksiński (who was self-thought in English!) decided he’ll do a sort of hybrid of both approach with emphasis on the beat - the flow of sentence. He totally nailed it and single-handely made Monty Python insanely popular in Poland, while also creating a whole new school of translation. So here it’s double iconic, on the movie and linguistic level.

[@PhazerSC]

And in Hungary we have a gifted translator, Beatrix Murányi, who was wonderfully translating the great polish writer, Stanislaw Lem's witty and poetic books. Many people in Hungary became Lem fans after reading her awesome translations.

[@comfyslippers3155]

How is Airplane! in Polish?

[@mattresbert]

Brilliant ❤

[@oneworldfamily]

Excellent! Thanks for sharing that.

[@switchmuso]

Now this is an interesting thread, had no idea… you know who’d love this? Mark Kermode!

[@OutlawMaxV]

Heh, I remember when some madlad uploaded a video with title of something along the lines of "Monty Python best moments" and the dude straight up uploaded the whole movie, absolute legend

[@eeyorehaferbock7870]

I’m sure he’s great friends with whoever has been spamming DeviantArt with the entire scripts of Bee Movie and the first two Shreks.

[@pangalactictuber]

Graham Chapman playing Arthur totally straight across all the sketches is the backbone of the movie.

[@LividImp]

Ironically, Graham Chapman often played the straight man.

[@db8658]

​@@LividImp🙄

[@silverandexact]

​@@db8658it's a good joke.

[@michaeltaylors2456]

Complete sincerity

[@mikemulligan5731]

@@db8658 H-mo..

[@mattshu]

My favorite line ever was small but stuck with me as one of the funniest ever: “WHAT… is your favorite color?” “Blue! ..-NO WAIT*explodes*”

[@michael2636]

"Yellow...." As he's cast off the bridge

[@MrWhipple42]

A textbook case of callback in humor if there ever was one.

[@elder-woodsilverstein7716]

He didn't explode. He was casted into the Gorge of Eternal Peril.

[@Chan-zv5kb]

@@elder-woodsilverstein7716oh wacko 😒

[@absolutmauser]

Sounds like Matt needs a rewatch to tighten up his quote memory 😅

[@chriskola3822]

The swallow/coconut scene is basically like every Reddit comment thread.

[@jayfrank1913]

Unfortunately.

[@dielaughing73]

An African or European Reddit thread?

[@dipperdandy]

I feel attacked.

[@goblinoide]

That’s why Monty Python sucks

[@cellokid5104]

They predicted so much about modern culture

[@chrislong3938]

I worked in a lab of computer and electrical engineers and you know this movie was quoted by far the most. Especially, "Who are you who are so wise in the ways of science?"

[@thedubwhisperer2157]

Agreed, my brother and I are in our sixties now and it still never fails to raise a laugh in conversation.

[@MrOtistetrax]

In my early twenties I worked in a bar in Oxford. When it was my turn to collect glasses, I would chant “bring out yer dead!” as I did my rounds. Always went over well.

[@reservoirdude92]

"Moistened bint" and the animator's heart attack are the hardest I've laughed at damn near anything 😂

[@ChrispyNut]

Laughed so hard, you lost the letter r from it? 😆

[@reservoirdude92]

@@ChrispyNut it's that serious 🤣

[@ChrispyNut]

@@reservoirdude92 Count yourself lucky. I laughed so hard, I slapped my knee. The nee slapped me back so hard, I needed a month in hospital to physically recover, with 2 years of psychological therapy . Never mess with nee!

[@tranceightseven]

I was hit by lightning while watching Holy Grail. I was near the VCR and lightning hit the house, travelled from the antenna into the VCR then into my hand which knocked me back several feet. I was 16 years old and immortal at the time so wasn’t any bother.

[@kyon813]

"And the cartoon horror was no more!"

[@taufanaugusta8884]

"Look, there's the old man from scene 24!" This fourth wall breaking line is so random lmao.

[@JugSouthgate]

Monty Pyramid broke the FIFTH wall.

[@kalakea]

My parents were never ones to dictate what media I could or could not consume as a child, but I will never forget being 12 years old and my dad insisting I had to stop what I was doing to watch Holy Grail. As an angsty tween, I was certain it would be dumb, dated, not cool....then the first scene happened and my love and appreciation for Monty Python was born. I've accomplished a lot since then, but I think that is still one of my dad's proudest moments as a parent. 🥥

[@PatrickKniesler]

Very similar to me. He used to skip the castle of the virgins for the first few years. Later, after he got back from Iraq we had a conversation about the mandatory re-integration counseling everyone was getting. He said that the absurdity of war was one of the hardest things for soldiers to deal with. Why did those civilians die? Why didn't the ammo come on time? Why did my leave get denied? Why did my friend blow his back out and get sent home during "mandatory fun" giant beach volleyball? He said that if more people watched and appreciated Monty Python, they would be able to deal with it better. Actually experiencing violent or emotional situations can be traumatic, but just being subsumed in the ridiculous and pointless day to day can also leave someone hurt. He was fortunate to not have the latter in his time there but was wholly prepared for the latter. Now, this was a man who took the last segment of leave out his detachment of engineering officers as a matter of responsibility but got a clot on the flight home and almost had a stroke skiing with my siblings. So he was unable to end his deployment overseas. At least it wasn't a giant beach volleyball.

[@margaretwordnerd5210]

My kid grew up on Holy Grail and loved it so much she wanted to show it at her birthday party. In a conservative rural area, I said that could get me in trouble if a kid quoted lines like identifying Arthur as king because he hasn't got shit all over him, much less Naughty Zoot. But she was as unwilling as you when I coaxed her to watch an old comedy. "Black and white shows are always boring" was a phrase she never said again after the first few minutes of Arsenic and Old Lace. Some things are timeless classics that way.✌🖖

[@saraloking5993]

@@margaretwordnerd5210 Arsenic and Old Lace!!!! 😃

[@margaretwordnerd5210]

@@saraloking5993 I know! For years every time my darling ascended stairs she shouted "Charge!!!" She also loved madness galloping through a family.

[@rb1691]

​@@margaretwordnerd5210 And he's the son of a sea cook.

[@BlockheadJiujitsu]

I still remember not being able to breathe the first time I saw John Cleese running at the castle for so long while the guard ate an apple before suddenly appearing and killing everyone. This movie was so unhinged and wonderful. I've rewatched it more than almost anything else.

[@DanAndHoe]

I bursted out laughing reading your comment, thinking of that scene. The dramatic drums playing as he ran, cutting to a shot of a bored guard, back to the dramatic running. It’s just one of many perfect scenes.

[@danielurban3416]

Also Eric Idle as the guard, not just him misunderstanding all orders, but him seeing the prince do his supposed-to-be-sneaky stuff, noticing all of it, and just smiling and nodding at him.

[@rogersmith9535]

There will never be another Holy Grail. It had the perfect mix of comedy, actors, and writing.

[@rex-racer]

Agree! One could almost say it’s got the holy grail of movie parts 😉

[@miguelservetus9534]

Life of Brian is as good if not better imo.

[@chaptermasterpedrokantor1623]

@@miguelservetus9534I'd say Life of Brian is a very good movie, with lots of iconic sketches, but if Holy Grail is Mount Everest then Life of Brian is Mont Blanc. You can see the lads had more money with Life of Brian, but that did not translate into a better movie.

[@miguelservetus9534]

@@chaptermasterpedrokantor1623 Awesome comparison. Por que no los dos

[@hrvsmart]

​@@chaptermasterpedrokantor1623I love the holy grail but life of brian has more serious religious and political undertones

[@randyn7326]

"Your mother was a hamster (promiscuous) and your father smelt of elderberries." (a drunk) Once I learned that, the insult hits much harder.

[@chrism1503]

😲 Wow.

[@sovereignlivingsoul]

well i just learned that, so thank you, still thought it was funny, regardless of not comprehending its meaning

[@thedubwhisperer2157]

@@sovereignlivingsoul The art of good comedy writing - it's still funny even if the precise meaning is fuzzy!

[@StKildaFan]

Brave Sir Robin ran away, bravely ran away away. When Danger reared its ugly head he bravely turned his tail and fled. Yes Brave Sir Robin turned about and gallantly he chickened out The Pythons had a flair for choosing perfect words that give Shakespeare a run for his money. You don't get something like "Your Mother was a Hamster and your father Smelt of Elderberries" by accident. It's pure poetry. Additionally to that it's amazing how a low budget film made by a small team of inexperienced filmmakers 50 years ago still looks so damn good today. It doesn't look cheap, and it doesn't look fake and that quality and authenticity in presentation is absolutely essential to the comedy. This film is as good as cinema gets.

[@crownstupid]

I did not

[@saraloking5993]

And this could be played and sung using ANY genre of music.

[@helgebrekke]

It doesn’t look fake because they steared so perfectly into the absurdism of the coconuts, flesh wounds, etc, that all the «low quality» became a part of the expression👌🏼👌🏼👌🏼

[@3rdalbum]

I think in some ways it DOES look cheap, and because of this it feels more realistic to the time period.

[@shwasywasy]

I wad not allowed to watch movies or TV growing up but my father made an exception for month python. I will forever thank him for that.

[@OfficialTomsSkujinsFanClub]

i love month python

[@__Obscure__]

Monty Python vs. Month Python

[@shwasywasy]

Month python is the same as Monty except my dad would just recite all the lines himself 😂

[@PixxelBros]

"Thanks for oppressing me away from culture, Dad!"

[@DillonGauthier]

@@PixxelBros Help help I'm being repressed!

[@jayfrank1913]

I first saw (part) of Holy Grail in 1977 in Seattle with my mom and her friend. It was the second feature after Annie Hall, the movie she wanted to see. I had never heard of M.P. (I was 13) and as the movie started I found it hilarious. My mom was laughing too and said "This is the funniest thing I've ever seen, but it's getting late and we have to go." I was so pissed. We only saw 1/3 of it and out the door. Later, in high school, I met a couple of brothers who had taped every episode of MPFC on Betamax from PBS and had a copy of Holy Grail, all of which we watched over and over. The younger brother, my best friend to this day, had memorized every line of Holy Grail and could recite it with spot on imitations of the voices of each character. When things got boring, he would simply perform the entire movie. He told me about reciting it in a long line to see the original Star Wars movie to entertain the waiting crowd. I need to ask him if he still remembers all those lines. I kind of doubt it as he's 59 now. You had to make your own entertainment before the internet. Unfortunately the internet turned into nothing but Python memes.

[@David-iv6je]

At the Neptune Theater?

[@jayfrank1913]

@David-iv6je No, it was one of the now demolished historical downtown theaters. I have seen many movies at the Neptune, including, of course, Rocky Horror, which played as the midnight show there for (what seemed like) decades.

[@Zzyzzyx]

That's a great story! 😅

[@David-iv6je]

@@jayfrank1913 Cool! My first Python experience was a double feature of Holy Grail and Jabberwocky, at the Tivoli in St Louis. It was Fall of 89 when I moved to Seattle.

[@jayfrank1913]

@David-iv6je Also cool! I was living in Ellensburg when I saw part of Holy Grail in Seattle. We moved to Seattle in 1979, where I became a sophomore at Roosevelt High. I saw Jabberwocky at the Seven Gables Theater at NE 50th & Roosevelt NE, where I viewed many other independent films. I see that it was gutted by a fire in 2020 but has apparently been remodeled and reopened. I have so many great memories of the Seven Gables Theater chain (the Harvard Exit, Guild 45, Neptune, Egyptian, etc...), which were eventually bought by Landmark Theaters. I very rarely go to the theater to watch movies anymore. They are all multiplexes and cost a fortune, and they don't make movies like they used to (with a few exceptions).

[@oneinathousand2156]

Since Terry Jones studied medieval history, when you strip away all the absurdist humor and meta jokes you’re left with a surprisingly historically accurate depiction of early Medieval life, which creates a solid foundation that contrasts all the jokes.

[@andeve3]

Monty Python and the Holy Grail ia not "a surprisingly historically accurate depiction of early Medieval life". C'mon man.

[@oneinathousand2156]

@@andeve3 ok i just meant “more accurate than you would think for a comedy like this”

[@davidwuhrer6704]

The Diggers are an anachronism, but the killer bunny is historically accurate.

[@margaretwordnerd5210]

I get it. Seeing accurate period costumes and other autgentic details in this whimsical gem is a subtle treat for the small segment of the audience who get the joke. ✌🖖

[@Umbrellagasm]

What exactly about the film is "surprisingly historically accurate"?

[@anardine6176]

The whole business of the two guards tasked with making sure that... is so damn good.

[@MrTsiolkovsky]

best scene ever

[@0num4]

Agreed. This was basically guard duty in the military.

[@LividImp]

*"One day son, all of this will be yours!"* "what, the curtains?"

[@patrickmurphy3048]

I mentally relive this scene every time I have to explain to my mother how to use her computer or mobile phone.

[@danielurban3416]

Eric Idle just smiling and nodding at everything the prince does is perfection.

[@jesustyronechrist2330]

What makes it so memorable too is that while it is absurdist, it's still "grounded". The budget definitely helped in making sure they wouldn't go overboard with fanciness.

[@Tim_the_Enchanter]

You know all the bits by heart. You know the sequence frontwards and back. Every line. Every joke. All the king's horses and all the king's men. You know it all. And it's still funny ... over and over again. This is not just a classic film. It is comedy that simply cannot be replicated.

[@joshslater2426]

Nearly every line from every Python film is immeasurably quotable. I love that many decades later we’re still quoting them in random conversations.

[@gabeshaffer5444]

this movie is so iconic that i know all of these scenes from being referred to in real life/ pop culture

[@Flat_Earth_Addy]

So is SPAM. It was a better generation, these kids don't know.

[@MrFreeman042]

'It's only a flesh wound' has had me giggling for 5 minutes. 60 years later still hilarious!

[@3jasonwebb]

what i love is when you are on a reddit page or a youtube video and Monty Python unexpectedly breaks out. It's a lot like the Spanish Inquistion.

[@davidwuhrer6704]

Well, that was unexpected.

[@jimmusfeldt5378]

What a show...what a show.

[@LividImp]

I won't say it. You're expecting it.

[@realbadger]

I saw its first showing in NYC. I was about 35th in line at 6am for a twelve noon showing. The line became so long they tried to thin the line letting in for an unscheduled 10am showing. Being the first 100, we each got a free coconut. The film obviously was/is brilliant. I still love and rewatch it, despite all but knowing it by heart.

[@RedwoodTheElf]

The ending was brilliant. A literal Cop-out. Who but the Pythons could pull that off?

[@ajvonline]

Now we see the violence inherent in the system... come and see the violence inherent in the system!

[@SaintBrick]

Help! Help! I'm being repressed!!

[@no-barknoonan1335]

​@@SaintBrickBLUDDY PEASANT!

[@fredhughes4115]

@@no-barknoonan1335 Oh! What a giveaway!

[@StrangeScaryNewEngland]

@@no-barknoonan1335 I says we gots ourselves a Chupacabra with an automatic weapon. That's when they go real quiet when they understand the predicament we're in.

[@afernandezaf55af]

I also saw this in the theaters recently and one of the most wonderful things was that those of us in the audience who have seen it before were not just laughing when the scene and joke were going on but also *before* the scene and joke were about to happen. All of us had seen the movie so much that even just the anticipation of the joke had us all laughing.

[@WithTheDawn]

Yay, a whole deep dive series into Python, sounds great.

[@ChrispyNut]

I'm not sure the algo could cope with such randomness. It could crash all of YT, taking Google down with it and the entire internet. That would certainly be time for something, completely different. 😆

[@sethrodgers5582]

As I was watching this, I couldn't help but think of Hamlet's soliloquy. Every line is a classic, but you don't realize it until you are actually watching/listening to it.

[@Deltarious]

Monty Python and the Holy Grail really just follows the formula for all Monty Python sketches except they stick more closely to a single theme with a little more emphasis than normal on a coherent plotline (though not *too* much) and it just happens to be quite a bit longer than a normal set of sketches. It does help that it's a particularly *good* set of ideas and execution, but I wouldn't even necessarily say it's their best, it just keeps being very good for it's whole run, which honestly is exactly how the sketches go, it's just so impressive that it can keep it up for that long

[@rex-racer]

It’s funny; I just rewatched Grail recently as well, with my teen sons, who had never seen it, and I came to the same conclusion, that it’s really just a collection of (now iconic) sketches. I remember years ago, college age, just having it on in the background, hanging out with my friends. It’s the kind of movie you can just chill with, tune in for a bit and laugh, and of course repeat the dialog verbatim. It’s a cultural touchstone for sure. Great analysis here, as always, thanks. Oh, and did my sons enjoy the film, you ask? I think so (they chuckled appropriately), but mostly we all just chilled… as is proper.

[@HolyPire]

That black knight scene..... puts me on the floor everytime....

[@Driven2Beers]

RIP Graham and Terry. Especially Terry. No other guy's bare ass ever made me laugh so much!

[@rainscratch]

Or dropping another baby while doing the dishes in MOL. "Get that will you Diedre"

[@codytestroet3774]

After watching the movie 10-15 times at home, I watched with an older gent who had seen it in theaters in the original release. He explained how the "incorrect dental film" and the intermission scene were both pranks on the live audience. Those did not translate in home viewings. And I love it

[@biborkiraly394]

Pehaps this movie is more quotable but Life of Brian is the pinnacle of Monty Python😊

[@labor4]

plus the catholic polemics on full display in the following debate. it is integral to the movie.

[@StruggleButtons]

“Not the 9 O’Clock News” taking the piss out of the interview is hilarious.

[@Sekir80]

Szerinted is? Érdekes! Nekem is az lett a top.

[@thecocktailian2091]

Would say its like choosing between a Wagyu Rib Eye or an Angus Filet. 70's Raquel Welch or whatever modern-day bombshell. A million dollars or a million and one dollars. Offer me any choice, and i shall simply reply, yes please.

[@andymackie8283]

Splitter!!!

[@PM-zu3cz]

Bedevere tying the coconut to the swallow in the intro to the witch scene is next level.

[@dandylionwine]

You know what you're getting into with a Holy Trail video, but all the interview bits with dearly departed Terry J were a wonderful surprise. Thanks for that.

[@orsonwelles2023]

Which is why, on a budget well under half a million, it is such a lean and perfect film -- compared to Meaning of Life, with it's 9+ million dollar budget, which has great scenes but also drags when viewed.

[@davidwuhrer6704]

You wish Life was shorter?

[@orsonwelles2023]

I think it would have been a better film with a tighter edit. @@davidwuhrer6704

[@LividImp]

The problem with Meaning of Life is simply that the jokes weren't as good. They blew their load on the first two movies and ran out of steam. I guess every sperm wasn't sacred after all. lol This is typical in the entertainment industry. It's the old line about how you have a lifetime to write your first album and 6 months to write your second. Only in the Python's case they started off with two movies in the barrel ready to go, but just stalled out on the third. I feel blessed that we got two flawless movies out of them.

[@davidwuhrer6704]

@@LividImp The joke are hilarious, it just drags on in parts.

[@liesalllies]

This was always the movie that my 7th grade teacher would put on when he didn't want to teach that day lol.

[@nealreiersen6823]

the realization that every scene is iconic explains why I took me a long time realize that all of these frequently quoted sketches were not different movies. they all had their own identity, and were enough on there own and didn't need any more contex to be enjoyed.

[@patricktilton5377]

Anybody who has actually read early English poetry knows that certain words which USED to rhyme no longer do, and the lyrics of the "Knights of the Round Table" song exemplifies this brilliantly, rhyming 'table' with 'impeccable', 'formidable', 'unsingable', 'indefatigable', and 'Clark Gable', finally. I have to admit that I didn't 'get' the joke when I first saw it -- not having read much if any older English poetry (etc.), but later, after I bought the book of the film, and was able to read the lyrics, I finally was able to appreciate that extra level of brilliance on their part. This above-and-beyond the fact that that song-scene was a spoof on the musical 'CAMELOT'. I also dig how Sir Lancelot's squire -- named 'Concord' -- regularly supplies him with that word he just can't think of saying . . . on the tip of his tongue . . . just as a 'concordance' is a type of book that supplies an alphabetized list of all the words used in a literary work, as in Strong's Concordance to the King James Bible, etc. We English majors probably got an extra little something out of the efforts of the Pythons that perhaps was slightly over-the-heads of average viewers.

[@mikethespike7579]

Most of the Python films were made on a tight budget for want of investors. I can't imagine why, the Pythons' work was well known to be successful and reap in huge profits. One of their most successful and well known films, Life of Brian, almost wasn't made because they couldn't find anyone to finance it. Only after George Harrison agreed to put up the money were they able to start production.

[@jimstartup2729]

To be honest I think they liked keeping things on a shoestring.. you have to be clever with it and with such a creative team able to look at things from daft angles it's a better scenario to work in. Also I imagine they didn't want to sell out their creative direction to investors that might try to tell them what to do. So it allowed them complete control.

[@rainscratch]

EMI were the original investors but pulled out when they thought the script was blasphemous. Harrison came in to save the day, at great risk even with his resources. His manager screwed it up and made Harrison fully liable for a huge loan. Luckily the film did well. Harrison formed a production company Handmade Films which went on to make many movies, a hit and miss affair.

[@CorpeningMedia]

YES! I learned this years and years ago when I excitedly told a friend about the best parts of this film (that she had never seen), only to sit down and watch it with her and realize I had described everything.

[@lektik2941]

I had the opportunity to see it in the theater a few years ago as well. Fantastic! Every seat had a pair of coconuts waiting when we entered.

[@targetdreamer257]

Noice. Now that is a theater manager/owner that gets it.

[@tufty7026]

With a flock of African swallows swooping in pairs to tidy up afterwards.

[@narbwow8168]

I think it's safe to say that Monty Python and the Holy Grail is the most iconic comedy film in human history.

[@DawnDavidson]

I dunno … The Court Jester with Danny Kaye gives it a run for the money. “The pellet with the poison is in the vessel with the pestle ….” 😂 Both such quotable movies!

[@pabloapostar7275]

I knew a physics major from Princeton who graduated sometime in the 60's. The "what is the airspeed of a laden swallow" was the type of question a physicists had to deal with during oral exams.

[@Jrakula10]

probably the best movie to quote in day to day life.

[@misterfischer2177]

Probably the film I've watched more than any other. Completely ridiculous from start to finish, brilliant.

[@watch-Dominion-2018]

I want a directors cut with all the cut scenes put back in

[@kjmav10135]

One of the best comedies ever. The GOAT. My friends and I gathered every Sunday night during the 70s to watch Monty Python on PBS. When the movie came out we were there with thousands of others. We had high expectations, and we were not disappointed. This, followed by life of Brian, followed by The Meaning of Life. All three of them, brilliant. Glad to see Holy Grail has stood the test of time.

[@CaptainThor2000]

Nah but for real, what is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?

[@ChrispyNut]

African, or European?

[@jeremybrown9611]

😂😂😂😂

[@pvanukoff]

@@ChrispyNut Huh? I.. I don't know that ... AAAUUGGGHH!!!

[@ChrispyNut]

@@pvanukoff Finally! Thank you for being the one to relieve my patience. 😆

[@digitalnomad9985]

I still say it's a moot point about the coconuts. Coconut trees spread from island by dropping coconuts in the ocean where they float to other islands in the ocean. There is only ONE ocean. A coconut washing ashore in England is unlikely on any given day, but all but inevitable eventually. There is no need to swallow anything in any sense of the term.

[@jayfrank1913]

I think Life of Brian is a tighter, better paced movie, with a consistent narrative. It also has a message to tell. Every scene in that moves the plot and message forward (with the possible exception of the alien space ship). I couldn't tell you which of the two films I prefer, but I saw LOB more recently so I'll go with that?

[@davidwuhrer6704]

The alien space ship is a reference to the bible. The part where the devil tempts Jesus by putting him on the roof of the temple of Solomon and wants him to Bungee jump. For it is written: The Messiah will be carried by God's angels. Jesus refuses, because he will not be tempted by the devil. Brian, on the on the hand… yea verily, no harm befell him when he fell, for he was carried … Eh, he just got lucky. He's not the Messiah.

[@sonder122]

Fun fact: Spike Milligan was visiting WWII battlefields in Tunisia when the Pythons were filming (he had fought in North Africa in the war) when he was invited to play the role of one of the prophets in the movie. His time on set lasted less than a day, but it’s sort nice that one of the founders of the 1950’s great comedy radio shows should star in a film by one of the 1970’s greatest comedy TV shows.

[@stephenc3060]

I love them both, but agree that I'd probably say LOB. HG is simply hilarious goofiness, but not terribly relatable, not that comedy needs to be. On the other hand, despite those who tried to call it blasphemy, LOB is really a character sketch on modern life. Brian is a bright but unremarkable young man suffering the ennui of limited opportunities and lack of peers. He does not know what he wants from life, let alone how to go about getting it, and so society chooses a path for him. No matter how unsuited he is for his job or how much he protests, no matter how hard he tries to reject all responsibility, society forces him down the path that he did not choose, and despite being literally worshiped by those around him, he is miserable. The only joy he ever experiences is a happy song that everyone sings along with when he dies.

[@LividImp]

Life of Brian is the better movie. The people that disagree with that either A. Haven't actually seen LoB but pretend they did, B. Don't have the religious/Roman background to understand all the more subtle jokes, or C. Are religious, don't understand the more subtle jokes, but are offended by the few jokes they do understand.

[@davidwuhrer6704]

@@stephenc3060 I have to disagree. Brian chooses to join the people's liberation front. That's what he wants to do with his life, he knows how to go about it, and he is not alone in this. And his quoting Solomon when pretending to be a prophet to hide from the soldiers shows him to be a better Messiah than most, and I must know, for I have followed several. And he enjoys sleeping with Judith. Dying is not something he enjoys, even as pretty much everyone else around him is facing death with a laugh. When Brian addresses his followers (which Reg wastes no time making money from), he argues that people shouldn't waste their time following self-help gurus. I also disagree about the limited opportunities. He is selling fast food at the children's matinee in the beginning. There are parallels between Brian and the protagonist from _Brazil_ (which is also a Christmas film): Both are grown single men with no career ambitions living with their mothers, falling head over heels for the first woman to show any interest in them, and ultimately get tortured by the authorities for breaking the law. But even in _Brazil_ you can't say he is suffering from the ennui of limited opportunities when initially he refuses a better job offer.

[@dustbowlhammer7119]

My opinion, no matter how bad a day you may have, it is impossible to watch this movie, and not end up chuckling!

[@mayorjimmy]

I got better. I love how the comedy is both deep jokes and just simple things.

[@PRG013]

Sad you didn’t include the end credits. I love the song “Intermission”. When it was restored and released in theaters years ago, we couldn’t leave until the entire end credits was finished.

[@brettgarsed]

I first heard Python at the age of 10 and it literally changed the whole course of my existence. Imagine me trying to explain the genius of the parrot sketch to my 10 year old classmates and wondering why they just can't see the funny side of it all. Holy Grail was the game changer for me, even more important than Life Of Brian. It's the sleeping genius of Python and is a movie I'll come back to for the rest of my life.

[@davidwuhrer6704]

I never wanted to be a shop keeper.

[@LividImp]

I had a very hard time trying to explain to my American peers why "pining for the fjords" was funny when they didn't even know half the words in the sentence. I would say that's when I knew I was different than the other kids.... but I always knew I was different than the other kids and they never let me forget it. XD

[@brettgarsed]

@@davidwuhrer6704 🤣

[@brettgarsed]

@@LividImp It's ok to be different but I think Python helped us understand that and embrace it. It did for me for sure!

[@eagledove9]

Financial restrictions make the movie much more interesting. If only modern movies weren't allowed to use computer animation, and had to dig around in junk piles to find things and make them work somehow, movies now would be much better.

[@colonialstraits1069]

It’s the filmmaking equivalent of Eno’s “Oblique Strategies”.

[@CheyenneWills]

In 1975 I was dragged to a movie by a friend who would only say "You have to see this", no spoilers, no cultural references, nothing to prepare you for what you were about to watch. Your only prior exposure to Monty Python was "Monty Python's Flying Circus" on TV. I vividly remember the opening scene, (after reading about some moose) -- a foggy hill, in the distant you hear a horse approaching, you see the tip of a lance growing as the rider approaches, you see the top of a knight's head. Then coconuts.. There are other iconic movies that I experienced the same way -- watching them before the scenes and lines became part of our culture; The Star Wars series, Alien, The Matrix, etc. It is a radically different experience seeing films like these when they first come out.

[@ogami1972]

I wore out my dad's betamax copy, and can't recall a time in my life that I haven't had a copy lying around. Tried showing it to my stepkids once, they left about 10 minutes in, said it seemed dumb. Well, at least I'm not actually related to them.

[@HappyMSI1]

Ouch.

[@fe3bal]

They were sketch writers.... Every scene is a sketch, loosely tied together with the theme. Genius.

[@knaz7468]

Went to Scotland to visit that castle and we reenacted many scenes from the movie. So much fun.

[@callmeishmael3031]

I was a big time Monty Python fan in my teens back in the early 1970s. Not everyone was and there was no way to explain why they were so great. So many people just didn't get it. Anyway, I went to the premiere of Holy Grail at a relatively small theater far down in a part of the city I'd never been to before. They gave everyone who showed up to the first showing two coconut halves. They advertised that they were going to do that. We didn't know what they were for. The movie started and we all immediately caught on. So much fun. No one makes comedies anymore. I think we all sadly know why.

[@nathanrockman4640]

I just took a college course on surrealism and psychoanalysis. Holy Grail came to my mind when thinking about what follows the definition of surrealist cinema. In fact, my professor agreed with my sentiment. Holy Grail follows cares neither about moral nor aesthetical concerns. It's a movie that continually subverts our expectations and ultimately doesn't even finish. It's much like a Freudian version of the dream work hitting mainstream cinema, the things have meaning and can be dissected but the scenes don't follow rational thought patterns. This continual subversion of tropes and contiguous sequences of events is quite close to Georges Bataille's idea of surrealism and intentionality. Bataille essentially said surrealism must be intentionally made for audiences to experience some form of surreality. Anyway, what I'm getting at is that Holy Grail is the perfect blend of coherent nonsense and intentional subversion of themes and patterns expected in stories. That's why watching it is a surreal and otherworldly experience.

[@tufty7026]

Think you may have over analysed the film. Or perhaps I’m stupiderer than you. Either way, don’t take me to a modern art exhibition.

[@davidwuhrer6704]

I can't say I agree. There is subversion in Monty Python, but I wouldn't say Grail is surreal. It's comedy. Any film or story can be otherworldly if the setting is not relatable, and medieval Britain is not something most people have experienced. It also lacks defining characteristics of dreams, such as repetition. It has changes of perspective, but only because the different scenes involve different characters; it is not different perspectives on the same thing. Bastille's definition of surrealism is met perfectly by Glass Onion, and I have yet to hear anyone call it surrealist.

[@colinlagesse4896]

I've always said Monty Python and the Holy Grail is a *perfect* movie from start to end, and I wouldn't change a single thing. The only other example that springs immediately to mind is The Big Lebowski

[@pvanukoff]

I don't know ... the ending was always such a ... cop-out.

[@BaldorfBreakdowns]

Kung Pow: Enter the Fist

[@noeldown1952]

The castles really tied that movie together.

[@gdclemo]

That's just, like... your opinion, man.

[@deusexmachina9776]

That final scene when the cops came to arrest them lol - i died. it was hinted at at some point previously which makes it funnier.

[@stevekaczynski3793]

The shield being an offensive weapon...

[@noahshupenko2816]

One of if not my favorite movies of all time. First shown to me by my grandparents, a few years ago, and then gifted a DVD of it by them a year later. One of my favorite movies to go back and watch when I’m bored. My parents like it, but not as much as I do. So quotable.

[@Yora21]

In some circles of D&D fans, every single line is a meme quote.

[@karllautman]

Thanks so much for this! Can't wait for the rest of the series.

[@PwrShelf]

One of the greatest films of all time. Thanks Danny

[@animatorFan74]

One of my favourite movies of all time.... may the memory of it never die.... :)

[@NitroGummyBear]

Favorite movie growing up. Wore that tape out man.

[@LividImp]

Yup. Wore the tape out and then bought the DVD.

[@paxwallace8324]

In that dark time before the internet (70s) there existed a highly scattered sullen subculture of subversive misfits seeking all forms of alternative portals to the counterculture which we foolishly believed was an actual thing. Regardless we voraciously consumed all early Woody Allan books and film and National Lampoon Radio Hour, and Firesign Theatre, and Mel Brooks even but most of all Monty Python's Flying Circus!

[@DawnDavidson]

Don’t forget Dr Demento!

[@simplewormonastring6869]

I just watched this movie again today, and I loved how almost every scene was a meme

[@gregmccartney5780]

Absolute favourite of mine and a masterpiece.

[@darthvirgin7157]

i was gonna say: “well except for the credits.” but even those were hilarious.

[@johnpaulsylvester3727]

This is one of the only films that makes me laugh till I'm in pain within the first two minutes.

[@ledelste]

Oh yes please. More on this seminal work.

[@recoilrob324]

When this movie first came out I made the HUGE mistake of getting high and going to the theater to watch it. When the opening credits started with all the 'moose' bit....I lost it. I was hysterical and just getting calmed down when the next screen came up at just the right moment to start me laughing all over again. By the time the movie actually started I was totally drained and the rest was just a blur. Took several attempts in the future before I actually made it to the end without running out of laughs. No other movie has ever done this to me...what a classic!!

[@alancoe1002]

Makes waaay more sense than my getting high and seeing the first Alien movie. That was fucked up scary. But I didn't soil myself, so that was a win.

[@jeffreyboyd2758]

I had an uncle named Danny. Danny Boyd - great man who taught me all about music and cinema when I was eight or nine. Thanks for a happy reminder of Uncle Dan!

[@invisalats841]

I saw this movie as a kid... then, as a teenager, then as an adult, and just a few months ago, i watched it again at 39. It's by far the most rewatchable comedy. It's hilarious, and the jokes just don't get old. I don't consider it the best, just the one that will never get old and will entertain every time. There's better comedies, but after a single rewatch or 2 the jokes, just don't hit anymore, but the first time you see them they are incredibly hilarious. Those movies are basically stuck within a year or two of their release when the jokes are pertinent to life at the time. Monty pythons quest for the holy grail isn't the peak of comedy, but it sits high up the mountain and never loses its silliness, charm, and absurdity.

[@anulfadventures]

Many years ago we were touring the Tower of London. In the room with the crown jewels my seven year old at the time son pointed to a royal orb and said, "Hey look, it's the Holy Hand grenade of Antioch." The security staff nearly died laughing.

[@samuelbahij4878]

My favorite comedy of all time. When I was younger I basically made it a ritual that every time I made a new friend, I'd show them this movie

[@targetdreamer257]

Ding Extra points to this one. If they don't like Quest for the Holy Grail you don't really need them as friends.

[@zarblitz]

I remember being maybe 10 or 11 and watching this movie for the first time in the basement of my uncle's house at Thanksgiving with all my cousins. I was so completely confused - what on Earth was I watching? - but I loved every moment of it. My dad and my uncle, both also Python fans when they were contemporary, ended up sitting there with me and my cousins watching it too, in that dingy basement on an old TV. It wasn't long after that my dad went out and bought the entire Flying Circus series for us to watch at home. When I met my future wife, the Pythons were one of the things we instantly bonded over. We joked you could judge the character of someone by how they react to Monty Python.

[@KenrickBlock]

I am excited to learn more about this film. I grew up with Holy Grail and I sort of took it for granted how brilliant it really is.

[@blahlbinoa]

I've seen this so many times that most of the movie quotes are part of my daily speech, lol

[@DorisMartin-lp3gd]

Oh, my, Monty Python again!!!😮

[@primtones]

The funky music actually improves the scenes.

[@patriciafeehan7732]

It was so wonderful to be there when it premiered. The laughter and craziness of their movies are priceless.

[@davidsecord6412]

No one did lunacy as well as Monty Python. Deeply and unapologetically sarcastic and able to execute dissembling the absurdity of life like no other. Wonderful stuff.

[@kelliatlarge]

I got to see John Cleese live and he presented his preferred cut of the ending, which shortened it significantly, and I had to reluctantly agree with him.

[@chipsterb4946]

I had the good fortune to see this movie in a theater when it first came out. Being the mid-1970s we were thoroughly stoned but that didn’t detract from our enjoyment of the film at all 🤣 It made the film even funnier on subsequent viewings. Thank you for diving into Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail. The movie was absolutely perfect for its moment in time, starting with the credit to Richard M. Nixon at the start (which I hadn’t noticed before). However, it’s just as funny today as it was nearly 50 years ago.

[@tonyiommisg]

I didn’t realize how great the quality of footage they had of this film. I’d only ever seen it on dvd. I’m gonna have to get whatever version this footage comes from, it looks fantastic!

[@GordonHeaney]

One of my fab movies ever, you're right, almost every scene is classic, so well written

[@davidwuhrer6704]

_Almost_ every scene? Alright, who's the wise guy?

[@jr.elwood9326]

This is one of the best comedy movies of all time. When I think of this movie along with The Life of Brian, I always wonder how many more iconic masterpieces they could have done.

[@crusherbmx]

I've seen it over 40 times and find something new everytime. It took 10 years before I noticed there were mutliple scenes of people randomly abusing cats, like a lot of scenes....

[@NORKIE]

we will never again have comedy like this, its pure gold in every way.

[@thewafflemancer]

Why not?

[@xipheonj]

This video didn't really feel like it had a point, unless it was a kind of meta commentary, because it just kind of meandered from thought to thought without having a narrative that kept it all on track. It was like a series of intros without ever moving on to the video itself.

[@chrism1503]

Agree. I thought it was just getting started and then it ended 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@SethCohn23]

It was always going to something completely different. Totally nonpythonic.

[@KGraceSpeaksKea1335]

😂andddd there's that one rule bound guy🎉❤