"Monty Python and the Holy Grail" is a 1975 movie written and performed by the British comedy group, Monty Python (Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin), and has little to do with snakes or the actual legends of King Arthur, Lancelot, Galahad and the Holy Grail.
All the members are credited with having written the movie, but it was directed by Gilliam and Jones. Idle would later make it into a musical, the 2005 Tony-award winning "Spamalot," writing the book and lyrics while collaborating with John Du Prez for the music.
The film features great castles and although it's supposed to be about the king of England, the film was shot mainly in Scotland. Locations included Doune Castle in the Stirling district of central Scotland (originally constructed in the 14th century), the four-story tower house on a tidal islet called Castle Stalker (which began as a small for in 1320) , Kidwelly Castle in South Wales (built between 1200 to about 1476) and Bodiam Castle in East Sussex, England (construction began in 1385). Glen Coe in the Highlands of Scotland was used for "The Bridge of Death" and "The Gorge of Eternal Peril" and also much later for the film "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban."
If you're looking for horses and pageantry, you won't find it in this movie. King Arthur (Chapman) and his servant Patsy (Gilliam) run around the country looking for knights to join his Round Table. They eventually meet up with knights such as Sir Bedevere the Wise (Jones), Lancelot (Cleese), Galahad (Palin) and Robin (Idle) as well as anarchist peasants, a black knight, and guards who bicker about the flight patterns of swallows. On their way to Camelot, the voice of God (a photo of cricket sports legend W.G. Grace) bids them to seek the Holy Grail.
The knights, separately and together, face various perils such as a three-headed giants, girls who want to be spanked and perform oral sex, and a vicious killer rabbit. Obviously, there is adult humor involved, The characters break the fourth wall and some running gags include the search for the killer of a professor of English history and French knights who taunt the English. This isn't a great film with deep thoughts or themes. It's often amusing, as opposed to laugh-out-loud funny, and tends to be more intellectual with a little slapstick humor thrown in. Although this is not really a musical and some humor is aimed at musicals, there are scenes with knights singing and dancing.
"Monty Python and the Holy Grail" has become a cult classic and with "Spamalot" around, is likely to remain so for a long time.
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