Monty Python and the Holy Grail tells the simple story of a narrator's murder and his wife's dedication to finding his killers. On second thought, it's actually about how nice the moose and lakes are in Sweden. No...let's try that again. It's actually a Medieval comedy starring a troupe with no money, too much time on their hands and a little fame as the craziest bunch of British guys to get a TV show. Their plot: King Arthur and the Nights of the Round Table are on a quest for the Holy GRRRRAILLL.

The film, released in 1975, is about as absurd as possible, as is everything that was created by Monty Python. Since they gained their fame through the BBC sketch show Monty Python's Flying Circus, The Holy Grail naturally has a very episodic feel. However, their script, written by all six of them – John Cleese, Michael Palin, Graham Chapman, Eric Idle and directors Terry Jones and Terry Giliam – actually gels quite well. It wasn't initially the worldwide phenomenon it is today, as its reputation as one of the funniest films ever made has only grown. It's a title that it deserves.

It is set in 932 A.D. England. King Arthur (Chapman) is on a quest to find the most intelligent and brave knights to join his Round Table. Unfortunately, he's not having too much luck. He runs into a castle guard who's too obsessed with trying to figure out how coconuts get to England. (Maybe an African swallow could have carried it?) Then, there's a peasant who knows way too much about political systems and a black knight. But eventually, he meets Sir Bedevere (Jones), who is intelligent enough to know that ducks and witches weigh the same. Gilliam animation speeds the plot up and the Knights are rounded up.

Suddenly, they get a mission from god (note: before The Blues Brothers got theirs) and are told to find the Holy Grail. Their solo adventures get no results, although Arthur and Bedevere do meet the mysterious soothsayer and learn about the Bridge of Death.

One of the many charms of this film is that it does still have its roots in sketch comedy, as the six members of the team play as many parts as possible. The only one who only gets a couple of parts is Chapman, but the rest are clearly reveling in the opportunity to play as many parts as possible. Idle gets most of the great bit parts, like Roger the Shrubber or the Swamp King's guard who just can't understand the order. Cleese gets some genius parts too, especially Tim. (Of course, nobody believes him.)

Jones and Gilliam, the only American in the group, took co-directing credit and its clear from the start that the two had very different, clashing styles. Gilliam is an incredibly visual director, as we've seen from his subsequent films like Time Bandits and Brazil, and was responsible for the witty animation. Jones seemed to be able to catch the bizarre humor more, so it's obvious why he ended up directing the other two Python films solo. Still, I have to think that a solo Gilliam-directed Python movie would have been pretty crazy.

The Holy Grail is the perfect example of a cult film, especially since it has remained hilarious and fresh 38 years later. Ironically, part of the reason for this is that it is set so far in the past. Unlike Monty Python's The Life of Brian, which is set even further in the past, it doesn't touch on controversial topics. It's also not trying to use the Pythons' wild humor to get to the Meaning of Life. Instead, its humor is built to demolish anything we expect from universal myths and fairy tales.

“Listen, strange women lyin' in ponds distributin' swords is no basis for a system of government,” Dennis, the too-smart-for-his-own-good peasant, tells Arthur. “Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony.” To me, that line sums up the whole movie. Does anyone realize just how ridiculous those old Medieval stories sound? I suppose I can't think about it too long, or the Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog might come after me.

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image: Amazon