MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL (1975)

MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL (1975)

directed by Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam

Probably one of the funniest movies ever made. That doesn't mean it's the greatest movie ever made, just that it certainly gets its job done. The story is actually just a bunch of skits pasted together by a tenuous plot-line. Arthur, making fun of sound effects in the best way possible, roams England in search of knights. Each scene is a social commentary on medieval times and these first scenes, as well as the last couple of scenes involving a cave guarded by an "animal with pointy teeth" and a bridge of death where you must "answer me these questions three" are some of the greatest moments in film comedy. Once Arthur finds his knights and is given his task of finding the holy grail in the most sacrilegious of ways possible, the knights split up and things become a little more hit-and-miss in the middle. There was no decent way to end a film like this, and to have the main characters arrested for murdering an historian seems fitting, as historical epics have a long record of bending facts to fit the narrative. Oh, and the opening credits are something of a minor miracle.

8.00/10