Pushing the Boundaries: Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) Remastered
Director: Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones Run Time: 91 min. Rating: PG Release Year: 1975
Starring: Eric Idle, Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones
Country: United Kingdom
Language: English
The 1970s: Pushing the Boundaries
A Film Center retrospective on the most groundbreaking films to come out of the 1970s.
See more Pushing the BoundariesAbout the film:
Monty Python and the Holy Grail is a 1975 British comedy film written and performed by Monty Python (Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin) and directed by Gilliam and Jones in their feature directorial debuts. The film parodies the legend of King Arthur’s quest for the Holy Grail.
King Arthur (played by Graham Chapman), accompanied by his squire, recruits his Knights of the Round Table, including Sir Bedevere the Wise, Sir Lancelot the Brave, Sir Robin the Not-Quite-So-Brave-As-Sir-Lancelot and Sir Galahad the Pure. They embark on a surreal, low-budget search for the Holy Grail, encountering many, very silly obstacles along the way – from the Black Knight and the Knights of Say “Ni!” to French Taunters and a Killer Rabbit.
“The material is superb, Neil Innes’ music is tremendous and Gilliam’s animations are timelessly brilliant.”
—Peter Bradshaw for The Guardian
About the filmmakers:
Directed by Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones who also co-wrote the script along with Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, and Michael Palin as part of the comedy group, Monty Python. Monty Python (also collectively known as the Pythons) were a British surreal comedy troupe who created the sketch comedy television show Monty Python’s Flying Circus, which first aired on the BBC in 1969. Their foray into films began with And Now for Something Completely Different (1971), a collection of sketches from the first and second TV series of their show and continued with Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975), Monty Python’s Life of Brian (1979), Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl (1982), and Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life (1983).
Gilliam went on to direct Time Bandits (1981), Brazil (1985), The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (1988), The Fisher King (1991), 12 Monkeys (1995) and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998) among others. Jones went on to direct Erik the Viking (1989), The Wind in the Willows (1996), and Absolutely Anything (2015).
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