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So, the peasants arguing with King Arthur is a satire with a real basis. You see, the etymology of "Communism" derives from the resource-sharing practices of serfs ("commonfolk") during the Middle Ages. A Lord would allow his commoners to live off the surplus production of the land owed to him, and they chose to distribute their resources similarly to what is advocated by Marxist Communists. The joke is that the peasants here are using modern Communist discourse to discuss social norms that are literally 1+ millennia old.
For budget reasons , only one real horse in one scene , with horses you need to hire people to look after those horses , you also need to train actors to ride . Also end scene with lot of extras as troops , one days work to cut cost down . You can see it later in 1983 , Rowan Atkinson , Black Adder TV series , season 1 , real horses , real outdoor scenes and BBC heads were furious about how much it cost , so rest 3 seasons are filmed indoor studio sets .
I didn't find it very funny when I was younger (I remember being a little bored for some of it), but at some point it clicked for me and I now find it hilarious.
@@Will-nn6ux I didn't see it until after I graduated High School. Friends of mine in band would quote it all the time after they watched it, but I didn't see it until a few years after. I was dying of laughter the first time I saw it.
Weirdly, a certain amount of this film is actually a pretty good parody of medieval literature. There's a bit in The Morte D'Arthur where Sir Gareth keeps having to chop a baddy's head off, and his girlfriend's sister keeps sticking it back on again and she won't say what her motive for doing so is. Really not so different to The Black Knight and his flesh wounds...
For a while, that was the E-mail sound on my phone, complete with the arrow sound effect. I even went through the trouble of cleaning up the background noise.
I've seen plenty of millenials react to Monty Python and love it, so it's not a generational thing. Mary just doesn't get absurdist humour, it was painful watching her trying to reason why they didn't just ride a real horse, completely missing the joke. But it would be a boring planet if everyone liked the same things. So now she's seen it, she realizes that type of humour isn't for her, which is fine. Each to their own, variety is the spice of life, and other cliches.
I think it's just one of those things were everyone lines up with certain comedy or not. I grew up with a lot of people questioning why I enjoyed this movie, and even remember a period where people who enjoyed it were lumped together as idiots. It's just a very particular brand of humor that lands or it doesn't, and that's okay.
@@TheGoIsWin21 And that's why Monty Python fans have a tribe. We have an unspoken understanding of each others' tastes and sensibility. I'm friends with all kinds of people, but the ones that get Python understand me better than anybody else.
@@ugsopswhat you are saying is in agreement though. OP commented that other millennials did enjoy it and this type of humour might not be Mary’s cup of tea.
@@MaryCherryOfficial despite you not getting this move, I think you'll love 'Life of Brian'. Check out their tv show. Watch a few of their sketches. Monty Python is simply about being silly, and nothing more than that. Once you get their humor, you just might love watching this movie. Probably not, but I'm trying my best here 😛😛🤪🤪🙂🙂😎😎
Monty Python doesn't seem to be your type of humor. That said, you had me laughing more than I usually do when watching this, with your deadpan reactions and by taking it more seriously than it should be taken. So thank you for that!
One of the most consistently hilarious comedies ever made. It's insane how almost supernaturally talented every member of Monty Python was and still is.
This movie is super-meta. I remember watching it for the first time in high school. A short while after, I showed it to my sister and she cracked up as much as I did.
Rule #1: Never take Monty Python seriously. Rule #2: When taking Monty Python seriously, see rule #1. Rule #3: Except on alternate Tuesdays, when the sun is shining and there is a killer rabbit in Hollywood.
Just laughing so hard at Mary NOT laughing at most of the jokes, reminds me of the Family Guy where Meg said "I'm a girl I dont even like the good Monty Python stuff'. She was so sure the witch wasnt going to weigh the same as a duck LOL
As for the witch weighing the same as a duck - I don't think Mary got the metaphoric slam on society that humanity's scientific tools just might be as inaccurate as our process of logical thinking.
@@harryhill8543 But she also didn't weigh as much as the duck, when they were both removed, you see the duck's cage hanging lower, so it was rigged from the start anyway.
can pretty much guarantee every comedic actor/actress/writer/director etc. that you enjoy are either massive fans and inspired by the Pythons or the people who they do were. the unpredictability and sophistication is what makes their movies, and sketch TV series, comedy pure genius.
I enjoyed that you commented on the accents of the French Guard and Tim, and I'm not sure you noticed that they were both the same actor. John Cleese is a comedic legend!
lol No, this film isn't dated (i first watched it in the 90s, when it was 20 years old, and i still loved it)....Monty Python get funnier the more times you watch them (and embrace their silly comical style).
No part of any Monty Python media should be taken seriously. All of it is just silliness and jokes. You wouldn't be into it if you have a serious or a literal personality
I think you’re the first person I’ve seen watch this movie with this level of seriousness 😂 Like I’ve never seen anyone show so much compassion for the deaths, any even! Except sometimes for the guy who was definitely dead and not fooling anyone. This definitely gets better with rewatches, especially keeping in mind it’s absurdist comedy. Some jokes I didn’t find that funny and also thought dragged when I first watched it are hilarious now.
As a geriatric millennial everyone was still swapping quotes from this when I was at uni. It took me watching their TV series to really appreciate what they were doing in this film. Even then, it's a big ask to have people come to a film and already be primed for that exact style of humour. I think giving the The Meaning Of Life would be well worth it because it really gives you everything you need to enjoy the comedy. This one really needs you to be a fan to get all the wink-and-nudge stuff on a first viewing
I disagree. This movie works fine as a Monty Python introduction. The intro credits spell it out distinctly in a very blunt manner that this film is a social satire. Either the audience is in on the joke, or they are the butt of the joke.
This is one of the most "dead from the neck up" reactions I think I've ever seen. It's actually incredible. But also pretty much what I expected from her tbh.
Audiences at the time of production had a better knowledge of the period in history ir was parodying Bring out your dead, monks self-flagellating etc etc
Oh come on, audiences even now have a better understanding of medieval period. My 14 year old nephew knows about the self flagellation, the plagues, etc. I think it's specifically the girl who is unaware here.
Someone else once pointed out that at the end, the cops have the wrong people, because the knight that killed the historian actually had a real horse - the only one in the movie
The ending scene at the end was Lancelot getting arrested for the murder of the famous historian. Of course, he was innocent because the real killer was on horseback, and the knights were on foot with coconuts.
Nothing sadder than seeing a real human being not laugh during the black knight scene 😂😂😂 I'm literally dying laughing just thinking about the scene and simultaneously crying on the inside for you
The reason for the coconuts was because several European swallows showed up on set carrying them on strings, due to their migration and the string held underneath their dorsal wings.
I grew up on Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett, Robert Aspirin, etc. You might want to check out some other absurd and abstract humor to gain an appreciation for Monty Python.
"Why does everyone have such an unbearable voice?" Because most of the characters are performed by Python Michael Palin who is very good at what he does. Best. Mike.
4:18 It's called self-flagellation where monks would wander cities and villages, whipping their own backs bloody to appease God so he would take the Plague from them, so yes, they thought very much this was what God wanted from them. And since mixing open wounds with an airborn disease isn't very bright, Monty Python thought this was a more appropriate portrayal of that practice.
In my opinion, this is one of the greatest comedies in cinematic history. 🤣🤣🤣 But like my Grandpa always used to say: "Sonny, if everybody liked the same things, everybody'd be after yer Grandma".😉
Comic con 2017, two mates were dressed up as characters, one as sir Robin, the other as the lead minstrel Waiting in a line someone recognised the costumes and made a commotion about it, resulting in some calling “three cheers for sir Robin”, the cosplayer went into the historical painting “noble hero” pose, someone then called for cheers for sir robins minstrel…everything calmed down, only for me to then say loud and clear - “and there was much rejoicing” EVERYONE burst out laughing…ahh, fond memories
I remember watching this being the only kid with some French and I laughed when I heard “Fetchez la vache” and I laughed too early. Everyone else had to wait to see the flying cow to get it. 😂
As an American, dry brit humor has always been my favorite. It just hits me a certain way. This movie especially. I grew up watching Absolutely Fabulous with my mum, and i was a HP fan, so that likely has something to do with it. 😂
My wife and I took her father to this movie in 1976. He did not get it and sat saying, "What the he'll is this?" We saw the stage play and the black Knight did not fall after the legs were cut off.
"You'd be a lot safer if you were on a horse..." Doubtful! Just look how scared poor Patsy is 😱 The servants/horses have some great little moments and reaction shots, likely because Terry Gilliam, co-director, plays Patsy (and the animator, and the old man from scene 24). For a Python adjacent movie directed by Terry Jones - Erik The Viking
I was lucky enough to see these guys live (5 down 1 to go tour). Each are legends of comedy. If you want to fully understand their humour however you are best watching the original TV show Monty Python's Flying Circus.
Yeah, was a fantastic thing to go and see at the O2. Went about halfway through the run and again on the last night. Was introduced to Python by my Dad's LP's and tapes. Hearing Live at Drury Lane at age 12 taught me some fun things. 🤣
The kind of jokes that “drag on” are actually meta in that they are playing with your patience and expectations. That is the point. It is like the DMV sloth scene in Zootopia.
Mary’s the first of many many reactors I’ve seen who doesn’t get this humor. Mary is very literal and that’s why. For fun, Mary, watch one of the other reactions to this movie and see hysterical laughter.
Monty Python humor is on another level that is hard for many to attain. Satire, irony...those are the most difficult humor concepts to "understand" / interpret for laughs. Add in the absurdism, deep political & social commentary, ungodly creative animation and you might find your brain very taxed. The layers of Python humor take a long time to reveal themselves....just watch a season of the TV show. The visual comedy of the Pythons is actually their "lowest" form of comedy and they don't rely on gags with one-line humor payoffs much (many "reaction" viewers might find appeal in quick humor-sugar-buzz humor, but that isn't found here). Just take the scenes with the constitutional peasants as an example. You could spend days examining the depth of those hilarious conversations....and the least funny part is probably the visuals. It's cerebral humor, and that requires a good amount of cerebralism (new word, eh?) to digest. Once you have the acquired Python taste, nothing else will suit your pallet. They were a one of a kind group, the Beatles of comedy (George Harrison's words, as I recall). The Pythons broke the mold for comedy movies with MPATHG, and the 1980's generation was to benefit (absurdism comedies became very popular). The only thing bad about the movie is that I didn't win an Oscar for my performance. Get on with it! KA
I knew you'd feel this way, and this is why I tell the uninitiated to start with Life Of Brian (which is better), not "Holy Grail". Not that I expect you to watch it now! PS: It's not a "nostalgia" thing, it was a cult movie made for fans of the TV series (which was totally random and absurdist). The uneven pacing of the movie is not something that is a matter of aging poorly, it was always there. Some bits were great, some not, and most fans know that going in. "Life Of Brian" is a much more evolved work, has a great beginning, middle and end, brilliant satire on the history of religion (specifically Christianity)....and had a much bigger budget to include camels!
Yup, I do agree that Life of Brian is the best Monty Python movie. I have heard (and this decades ago) that Americans prefer Holy Grail, while the Brits generally preferred Life of Brian
@@edfrancis66 PS: A rereading of your comment made me realize you had said "decades ago", so sorry if that came out overly "harsh"! In general, I think most people think of them as a "set". But for someone who doesn't know the show, I always say start with "Life Of Brian". (I think the subject matter is also a little more familiar and relevant to most people than the Arthurian legends)
I remember the first time watching this laughing so hard and thinking "what the fuck?" the whole time..This movie is so ridiculously epic and I fell in love with Month Python right away..
This is considered by many to be one of the funniest movies ever made, so glad you're reacting to it. I grew up on the BBC show Monty Pythons Flying Circus here in the US So I was already familiar with the cast. Terry Gilliam also did all the animation in the movie and the TV show.
the ending is everyone getting arrested and unsatisfying… it’s a literal cop out. someone on the internet pointed this out and im passing it on. i love this movie. 😂
My favorite part of the film is that EVERYONE eventually just accepts that they aren’t really riding horses. Think of the money that could have been saved on all the Westerns throughout film history. Thanks for reacting to this one, Mary.
Breaking conventions, stereotypes, and expectations is where the humor came from. The humor comes from the often unexpected twists. The Python sketches were a well-known series and very unpredictable. It is certainly a product of the time, and if you don't have all those stereotypes in mind, or didn't grow up with all the things that we experienced, the humor doesn't have the same frame of reference to surprise you. Even for me who loved this as a kid, and I still remember Python fondly for the laughs it gave my friends and I, it doesn't have the same surprise to it as it did back then.
Us English and the French have had a long history of warring, and only became allies in 1904. Seriously, it was considered tradition for English Kings to war with France.
Well English kings had lands in France by inheritance and kings from the what became France took them so obviously there were wars. As for alliance..after Napoleon had been defeated there was normally co-operation. The Crimean war for example, and the UK was anti-Bismarck. But after World War II of course there was de Gaulle and he froze out the UK.
You see it all the time in the movies that when people are stabbed, they always remove the weapon, but ask any trauma doctor, and they'll tell you that anytime you are stabbed or impaled by an object or weapon, DO NOT REMOVE IT! It is providing pressure to the wound and preventing you from bleeding out. Wait until you are in the care of a trauma team.
Did you skip the opening credits? If you did, that could explain your initial confusion. The opening credits really set up the film nicely. If you skipped them, you should go back and watch! Loved the reaction, though. Keep up the good work!
For 1975, this movie was groundbreaking. Add to that the fact that it is made by Brits and they make fun of their own lore. As a 12-year-old I found it absolutely hilarious.
Things they couldn't afford when making this movie: Horses (hence the coconuts) An actual Camelot set piece (hence the model & why they didn't go to Camelot) Enough actors to play all the different roles (hence the outrageous accents) To film a huge ending battle (hence the literal cop out)
I adore this movie, and everything that the Monty Pythion group produced. I'm always interested in how people react to Monty Python. For me, when you come to it cold, being unaware of the legacy of writers and performers, or having never seen their original television comedy sketch show, then the nature of the movies must seem very odd. Their television series completely turned the conventions of comedy upside down, doing away with the traditional punchline ending structure and format and instead connecting seemingly random comedy sketches via Terry Gilliam's extraordinary animations. When you're familiar with how they sought to play with the structure of a 30 min television show, then the way they attempted to play with the conventions of film comedy suddenly makes more sense. The subtitles in the opening credits is a prime example of that, but its surprising how many people just fast forward and miss it. At the end of the day. comedy is a personal thing. If you need for there to be common sense motivation for a group of grown men to be childishly silly, then Monty Python probably isn't for you. I would check out the Life of Brian, though, as I think its the best movie they made.
Fair enough. This style of British humor isn’t for everyone. However this movie was popular enough to spawn a Broadway musical “Spamalot” that still touring. Saw it in Londons West End. They sold killer rabbit slippers during the intermission.
As a huge Monty Python fan, it is understandable that this films humor may not be your cup of tea, while i enjoy Holy Grail, I do see your points, but if you want a real laugh, I'd recommend "Monty Python Life of Brian"
By saying "Your mother was a hampster and your father smelt of Elderberries" the Frenchman is saying Arthur's mother was a slut and his father was a drunk
I saw this film in the theater and loved it. I'm sorry that you didn't but that's how it goes. I would have recommended that you watch some of their television show (Monty Python's Flying Circus) from the early 1970s. You were right about the coconuts being a result of not being able to afford horses. The random ending was also a result of their using up their budget, so they settled for this way for it to end. BTW, the Arthurian legend also ends without them finding the Holy Grail.
I think this film is best viewed as a series of arthurian-themed sketches rather than a contiguous story with continuity and narrative structure. I can see how this being your blind introduction to Python might mean you don't get the humour, especially if you weren't expecting it to be so absurd, but that absurdism is what Monty Python is all about.
To answer your question: No, the film production could not afford horses. And no - horses weren't cheap, quite the opposite. On the extreme end, was the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth around the 17th century. It was not unheard of for a single horse (together with saddle, and bridle) to be sold in Poland for the same money that in France at the time would buy you a castle, and two villages. To put it in perspective a bit further: in 16th c. Poland, a thatcher, or a bricklayer would make 4-5 grams of silver per day. A hussar's horse (I'm talking about the Polish Winged Hussars, not the later light cavalry version from the time of the Napoleonic Wars) could cost as much as 30 kg of silver - the equivalent of 30 cannons, or 1000 matchlock muskets. And those horses had a casualty rate of approx. 30% per battle - the Polish Winged Hussars were literally throwing money at their enemies with reckless abandon. So yes - horses used to be very expensive.
I definitely recommend watching the *Life of Brian*! I think it will nicely cover most of your gripes with this movie. The Holy Grail is much more a series of skits than a movie, whereas the Life of Brian has a much more continuous story and themes. I find the main character much more likeable as well.
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Listen see the movie Life Of Brian by Monty Python. Listen me you gonna just love it. Trust me. Do you agree guys ?
So, the peasants arguing with King Arthur is a satire with a real basis. You see, the etymology of "Communism" derives from the resource-sharing practices of serfs ("commonfolk") during the Middle Ages. A Lord would allow his commoners to live off the surplus production of the land owed to him, and they chose to distribute their resources similarly to what is advocated by Marxist Communists.
The joke is that the peasants here are using modern Communist discourse to discuss social norms that are literally 1+ millennia old.
For budget reasons , only one real horse in one scene , with horses you need to hire people to look after those horses , you also need to train actors to ride .
Also end scene with lot of extras as troops , one days work to cut cost down .
You can see it later in 1983 , Rowan Atkinson , Black Adder TV series , season 1 , real horses , real outdoor scenes and BBC heads were furious about how much it cost , so rest 3 seasons are filmed indoor studio sets .
@@rafailkarampetsos6914 Life of Brian is a much better film, but I still zone out before it finishes usually.
You also have to take into account the considerably higher level of drug intake at the time, which may substantially improve one's appreciation of it.
Monty Python's humor is as much a vibe as anything. You either vibe with it or not. It's not for everyone. :)
Agree, if its you type of humor than it timeless even now. Plenty of humor not a fan of that is very popular but just a matter of preference.
I didn't find it very funny when I was younger (I remember being a little bored for some of it), but at some point it clicked for me and I now find it hilarious.
@@Will-nn6ux I didn't see it until after I graduated High School. Friends of mine in band would quote it all the time after they watched it, but I didn't see it until a few years after. I was dying of laughter the first time I saw it.
A bit of school+ helps too!
Thanks for not being rude about differing opinions cybry 😊 I appreciate that a lot 🎉
So enjoyable watching Mary trying to make sense out of one of the most nonsensical movies ever.
Yeah, she's trying to make sense of something intentionally made to not make sense, and that is comedy in its own right.
Monty Python: 100
Mary: -1
True. You either get or you don't... She didn't.
She went in way too serious
@@wyrmshadow4374 now i'm picturing Ledger's Joker
The reason for the coconuts was simply because the budget couldn't afford to rent horses day after day
And it's also proof that the knight who murdered the historian wasn't with Arthur's group... because he was the only one with a real horse!
@@ZondaFRoadster i'm 33 years old, but now i know
@@ZondaFRoadster Exactly!
LMAO! Thank you!
@@ZondaFRoadster that's hilarious, I never thought of it that way😁
Pure absurdist comedy. These guys are geniuses.
You mean Genii?
Weirdly, a certain amount of this film is actually a pretty good parody of medieval literature. There's a bit in The Morte D'Arthur where Sir Gareth keeps having to chop a baddy's head off, and his girlfriend's sister keeps sticking it back on again and she won't say what her motive for doing so is. Really not so different to The Black Knight and his flesh wounds...
I'm amazed that so few people find the "message for you sir!" bit funny. Cracks me up every time!
Yep, it's up there with "watery tart", "very small rocks", and "I got better" for funniest line of the film.
I love how dutifully he presses that phrase out of his dying lungs lol
Well almost dying...
@@grife3000 Moistened bint is the one that always gets me.
For a while, that was the E-mail sound on my phone, complete with the arrow sound effect. I even went through the trouble of cleaning up the background noise.
@@johnsensebe3153 me too! except it was my aol email sound
I've seen plenty of millenials react to Monty Python and love it, so it's not a generational thing. Mary just doesn't get absurdist humour, it was painful watching her trying to reason why they didn't just ride a real horse, completely missing the joke.
But it would be a boring planet if everyone liked the same things. So now she's seen it, she realizes that type of humour isn't for her, which is fine. Each to their own, variety is the spice of life, and other cliches.
I don't think that is the case. This is the second comedy/satire I've watched and she reacted the same way.
I think it's just one of those things were everyone lines up with certain comedy or not. I grew up with a lot of people questioning why I enjoyed this movie, and even remember a period where people who enjoyed it were lumped together as idiots.
It's just a very particular brand of humor that lands or it doesn't, and that's okay.
true
@@TheGoIsWin21 And that's why Monty Python fans have a tribe. We have an unspoken understanding of each others' tastes and sensibility. I'm friends with all kinds of people, but the ones that get Python understand me better than anybody else.
@@ugsopswhat you are saying is in agreement though. OP commented that other millennials did enjoy it and this type of humour might not be Mary’s cup of tea.
One does not simply expect Python movies to make sense and have a point.😂
This was my introduction to them 🤷🏽♀️
@@MaryCherryOfficial despite you not getting this move, I think you'll love 'Life of Brian'. Check out their tv show. Watch a few of their sketches. Monty Python is simply about being silly, and nothing more than that. Once you get their humor, you just might love watching this movie. Probably not, but I'm trying my best here 😛😛🤪🤪🙂🙂😎😎
@@MaryCherryOfficial As a big fan of yours...I would enjoy you reviewing a blank screen for an hour. 🙂
@manuelrobledo8072 One also does not simply expect the Spanish Inquisition.
The trick to REALLY enjoying this is to rewatch it with friends while not sober.
I would 100% agree
Don’t need to be not-sober, you just have to understand that it’s silly and go along for the ride
Cannabis makes everything better.
Knew this would be lost on you Mary. Been watchin this since I was 5 years old. Absolute classic.
it was too intellegent and clever i think
@@christofferknight8567 lol settle down neckbeard
4 minutes in and she still hasn't figured out that this is a comedy. I'm dying here 😃😱😛
Monty Python doesn't seem to be your type of humor. That said, you had me laughing more than I usually do when watching this, with your deadpan reactions and by taking it more seriously than it should be taken. So thank you for that!
Do you think she'd find the dead parrot sketch funny if she watched it?
@@daniellowenna3342 it's just asleep
@@Spencerinio5 It's pining for the fjords.
@@theevilascotcompany9255 Pinin' for the fjords?!
Agreed
One of the most consistently hilarious comedies ever made. It's insane how almost supernaturally talented every member of Monty Python was and still is.
"What floats in water?" "Very small rocks" 😂
This movie is super-meta. I remember watching it for the first time in high school. A short while after, I showed it to my sister and she cracked up as much as I did.
British sarcasm at its finest ...not everyone outside of the uk gets it but i cry laughing every time i watch it ...
Everyone with a three digit IQ gets it.
@@Daniel-wj8uf
And there you have it.
I love how Tim purely existed to show how they did indeed have a pyrotechnics budget
Which they pretty much used up in that one scene
Probably why they couldn't afford the horses...
@@vsGoliath96 their horse budget was completely blown on the one that the knight who murdered the historian rode!
@@realburglazofficial2613 And Roger the Shrubber
And John Cleese nearly got blown off a mountain for the long shot.
Rule #1: Never take Monty Python seriously.
Rule #2: When taking Monty Python seriously, see rule #1.
Rule #3: Except on alternate Tuesdays, when the sun is shining and there is a killer rabbit in Hollywood.
Rule 4 there is no rule 4
Rule 5 no puffters
Rule 6 never expect a Spanish Inquisition
@@connorward2400 i thought 6 was always expect a spanish inquisition
Dayum! I forgot about those rules! :D
@@johnpaullogan1365 No, cuz NOBODY expects the Spanish Inquisition!!
A legendary ridiculous comedy and Mary's trying to put common sense to it! LOL. Love your reactions!
I didn't know it was possible to try and take Monty Python seriously, but here we are
"...he is stuck in the 21st century..." - Considering the year this movie was made, it would be the 20th century.
Just laughing so hard at Mary NOT laughing at most of the jokes, reminds me of the Family Guy where Meg said "I'm a girl I dont even like the good Monty Python stuff'. She was so sure the witch wasnt going to weigh the same as a duck LOL
As for the witch weighing the same as a duck - I don't think Mary got the metaphoric slam on society that humanity's scientific tools just might be as inaccurate as our process of logical thinking.
@@dunringill1747 of the fact the witch confessed she was an actual witch lol
@@harryhill8543 It's a fair cop. Lol
@@harryhill8543 But she also didn't weigh as much as the duck, when they were both removed, you see the duck's cage hanging lower, so it was rigged from the start anyway.
@@dunringill1747 ☝️ I missed that the first time I watched it. But that’s the real punchline of the entire scene.
Nah. It's a hit by new viewers as well. It's classic British humor that still lives on to this day.
5.26 in and I've never seen anyone miss every single joke, every single attempt at irony, pathos, absurdity...
can pretty much guarantee every comedic actor/actress/writer/director etc. that you enjoy are either massive fans and inspired by the Pythons or the people who they do were. the unpredictability and sophistication is what makes their movies, and sketch TV series, comedy pure genius.
I enjoyed that you commented on the accents of the French Guard and Tim, and I'm not sure you noticed that they were both the same actor. John Cleese is a comedic legend!
His American accent is terrible, though.
lol No, this film isn't dated (i first watched it in the 90s, when it was 20 years old, and i still loved it)....Monty Python get funnier the more times you watch them (and embrace their silly comical style).
Exactly. She takes things way to literally and seriously.
Agreed - Not Dated. Social satire is timeless humor. The audience either gets the joke, or they are the butt of the joke.
You're thinking about it way too much, lol. The comedy is the absurdity of the scenes.
No part of any Monty Python media should be taken seriously. All of it is just silliness and jokes. You wouldn't be into it if you have a serious or a literal personality
"I doubt this guy can fight" Never doubt the power of Excalibur. NEVER.
A big knife lobbed at him by a wet mad woman?! 😅
I think you’re the first person I’ve seen watch this movie with this level of seriousness 😂 Like I’ve never seen anyone show so much compassion for the deaths, any even! Except sometimes for the guy who was definitely dead and not fooling anyone.
This definitely gets better with rewatches, especially keeping in mind it’s absurdist comedy. Some jokes I didn’t find that funny and also thought dragged when I first watched it are hilarious now.
As a geriatric millennial everyone was still swapping quotes from this when I was at uni. It took me watching their TV series to really appreciate what they were doing in this film. Even then, it's a big ask to have people come to a film and already be primed for that exact style of humour. I think giving the The Meaning Of Life would be well worth it because it really gives you everything you need to enjoy the comedy. This one really needs you to be a fan to get all the wink-and-nudge stuff on a first viewing
Or just have a sense of humor. This one should be the easiest to understand and enjoy.
I disagree. This movie works fine as a Monty Python introduction. The intro credits spell it out distinctly in a very blunt manner that this film is a social satire. Either the audience is in on the joke, or they are the butt of the joke.
The coconut thing is what was used in old films to make horse sounds, so they just spoofed it :)
Also there's the fact that the production couldn't afford real horses.
I wish people would tell her if it's a comedy or not lol. Mary takes things so serious until it's so in her face XD
This is one of the most "dead from the neck up" reactions I think I've ever seen. It's actually incredible. But also pretty much what I expected from her tbh.
Audiences at the time of production had a better knowledge of the period in history ir was parodying
Bring out your dead, monks self-flagellating etc etc
Oh come on, audiences even now have a better understanding of medieval period. My 14 year old nephew knows about the self flagellation, the plagues, etc. I think it's specifically the girl who is unaware here.
How do you watch a comedy, knowing it's a comedy, and still take most of it as if it was supposed to be serious and make sense?
Because she was already hating it before she started to watch it.
Life of Brian is lot more of a "regular" comedy, good balance between Monty Python and getting general audiences lots of LOLs.
It's so much better when you realize that the entire movie is basically a super massive, live action role play session.
Someone else once pointed out that at the end, the cops have the wrong people, because the knight that killed the historian actually had a real horse - the only one in the movie
The ending scene at the end was Lancelot getting arrested for the murder of the famous historian. Of course, he was innocent because the real killer was on horseback, and the knights were on foot with coconuts.
Nothing sadder than seeing a real human being not laugh during the black knight scene 😂😂😂
I'm literally dying laughing just thinking about the scene and simultaneously crying on the inside for you
I highly recommend "Monty Python's Life of Brian".
Enthusiastically seconded
A wafer thin mint...
Please don't. She'll probably think it's a documentary.
The reason for the coconuts was because several European swallows showed up on set carrying them on strings, due to their migration and the string held underneath their dorsal wings.
Underrated comment
@@cinemappendix1389 Cheers. Anything you can do to help is very...well...uh...helpful.
Did no one tell Mary that this was an absurdist comedy movie?
No 😂
I grew up on Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett, Robert Aspirin, etc. You might want to check out some other absurd and abstract humor to gain an appreciation for Monty Python.
"Why does everyone have such an unbearable voice?" Because most of the characters are performed by Python Michael Palin who is very good at what he does. Best. Mike.
Palin has always been my favorite in the troupe.
"i don't think God wants you to hurt yourself". I see someone Has not heard of the medival flagellants
4:18 It's called self-flagellation where monks would wander cities and villages, whipping their own backs bloody to appease God so he would take the Plague from them, so yes, they thought very much this was what God wanted from them. And since mixing open wounds with an airborn disease isn't very bright, Monty Python thought this was a more appropriate portrayal of that practice.
In my opinion, this is one of the greatest comedies in cinematic history. 🤣🤣🤣
But like my Grandpa always used to say: "Sonny, if everybody liked the same things, everybody'd be after yer Grandma".😉
As a french my english teatcher showed us this when i was 12, i was a fan of Monty python since the first 5 minutes 😘
Definitely not a movie to overthink. Best to just go with it. Such a classic!
Comic con 2017, two mates were dressed up as characters, one as sir Robin, the other as the lead minstrel
Waiting in a line someone recognised the costumes and made a commotion about it, resulting in some calling “three cheers for sir Robin”, the cosplayer went into the historical painting “noble hero” pose, someone then called for cheers for sir robins minstrel…everything calmed down, only for me to then say loud and clear - “and there was much rejoicing”
EVERYONE burst out laughing…ahh, fond memories
I remember watching this being the only kid with some French and I laughed when I heard “Fetchez la vache” and I laughed too early. Everyone else had to wait to see the flying cow to get it. 😂
As an American, dry brit humor has always been my favorite. It just hits me a certain way. This movie especially. I grew up watching Absolutely Fabulous with my mum, and i was a HP fan, so that likely has something to do with it. 😂
Am I to assume that no one told Mary that this is a goofy comedy movie? She's trying to apply logic to everything.
Prepare for random insanity. This film is hilarious! 😂
The Black Knight cracks me up every single time 🤣
"I'm invincible" "your a loony"
"Tis but a scratch"
One of my top movies of all time because of the pure stupidity of the humor! No problem with you not liking it as much, you are a sweetheart. Cheers
My wife and I took her father to this movie in 1976. He did not get it and sat saying, "What the he'll is this?" We saw the stage play and the black Knight did not fall after the legs were cut off.
Tis but a scratch
The other Monty Python films & their sketch show are also very good.
"You'd be a lot safer if you were on a horse..."
Doubtful! Just look how scared poor Patsy is 😱
The servants/horses have some great little moments and reaction shots, likely because Terry Gilliam, co-director, plays Patsy (and the animator, and the old man from scene 24).
For a Python adjacent movie directed by Terry Jones - Erik The Viking
I was lucky enough to see these guys live (5 down 1 to go tour). Each are legends of comedy. If you want to fully understand their humour however you are best watching the original TV show Monty Python's Flying Circus.
Nice I've only been able to see Eric Idle live during his "Greedy Bastard" tour
Yeah, was a fantastic thing to go and see at the O2. Went about halfway through the run and again on the last night. Was introduced to Python by my Dad's LP's and tapes. Hearing Live at Drury Lane at age 12 taught me some fun things. 🤣
You got it backwards; it was 1 Down 5 To Go. Because Graham Chapman had died.
I rewatched this for the first time in probably 20 years and I laughed so hard
The kind of jokes that “drag on” are actually meta in that they are playing with your patience and expectations. That is the point. It is like the DMV sloth scene in Zootopia.
She is going to see this again one day, and realise that she missed most of the jokes
I doubt it.
Na I bet she'll never watch another Monty Python film again. The majority of the younger generations just don't find this movie funny.
Sam -
I'll take that bet.
Mary’s the first of many many reactors I’ve seen who doesn’t get this humor. Mary is very literal and that’s why.
For fun, Mary, watch one of the other reactions to this movie and see hysterical laughter.
You seemed to have taken it quite literal.
Monty Python humor is on another level that is hard for many to attain. Satire, irony...those are the most difficult humor concepts to "understand" / interpret for laughs. Add in the absurdism, deep political & social commentary, ungodly creative animation and you might find your brain very taxed. The layers of Python humor take a long time to reveal themselves....just watch a season of the TV show. The visual comedy of the Pythons is actually their "lowest" form of comedy and they don't rely on gags with one-line humor payoffs much (many "reaction" viewers might find appeal in quick humor-sugar-buzz humor, but that isn't found here). Just take the scenes with the constitutional peasants as an example. You could spend days examining the depth of those hilarious conversations....and the least funny part is probably the visuals. It's cerebral humor, and that requires a good amount of cerebralism (new word, eh?) to digest. Once you have the acquired Python taste, nothing else will suit your pallet. They were a one of a kind group, the Beatles of comedy (George Harrison's words, as I recall). The Pythons broke the mold for comedy movies with MPATHG, and the 1980's generation was to benefit (absurdism comedies became very popular). The only thing bad about the movie is that I didn't win an Oscar for my performance. Get on with it! KA
This movie goes over many heads.
Carried by swallows on coconuts
That ending was such a cop out, literally.
I knew you'd feel this way, and this is why I tell the uninitiated to start with Life Of Brian (which is better), not "Holy Grail". Not that I expect you to watch it now! PS: It's not a "nostalgia" thing, it was a cult movie made for fans of the TV series (which was totally random and absurdist). The uneven pacing of the movie is not something that is a matter of aging poorly, it was always there. Some bits were great, some not, and most fans know that going in. "Life Of Brian" is a much more evolved work, has a great beginning, middle and end, brilliant satire on the history of religion (specifically Christianity)....and had a much bigger budget to include camels!
Yup, I do agree that Life of Brian is the best Monty Python movie. I have heard (and this decades ago) that Americans prefer Holy Grail, while the Brits generally preferred Life of Brian
@@edfrancis66 PS: A rereading of your comment made me realize you had said "decades ago", so sorry if that came out overly "harsh"! In general, I think most people think of them as a "set". But for someone who doesn't know the show, I always say start with "Life Of Brian". (I think the subject matter is also a little more familiar and relevant to most people than the Arthurian legends)
Life of Brian is better and more intelligent but Americans tend to recommend Holy Grail more.
@@starrynight1657 And where is your evidence of that?
@@TTM9691 TH-cam. Look at the number of reactions Holy Grail has had. And most American reactors prefer Holy Grail.
I remember the first time watching this laughing so hard and thinking "what the fuck?" the whole time..This movie is so ridiculously epic and I fell in love with Month Python right away..
This is considered by many to be one of the funniest movies ever made, so glad you're reacting to it. I grew up on the BBC show Monty Pythons Flying Circus here in the US So I was already familiar with the cast. Terry Gilliam also did all the animation in the movie and the TV show.
the ending is everyone getting arrested and unsatisfying… it’s a literal cop out. someone on the internet pointed this out and im passing it on. i love this movie. 😂
What’s funnier than a Monty Python movie? Watching a left-brained person watch a Monty Python movie.
There are two types of people...
Those who immediately accept the coconuts as horses, and those who never do.
My favorite part of the film is that EVERYONE eventually just accepts that they aren’t really riding horses. Think of the money that could have been saved on all the Westerns throughout film history. Thanks for reacting to this one, Mary.
Breaking conventions, stereotypes, and expectations is where the humor came from. The humor comes from the often unexpected twists. The Python sketches were a well-known series and very unpredictable. It is certainly a product of the time, and if you don't have all those stereotypes in mind, or didn't grow up with all the things that we experienced, the humor doesn't have the same frame of reference to surprise you. Even for me who loved this as a kid, and I still remember Python fondly for the laughs it gave my friends and I, it doesn't have the same surprise to it as it did back then.
Us English and the French have had a long history of warring, and only became allies in 1904. Seriously, it was considered tradition for English Kings to war with France.
Well English kings had lands in France by inheritance and kings from the what became France took them so obviously there were wars.
As for alliance..after Napoleon had been defeated there was normally co-operation. The Crimean war for example, and the UK was anti-Bismarck.
But after World War II of course there was de Gaulle and he froze out the UK.
It's their fault for having such outrageous accents
You see it all the time in the movies that when people are stabbed, they always remove the weapon, but ask any trauma doctor, and they'll tell you that anytime you are stabbed or impaled by an object or weapon, DO NOT REMOVE IT! It is providing pressure to the wound and preventing you from bleeding out. Wait until you are in the care of a trauma team.
Did you skip the opening credits? If you did, that could explain your initial confusion. The opening credits really set up the film nicely. If you skipped them, you should go back and watch! Loved the reaction, though. Keep up the good work!
I had to laugh off imagining Mary laughing to this film before I click the post 😄🤣😂
Props to the man pretending riding a horse 😅😅😅. I wanted marry to pretend riding a horse at the end it would have been golden.
For 1975, this movie was groundbreaking. Add to that the fact that it is made by Brits and they make fun of their own lore. As a 12-year-old I found it absolutely hilarious.
Things they couldn't afford when making this movie:
Horses (hence the coconuts)
An actual Camelot set piece (hence the model & why they didn't go to Camelot)
Enough actors to play all the different roles (hence the outrageous accents)
To film a huge ending battle (hence the literal cop out)
i'm really sad to admit i never got the "copout" joke
An absolute timeless classic 👏 I rewatch it nearly once a year. Definitely a nostalgic watch :)
I adore this movie, and everything that the Monty Pythion group produced. I'm always interested in how people react to Monty Python. For me, when you come to it cold, being unaware of the legacy of writers and performers, or having never seen their original television comedy sketch show, then the nature of the movies must seem very odd. Their television series completely turned the conventions of comedy upside down, doing away with the traditional punchline ending structure and format and instead connecting seemingly random comedy sketches via Terry Gilliam's extraordinary animations. When you're familiar with how they sought to play with the structure of a 30 min television show, then the way they attempted to play with the conventions of film comedy suddenly makes more sense. The subtitles in the opening credits is a prime example of that, but its surprising how many people just fast forward and miss it. At the end of the day. comedy is a personal thing. If you need for there to be common sense motivation for a group of grown men to be childishly silly, then Monty Python probably isn't for you. I would check out the Life of Brian, though, as I think its the best movie they made.
The funniest part was you trying to make sense of this movie. 🤣
Yes! You finally watch The Holy Grail. Now you HAVE to watch Monty Python's Life of Brian
Fair enough. This style of British humor isn’t for everyone. However this movie was popular enough to spawn a Broadway musical “Spamalot” that still touring.
Saw it in Londons West End. They sold killer rabbit slippers during the intermission.
As a huge Monty Python fan, it is understandable that this films humor may not be your cup of tea, while i enjoy Holy Grail, I do see your points, but if you want a real laugh, I'd recommend "Monty Python Life of Brian"
I always read it as “England 93^2 AD”
Also, the opening credits to this movie are legendary
I can't. I just can't.
This is literally the best reaction to Monty Python’s Holy Grail on TH-cam.
Classic. Came out when I was born. I love Monty Python. Other films of theirs would be Meaning of Life and Life of Brian.
By saying "Your mother was a hampster and your father smelt of Elderberries" the Frenchman is saying Arthur's mother was a slut and his father was a drunk
I saw this film in the theater and loved it. I'm sorry that you didn't but that's how it goes. I would have recommended that you watch some of their television show (Monty Python's Flying Circus) from the early 1970s. You were right about the coconuts being a result of not being able to afford horses. The random ending was also a result of their using up their budget, so they settled for this way for it to end. BTW, the Arthurian legend also ends without them finding the Holy Grail.
It’s the kind of movie you have to encounter at the right time of your life, so I don’t blame any reactors for not always vibing with this one.
I think this film is best viewed as a series of arthurian-themed sketches rather than a contiguous story with continuity and narrative structure.
I can see how this being your blind introduction to Python might mean you don't get the humour, especially if you weren't expecting it to be so absurd, but that absurdism is what Monty Python is all about.
Anyway, love the videos, and I hope you give Flying Circus or Life of Brian a try!
To answer your question: No, the film production could not afford horses. And no - horses weren't cheap, quite the opposite. On the extreme end, was the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth around the 17th century. It was not unheard of for a single horse (together with saddle, and bridle) to be sold in Poland for the same money that in France at the time would buy you a castle, and two villages. To put it in perspective a bit further:
in 16th c. Poland, a thatcher, or a bricklayer would make 4-5 grams of silver per day. A hussar's horse (I'm talking about the Polish Winged Hussars, not the later light cavalry version from the time of the Napoleonic Wars) could cost as much as 30 kg of silver - the equivalent of 30 cannons, or 1000 matchlock muskets. And those horses had a casualty rate of approx. 30% per battle - the Polish Winged Hussars were literally throwing money at their enemies with reckless abandon.
So yes - horses used to be very expensive.
I definitely recommend watching the *Life of Brian*! I think it will nicely cover most of your gripes with this movie. The Holy Grail is much more a series of skits than a movie, whereas the Life of Brian has a much more continuous story and themes. I find the main character much more likeable as well.
I couldn't breathe the first time I saw this movie, I was laughing so hard