Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)

King Arthur and his knights embark on a low-budget search for the Grail, encountering many, very silly obstacles.

Directors:

Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones

Writers:

Graham Chapman, John Cleese

Stars:

Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle

Top Rated Movies #93 | 2 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Graham Chapman	...	King Arthur / Voice of God / Middle Head / Hiccoughing Guard
John Cleese	...	Second Swallow-Savvy Guard / The Black Knight / Peasant 3 / Sir Lancelot the Brave / Taunting French Guard / Tim the Enchanter
Eric Idle	...	Dead Collector / Peasant 1 / Sir Robin the Not-Quite-So-Brave-as-Sir Launcelot / First Swamp Castle Guard / Concorde / Roger the Shrubber / Brother Maynard
Terry Gilliam	...	Patsy / Green Knight / Old Man from Scene 24 (Bridgekeeper) / Sir Bors / Animator / Gorrilla Hand
Terry Jones	...	Dennis's Mother / Sir Bedevere / Left Head / Prince Herbert / Cartoon Scribe (voice)
Michael Palin	...	First Swallow-Savvy Guard / Dennis / Peasant 2 / Right Head / Sir Galahad the Pure / Narrator / King of Swamp Castle / Brother Maynard's Brother / Leader of The Knights Who Say NI!
Connie Booth	...	The Witch
Carol Cleveland	...	Zoot / Dingo
Neil Innes	...	First Monk / Singing Minstrel / Page Crushed by the Rabbit / Peasant #4
Bee Duffell	...	Old Crone
John Young	...	Dead Body / Historian Frank
Rita Davies	...	Historian's Wife
Avril Stewart	...	Dr. Piglet
Sally Kinghorn	...	Dr. Winston
Mark Zycon	...	Prisoner

Storyline

History is turned on its comic head when, in 10th century England, King Arthur travels the countryside to find knights who will join him at the Round Table in Camelot. Gathering up the men is a tale in itself but after a bit of a party at Camelot, many decide to leave only to be stopped by God who sends them on a quest: to find the Holy Grail. After a series of individual adventures, the knights are reunited but must face a wizard named Tim, killer rabbits and lessons in the use of holy hand grenades. Their quest comes to an end however when the police intervene - just what you would expect in a Monty Python movie.

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Plot Keywords:

knight | lancelot | king arthur | holy grail | camelot | 

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Taglines:

Makes Ben Hur look like an Epic

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Fantasy

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English French Latin

Release Date:

13 August 1976 (West Germany)

Also Known As:

Die Ritter der Kokosnuß

Filming Locations:

Appin, Argyll and Bute, Scotland, UK

Box Office

Budget:

£229,575 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$45,487 (USA) (15 June 2001)

Gross:

$1,229,197 (USA) (25 May 2012)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Michael White Productions, National Film Trustee Company, Python (Monty) Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital (2001 re-release) Mono (original release)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The French soldiers' master is identified as "Guy de Lombard" - Canadian bandleader Guy Lombardo (1902-1977).

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Goofs

Near the end of the Monks' head pounding scene, the monk in the foreground appears to hit himself so hard that he stumbles.

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Quotes

[first lines]
King Arthur: Whoa, there!

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Crazy Credits

All the credits are at the beginning. There are no credits at the end. The screen goes black after the movie ends with the depiction of the end of the physical film reel.

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Connections

Referenced in Superbad (2007)

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Soundtracks

Circle of Danger
(uncredited)
Written by B. Holmes
Published by De Wolfe Music Ltd.

User Reviews

Ingenious

Monty Python have long been a source of amusement ...and from the opening scenes of this film with the never tiring *gallop gallop* of the two coconuts substituting horses it is so very easy to see why Monty Python and the Holy Grail will forever be classic that any aspiring comedian should view for FLAWLESS comedy...this film has everything one could wish for, 5 of the best comedians performing superb sketches in a feature length film..the one liners are memorable and the locations even more so...the rabbit is my favourite....arggggggggh!