Monty Python and the Holy Grail

 Directed by Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones

Right off the bat, I feel like I have to admit that I'm not very experienced with Monty Python. Before last January, I'd never seen anything of theirs - a sin punishable by severe lashings in some circles, I'm sure - but that changed when I watched Monty Python Live (Mostly), which I really enjoyed. Since then, I've been interested in seeing more of their stuff and finally got around to checking out the most popular film in the Monty Python universe. 

The main plot line, focusing on King Arthur (wonderfully played by Graham Chapman) and his knights' quest to find the Holy Grail, is sublime. I don't know if I could pick out a favorite scene since there are so many tremendously funny moments, but I have to mention a few: the opening credits (talk about starting a film off on the right foot), the French guard (John Cleese) taunting Arthur and company from his castle high above, the coconuts instead of horses gag, the 'Swallow-Savvy Guards' (Michael Palin and Cleese) arguing with Arthur, the dead collector (Eric Idle), and, of course, the Black Knight (Cleese again) which may be the most famous scene from the entire film.

This is first time I've seen Chapman in anything and I was very impressed with his comedic talents. His ability to sell each and every joke and reaction shot is unparalleled among the Python troop. It's a shame he died so young - I would have loved to see him perform as an old man with the rest of the guys in Monty Python Live (Mostly). So much of the film rest on Chapman's shoulders as he plays the lead character and, even more importantly, the "straight man" most of the time. His reactions to the absurd happenings around him were just perfect. 

For the rest of the cast, everyone is pretty spot on. As I mentioned above, John Cleese is at the center of a lot of my favorite moments from the film and he commits wholeheartedly to each character he takes on. While watching it, I didn't realize which actor was playing most of the parts, so I had to look them up. I was a bit surprised when Cleese's name kept popping up. It's an indication of his talents that he was able to disappear into each character.

Michael Palin was probably my favorite performer from Monty Python Live (Mostly) and I was especially excited to see more of his work here. He didn't disappoint. Besides playing one of the Swallow-Savvy Guards, Palin excelled as Sir Galahad, the King of Swamp Castle, and the leader of the Knights Who Say Ni! Just like Cleese, Palin has the ability of disappearing into each role. 

Eric Idle is the last of the Python regulars who plays a bunch of important roles. He didn't exactly impress me, but he didn't stand out as being weak in any role, either. His dead collector is by far the most entertaining character, but Sir Robin and Roger the Shrubber are both entertaining, too. 

Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones round out the troop and play the fewest characters, but I assume that's because they also co-directed the film. Gilliam, who went on to become a supremely talented filmmaker on his own, has one memorable character in Monty Python and the Holy Grail as the Bridgkeeper near the end. Jones' major contribution on screen is as Sir Bedevere, one of the Knights of the Round Table, but I'm having a hard time remembering anything that Bedevere did in the film.  I guess you could say that Jones didn't impress me.

Besides co-directing, co-writing, and appearing on screen, Gilliam had one more major contribution to Monty Python and the Holy Grail: he was the lead animator on the film. There are countless examples of his work on screen, but the two that stand out most to me were God talking to Arthur and then the monster who chases Arthur and his knights out of the cave. While the animation isn't anything particularly striking, it has a certain flair and charm. Gilliam's artwork has become synonymous with the Python universe and I believe it's featured in most of their work. 

Other than the main plot line, following Arthur and his quest for the holy grail, the film falls a little flat. There are simply too many cut scenes that just didn't work for me. Each time the film would cutaway to one of these scenes, the momentum was completely lost. Even worse, though, I just didn't find most of these additional scenes funny - a serious flaw in an otherwise well done film.

One example of something that just didn't work for me is the "subplot" with the police officers investigating the murder of one of the actors onscreen. This was slightly amusing at first - the meta nature of a character being killed onscreen and turning out to be a case where the actor playing the character was actually murdered during the production, thus drawing a police investigation  - but it grew increasingly tiring as it drug on. The police are shown several times, first discovering the body, then consoling the victim's family, and then pursuing Arthur throughout the film, and each time they pop up bothered me a bit more.

The subplot culminates in a very disappointing ending, when the police effectively shutdown filming and the movie simply ends. I understand that this was done to avoid having to shoot an expensive and lengthy battle sequence, which I can understand, but I would have liked the group to come up with a different solution.

Because of these problems, Monty Python and the Holy Grail feels bloated and overlong, despite it's very short 89 minute running time. I think this could have made a tremendous, hilarious film at 60 minutes, but as it stands, it's nothing more than a decent comedy. I'm sure a lot of fans will consider this a blasphemous statement, but it's one I stand by.

Monty Python and the Holy Grail is genuinely funny film, but I can't quite understand what makes it a classic in the eyes of so many fans and critics alike.