FRAY'S 100TH MOVIE REVIEW
"Can we come up and have a look?"
"Of course not. You're English types."
"What are you then?"
"I'm French. Why do you think I have this outrageous accent, you silly king?"
"What are you doing in England?"
"Mind your own business."
"Of course not. You're English types."
"What are you then?"
"I'm French. Why do you think I have this outrageous accent, you silly king?"
"What are you doing in England?"
"Mind your own business."
The film that 'Makes Ben Hur look like an Epic'.
Everyone knows the story (thanks to countless books and films), a poor boy, in England, pulled a sword from a stone and became the king. And his name was Arthur. If that is all you know about Arthurian legend, that is plenty to enjoy this film.
King Arthur (Chapman) is an unusual hero. Instead of riding a horse (like regular knights) he gallops around on foot, holding invisible reins while faithful servant Patsy (Gilliam) bangs two coconut halves together to mimic the sound of the horses hooves. Arthur and Patsy want to find men to join his band and become a knight of the round table. The first knight they encounter, the Black Knight (Cleese) who refuses to join and fights Arthur. Then they meet up with Sir Bedevere (Jones) who is trying to show the locals how to tell if a woman is a witch. Impressed by his obvious intelligence Arthur asks Bedevere to join his band. They also recruit the brave Sir Lancelot (Cleese), the "innocent" Sir Gallahad (Palin), the chicken Sir Robin (Idle), and the aptly named Sir Not-Appearing-in-this-Film (Palin's infant son).
The knights receive a mission from God (Chapman): they are to find the Holy Grail. And now the adventure begins. They are taunted by French Knights (see above quote). Tempted by the Castle Anthrax. Struck with fear by the Knights Who Say Ni. And attempt to rescue the feminine Prince Herbert (Jones), who they think is a girl. Are led astray by a host of crazy characters. Will they find the Grail? What is the deal with the Old Man from Scene 24 (Gilliam)? How many times will Robin wet himself? How many people will Lancelot kill? Will Galahad give in to almost-certain-temptation? And more importantly does any of it matter?
This is the best know, and most widely popular Monty Python film...and for good reason. In fact, I remember watching this film in high school when we studied the Middle Ages! There are so many classic quotable lines from this film...there isn't enough time and space to divulge them here, sigh. Monty Python itself has quite the following, but this film has a cult following (similar to Rocky Horror Picture Show and The Princess Bride, both of which are excellent films which I highly enjoy). I find Monty Python in general to be inspirational, whenever I am in a literary slump watching anything by them just makes the creative juices flow (and no, its not nearly as disgusting as it sounds). If you want to laugh your ass off, watch this film!
A few years ago Eric Idle (ex Python, not ex-parrot) turned this film into a Broadway Musical called "Spamalot". There are some new twists and turns and parts. The music is fabulous. Check it out at http://www.montypythonsspamalot.com/
Dude, it's quotable: such an understatement. You could spend hours just quoting this film
Buy it....NOW!: any film collection missing this film is obviously lacking!
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) 91 minutes
Director: Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones
Starring: Graham Chapman as King Arthur / Voice of God (and others)
John Cleese as Sir Lancelot the Brave / Tim the Enchanter / The Black Knight (and others)
Terry Gilliam as Patsy / Old Man from Scene 24 (and others)
Eric Idle as Sir Robin the Not-Quite-So-Brave-as-Sir Launcelot / Roger the Shrubber (and others)
Terry Jones as Sir Bedevere / Prince Herbert (and others)
Michael Palin as Sir Galahad the Pure / Dennis (and others)
Connie Booth as the Witch
Carol Cleveland as Zoot / Dingo
Neil Innes as Various
Everyone knows the story (thanks to countless books and films), a poor boy, in England, pulled a sword from a stone and became the king. And his name was Arthur. If that is all you know about Arthurian legend, that is plenty to enjoy this film.
King Arthur (Chapman) is an unusual hero. Instead of riding a horse (like regular knights) he gallops around on foot, holding invisible reins while faithful servant Patsy (Gilliam) bangs two coconut halves together to mimic the sound of the horses hooves. Arthur and Patsy want to find men to join his band and become a knight of the round table. The first knight they encounter, the Black Knight (Cleese) who refuses to join and fights Arthur. Then they meet up with Sir Bedevere (Jones) who is trying to show the locals how to tell if a woman is a witch. Impressed by his obvious intelligence Arthur asks Bedevere to join his band. They also recruit the brave Sir Lancelot (Cleese), the "innocent" Sir Gallahad (Palin), the chicken Sir Robin (Idle), and the aptly named Sir Not-Appearing-in-this-Film (Palin's infant son).
The knights receive a mission from God (Chapman): they are to find the Holy Grail. And now the adventure begins. They are taunted by French Knights (see above quote). Tempted by the Castle Anthrax. Struck with fear by the Knights Who Say Ni. And attempt to rescue the feminine Prince Herbert (Jones), who they think is a girl. Are led astray by a host of crazy characters. Will they find the Grail? What is the deal with the Old Man from Scene 24 (Gilliam)? How many times will Robin wet himself? How many people will Lancelot kill? Will Galahad give in to almost-certain-temptation? And more importantly does any of it matter?
This is the best know, and most widely popular Monty Python film...and for good reason. In fact, I remember watching this film in high school when we studied the Middle Ages! There are so many classic quotable lines from this film...there isn't enough time and space to divulge them here, sigh. Monty Python itself has quite the following, but this film has a cult following (similar to Rocky Horror Picture Show and The Princess Bride, both of which are excellent films which I highly enjoy). I find Monty Python in general to be inspirational, whenever I am in a literary slump watching anything by them just makes the creative juices flow (and no, its not nearly as disgusting as it sounds). If you want to laugh your ass off, watch this film!
A few years ago Eric Idle (ex Python, not ex-parrot) turned this film into a Broadway Musical called "Spamalot". There are some new twists and turns and parts. The music is fabulous. Check it out at http://www.montypythonsspamalot.com/
Dude, it's quotable: such an understatement. You could spend hours just quoting this film
Buy it....NOW!: any film collection missing this film is obviously lacking!
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) 91 minutes
Director: Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones
Starring: Graham Chapman as King Arthur / Voice of God (and others)
John Cleese as Sir Lancelot the Brave / Tim the Enchanter / The Black Knight (and others)
Terry Gilliam as Patsy / Old Man from Scene 24 (and others)
Eric Idle as Sir Robin the Not-Quite-So-Brave-as-Sir Launcelot / Roger the Shrubber (and others)
Terry Jones as Sir Bedevere / Prince Herbert (and others)
Michael Palin as Sir Galahad the Pure / Dennis (and others)
Connie Booth as the Witch
Carol Cleveland as Zoot / Dingo
Neil Innes as Various
0 comments:
Post a Comment