MovieChat Forums > Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) Discussion > Help me out...

Help me out...

posted 10 years ago by dilandjr
8 replies | jump to latest

Ok, hear me out, don't crucify me yet, I just watched this for the first time less than 5 minutes ago, and I don't understand why this is revered in the way it is. I found it funny, yes, but me and my buddies could make a film like that. Was it poorly made on purpose? Why does this have an 8.4? Its not better than 12 Years a Slave, or Drive, or The Hunt. Before you say that my taste in humor is bad, my favorite comedies are the Austin Powers trilogy. This is one of the more dissapointing films I've seen, with a score as high as it is. It is not funnier in my opinion than Dumb n Dumber, Austin Powers, Borat, or Neighbors.

[–] cmfalf 10 years ago

Many years ago, my co worker gave me this to watch. He said it was the funniest movie ever. Truthfully, I didn't like it much and dreaded going to work and discussing it the next day.
After many years and repeated viewings, it's probably in my top 5 favorites. I can't really explain what changed.
"That rabbit is dynamite!!" ( dynamite invented about 1300 years later)
I think as I got older, I realized this is escapism at its best and those guys just play off of each other so well.

You are entitled to your opinion. Afterall, isn't that what these boards are for? Cheers :)

[–] dilandjr 10 years ago

I eventually will hive it another chance. I did enjoy the chemistry between the guys. You could tell the energy on set just bounced off each other. I was very disappointed with my first viewing of 2001 A Space Odyssey when I first saw it 4 years ago, after almost half a decade I'm about ready to give it another chance. I'll eventually get around to this again. I'm glad I wasn't the only one who was let down after a first watch with this.

[–] franzkabuki 10 years ago

Poorly made? It's obviously crafted on a tiny budget, so there's inevitably this hands-on feel to it as pythons were forced to get creative with what they had. Often they turned it around and made it actually work for them. And it's also true they were very much beginners when it comes to making a feature-length motion pictures - they were basically learning the stuff as they went along, hence the amateurish crudeness permeating the picture (in a way, it isn't indeed much different from something you and your buddies could make... minus the hilarity and creativity, one has to assume). However, this crudeness also ends up contributing to the insane unpredictability of it all.

But Austin Powers? Tried watching the first one, but the Myers guy overcooks his antics so moronically that I got totally fed up with that sh-t very fast and turned the thing off after some 20 minutes. It's unwatchable.

"facts are stupid things" - Ronald Reagan

[–] PreachCaleb 10 years ago

Its not better than 12 Years a Slave, or Drive, or The Hunt.

I had no idea those movies were comedies.

The Austin Powers trilogy is not exactly the zenith of comedy.

Straightedge means I'm better than you.

[–] spookyrat1 10 years ago

... but me and my buddies could make a film like that.

Give it a go then, because that's what they essentially did. They got together with a collective idea, a small budget and not a lot of film-making experience and this film resulted, which continues to resonate with audiences some 40 years later. 🐭

[–] Kruleworld 10 years ago

I put it down to the differences between British and USA comedy. British humour tends to be more subtle and very "wordy". The scene with the Knights of Ni i found very tedious, because they babble on incessantly, yet it's considered the funniest scene by many fans.

Personally, my favourite scene is the Bridge-keeper's riddles.

...
Gimli: Youll find more cheer in a graveyard.

[–] spookyrat1 10 years ago

I'm kind of split between Brave Sir Robin and his wandering minstrels and the trial of the witch.🐭

[–] cinesylph 10 years ago

Ok, I'll bite! Humor, of course, is not something that can be exactly defined (unless, of course, you think, "Comedy = Tragedy + Time" is an apt definition... but that's another film), but I'll take a stab at expressing what I think makes Monty Python's work, including The Holy Grail, so enduringly popular. MP's genius, I would claim, lies largely in the intelligence behind the silliness. It is precisely the irreverence with which they spoof actual historical events, tragedies and figures that makes it so funny, at least to me.
Monty Python are a highly educated lot and their films and skits often (usually) highlight hypocricies within society and poke fun at themes that are generally treated with great seriousness (history, religion, philosophy, sex, etc.) and they do it with wit and a hearty dose of absurdity.
By pointing out the absurdity of so much of what we take so seriously, they (and we) are ultimately laughing at ourselves, which I think is the truest form of humor.