Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)

King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table embark on a surreal, low-budget search for the Holy 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 #103 | 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 / Voice of Cartoon Scribe
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 | camelot | king arthur | holy grail | arthurian legend | 

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Taglines:

Whoa, there!

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Fantasy

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English French Latin

Release Date:

25 May 1975 (UK)

Also Known As:

Die Ritter der Kokosnuß

Filming Locations:

Appin, Argyll and Bute, Scotland, UK

Box Office

Budget:

£229,575 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$45,487, 17 June 2001, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$1,229,197, 27 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

Movie was adapted as a Broadway musical in 2006 called "Spamalot".

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Goofs

Very few of the accented characters used in the "Swedish" subtitles for the credits actually appear in the Swedish alphabet.

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Quotes

[first lines]
King Arthur: Whoa, there!

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Crazy Credits

On the Regions 2 and 4 DVD's (Europe and Australasia) release, the end credits are extended to three minutes (rather than 20 seconds) of a black screen with the intermission music.

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Connections

Referenced in Island of the Dead (2000)

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Soundtracks

Sunrise Music
Written by Neil Innes
Published by EMI Songs/United Partnership

User Reviews

Pure Lunacy

Well, if you want original humor, meaning something different than what you normally see - this is your ticket. The above statement was true 30 years ago, and still holds. It's just silly, far-out humor.

It's not all winners, no comedy is, but there are enough of them, and enough classic bizarre scenes that it's always a hoot to re-visit this film from time to time. The only problem I have with it are the cheap shots in gives - in typical 1970s fashion - of anything Biblical. But, it's not that bad and most of the film is pretty innocent.

It's pretty much one ludicrous scene after another. I mean, where else do you see a knight fighting on after his legs are chopped off, then his arms?!! Or a killer rabbit? It was almost like watching a Marx Brothers film 40 years later with '70s irreverence.

Don't let the PG rating fool you. This would be an easy PG-13 today with all the blood, some cursing and the violence. I know some young kids, however - nice kids, too - who love this film as much as adults, so it can't be too offensive.

If I had to describe this movie in one word it would be "lunacy."