Monty Python and the Holy Grail

a film by Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones

The Holy Grail may be not as coherent as Life of Brian; it is more like Monty Python’s Flying Circus, a series of rather disjoint sketches interspersed with crazy animations of Terry Gilliam and shouts of “get on with it”. I have this two-disc box set, with the second DVD full of assorted junk including the LEGO version of Knights of the Round Table song (with a guest appearance of the ex-parrot). Still, I prefer the original: you can’t do facial expressions with LEGO.

We’re Knights of the Round Table We dance whene’er we’re able We do routines and chorus scenes With footwork impeccAble. We dine well here in Camelot, We eat ham and jam and spam a lot. We’re Knights of the Round Table Our shows are formidAble But many times we’re given rhymes That are quite unsingAble We’re opera mad in Camelot We sing from the diaphragm a lot. In war we’re tough and able, Quite indefatigAble. Between our quests we sequin vests And impersonate Clark Gable. It’s a busy life in Camelot... I have to push the pram a lot.

P.S. 2024. I went to Filmoteca de Cantabria to see this film, for the first time in my life, on a big screen. It was shown as a part of the Arthurian legend cycle and free of charge at that. Perhaps this could explain a great number of primary school-age children in the audience whose parents, evidently, thought the movie was age-appropriate. The Knights of the Round Table song, as expected, was met with loud laughter. The adventures of Sir Galahad in the Castle Anthrax provoked a slew of ¿Qué? from the kids just behind me; immediately after, some of them were led away.