Monty Python and the Holy Grail (40th Anniversary Limited Edition Gift Set) [Blu-ray]

First of all, I've primarily written this review to help anyone who's never seen Monty Python before, and is curious to know what this film is like before they buy the DVD. After all, if you've already seen it, then you don't need me or anyone else to tell you how hilarious it is. (Or indeed, how much you dislike it if it simply wasn't your cup of tea.)In fact, as my title states, I believe that this film was Monty Python's finest hour.Their contractual obligation to fill thirty minutes every week required the Pythons to pad out the original TV series.'And Now For Something Completely Different,' was a collection of their sketches.'The Life of Brian' was an excellent film with some 'Monty Python' comedy thrown in. Whilst sadly, 'The Meaning of Life' was the final death knell for the team; each member/pair effectively writing their own material before splitting off to pursue their own careers.In the midst of this however, 'Monty Python and the Holy Grail' was 90 minutes of pure, unadulterated Python comedy; twisted, anarchic and wonderfully insane. And rather than struggling to pick out a few lines and then quoting them out of context, I think that the opening scene of the film is the best example of what you're in for:(NB: Because they couldn't afford to rent horses during the filming, King Arthur is pretending to ride a horse whilst his servant jogs along behind him banging two halves of a coconut together.)KING ARTHUR: Whoa there! [clop clop clop]SOLDIER #1: Halt! Who goes there?ARTHUR: It is I, Arthur, son of Uther Pendragon, from the castle of Camelot. King of the Britons, defeater of the Saxons, Sovereign of all England!SOLDIER #1: Pull the other one!ARTHUR: I am, and this is my trusty servant Patsy. We have ridden the length and breadth of the land in search of knights who will join me in my court at Camelot. I must speak with your lord and master.SOLDIER #1: What? Ridden on a horse?ARTHUR: Yes!SOLDIER #1: You're using coconuts!ARTHUR: What?SOLDIER #1: You've got two empty halves of coconut and you're bangin' 'em together.ARTHUR: So? We have ridden since the snows of winter covered this land, through the kingdom of Mercia, through--SOLDIER #1: Where'd you get the coconuts?ARTHUR: We found them.SOLDIER #1: Found them? In Mercia? The coconut's tropical!ARTHUR: What do you mean?SOLDIER #1: Well, this is a temperate zone.ARTHUR: The swallow may fly south with the sun or the house martin or the plover may seek warmer climes in winter, yet these are not strangers to our land?SOLDIER #1: Are you suggesting coconuts migrate?ARTHUR: Not at all. They could be carried.SOLDIER #1: What? A swallow carrying a coconut?ARTHUR: It could grip it by the husk!SOLDIER #1: It's not a question of where he grips it! It's a simple question of weight ratios! A five ounce bird could not carry a one pound coconut.ARTHUR: Well, it doesn't matter. Will you go and tell your master that Arthur from the Court of Camelot is here?SOLDIER #1: Listen. In order to maintain air-speed velocity, a swallow needs to beat its wings forty-three times every second, right?ARTHUR: Please!SOLDIER #1: Am I right?ARTHUR: I'm not interested!SOLDIER #2: It could be carried by an African swallow!SOLDIER #1: Oh, yeah, an African swallow maybe, but not a European swallow. That's my point.SOLDIER #2: Oh, yeah, I agree with that.ARTHUR: Will you ask your master if he wants to join my court at Camelot?!SOLDIER #1: But then of course a-- African swallows are non-migratory.SOLDIER #2: Oh, yeah.SOLDIER #1: So, they couldn't bring a coconut back anyway. [clop clop clop]SOLDIER #2: Wait a minute! Supposing two swallows carried it together?SOLDIER #1: No, they'd have to have it on a line.SOLDIER #2: Well, simple! They'd just use a strand of creeper!SOLDIER #1: What, held under the dorsal guiding feathers?SOLDIER #2: Well, why not?Of course, even posting the entire script wouldn't help you to judge how you'd feel about the film itself. So if indeed you've never seen any Python comedy before, I'd suggest that you only buy this DVD if you're willing to dive straight in.For example, my girlfriend loves each and every scene, but can't watch the whole film from beginning to end because it's simply too much for her to bare. And when I offered to show it to my sister for the second time, she yelled "But I've already seen it!"At the end of the day then, if you're feeling uncertain about whether you'd enjoy Monty Python or not, I would recommend buying 'And Now For Something Completely Different' first, as it's a wonderful introduction to the Television series and to Monty Python comedy in general.This way, you can decide if you want to see more without enduring a baptism of fire :-)

I've always felt sorry for those who are unable to appreciate Pythonesque humour. They say it's so silly and even childish; but that's why I like it so much. It's so true to how life actually is and, above all, it teaches us how to laugh at ourselves as it exposes the crankery within ostensibly serious beliefs. Monty Python came around at just about the right time and one wonders if they could get away with it in these days of increased religious sensitivity. I always think that what Monty Python is telling us is that, if it's not worth laughing at, it's not worth anything. For those of us who believe in some kind of deity, and many of us don't, then surely such a deity would have a sense of humour and be able to laugh at him/her/itself? What I do know is that, if everything were to be Monty Pythonised it would spell the end of strife and religious bigotry.Yes, it is all very silly like when grown men pretend to ride horses, which are not there; but I used to do that. It was more fun than playing with a computer. Monty Python is all about us doing what we really like to do and behaving as we truly want to and not allowing ourselves to be stereotyped into into behaving after certain styles and fashions. It takes the mickey out of pomposity and teaches us to laugh at ourselves. And, of course, the Monty Python team made a lot of money out of doing just that, which is a reminder of how much money is made out of many people by fooling them into smoking, drinking, gambling, drug taking and wasting money by taking holidays in all the wrong places. This is all daft and made worse by religious daftery. (Is that a word?) Python teaches us to laugh at ourselves and realise how silly everything really is. If we all did that there wouldn't be any more wars or religious bigotry. Stars? Of course it's worth five stars, although 'The Life of Brian' is worth five even brighter stars.

This is about the third time that i've purchased this film ie. Video and then Dvd and now Blu ray. Whilst the Dvd was given more value for money with a wealth of extras this Blu ray mearly keeps them and adds about 15 mins of outtakes and lost animation which plays twice once with commentary and once without. There is also a pointless second screen experience which requires an ipad and is really not worth the effort of setting it up. The best thing about the Blu ray is the picture. A vast improvement on the Dvd and somewhat of a surprise considering the age of the print.The sound also appears to of been improved from the previous Dvd. Im not saying either is perfect just better than what came before.For anyone considering buying the Blu ray I would strongly urge you to. If its still around the £7 mark its well worth it and better to spend that little extra for the improved picture over the Dvd. Its also all on one disc so makes it easy to watch some of the extra features like the educational film How to use your coconuts or Monty Python and the Holy Grail in Lego. All the extra features from the Dvd are on the disc including the subtitles for people who dont like the film even though it is not listed on the Blu ray box.I'm not going to review the film itself. That fact that this is the third time I have purchased it should give some indication of what I think of it.