plot
King Arthur (Graham Chapman) sets off with his trusty
servant Patsy (Terry Gilliam) on a mission from God (Chapman) to
search for the Holy Grail. He is joined on his quest by a
strange group of knights (John Cleese, Michael Palin,
Eric Idle, Terry Jones) as they combat crazed French men,
the Black Knight, The Knights of Ni, the beast of Arrgh,
witches and more. A surreal swipe at Arthurian legend.
dvd review
story
One of the greatest films ever made, infinately superior
to the much talked about Life of Brian, and
highlighting the skills of one of Britain's most famous
comedy exports. Its probably the most bizarre, twisted
and side-splittingly funny film you're likely to come
across. Timeless.
The Python's, in their first solo picture (And Now For
Something Completely Different was spearheaded
by the tv crew, not the Python's themselves) blend
political satire, surreal visuals, drag, and general
insanity, as well as some very critical responses to film
itself, breaking the mould and pushing all the boundaries.
The film is excellent.
Terrys Jones and Gilliam share the first time directing
credit, and sustain the humour and creativety throughout.
There is no indication of this being a first time job,
with the overall product being highly polished and
accomplished.
With a budget of just over £200,000 (provided by the
likes of Pink Floyd and Led Zepplin), full use is made of
the Scottish locations. One is easily sucked into this
world where horses are coconut shells, and the present
day can exist in the anachronistic 932 AD.
Despite the lack of film experience by the directors and
cast, and Chapman's battle with alcoholism, the team
manage to produce an enthralling feature, and are
probably at their collective creative height.
Whilst the relatively slow pace actually seems fast (thanks
largely to wordy humour) and slows down a little more in
the last half hour, Gilliam's animations provide a
welcome aside and help to push the story along, and
ensure repeated viewings are welcome (I've watched this
about four times in the last week and am still loving it,
but then I alwasy did).
That Columbia Tristar have put such great effort into the
double dvd package lifts the spirits, and we can only
hope that Life of Brian and Meaning of
Life get similar treatments soon.
If you've never seen it, why not?? Though many don't
enjopy Python, finding it dated, Holy Grail remains as
fresh and as inventive as the day it was filmed. I can't
recommend it highly enough. And that was without this
special edition dvd...
transfer
The transfer is the best of this film I have ever seen.
The image is in vibrant colour, incredibly sharp and very
clear. The transfer has been taken from the orignal
camera negative and is presented in an anamorphic 1.85:1
widescreen which seems totally appropriate.
The sound is also very clear, and we are given two
options. Either a standard two channel stereo surround,
or a full-on Dolby Digital 5.1 track (as used on the
recent US theatrical re-release), which although may
irritate purists who would prefer the original mono, does
give it a fresher sound, and will ensure that those with
home cineam set-ups have a little something else to play
with.
Bringing the sound and picture up to date is most welcome,
and gives the film a new appearance. The songs have been
remixed in stereo and new atmospheric sounds have been
introduced asa well. They aren't too distracting and
enhance the ambiance well.
The transfer also includes the 24 seconds
of footage from the Castle Anthrax sequence which the
directors had originally cut just before the release of
the film. In previous video releases this had included a
very noticable drop in picture and sound quality, and
could be very distracting. Digital enhancing has ensured
a near seemless insertion into the existing film. The
picture is of the same standard as the rest of the camera
negative, with only two very slight jumps in evidence.
The sound drops ever so slightly in quality, but overall
the insertion is well worth it.
Design
Thanks largely to the use of Terry Gilliam's
animation designs, this package more than holds its own
in the design front. Firstly, the packaging is bright and
attractive, following the designs used for last year's US
re-release. Terribly Gilliam none-the-less.
The layout of the two discs is most enjoyable. Whilst
fairly easy to navigate, including a number of sub-menus,
each includes animation sequences based on Gilliam's
original cartoons. Just sitting waiting for the sequences
to play out (complete with "very loud surround sound")
ensures that this is one of those rare dvds where the
animated menus are actually a special feature in
themselves. There's a good fifteen minutes worth of
sitting watching and listening these alone.
 extras
Where do I begin?? There are more extras here than you
can shake a stick at. I'll go through the list as best as
possible:-
Animated Menus ~ based on Terry
Gilliam's original animations. Super, highly enjoyable,
and just the right thing to get into the film. Plenty of
these on bnoth discs. These are actually much better in
anamorphic than the standard 4:3. Unless you have the
anamophic set on, you actually loose out on information.
That is unusual isn't it?!
Disc 1:-
Scene Selection ~ I still don't
think these count as extras, but at least here, you get
to see some moving pictures and sound for each of the
scenes, as well as a silly king in the grail at the foot
of the pages.
Subtitles ~ For those who don't
like the film there are optional subtitles from Henry IV,
Part II (adapted from the Shakespeare). A
typically Python gesture and rather fun reading these
whilst watching the pic.
There are standard English subtitles for those who enjoy
that kind of thing.
More interesting is the actual SCREENPLAY subtitles.
Includes full stage directions. These occasionally fill
the screen over the picture. There's some difference
between this and what happens onscreen, and no doubt much
editing has had to be done to get it to fit. All rather
geeky and fun though.
Follow the Killer Rabbit ~ reminds me of the
"Follow the Hat" pieces from the Avengers dvds. When the
white rabbit comes up on screen, you can access a range
of Terry Gilliam animation sketches or the special
accountants version - rather tongue in cheek piece
detailing costs of certain scenes. My only quibble here
is that some of the sketches are a little hard to see,
and in all cases the pieces move on a little too quickly
to have a good look at.
Commentaries ~ There are two
full-length commentaries. The first, with director's
Gilliam and Jones is probably the best. They are
courteous to each othere, and give a fair amount of
criticism of their own work. This is credited to the
Criterion Collection - so presumably was previously
available on laserdisc.
The second, with Palin, Idle and Cleese is much more
performance driven. Palin heads most of it, dominating
with little asides about the film. From the laughing
going on, it is clear that each of the Python's is
enjoying the film all over again. Cleese sounds a little
off, and Idle provides some of the best constructed
comments. From the credits on the disc it is clear that
these three did not record their commentary together, so
it plays rather well considering, with no comments over
others, though occasionally you do get the three laughing
while each of the others talks. In the Palin segments
especially, one can hear that he is watching a few
seconds ahead of the viewer for the most. Obviously this
is for timing reasons. Well produced though all the same.
Special Feature for the Hard
of Hearing ~ I'm not even going to comment on
that one, but its very silly, and reminds me of all the
Python cd-rom games of the 1990's ;)
DISC 2:-
As
is customary these days the bulk of the special features
are on the second disc. The animations continue, but what
else??
Singalong ~ Three very silly
singalongs (songs from the film, with subtitles to go
with them - a little bouncing ball above the words is
however not there... get it right next time;). The
Knights of the Round Table, Sir Robin and Monks
Chant are all provided. Sadly Holy Grail
was not big on musical numbers. Meaning of Life
is.
The Quest for the Holy Grail
Locations ~ A 47 minute documentary shot last
year (2001) with Palin and Jones wandering around the
Scottish locations for the film. Its terriblky insightful,
and one really does begin to appreciate the work that
went into the film. The low budget and the distinct
clever redressing of the same castle. Jones is off in his
own little world, reliving the orignal film, and Palin
makes lots of cheeky quips behind his back. Add to that,
the anamorphic 16x9 widescreen, and one is very happy.
Coconuts ~ A very silly new
sketch with Michael Palin of 3 minutes length, informing
the viewer on the various uses of coconuts. Its a joke
that almost works - let down only by the use of colour,
and lack of adition of film grain etc.
Japenese Version ~ Nearly nine
minutes of the film in Japenese (Castle Lombard and
Knights of Ni), with subtitles translated back into
English from the Japenese. Most enlightening... the
Japenese seem to miss a lot of the humour as is evident
from the translation. Still, the knights still say "Ni"...
BBC Film Night ~ A 17 minute
location report first broadcast in December 1974, Its
fullscreen, but the source is well-transferred. There are
a few jumps where the film has been spliced over the
years, but its great archive material, and frequently
more insightful than the commentary. The Pythons are seen
avoiding questions, being shy and enthusiastic about the
film.
Old Rubbish / Artefacts /
Photos / Unused Ideas ~ An eclectic
selection of poster stills, reviews (one of which is read
by Terry Jones), and well over 50 photographs, most of
which I'm guessing are previously unpublished. Many
behind the scenes pieces. And loads of Terry G's original
sketches. Like I said, more than you can shake a stick at.
More please...
Theatrical Trailers Two trailers are
included on the disc.
The
Original UK Trailer is in fullscreen and around 3
minutes long. Silly and subversive, including a few
favourite characters from the tv series before ending up
narrated by Burt Kwouk. Allusions to classical filmmakers
including Eisentein and Bergman abound.
The
US Re-release Trailer follows the original trailer,
before switching to a new all-singing dancing remastered
version. Theres an extra 20 seconds on this one.
Interactive Cast Directory ~ A little like
glancing through Spotlight. Each of the cast is
listed with pictures of each of their characters. A not-too
impressive feature but at least settles the question
about who played who...
Lego Knights ~ (duration approx
1min 50) Singularly the greatest special feature I have
ever seen. Monty Python and the Holy Grail in Lego!!
Utilising a Lego studio kit and a cast of Lego men, the
"Knights of the Round Table" sequence is re-enacted
in Lego. I laughed out loud - a lot. Its shot in
widescreen, but non-anamorphic. I'll happily fork out
money to see the whole film shot like this ;)
Location Recce ~ Billed as "how
the director's recce used up the budget!" - its
another brief new sketch, with Gilliam and Jones. Very
short and very silly (2 mins 15). Think Blair Witch, then add the
Terrys' commentary. I would like to see more new material
from the Python's in future. Although without Chapman
there can never be more Python, it is refreshing, and
appropriate.
Weblinks ~ Well seemingly
the only dvd-rom feature is the link to Pythonline.com.
But an extra feature nonetheless (even if it only clicks
you through to a website)
SUMMARY
A very promising start to the re-release of many of the
Python films. Given the special edition treatment for
such a low-budget and minor British feature is very
exciting. With the wealth of material for this film, we
can only hope that the later ones get at least the same
treatment. More new material would be good for future
titles, and unusued/deleted scenes where available. Other
than that my only complaint here, was that the King Brian
the Wilde scene which remained unproduced until animated
for the 1996 computer game Monty Python and the Quest
for the Holy Grail, could not have been revoiced or
reanimated and included here.
Otherwise an excellent double disc set
that I have no qualms about recommending to the entire
human population. Buy it now -wherever you are.
Ni.
RJES
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