Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Day 1

• 1927 film by UK comedy troupe “Monty Python’s Flying Circus”

  • Expanded versions adds visit to dentist scene to confuse audience

  • Film became basis for their 2005 live musical comedy Spamalot

• Film’s presentation of King Arthur, Round Table Knights, and Grail quest expands on earlier satirical treatments of Arthurian narratives by authors such as Mark Twain and T.H. White

  • Film challenges those who treat Arthurian tales as history or models of ideal behavior

  • Also mocks use of Arthurian narratives in political propaganda and advertising

• Film creates parody of earlier Arthurian narratives by reversing or exaggerating traditional elements: for example, Arthur’s true identity is unknown after, rather than before becoming king

• Film’s satire similar to many forms of protest and challenges to authority found in 1970s social and political movements about civil rights, educational reforms, or environmental issues

• Film’s satire challenges many traditions

• Satirical methodology of film established by opening credits, which are given unusual prominence and include several kinds of jokes

• Credits first set up visual conflict between conventional content and “subversive” subtitles

  • English credits given fake Swedish subtitles

  • Subtitles turn into fake English advertising for vacations in Sweden

  • Subtitles the challenge “real” credits, creating humor and chaos

  • Subtitles also create illusion of dialogue with audience

• Official credits also add unconventional mateiera

  • Statement by Richard Nixon about fictional content

  • Animals put in human roles

  • Production staff needed for animals not even in film

• Music behind credits also evokes different film “genres”

• Repeated re-starts in credits set up pattern of ‘reversionary’ mode that continues throughout rest of film

• Film seems to present Arthur’s life as history by giving date for action (932 A.D.) and adding modern historians commentary

• But film then creates conflicts with history

• Even characters within film point out aspects of narrative as superficial artistic representations

  • Comments on knights pretending to ride horses

    • Hoof sound effects and pretend galloping parody medieval definition of knight as horsed warrior

  • Comments on “Camelot” as performance

• Characters in film also learn art can hide truth:

  • “Brave Sir Robin” in song is really ‘chicken’

  • “Grail” seen by Galahad is chalice-shaped beacon to lure men

• Details in film raise questions Arthur’s self-presentation as King of Britons, defeater of Saxons, and sovereign of all England

  • “England” cannot exist without Saxons having conquered Britons

  • Film sets story during time of Saxon rule of England, so his claims are contradictory

  • Peasants Arthur meets reject him as king, and French knights have captures castles in England, so he is not sovereign of all England

• Film associates Arthur with Celtic sun god through sun heraldic symbol, but portrays his kingdom as wasteland (bring out your dead)

  • Yet Arthur does not seem to be concerned about wasteland or lack of queen, and neither Arthur nor RT knights find Grail for spiritual or physical healing

• Film uses many methods to question truth of legend of King Arthur, RT knights, and the grail

• Arthur attacks peasant who challenges his claim to be king

• Truth of Arthur’s words made suspect right from start when castle guard challenges Arthur’s claim to have ridden throughout England

  • Like guard, audience sees “knights” only pretend to ride

  • Only exception is knight who brutally murders modern historian while riding through scene

• Film depicts King Arthur and RT knights as bad leaders

  • Either senselessly violet, foolish, or cowardly

  • “Run Away” becomes frequent saying

• Film suggests knights and common people see world very differently, perhaps because of privileges claimed by ruling class

  • Knights shown to be clean, well-fed, and completely oblivious to injustice, poverty, and suffering around them

  • Example of difference in perspectives shown in peasants response to Arthurs claim to be king because he receives Excalibur form Lady of Lale

  • Difference also shown in Lancelot’s killing people at wedding because it is his “idiom”

• Film presents King Arthur and RT knights as not really having more knowledge, wisdom, vorture, or courage than people they claim they rightfully rule

  • Low-level soldiers know more about swallows and coconuts than Arthur

  • Arthur later claims kings need to know about such things

  • Arthur and RT knights are afraid of word “ni’ when they first hear it in the forest

  • Then Arthur and RT knights use words themselves to terrorize peasants

• Film seems to undercut views held by ‘nobility’ and support views held by people with less power

• Audience sees poverty of peasants, as well as coconuts

• Comic view of Arthur and knights lead to serious questions

  • Funny mutilation of Black Knight later countered by brutal murder of modern historian by knight

• Even Arthur rejects when Arthurian legends have become in popular culture when he decides not to go to Camelot

• Film parodies all genres of Arthurian literature

• Celtic myth

  • Arthur has sun symbol, but with face and mustache

  • Tim the Enchanter only destroys things with his ‘magic’ flame thrower

• Heroic narrative (feudal ideal of knighthood)

  • Foes of King Arthur and RT knights are attack rabbit, Knights who say ‘Ni’ and bridge keeper who asks silly questions (not Saxons or Romans)

  • Arthur and RT knights either run away from combat or are so obsessed with combat they kill innocent people or want to keep fighting even when they have lost all four limbs

  • Arthur and RT knights fail at “Trojan Rabbit” strategy (opposite of Greek heroes in epic poem Iliad)

• Romance narrative

  • Lancelot’s attempt to rescue “Damsel in distress” actually responds to prince who wants to be singer and leads to killing unarmed people at wedding

• Grail quest narratives

  • French knights claim they already have Grail

  • Galahad mistakes Castle Anthrax for Grail Castle (place for restoration of health becomes place of disease)

  • Galahad’s attempt to find Grail and rescue women becomes occasion for luring him into erotic games

  • Galahad succumbs to seduction by women and needs to be rescued by Lancelot

  • Galahad fails Grail quest when he can’t give correct answer to question by keeper of Bridge of Death

• Ballads about chivalric adventures

  • Sir Robin’s heraldic symbol is chicken, and he tells singer of balls of brave sir robin to stop when their song describes the dangers he should face

• Musical theatre versions of stories about King Arthur

  • Song and dance about Camelot parodies award-winning broadway musical Camelot

  • Musical versions of Arthurians narratives also parodied by Prince Herbert’s repeated desire to sing and his father’s repeated attempts to stop him

• Hollywood film versions of Arthurian tales

  • Book of the Film list of RT knights includes baby named “Sir Not-appearing-in-this-film”, but not traditionally important knights like Kay or Percival (Ector, Bors, and Gawain are named when killed by Rabbit, but not named earlier or given any lines)

• Film suggests traditional films depicting Arthurian legends are artificial and anachronistic

  • Reference to Camelot being a model parodies use of unrealistic film sets for medieval castles

  • Use of coconuts for sound of horses

  • Black Knight’s desire to fight after loss of limbs parodies action heroes in films who keep fighting

  • Military music in film highlights lack of any military success RT knights and Arthur have

  • Film’s array of soldiers for ‘ultimate battle’ parodies epic battle scenes in films

  • Repeating scenes in Lancelot’s approach to Swamp Castle parodies film creation of suspense

• Film also parodies depictions of King Arthur as historical figure

• Film uses historical anachronisms (different eras put together)

• Expert commentary by modern historian is superficial compared to political theory presented by peasants

• Historians depiction of acts by King Arthur and knights as “noble” conflicts with what audiences sees in film

  • Arthur has trouble finding knights to join RT

  • Trojan Rabbit scheme fails to get Arthur into castle

  • Trial of witch parodies historical persecutions of those who did not conform to social norms

• Medieval knights murder of modern historian may be symbolic of conflict between actual medieval history and historians actual account of Arthur

• Through satire, film explores relationship of power to justice

• Film depicts many use of power as arbitrary and unjust

  • People have inconvenient family members killed

  • Tim the Enchanter uses magic in ways that reflect weapons used in 20th C. Warfare, but he does it just to impress his audience

  • Lancelot’s rescue of lady involves murders of many unnamed people

  • Arthur physically assaults ‘rebellious’ peasant

  • Unexplained murder of historian by only truly mounted knight comes as dramatic surprise

• Several episodes of film raises questions about relationship of military power, physical power, and religious authority

• Clergy give Arthur instructions from Book of Armaments to use Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch against Rabbit of Caerbannog

• Latin chant by friars asks Christ to give people rest

• God depicted as impatient with Arthur’s apologies and shows of humility

• Film raises questions about of war and religious faith

  • War between Roman Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland

• Very different from depiction of Christian faith as source of heroism in HKB

• Blurring of boundaries between levels of narration shows how different forms of Arthurian narrative have ‘blurred” picture of King Arthur

• Use of live-action, animation, narration, and ‘book of the film’ keeps viewers moving from one level of story to another

• Boundary between creator and creation also blurred when deaths of historian and animator do not end film

• Arrest of Arthur, Bedevere, and Lancelot by modern police collapses boundaries between past and present and different forms of power

• Does film offer conclusion?

  • Police stop quest for Grail and filming of action

  • Film ends without traditional indicators of closure

    • Replaced by blank screen and music loop that play with audience expectations for traditional conclusion of film

  • Audience left to wonder if Arthur and RT knights could ever be ‘true’