Monty Python and the Holy Grail Review.

Monty Python and the Holy Grail, the classic absurd comedy, and the first forte into film by the Monty Python team. Basically, Monty Python and the Holy Grail is pure comedic craziness, packed with ridiculous situations and a nonsensical plot, but that is why the movie is hilarious! The humor may not be everyone's cup of tea, and it is not particularly intelligent, it is just funny. Some of the humor was overly silly and crude and ended up not being funny, however, the majority of the film was made me laugh. Comedies are difficult to rate, because everyone's sense of humor is different. Mel Brooks movies for example, are too ridiculous and low-brow for me enjoy for the most part, however, The Holy Grail managed to be mostly humorous throughout. Even the opening credits are hilarious, but be sure to read them because most audiences (myself included), would not expect to read the opening credits when watching it for the first time. Just have the pause button ready.



Directed by: Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones
Genre: Comedy, Satire, Fantasy,
Release Date: April 28, 1975
Running Time: 89 minutes
MMPA rating: PG (would be PG-13 today)


The Good: Great satire, Memorable jokes, Absurdly hilarious, Good soundtrack funny song, Great "breaking the fourth wall" humor, Purely comedic,

The Bad: Some overly silly humor,

Warning: Although it was rated PG at the time of its released, it would definitely earn a PG-13 rating today.


Plot: The following plot summary is copied from Wikipedia.com.
Monty Python and the Holy Grail loosely follows the legend of King Arthur. Arthur (Chapman) along with his squire, Patsy (Gilliam), recruits his Knights of the Round Table, including Sir Bedevere the Wise (Jones), Sir Lancelot the Brave (Cleese), Sir Robin the Not-Quite-So-Brave-As-Sir-Lancelot (Idle) and Sir Galahad the Pure (Palin). On the way Arthur battles the Black Knight (Cleese) who, despite having all his limbs chopped off, insists he can still fight. They reach Camelot, but Arthur decides not to enter, as "it is a silly place". They are instructed by God (represented by an animated photograph of cricket figure W. G. Grace) to seek out the Holy Grail.
Their first stop is a French-controlled castle where they believe the Grail is being held. After being insulted in mangled Franglais, they try to sneak into the castle in a Trojan Rabbit, but this plan goes terribly wrong when they forget to hide inside it first. The error is compounded when the rabbit is subsequently catapulted back at them. Arthur then decides the group should separate to seek the Grail.
Watch the movie to see what happens next.


Plot: 7.6/10- Although Monty Python and the Holy Grail barely had a real plot, it was a satire on fantasy genre and a few others, which made for a hilarious and absurd journey.


Action: 7.9/10- The Holy Grail may be a comedy, but there is one memorable fight that is both funny and a cool battle.


Acting: 7.8/10- There are about six actors that nearly all roles in the movie, playing multiple characters, even in the same scene, which leads to some rather humorous exchanges with themselves. The cast plays their roles well, consider ludicrousness of their roles.


Special effects: 7.4/10- Many of the effects are intentionally low-budget and some even feature animated segments, which only add the humor of the movie.


Soundtrack: 8.2/10- The main theme was surprising epic and the movie even more humorous. Also there was a hilarious song, "Knights of the Round Table", that I enjoyed.


Comedy: 8.4/10- Something new to my comedy is a "Humor Percentage" rating what amount of humor was: Hilarious, Mildly Humorous, and Not Funny. I have stated many times previously in this review how hilarious some parts of the movie, however, some parts were just too silly and ridiculous for my sense of humor. Most of the parts come in the first and last 20 minutes of the film, but looses some humor through the middle part of the film.
Humor Percentage
Hilarious: 75%
Mildly Funny: 10%
Not Funny: 15%
Because this the first time that I have used this scale, there is nothing to compare it to, despite this, it is a high rating, one of the funnier movies I have seen. Please comment with your thoughts on my new humor meter for Comedies.


Would I Watch This Again: There are enough jokes to warrant another viewing.

Overall: 8.5/10- Monty Python and the Holy Grail is absurd, yet hilarious for those who enjoy crazy British comedies and deserving of its "Classic" status.

Closing comments: As the tagline "Makes Ben Hur look like an Epic" suggests, Monty Python and the Holy Grail does indeed make Ben-Hur look like an epic, yet is it is epically humorous in its own respect.

Recommended for: Comedy fans, British Humor fans, Fantasy fans,


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