Comedy Classic “Holy Grail” Still Hilarious After Five Decades

On May 4th and 7th, the Dietrich Theater will be having screenings to celebrate the 50th anniversary of one of the funniest films of all time - “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.”

A comedic send-up of the grim circumstances of the Middle Ages as told through the story of King Arthur and framed by a then-modern murder investigation.

When the mythical King of the Britons leads his knights on a quest for the Holy Grail, they face a wide array of horrors, including a persistent Black Knight, a three headed giant, a cadre of shrubbery-challenged knights, the perilous Castle Anthrax, a killer rabbit, a house of virgins, and a handful of rude Frenchmen.

No matter how many times I have seen “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” I still believe this film is simply one of the funniest films ever. Whenever this cult classic is streaming somewhere, I have to watch it.

“Holy Grail’s” comedic style is a great blend of slapstick, really absurd situations and so much more. This 1975 satire features so many iconic scenes and each one is just as hysterical as the previous scene (if not more). 

Every time they use the coconut shells for the “galloping horses” it’s still extremely hilarious. And the “Black Knight” scene still cracks me up every time - ‘Tis but a scratch.” And, who can forget the killer rabbit? Let me know on my Wyoming County Press Examiner reviews page on Facebook your favorite moment from this comedic classic.

“Monty Python and the Holy Grail” also delivers quite a bit of visual humor and entertaining (and humorous) animation sequences. Now, if you’re not familiar with the Monty Python group and their comedic style, “Holy Grail” may not be the film for you. But, this is one satire that will still easily amuse you from beginning to end.

Trivia: Led Zepplin, Pink Floyd and Genesis all contributed to this movie’s budget. The famous depiction of galloping horses by using coconut shells (a traditional radio show sound effect) came about from the purely practical reason that the production simply couldn’t afford real horses.

During the hilarious witch hunt scene, we see Monty Python actor Eric Idle baring his teeth and bites down on the blade of the scythe he’s holding. This actually wasn’t scripted and Idle was actually about to burst out laughing and bit the prop to stifle himself so he wouldn’t spoil the take. In the scene, you can slightly see him shaking, trying to keep his laughing under control. 

“Monty Python and the Holy Grail” is rated PG   (running time 91 minutes)

You can catch “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” at the Dietrich Theater on May 4 (4:15 pm and 7:15 pm) and May 7 (7;15 pm). If you can’t make it to these showings, you can currently also stream this hilarious classic on Peacock, Tubi, Pluto TV, Sling TV and The Roku Channel, among other PVOD rental platforms.