September 14, 2023 • 50 mins
"Monty Python and the Holy Grail" is a blend of absurd humor, memorable characters, iconic scenes, and biting satire has earned it a well-deserved place in the pantheon of great comedies. Whether you're a fan of British humor, classic films, or simply looking for a good laugh, this film is an absolute must-watch. So, grab your coconuts, beware of killer rabbits, and embark on a hilarious quest for the Holy Grail with King Arthur and his bumbling knights.
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Episode Transcript
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(00:03):
Welcome to the Nerd Polite. Welcomeback to house Lights, and I am
joined this week. I am nightJohn Mills, and I'm joined with fellow
(00:26):
Knights of the Roundtable Tristan Mradell andDarren Moser, and we regret to inform
you that the former producers of houseLights have been sacked and the people that
sacked them have also been sacked.And tonight's performance is in fact produced by
Ralph the wander Lama. So weare here, obviously to discuss in our
continuing wing of King Arthur, thenext film, the next entry, as
(00:50):
we leap into nineteen seventy five withMonty Python and the Holy Grail, which
believe it or not, counts aspart of the Arthur pantheon in the way
we reckon things. So here weare in nineteen seventy five with a couple
of coconuts carried by some sort ofswallow and uh, you know, gents,
(01:12):
instead of kicking off with our typicalthing of like when's the first time
you remember, Like, we'll getto that one, but I want to
ask Darren, I'll kick this offto you first, which night of the
round Table do you see yourself mostreflected in this depiction of King Arthur's You
know, that's a good question.I think that I think John Cleese's character
(01:38):
lance a lot lance a lot.Yeah, Okay, he's so dry and
so funny, but he's he istrying. He's just he makes things so
much worse as he goes. Butagain, they all do that. But
yes, I think lance a Lotis. I probably feel a kinship to
him more more than although the scienceone is pretty funny too. I don't
(02:01):
know why I'm not remembering their names, but well, you know, I'm
all the time. But you knowwhat I mean though, So let's be
honest that who who's playing whom inthis is not as important as the gags
or just knowing who Arthur is.But trust in the same question, to
you, which night of the roundtable do you see yourself reflected in in
this Monty Python adaptation of the KingArthur legend. Probably Galahad. Yes,
(02:25):
that was very That was very muchme in high school, just women throwing
themselves at me and me saying no, no, I can't, I mustn't.
Just a little bit of peril.Yeah, I would have to say,
honestly, I don't see myself asa knight of the round Table,
I'd say that I'm probably the wizardtim Is. I think that would be
(02:46):
fair at this junction. But obviously, when you're talking about Monty Python and
the Holy Grail, you're talking aboutsomething that is regarded as it's one of
the pillars of comedy in the lastfifty some odd years. It is a
constant reference point. It is referredto throughout popular culture. Even if people
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haven't seen this, they've at leastheard a joke or two from it.
So, Tristan, when was yourfirst encounter with Monty Python and the Holy
Grail? Was it? Were youa wee lad? Was it something you
watched with your dad or was thissomething you stumbled upon later in life?
This was actually shown to me inhigh school in English class. Oh wow,
(03:28):
and this was we were actually studyingKing Arthur and the legend and everything
about it and the historical reference,the literary references, and as a treat
she, my English teacher, showedthis movie and you could tell she was
super excited to show it to us. And when the movie ended, she's
like, and that's it, guys, That's that's just it. And it
(03:51):
just goes on and on like itgoes on for a couple of minutes,
like it's black and it's it's hilarious. It just goes on like this,
and she you could tell like itwas it was a little infectious, just
because she was so excited, likeyou you got excited too to watch it,
and I think we Kimberly, Ican't remember if she broke it up
into two days. I mean shehad to have write you know, she
must have broken it up into twodays, or if I can't remember if
(04:13):
we had a long day that dayor whatever, I mean there is that
was intermission, so you just yeah, that was the first That was the
first time I ever watched it.Now, that does not include the constant
barrage of gangly kids walking through thewhole halls quoting this movie, the ones
with bad skin and bad teeth,just talking all about this movie all the
(04:33):
time, you know, like yeah, like if we don't include that for
a decade, then yes, yes, that was the first time I saw
it in high school. Yeah,your story about that, about the constant
references, just it brings to mindfor me like my own struggles with Hitchhiker's
Guide to the Galaxy, where Ihad to say to friends that I had
in high school in college, Isaid, as soon as one of you
(04:55):
knuckleheads can go a week without mentioningthe damn thing, I will read it.
And I didn't read it till Iwas out of college. So there
you go. Darren, the samequestion to you. Were you a young
lad when you encountered this. Wasit a crazy uncle corrupting your sense of
humor? Or was it similarly highschool time? Uh no, this is
kind of the same as the PrincessBride that we also talked about. This
(05:17):
was a camp video. This wasa working at summer camp, and you
know, we went to the boxcar and pulled out that giant you know,
fifty n CRT on the cart.Everybody got their sleeping bags and pillows,
and you knew that some like halfthe people probably had seen whatever movie
was going to be and the otherrest we're gonna be indoctrinated into whatever,
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you know, cult classic. Prettymuch all was cult classic type of movies
that we watched at summer And yeah, so I guess well we did.
The whole rest of the summer wasquote finety five on like on the radio
and on our little notes on ourclipboards and just all throughout the summer,
and yeah, it's you know,I kind of feel add for people who
(06:00):
watch it and don't have an outletto express the quotes, because if you're
in school, or if you're atyou know, a job that allows that
or something like that, it's somuch more enjoyable because it is such a
quotable movie. And We've said manytimes, or I've said many times that
the mark of a good comedy isoften directly linked with its quotability. It's
(06:24):
a major factor. It is amajor factor. And I think that one
of the things that's really interesting aboutMonty Python and the Holy Grail is,
you know, Tristan, I'll throwthis to you first. You know,
whether I'm reading this right or not, but I think this is one of
those things that winds up unintentionally spoilingcomedy for a while afterward, because I
(06:46):
think people are still trying to chasethis dragon in terms of the regardless of
whether somebody loves it or hates itor is lukewarm about it, there's a
certain type of magic that this moviecaptures. There's a certain sort of like
odd ball off the rails type ofhumor that's happening here, and it's this.
(07:06):
If the alchemy works for you,it's absolute magic. And even if
it doesn't work for you, yousee that this is the work of some
slightly disturbed minds, really just throwingeverything at you at once. I think
it winds up, and I'm notsaying that like it winds up being a
net negative. I'm saying that thereare directors to this day who are still
trying to capture this type of magic, and it becomes one of those things
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where it's a classic that can neverbe recaptured, but people nonetheless keep going
after it. Man, I cannotwait to find out what this question is.
Do you agree with that statement?Was that the question? Yeah?
Do you say? I said,I wanted to find out if you agree
with this? No idea? Whatthe question is? Oh, that's because
(07:51):
you're not a close listener. Iwas talking about everything. I said,
Yeah, it's a wind up.Do you agree with that or not?
I have no idea. You knowwhat I'm agreeing with that that people are
trying to chase that that feeling.Yes, I'll state it in fewer words
for you that this is a veryfunny movie that makes such an impact that
(08:13):
it winds up having an effect wherepeople who aren't as skilled as the people
who put this one together keep tryingto find the type of magic that this
movie has contained within it to varyinglevels of success. Well, I mean,
I don't know if I can answerthat really, because I feel like
(08:37):
if you if you're chasing something,you're usually chasing success. I mean,
if you look at how you know, the cast and crew look at this
movie, they look at it unfavorablybecause they hated filming it when they filmed
it, but this was by far, in a way, their most successful
film. Like I think that theythe cast believes that Life of Brian is
their best film, but it's nowherenearest accessful as Holy Grail. But in
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terms of people who are this isinfluenced, I mean, this came out
in seventy five, and I meanpeople you know who were at their prime
in seventy five, you know,went on to be directors and like,
well, I'm guessing like McKay orright. Yeah, That's what I'm saying
is I'm saying that people just likepeople refer to Star Wars as a landmark
(09:24):
thing, and you can see thiseffect that Star Wars has afterward, I
think that Holy Grail winds up beingone of those things that has that sort
of effect. And I have troublesometimes sussing out whether that's a positive or
negative thing, because it is suchan odd movie to have such an impact.
I haven't really I can't really saythat I've seen too much evidence of
people chasing this because this movie isso unique to its time and to its
(09:46):
audience and to its style. Imean, this is Gilliam, this is
this is Terry Gilliam's first film,first feature length film, and you can
still see some Gilliam in there.And you know, this is a director's
podcast, so we should absolutely talkabout Gilliam. And you know, like
was other works, you know somethinglike you know anywhere from Brazil to Quixote.
(10:09):
There are certain things that are verymuch him. But I mean,
like with the like with the withthe slapstick jokes, with the nonsensical storyline,
with the animation thrown in, withthe metajokes, everything like that put
together, I can't I'd say thatthis is a very unique movie, and
(10:30):
I can't stay off the top ofmy head where I've seen it try to
be reproduced whether it was successful orfailed. Yeah. I mean the thing
is, I don't have an opinion. That's why I'm asking the question,
Like I think that there it's moreof a tonal thing where I think that's
what's unsuccessfully chased by other directors.Is that sense of self awareness works here
(10:54):
really well, that sense of selfawareness you're pointing to, and Darren I
would say that there are a lotof movie that come along all the way
up to this day where they havea sense of self awareness and they never
they never figure out how to breakthe fourth wall in the same way that
this one does. Yeah, Iagree with Tristan. I can't really see
a correlation of like, oh yeah, well, then these three movies in
(11:16):
the early eighties, you could seethey were really trying to capture that because
it is such a one off.It's like the right people, the right
type of humor. It's a realspecific humor. It's a dry humor,
it's a it's a zany humor.Given more moments to think about it than
Tristan had, I probably maybe Deadpoolis the closest thing I could think of
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that like also kind of breaks thatfourth wall, but that is more because
it's Deadpool and not because it's tryingto capture the spirit of Monty Python ago
no joke. But yeah, butoverall, I think, if anything,
maybe it just gave a shot inthe arm to comedies in general. Maybe
(12:01):
not capturing the Monty Python nos,but like, hey, comedies can be
successful because something. You know,we've all seen the waves of comedy movies,
like we had a lot of those. Well this is probably way more
in like the late nineties, earlythousands, but you had all those duplicating
movies like you know, scary Movieand like where they're making fun of tropes
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like to the extreme. Yeah,I mean, it's it's interesting because as
we're sitting here talking about it,the year before this, both Young Frankenstein
and Blazing Saddles come out, andthose both have a very similar sort of
vibe and a similar sort of selfawareness. So maybe it is just something
where there was a wave of thissort of thing. But testing to get
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back to what you're talking about withGilliam as a director, you know,
oh, this is a troubled production. In the cast hated making it.
Gilliam has a track record of troubledproductions. One would say, do you
think that that's just he was basicallythe production behind the scenes, with this
winds up being a warning sign toeverybody that every film that he works on
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it is going to be a bitchallenging. Do you think that he just
never like is it just his workingstyle? Do you see you know,
projected projected forward to those other moviesyou mentioned that he did. Do you
see all of the seeds there inthis movie? Do you see those sorts
of sensibilities already come to fruition ordo you see somebody without any vision on
this one? I think Gilliam,well, I mean, Gilliam is a
(13:31):
certified nut job, but true,you know, his his uh the craziness
that has happened on his sets inthe future. To say that they were
linked to him here might be toomuch of a stretch because like he's he's
young, he's inexperienced, you know, they're all in this together. Like
this is the type of production wherelike they didn't even buy a rabbit,
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like they they they they had itloaned by an owner, you know,
for the for the for the killerrabbit. You know, like that that's
like the reason why there's coconuts inthe first places because they couldn't afford horses,
like, you know, I likeI think Pink Floyd helped give some
money to this movie by giving proceedsof Dark Side of the Moon because they
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were such fans of the circus.And it's like that, like that's like
they could not get funding for thismovie. Like they had to scratch and
steal and rob and borrow and inorder to make this movie. And so
I think to blame all those productionproblems on Gilliams being gilliam being a crazy
person or like having production problems inthe future is a bit too much,
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But it is kind of a coincidence. So I'd say it's more of just
the situation than it is him.And if they got a more experienced director,
if they got more of an experienceddirector who you know, maybe was
doing this as a favor, sayinglike, Okay, I'll be the journeyman,
I'll help you guys out, youknow, I'll get this product in
going. It probably would have beenbetter. But with gilliam and being inexperienced,
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I'm sure it didn't help. Youknow. I think that maybe that
that's the reformulation of the question rightthere, or the the idea right there
is that since this is his firstfilm and this is how that went,
he did not have the type ofexperience on his first film that Gate that
taught him discipline or production management,he thought, you know, obviously he
(15:26):
gets there to a certain extent,because there are definitely successes in his you
know, in his filmography, anda lot of there there are a lot
of terrific Brazil is one of myfavorite films of all time, and I
love The Fisher King as well.And The Man who killed Don Quixote is
actually a very interesting failure to borrowa term that I've used for David Lyncho's
(15:48):
Dune. But it's, uh,it's one of those things where, Darren,
do you think that this is thetype of experience that basically, you
know, it winds up being somethingthat doesn't encourage the discipline that maybe another
you know, if he'd had somebodysteering him through the process. Because Terry
Jones, I believe, is alsocredited on this, at least like a
(16:11):
dual direction, Terry the Terry's,Yeah, the Terry's. I kind of
remember seeing some behind the scenes thingsabout it, like I don't remember what
percentage it really worked out between them, or if one of them left or
was upset or I can't remember.I'm sure it was tumultuous, because it
sounds like this whole production was.But I will say I don't think this
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movie works with a more experienced directorcoming in. I think the magic sauce
of it's one of the it's oneof them inside the troop. Who is
the director. It's it's like thedifference between Jonathan Fraakes directing a star Trek
and someone else coming in from theoutside and making Trek. I think,
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you know, granted, like itsounds like it was, you know,
a bear to shoot, but Ithink because you have this magical alchemy of
this particular troop, you know,acting comedy troop and all of the issues
they had so like yeah, likethe cookonut thing, I think because you
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had a comedian in the director's chair, they were able to pivot and be
like, Okay, well, howdo we make that funny? How do
we work with that? And thatbecomes one of the best bits of the
entire movie. And instead if theywere just like, Okay, well we
have no horses so or we havehorses for one day, so we can
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shoot and we have to always begoing up to the same castle because that's
the one shot we have, Like, yeah, it would kind of work.
But so again, not to dissectinto the entire movie, but I
think I think two of the strongbenefits of this movie is the fact that
you have someone from their troop whois in the director's chair, and so
they're able to pivot on the lowbudgetness of it. Like, I don't
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think this movie works as if someonedid come along, you know, in
in a magical world and be like, hey, here's three million dollars Monty
Python make this movie, I thinkyou would get a completely different movie that
would not nearly be as funny becausethrough adversity they crafted. That's where half
the jokes come from. It feelslike it's from the adversity. That's a
(18:29):
fair point. That's a very fairpoint. I think that what's interesting is
I have lost sight over time,and I wouldn't be very clear. I'll
go ahead and spoil it. Iadore this film, but I don't know
if I adore this film half asmuch as I adore everything it's given me
over time, if that makes sense, because if I look film right,
(18:52):
But it was very, very instrumentalin Monty Python Flying Circus, Monty Python
and The Holy Grade Life of Brian. All that stuff very very influential in
helping form my sense of humor asI grew up. I watched Monty Python's
Flying Circus with my dad on PBSfor God's sake, right, And I
didn't see this until later, youknow, I was a teenager and some
(19:15):
friends showed it to me. Itwas oh, Monty Python did a movie.
No, I didn't know that,and I saw it. I was
like, this is amazing. Ilove this. So I'd sort of been
primed for it because I've watched theSketch Comedy Show. But there are so
many things about this production, whetherit's because of its troubles or in spite
of its troubles, where there's kindof a script, it's really just sort
(19:37):
of shooting from the hip, whichis part of its charm. But trusted.
We talk about this all the timeabout nostalgia glasses. Is it possible
to view this movie without thick nostalgicglasses on? If you were to show
this to somebody who's never seen MontyPython before, who has never grown up
with this, and you show itto them. Do you think you wind
(20:02):
up creating a new Monty Python fanor do you get somebody who looks at
it and says, yeah, okay, all right, I want that same
question after him. I don't thinkso. I think this takes a very
unique This takes a very unique typeof person to enjoy this. I think
you you have to have nostalgia onit. I do not think this is
(20:23):
universal. I do not think thisis timeless. I feel like this is
something that is geared towards the rejected, the kind of in the same way
that people like anime. You're like, oh, that's a type of person
who likes that, you know,Like, I feel like it's the same
people who like Monty Python. Isit's a it's a subsect of people who
(20:45):
enjoy this. And I when Itold my wife what we were doing next,
and when I said, I waslike, Oh, we're doing Monty
Python the Holy Girl, She's like, I was like, what's wrong.
She's like, I dated a guywho made me watch this like three times
as many weeks and he wouldn't shutup about it, he wouldn't stop quoting
it, and she was just donewith it to begin with. And I'd
(21:07):
only seen this once before podcasting aboutI saw it once in high school and
then I never watched it again untilpreparation for this podcast, and I had
a wildly different reaction to it thanI did in high school as I did
yesterday. I'm sure. But Darren, you said you wanted this question as
well, so knock it over toyou. Yeah. Well, I mean
my experience, so yeah, AndI think I think you're right, Tristan.
(21:32):
I think you know, there arepeople who like Mighty Python, and
there's people it's not it's type ofhumor. It is a very specific type
of humor. Now. I showedthis to my daughter a couple of months
back, and she's eleven, andI show her the entire thing except the
castle. Anthrax were not quite readyfor that. But she loves it.
(21:52):
She was cackling. I think herfavorite part was probably the sir land.
It's a lot like running up multipletake, which is just such a funny
bit because it happens so many times. I think it happens like seven,
like it happens two, three moretimes than you would think. Like you
(22:15):
would think the beat would drop andit would move, but it doesn't.
But she loved it. It wascackling and laughing. And so when you
know, often sometimes my wife orkids will ask me, oh, what
are you watching this week because theyknow I have a directing podcast, And
I said, oh, we're doingmy new Python, and she's like,
oh, Dad, I want towatch it with you. Can we watch
it together? So I, youknow, made sure we had time one
(22:37):
evening last week to watch it.And it was interesting for myself watching it
because I hadn't watched it basically amonth apart like that back to back in
a long while. Like usually it'slike once a year, maybe I'll put
it in. You know, Iremember it a lot, so I don't
need to, you know, refreshthat often. But it was still it
(23:00):
was still really funny, and andso I'll say that is I think it
is definitely possible for it to makenew fans if that's their type of humor,
if that is not their type ofhumor, just like any other comedy,
you know, people could watch melBrooks films or other types of comedy
and be like, it's just thejokes aren't aren't landing. I don't know
(23:25):
what percentage of the populace is moneyPython humor, and maybe there's also a
component of exposure, meaning you know, trusting. Like you said, your
wife was exposed to it in anon real pleasant way, and so she
kind of got a negative, abad taste in the mouth, versus my
daughter seeing it with her dad,and we share enough humor genes to the
(23:51):
pole think it's funny. So yeah, that's that's how I form my answer.
I wound up being team Darren onthis one because I did show this
to my oldest and while it's notlike her favorite movie, she got a
quite a chuckle out of it,and she got all the jokes, and
she thought it was funny as hell, and it she liked it enough that
(24:11):
we did wind up watching Life ofBrian afterward, which she does like more.
And I will fully concede in termsof a film is and it's much
more a film than this one.This is very much sketches like strung together.
This this literally, I think oneof the charms. And I can
(24:33):
honestly say that if you showed thisto me cold now, I would have
a very warm feeling for it,because I have a weak spot for things
that are just batass crazy, andthis has the verve of a bunch of
friends, talented friends getting together andsaying, let's do this thing, Let's
(24:53):
have some fun. And so ithas that energy of like an El Mariachi
or some other independent film that doesn'thave a lot of funding, and it's
just people going out and going smashmouth and having a great time with it.
And I consider that energy infectious becauseand this is the type of movie
(25:15):
where I would look at it andI would say I can honestly say that
while nostalgia makes me treat it asif it's, you know, part of
Star Wars lure for me. LikeI was saying right before we started recording,
I've easily seen this movie nearly asmany times as some of the Star
Wars movies, right and I've seenI've seen those quite a bit, and
I have it committed so much tomemory I could probably do it from beginning
(25:38):
to finish right now without a pause. But I think it's fair and I
think you're both saying sort of asimilar thing. If this type of comedy
works for you, this film isgoing to work for you. And in
terms of your wife Tristan having anunpleasant experience with it, I guarantee you
that there are at least two womenin the world who hate Star Wars because
(26:03):
of me, And there's my associationwith it. So you know, you
got a grade on a curve onthat sort of thing. But bringing it
back to Gilliam and bringing it backto putting something like this together for all
of the problems, for all ofthe criticisms that one might have, Tristan,
isn't it an accomplishment that he putthis together at all? For whatever
(26:27):
flaws you might see with it?For however, well it works for you,
given what you know about how strappedthey were for cash, how they
were flying by the seat of theirpants. Isn't putting together something that winds
up landing as well as it hasfor so many isn't that in and of
itself a testament to his skill orat least his nation's skill. Here,
(26:48):
well, I think you know itmakes you wonder, like it is it
Gilliam and Jones's ability? Is it? The Troop's ability? Is it?
You know? Like this thing isyou know, how many years old now?
It's just like it's it's on somany lists of top comedies of all
time, you know, like it'sinfluenced so many different people. I think
(27:10):
yeah, like it's enduring. Itobviously has an audience, and it's it's
this isn't just a cult following likethis is this is, This has a
gigantic following. So like I thinkbeing able to say that they put anything
together that, I mean, thelegacy is the answer to that question.
I want to ask this because like, it's so tough. This is one
(27:32):
of those one of those ones whereit's really tough I think to really discuss
it in any way that anybody elsehasn't before. So I'm going to give
it a try. Here, Iwant to say, Darren, the music
that everybody dreads and hates. Interms of the music here, we know
that this goes on and we nowhave Spam a Lot, which is a
(27:55):
Broadway musical based on this. Themusical numbers in this movie, you know,
or the either the music for thefight scenes, the themes that you
hear, the theme song for Camelot. Do you think they add to the
overall experience or do you think it'sjust as slap dash as the production itself.
(28:15):
No, I really like the scoreto this movie at literally the entire
time we've been talking. I don'tknow why, but the part where the
mastheadship is sailing up at the veryend, that part is playing on like
loop in my head and I can'tmake it stop. But yeah, the
it's like da da da da dada da, and it's just it's just
(28:37):
playing. But no, there's there'sa lot of great music there's and it's
it's a soundscape. It's it's notjust the music cues. It's the chanting
monks in one scene, and youknow, it's the you know, the
rhyming bridge keeper, Like that's musictoo. That's part of the makeup of
(28:59):
this, you know, this film. But yeah, there's still a lot
of fun parts. I've totally kindof forgotten about the Camelot part, which
is literally just a song and ajingle thrown in, but it's it's really
funny because of how it's like,actually, no, never mind, we're
not we're not gonna go there.I've seen fans who have made like a
(29:22):
lego version of that song where it'sall animated and stop motion lego just that
clip, and it's really funny.But yeah, I mean, as the
man who you know says he can'tenjoy a score without themes based on characters,
which is not really the case inthis there's just it is a hodgepodge
of stuff. But I think itworks. I think it's it's memorable.
(29:45):
I just saw there's a actual kindof soundtrack, and I'm kind of interested
of tracking that down so I canjust have that. I'm looking at the
names of the of the tracks andthey don't quite match what I would expect
from I can't remember what scenes areconnected to just by those names. But
but no, I think I thinkit works. But I also want to
(30:10):
say overall, I think, youknow, back to Gilium, I think
this is a in the edit movie. This probably had a substantial editing process
of like how do we assemble whatwe rightly know is a tangently at best
related sequence of bits together And that'swhere you find you know, the and
(30:37):
I don't know if it was likethe Lancelot running bit, Like I don't
know if that was found in theedit or if that was planned. You
know, it could be either orit could be you know, on the
set they're like, oh, whatif we just clipped it and clipped it?
But you know, there's so manymoments in this movie that are funny
because of the edit, and itwas interesting. Like I said, I
(30:57):
hadn't watched this so in proximity toa previous watch in a long while,
so this time I was noticing moreof, oh, yeah, they're they're
kind of just on the ground,Like I recognize that tree and that thing
in the back. Like they literallyprobably filmed a lot of this in like
(31:18):
fifty square meters of space and justshot it from different angles to make it
look like and it was a littlemore apparent than I had noticed in the
past of how uh, you knowconservative they had to be in their angles
to just make it look like theywere trousing all over Great Britain. But
but yeah, so overall though,I think this isn't in the edit movie
(31:41):
probably with a giant deadline, youknow, staring them down to get it
done. But I think it's integralto the type of humor and the because
that's what humor is. It's theit's the rise, the fall, the
punchline, the you know, Imean the intermission thrown in the whole opening
credits, Like I feel like thoseare things that were like, how do
we add to the run time,but how do we want people to feel
(32:05):
going into the start of this movie? Because those credits create a feeling,
create a expectation like that's not likeany other credits we've seen before. And
then you get the you know,to the intermission, which lasts like I
could totally see the joke of somepeople, because I mean, intermissions aren't
as much a thing nowadays, butthey were back in the seventies. So
(32:25):
I could see people starting to getup from their seat and they're walking away
and they're like halfway down the island, and then the movie comes back on
and they're like, what the Andthen they kind of laugh because they're like,
they did that on purpose. Theypurposely tricked me into getting out of
my seat. But we're not goingto see that joke because we're not in
the theaters in nineteen seventy five.Yeah, that's a great point, and
(32:46):
I'm glad that you mentioned editing,because if there's something that Tristan really loves
to hate when he doesn't like theway it's done, it's editing. Tristan,
do you agree with Darren that thiswas found in the edit and do
you think that that's because of theskill of John Hackney, the editor,
or do you think that it's justjokes and a blender. I think it's
(33:07):
just jokes and a blender. ButI think with a movie this cheap,
so much of it has to youreditor is your savior. It's it's it
actually can go one of two ways. When a movie's really cheap. You
can get an editor who can reusestuff that you would never think possible,
can reorient stuff, can can findlittle moments in fast cutting that really sell
(33:30):
the joke, like you know,Lencelot kicking the bridesmaid in the chest or
or anything like that. You know, like it flashes on so quickly.
And other times, if you havea really cheap movie, the editor,
the editor is like, okay,well I put a B next to B
and B next to C and seenext to D for you. Hope,
hope that works because that's all thatthey have. So it really all depends
(33:51):
on the production. But with theseguys, I'm sure they ran a lot
of film during these takes, andthey had a lot of takes to work
with, so I'd say the editorprobably had even though this was cheaply made,
they had a lot of stuff,a lot of comedic moments to work
with in order to get that moment. So a comedic editor is worth their
(34:13):
weight in gold. Even you know, Gilliam prides himself and being a technical
director, where you know, beforethis he was really only used to animation,
and so you know, it's it'sa very technical medium and animation like
knowing where everything is and the figuresand placing everything in the frame, and
a lot of the actors said thatthat's how he treated them, where they
(34:34):
weren't really people, they were justthings to be moved around. And watching
this, I didn't get that sensethat this was a technical director because the
cinematography, like certain angles that wereshot up just like really, that's where
you want to put the camera,okay, Like it felt like they just
kind of put the sticks down andwe're like, okay, we got like
five minutes in this light in thislocation that we're not supposed to be Sometimes
(34:59):
it felt like that. So,yeah, I give praise to the editor
for this one. Even though Idon't think it was a particularly well edited
film, I think it utilized whatit had in order to get the job
done. Yeah. I think theyhad lots of takes, except for the
take of the guy falling into thecrevasse, because it was the exact same
shot every time. Whether it benight or which again is funny because when
(35:24):
you notice that, it's funny howit's the same shot or this time for
the first time, I noticed inthe storming of the Castle with Lancelot that
that main room that they're in,the one you look down from really high
and all the wedding parties there,that's the same room that the Sun and
(35:45):
his dad are in, just thatsame corner, the same door. It's
just been dressed differently. I didn'tever realize they reuse that exact same room
twice. They just changed it andshot just that corner to be the upstairs
you know, locked away room,but it's the exact same the window and
the doors all line up. It'sjust I'm like, oh again, they
(36:07):
probably had just so little to workwith they had to make it all work.
I think that, I mean,the editor doesn't go on to do
anything of real note after this.He continues working, obviously, and he's
you know, good enough to continuegetting jobs. But this isn't like a
(36:29):
you know, you know, anabsolute like Stewart baired level effort here.
I think that I don't have aproblem with the editing. I also don't
have a problem with the way thatit's shot. Because there's a read of
this movie that I've heard from oneperson in the past, and it always
(36:49):
stuck with me that the movie isactually a bunch of people who had His
read of the movie was that themovie is a bunch of people who have
escaped from an asylum and are wreakinghavoc on the countryside. Now that's his
own personal thing, But I thinkthat, you know, let me throw
this to you, Tris, andwould it soften your view on this if
(37:10):
you because I've gone and I've youknow, every we all know a ton
of people, and almost every personI've spoken to has a different interpretation of
what's really happening on screen. Everybodyagrees jokes are funny, but everybody is
sort of coming at it with theirown flavor of what's actually happening. Do
you think that that is a functionof a well made movie or do you
(37:35):
think that that is the function ofa poorly made movie? That uh,
you know, there's that everybody canhave so many different takes on what's happening.
Once again, I'm going to haveto answer your questions with ambiguity,
where I don't think it's a signof either, I feel like when I
get when I get questions like thisfrom certain people, Like there was one
time I was I hated a movie. I absolutely hated it, and there
(37:59):
was this guy who was fending itand he says, you know, he's
like, well, he's like,well you felt something, right, you
felt something that's the sign of agood movie. And I said it was
like, I was like, sodoes a steaming pile of dog crap?
That makes me feel discussed? Butthat doesn't mean I enjoy what I'm seeing.
And so with the whole interpretation issue, like you know, like a
(38:21):
lot of people will think of stufflike Nolan's ending in Inception, where there's
us like what's your interpretation, what'sreal, what's not? And it's all
about the experience that you take awayfrom that. I don't think this is
one of those movies. Basically,it's not that deep, you know,
it's it's it's a collection of bitsthat they're stringing together through one through line.
I don't and I don't take anythingaway from that. I think that
(38:45):
the person I'm referring to had avery very unique take, and I think
that's why I've only ever run acrossthat interpretation all of once in my entire
life, Darren, when you cometo this movie and you watch it,
and you said, you know,you watch it every so often, you
don't necessarily watch it, you know, twice within a month of each other
sort of thing. But when youcome to this movie and you watch it,
(39:07):
what is it what is it thatyou're looking to experience again? What
is it that you're looking to recapturewhen you rewatch Monty Python and the Holy
Grail. I just the laughs.I mean I remember, I think it
was Kung Pu Panda was one ofthe when seeing it in theaters and like
actually laughing out loud like at someof the jokes and bits like and it
(39:30):
made me realize, like a lotof times comedy like that really makes you
laugh, like actually not just lO L. I typed it on my
screen, but like in person,I'm laughing at this, and I'm I'm
cackling up and I'm cracking up,like that's actually kind of rare depending on
your humor level and things like that. So yeah, when I put in
(39:52):
Mighty Python, you know, Ithink that's why I usually watch it maybe
once a year, because I'm lettingit kind of dre from memory enough so
that it can zing me again.Not that I've forgotten you know, what
happens, but I think it punchesup the jokes a little bit when they're
not like so memorized, at leastfor me, that it's like, okay,
(40:14):
you know, and then it catchesyou off guard. And again I
think Lancelot's running bit or you know, brave Sir Robbins, you know the
song from his minstrels, And youget a lot, just so much humor
from this. So that's why Iwatch it. I watch it because I
want to laugh, I want tohave a fun It's I wouldn't even say
(40:34):
it's a turn your brain off movie. It's not like you're not thinking,
You're just enjoying the bits and andjust as it goes from from one to
the next, you know, you'renot trying to follow the overarching plot of
the Nights as they search for theyou know, for the crail. It's
in there, but it's like it'sbarely what the movie's about. You know.
See that I agree with you.I think that there are just so
(40:59):
many ny bits thrown together and Trisan, I know that you took the tack
of all of this is jokes anda blender. But I think that jokes
and a blender can work when thejokes are fairly quick and I would say
reasonably intelligent, like when he whenArthur first happens across the peasant and we
(41:19):
get a whole lecture about valid systemsof government and lines like just because some
watery target throws it throws a stackout of you, I thought of you
during that joke. I was justlike, I bet John loved the joke.
I love I love it so much, And I think I just think
that there are so many things thatthat do in fact work on some sort
of level. But at the sametime, like I was saying before,
(41:44):
it's I think this is a fairlydifficult movie to talk about just because of
the fact that it's you know,it's like having it's like having a discussion
about the original Star Wars. It'slike, what are we really going to
hit on as we go through?So, actually, Tristan, I'll throw
it to you here, like,what have we overlooked? What is it
that you you want us to takeaway with before we get into our ratings?
(42:09):
You know, what is it thatthat should be taken away with Monty
Python and the Holy Grail, Like, what is it that we haven't hit
on yet? I was trying tobe a really cool guy, you know.
I was trying to let you guyshave your fun and just kind of
(42:29):
talk it out and not be thatguy. When I watched this last night,
I was like, good lord,what a piece of dog. I
just the funny thing is I inmy head? I said, I guarantee
you Tristan's gonna hate this. Iknew you would. Oh man, I
mean, okay, I'm not anidiot. Okay, I'm not an idiot.
(42:51):
I know that this movie has alegacy. I do. I really
do. Like it's clear to methat this movie has societal impact. It
has artistic impact, Like people reverethis film. It's on top ten lists,
it's in top one hundred lists.This movie has made waves in the
zeitgeist in ways that I can onlydream of making in my lifetime. I
(43:15):
understand that. Okay. When Iwas talking to my wife, I said,
I was like, why did Ihate that? Why did I despise
that? When I didn't in highschool? And she's like, well,
you watched in English class. Youwere just happy to be doing anything other
than English class. And I waslike, oh my god, you're probably
right, and this is just sonot for me. This this this type
(43:39):
of humor, this type of execution. I was cringing the entire time.
I think the only time I kindof chuckled was during the whole political thing
at the beginning like that, that'spretty much the only time that I commune
with two thirds majority for internal folks, like we literally external. And also
(44:00):
like the Black Knight was was kindof funny too, you know when he's
like, you know, does ascratch, like like it does a flesh
wound, you know, like yes, I mean that's kind of funny.
But like it just kept getting moreand more off the rails, and I
started fast forwarding it because there's justlike, oh, this scene's gonna keep
going. Like I just I thismovie was terrible, terrible. I'll give
(44:22):
you my rating now one and ahalf if I'm being generous. I just
one and a half, not sitinsides one and a half dead insides from
Tristan Riddell. And I want everyonewho who writes me letters because you guys
do, and everyone who reaches outto me online, because you guys do.
I don't know why they don't talkto you guys, but for some
reason they talk to me. Iwant you to remember everything that I said
(44:45):
and lead up to my rating tosoften. No, don't, don't remember
anything he said and lead up justcoming at ast forward that part, just
like you fast forward the movie Tristan, just like you fast forwarded past the
Holy hand Grenade of Antio, whichis one of also one of the funniest
bits of the entire movie, becausefive is right out, Darren, where
(45:07):
are you coming in with this?Right? Give me something to work with
here that isn't the Grinch living upon the hill up above Footville here?
I mean no, I think Tristanhas a good point, like it is
that kind of a movie where ifit is not your humor, it's not
gonna land. That is not surprisingat all. And I'm I'm glad that
when my daughter watched it it washer kind of humor, because I didn't
(45:29):
know I could show it to myson when he's a little older and it
could not it could not be ashumor. I don't know that, so
uh yeah, but it makes itfun when you find other people who that
is their type of humor like obviouslyyou and I John like we enjoy you
know. I think next time wesee each other in person, I'm gonna
have some you know, things tomake sure I'm getting over to where you
(45:50):
are. But so well, solong as my swallow isn't canceled to fly
out to see you. Yeah,but no, I yeah, this is
I think it's a fun movie,you know, Yeah, it's it is
interesting. I mean, I knowwe're not doing a whole sequence on Terry
Gilliam because he's got quite the diverselist of movies as well, like not
(46:15):
all comedies, you know, notall you know of this or that.
But I think, like I saidbefore, I think this the strongest aspects
are the edit. I think havingone of the comedy troupe in the director's
chair is important. I think you'regoing to get a lot out of that.
But at the end, you know, it's money python, it's a
(46:37):
comedy troupe. They they know howto tell jokes, they know their audience.
If you, I highly doubt ifyou were a fan of Flying Circus
that this didn't land, because that'syour type of humor, just like life,
but just like any so, yeah, if if if you're not you're
not British. But like if ifif that's not, if Flying Circus isn't
your bag, then this is probablynot going to land as much. But
(47:00):
it does to me. I thinkit's a really funny film. I'm glad
I've got to watch it with someone. I think, like all good comedies,
watching them alone is harder because there'ssomething about the infectious laughter of the
room where one person kind of startsto chuckle and it's self reinforces and you
don't get that when it's just youknow yourself, or it's harder. Not
(47:23):
that I don't think it's funny whenI'm watching it by myself, but yeah,
So all that to say, though, I still I'm gonna give this.
I'm gonna give this a four.It's it's I'm not going to give
it a five because it it isa bag of cats, and and just
trying to you know, like Iit's hard to say, you know,
(47:46):
I don't like saying words like perfectmovie or perfect comedy. You know,
there's definitely times that I don't feellike I'm in the mood for money python.
I'm like, I could watch thisright now, but I know it's
not gonna do anything for me,So I'm gonna wait for it to fade
a little from memory and then kindof respice it up. But yeah,
it's a solid four for me.It's it's funny, it's rewatchable, it's
(48:07):
quotable. It's so quotable. It'sso quotable it's obnoxious sometimes because you know
people won't shut up about it.But uh yeah, so but what did
you give it? John Well?I will come straight out of the gate
and say that I agree with you, Darren. It's a solid four because
(48:29):
there are so many jokes at work, But it's not a five because of
the fact that it's the laughter issporadic, like with a truly like top
tier successful comedy. I'll take,for instance, another comedy that Tristan hated
because he's dead inside plane strains andautomobiles, where there's a cadence to the
(48:50):
last, there has to be arhythm to things, and I don't think
that there's a rhythm in this,And I think that looking at it from
the vantage point of a director,I think that this is the least Terry
Gilliam movie of Terry Gilliam movies.I think even Life of Brian is more
of a Terry Gilliam movie. Ithink that this does have a disadvantage of
(49:14):
the type of production, what wasgoing on behind the scenes, of trying
to get the funding, of tryingto get everything done, of having to
work just at absolute bare bones.And as a result, like when you
go forward with Gilliam and he hasthe opportunity to have a more cohesive script
like in Life of Brian, likein The Fisher King, like in Twelve
(49:37):
Monkeys, like in Brazil, whenthere's a clear through line that is really
where he hits that absolute, youknow, rhythm that he needs for his
style to work. So this isa four five of love in my heart,
as I've said with other things,but a strong four and understandable why
(49:58):
so many people love this film.And that sets us up as we move
out of this section of the Wingof King Arthur, and we prepare to
jump forward to nineteen eighty one nextweek and we explore John Boorman's ex caliber
here on Houselights, Join the Revolution, Join the Nerd Party,
Welcome to the Nerd Polite. Welcomeback to house Lights, and I am
joined this week. I am nightJohn Mills, and I'm joined with fellow
(00:26):
Knights of the Roundtable Tristan Mradell andDarren Moser, and we regret to inform
you that the former producers of houseLights have been sacked and the people that
sacked them have also been sacked.And tonight's performance is in fact produced by
Ralph the wander Lama. So weare here, obviously to discuss in our
continuing wing of King Arthur, thenext film, the next entry, as
(00:50):
we leap into nineteen seventy five withMonty Python and the Holy Grail, which
believe it or not, counts aspart of the Arthur pantheon in the way
we reckon things. So here weare in nineteen seventy five with a couple
of coconuts carried by some sort ofswallow and uh, you know, gents,
(01:12):
instead of kicking off with our typicalthing of like when's the first time
you remember, Like, we'll getto that one, but I want to
ask Darren, I'll kick this offto you first, which night of the
round Table do you see yourself mostreflected in this depiction of King Arthur's You
know, that's a good question.I think that I think John Cleese's character
(01:38):
lance a lot lance a lot.Yeah, Okay, he's so dry and
so funny, but he's he istrying. He's just he makes things so
much worse as he goes. Butagain, they all do that. But
yes, I think lance a Lotis. I probably feel a kinship to
him more more than although the scienceone is pretty funny too. I don't
(02:01):
know why I'm not remembering their names, but well, you know, I'm
all the time. But you knowwhat I mean though, So let's be
honest that who who's playing whom inthis is not as important as the gags
or just knowing who Arthur is.But trust in the same question, to
you, which night of the roundtable do you see yourself reflected in in
this Monty Python adaptation of the KingArthur legend. Probably Galahad. Yes,
(02:25):
that was very That was very muchme in high school, just women throwing
themselves at me and me saying no, no, I can't, I mustn't.
Just a little bit of peril.Yeah, I would have to say,
honestly, I don't see myself asa knight of the round Table,
I'd say that I'm probably the wizardtim Is. I think that would be
(02:46):
fair at this junction. But obviously, when you're talking about Monty Python and
the Holy Grail, you're talking aboutsomething that is regarded as it's one of
the pillars of comedy in the lastfifty some odd years. It is a
constant reference point. It is referredto throughout popular culture. Even if people
(03:06):
haven't seen this, they've at leastheard a joke or two from it.
So, Tristan, when was yourfirst encounter with Monty Python and the Holy
Grail? Was it? Were youa wee lad? Was it something you
watched with your dad or was thissomething you stumbled upon later in life?
This was actually shown to me inhigh school in English class. Oh wow,
(03:28):
and this was we were actually studyingKing Arthur and the legend and everything
about it and the historical reference,the literary references, and as a treat
she, my English teacher, showedthis movie and you could tell she was
super excited to show it to us. And when the movie ended, she's
like, and that's it, guys, That's that's just it. And it
(03:51):
just goes on and on like itgoes on for a couple of minutes,
like it's black and it's it's hilarious. It just goes on like this,
and she you could tell like itwas it was a little infectious, just
because she was so excited, likeyou you got excited too to watch it,
and I think we Kimberly, Ican't remember if she broke it up
into two days. I mean shehad to have write you know, she
must have broken it up into twodays, or if I can't remember if
(04:13):
we had a long day that dayor whatever, I mean there is that
was intermission, so you just yeah, that was the first That was the
first time I ever watched it.Now, that does not include the constant
barrage of gangly kids walking through thewhole halls quoting this movie, the ones
with bad skin and bad teeth,just talking all about this movie all the
(04:33):
time, you know, like yeah, like if we don't include that for
a decade, then yes, yes, that was the first time I saw
it in high school. Yeah,your story about that, about the constant
references, just it brings to mindfor me like my own struggles with Hitchhiker's
Guide to the Galaxy, where Ihad to say to friends that I had
in high school in college, Isaid, as soon as one of you
(04:55):
knuckleheads can go a week without mentioningthe damn thing, I will read it.
And I didn't read it till Iwas out of college. So there
you go. Darren, the samequestion to you. Were you a young
lad when you encountered this. Wasit a crazy uncle corrupting your sense of
humor? Or was it similarly highschool time? Uh no, this is
kind of the same as the PrincessBride that we also talked about. This
(05:17):
was a camp video. This wasa working at summer camp, and you
know, we went to the boxcar and pulled out that giant you know,
fifty n CRT on the cart.Everybody got their sleeping bags and pillows,
and you knew that some like halfthe people probably had seen whatever movie
was going to be and the otherrest we're gonna be indoctrinated into whatever,
(05:39):
you know, cult classic. Prettymuch all was cult classic type of movies
that we watched at summer And yeah, so I guess well we did.
The whole rest of the summer wasquote finety five on like on the radio
and on our little notes on ourclipboards and just all throughout the summer,
and yeah, it's you know,I kind of feel add for people who
(06:00):
watch it and don't have an outletto express the quotes, because if you're
in school, or if you're atyou know, a job that allows that
or something like that, it's somuch more enjoyable because it is such a
quotable movie. And We've said manytimes, or I've said many times that
the mark of a good comedy isoften directly linked with its quotability. It's
(06:24):
a major factor. It is amajor factor. And I think that one
of the things that's really interesting aboutMonty Python and the Holy Grail is,
you know, Tristan, I'll throwthis to you first. You know,
whether I'm reading this right or not, but I think this is one of
those things that winds up unintentionally spoilingcomedy for a while afterward, because I
(06:46):
think people are still trying to chasethis dragon in terms of the regardless of
whether somebody loves it or hates itor is lukewarm about it, there's a
certain type of magic that this moviecaptures. There's a certain sort of like
odd ball off the rails type ofhumor that's happening here, and it's this.
(07:06):
If the alchemy works for you,it's absolute magic. And even if
it doesn't work for you, yousee that this is the work of some
slightly disturbed minds, really just throwingeverything at you at once. I think
it winds up, and I'm notsaying that like it winds up being a
net negative. I'm saying that thereare directors to this day who are still
trying to capture this type of magic, and it becomes one of those things
(07:30):
where it's a classic that can neverbe recaptured, but people nonetheless keep going
after it. Man, I cannotwait to find out what this question is.
Do you agree with that statement?Was that the question? Yeah?
Do you say? I said,I wanted to find out if you agree
with this? No idea? Whatthe question is? Oh, that's because
(07:51):
you're not a close listener. Iwas talking about everything. I said,
Yeah, it's a wind up.Do you agree with that or not?
I have no idea. You knowwhat I'm agreeing with that that people are
trying to chase that that feeling.Yes, I'll state it in fewer words
for you that this is a veryfunny movie that makes such an impact that
(08:13):
it winds up having an effect wherepeople who aren't as skilled as the people
who put this one together keep tryingto find the type of magic that this
movie has contained within it to varyinglevels of success. Well, I mean,
I don't know if I can answerthat really, because I feel like
(08:37):
if you if you're chasing something,you're usually chasing success. I mean,
if you look at how you know, the cast and crew look at this
movie, they look at it unfavorablybecause they hated filming it when they filmed
it, but this was by far, in a way, their most successful
film. Like I think that theythe cast believes that Life of Brian is
their best film, but it's nowherenearest accessful as Holy Grail. But in
(09:01):
terms of people who are this isinfluenced, I mean, this came out
in seventy five, and I meanpeople you know who were at their prime
in seventy five, you know,went on to be directors and like,
well, I'm guessing like McKay orright. Yeah, That's what I'm saying
is I'm saying that people just likepeople refer to Star Wars as a landmark
(09:24):
thing, and you can see thiseffect that Star Wars has afterward, I
think that Holy Grail winds up beingone of those things that has that sort
of effect. And I have troublesometimes sussing out whether that's a positive or
negative thing, because it is suchan odd movie to have such an impact.
I haven't really I can't really saythat I've seen too much evidence of
people chasing this because this movie isso unique to its time and to its
(09:46):
audience and to its style. Imean, this is Gilliam, this is
this is Terry Gilliam's first film,first feature length film, and you can
still see some Gilliam in there.And you know, this is a director's
podcast, so we should absolutely talkabout Gilliam. And you know, like
was other works, you know somethinglike you know anywhere from Brazil to Quixote.
(10:09):
There are certain things that are verymuch him. But I mean,
like with the like with the withthe slapstick jokes, with the nonsensical storyline,
with the animation thrown in, withthe metajokes, everything like that put
together, I can't I'd say thatthis is a very unique movie, and
(10:30):
I can't stay off the top ofmy head where I've seen it try to
be reproduced whether it was successful orfailed. Yeah. I mean the thing
is, I don't have an opinion. That's why I'm asking the question,
Like I think that there it's moreof a tonal thing where I think that's
what's unsuccessfully chased by other directors.Is that sense of self awareness works here
(10:54):
really well, that sense of selfawareness you're pointing to, and Darren I
would say that there are a lotof movie that come along all the way
up to this day where they havea sense of self awareness and they never
they never figure out how to breakthe fourth wall in the same way that
this one does. Yeah, Iagree with Tristan. I can't really see
a correlation of like, oh yeah, well, then these three movies in
(11:16):
the early eighties, you could seethey were really trying to capture that because
it is such a one off.It's like the right people, the right
type of humor. It's a realspecific humor. It's a dry humor,
it's a it's a zany humor.Given more moments to think about it than
Tristan had, I probably maybe Deadpoolis the closest thing I could think of
(11:39):
that like also kind of breaks thatfourth wall, but that is more because
it's Deadpool and not because it's tryingto capture the spirit of Monty Python ago
no joke. But yeah, butoverall, I think, if anything,
maybe it just gave a shot inthe arm to comedies in general. Maybe
(12:01):
not capturing the Monty Python nos,but like, hey, comedies can be
successful because something. You know,we've all seen the waves of comedy movies,
like we had a lot of those. Well this is probably way more
in like the late nineties, earlythousands, but you had all those duplicating
movies like you know, scary Movieand like where they're making fun of tropes
(12:24):
like to the extreme. Yeah,I mean, it's it's interesting because as
we're sitting here talking about it,the year before this, both Young Frankenstein
and Blazing Saddles come out, andthose both have a very similar sort of
vibe and a similar sort of selfawareness. So maybe it is just something
where there was a wave of thissort of thing. But testing to get
(12:46):
back to what you're talking about withGilliam as a director, you know,
oh, this is a troubled production. In the cast hated making it.
Gilliam has a track record of troubledproductions. One would say, do you
think that that's just he was basicallythe production behind the scenes, with this
winds up being a warning sign toeverybody that every film that he works on
(13:07):
it is going to be a bitchallenging. Do you think that he just
never like is it just his workingstyle? Do you see you know,
projected projected forward to those other moviesyou mentioned that he did. Do you
see all of the seeds there inthis movie? Do you see those sorts
of sensibilities already come to fruition ordo you see somebody without any vision on
this one? I think Gilliam,well, I mean, Gilliam is a
(13:31):
certified nut job, but true,you know, his his uh the craziness
that has happened on his sets inthe future. To say that they were
linked to him here might be toomuch of a stretch because like he's he's
young, he's inexperienced, you know, they're all in this together. Like
this is the type of production wherelike they didn't even buy a rabbit,
(13:56):
like they they they they had itloaned by an owner, you know,
for the for the for the killerrabbit. You know, like that that's
like the reason why there's coconuts inthe first places because they couldn't afford horses,
like, you know, I likeI think Pink Floyd helped give some
money to this movie by giving proceedsof Dark Side of the Moon because they
(14:20):
were such fans of the circus.And it's like that, like that's like
they could not get funding for thismovie. Like they had to scratch and
steal and rob and borrow and inorder to make this movie. And so
I think to blame all those productionproblems on Gilliams being gilliam being a crazy
person or like having production problems inthe future is a bit too much,
(14:43):
But it is kind of a coincidence. So I'd say it's more of just
the situation than it is him.And if they got a more experienced director,
if they got more of an experienceddirector who you know, maybe was
doing this as a favor, sayinglike, Okay, I'll be the journeyman,
I'll help you guys out, youknow, I'll get this product in
going. It probably would have beenbetter. But with gilliam and being inexperienced,
(15:05):
I'm sure it didn't help. Youknow. I think that maybe that
that's the reformulation of the question rightthere, or the the idea right there
is that since this is his firstfilm and this is how that went,
he did not have the type ofexperience on his first film that Gate that
taught him discipline or production management,he thought, you know, obviously he
(15:26):
gets there to a certain extent,because there are definitely successes in his you
know, in his filmography, anda lot of there there are a lot
of terrific Brazil is one of myfavorite films of all time, and I
love The Fisher King as well.And The Man who killed Don Quixote is
actually a very interesting failure to borrowa term that I've used for David Lyncho's
(15:48):
Dune. But it's, uh,it's one of those things where, Darren,
do you think that this is thetype of experience that basically, you
know, it winds up being somethingthat doesn't encourage the discipline that maybe another
you know, if he'd had somebodysteering him through the process. Because Terry
Jones, I believe, is alsocredited on this, at least like a
(16:11):
dual direction, Terry the Terry's,Yeah, the Terry's. I kind of
remember seeing some behind the scenes thingsabout it, like I don't remember what
percentage it really worked out between them, or if one of them left or
was upset or I can't remember.I'm sure it was tumultuous, because it
sounds like this whole production was.But I will say I don't think this
(16:33):
movie works with a more experienced directorcoming in. I think the magic sauce
of it's one of the it's oneof them inside the troop. Who is
the director. It's it's like thedifference between Jonathan Fraakes directing a star Trek
and someone else coming in from theoutside and making Trek. I think,
(16:57):
you know, granted, like itsounds like it was, you know,
a bear to shoot, but Ithink because you have this magical alchemy of
this particular troop, you know,acting comedy troop and all of the issues
they had so like yeah, likethe cookonut thing, I think because you
(17:18):
had a comedian in the director's chair, they were able to pivot and be
like, Okay, well, howdo we make that funny? How do
we work with that? And thatbecomes one of the best bits of the
entire movie. And instead if theywere just like, Okay, well we
have no horses so or we havehorses for one day, so we can
(17:41):
shoot and we have to always begoing up to the same castle because that's
the one shot we have, Like, yeah, it would kind of work.
But so again, not to dissectinto the entire movie, but I
think I think two of the strongbenefits of this movie is the fact that
you have someone from their troop whois in the director's chair, and so
they're able to pivot on the lowbudgetness of it. Like, I don't
(18:06):
think this movie works as if someonedid come along, you know, in
in a magical world and be like, hey, here's three million dollars Monty
Python make this movie, I thinkyou would get a completely different movie that
would not nearly be as funny becausethrough adversity they crafted. That's where half
the jokes come from. It feelslike it's from the adversity. That's a
(18:29):
fair point. That's a very fairpoint. I think that what's interesting is
I have lost sight over time,and I wouldn't be very clear. I'll
go ahead and spoil it. Iadore this film, but I don't know
if I adore this film half asmuch as I adore everything it's given me
over time, if that makes sense, because if I look film right,
(18:52):
But it was very, very instrumentalin Monty Python Flying Circus, Monty Python
and The Holy Grade Life of Brian. All that stuff very very influential in
helping form my sense of humor asI grew up. I watched Monty Python's
Flying Circus with my dad on PBSfor God's sake, right, And I
didn't see this until later, youknow, I was a teenager and some
(19:15):
friends showed it to me. Itwas oh, Monty Python did a movie.
No, I didn't know that,and I saw it. I was
like, this is amazing. Ilove this. So I'd sort of been
primed for it because I've watched theSketch Comedy Show. But there are so
many things about this production, whetherit's because of its troubles or in spite
of its troubles, where there's kindof a script, it's really just sort
(19:37):
of shooting from the hip, whichis part of its charm. But trusted.
We talk about this all the timeabout nostalgia glasses. Is it possible
to view this movie without thick nostalgicglasses on? If you were to show
this to somebody who's never seen MontyPython before, who has never grown up
with this, and you show itto them. Do you think you wind
(20:02):
up creating a new Monty Python fanor do you get somebody who looks at
it and says, yeah, okay, all right, I want that same
question after him. I don't thinkso. I think this takes a very
unique This takes a very unique typeof person to enjoy this. I think
you you have to have nostalgia onit. I do not think this is
(20:23):
universal. I do not think thisis timeless. I feel like this is
something that is geared towards the rejected, the kind of in the same way
that people like anime. You're like, oh, that's a type of person
who likes that, you know,Like, I feel like it's the same
people who like Monty Python. Isit's a it's a subsect of people who
(20:45):
enjoy this. And I when Itold my wife what we were doing next,
and when I said, I waslike, Oh, we're doing Monty
Python the Holy Girl, She's like, I was like, what's wrong.
She's like, I dated a guywho made me watch this like three times
as many weeks and he wouldn't shutup about it, he wouldn't stop quoting
it, and she was just donewith it to begin with. And I'd
(21:07):
only seen this once before podcasting aboutI saw it once in high school and
then I never watched it again untilpreparation for this podcast, and I had
a wildly different reaction to it thanI did in high school as I did
yesterday. I'm sure. But Darren, you said you wanted this question as
well, so knock it over toyou. Yeah. Well, I mean
my experience, so yeah, AndI think I think you're right, Tristan.
(21:32):
I think you know, there arepeople who like Mighty Python, and
there's people it's not it's type ofhumor. It is a very specific type
of humor. Now. I showedthis to my daughter a couple of months
back, and she's eleven, andI show her the entire thing except the
castle. Anthrax were not quite readyfor that. But she loves it.
(21:52):
She was cackling. I think herfavorite part was probably the sir land.
It's a lot like running up multipletake, which is just such a funny
bit because it happens so many times. I think it happens like seven,
like it happens two, three moretimes than you would think. Like you
(22:15):
would think the beat would drop andit would move, but it doesn't.
But she loved it. It wascackling and laughing. And so when you
know, often sometimes my wife orkids will ask me, oh, what
are you watching this week because theyknow I have a directing podcast, And
I said, oh, we're doingmy new Python, and she's like,
oh, Dad, I want towatch it with you. Can we watch
it together? So I, youknow, made sure we had time one
(22:37):
evening last week to watch it.And it was interesting for myself watching it
because I hadn't watched it basically amonth apart like that back to back in
a long while. Like usually it'slike once a year, maybe I'll put
it in. You know, Iremember it a lot, so I don't
need to, you know, refreshthat often. But it was still it
(23:00):
was still really funny, and andso I'll say that is I think it
is definitely possible for it to makenew fans if that's their type of humor,
if that is not their type ofhumor, just like any other comedy,
you know, people could watch melBrooks films or other types of comedy
and be like, it's just thejokes aren't aren't landing. I don't know
(23:25):
what percentage of the populace is moneyPython humor, and maybe there's also a
component of exposure, meaning you know, trusting. Like you said, your
wife was exposed to it in anon real pleasant way, and so she
kind of got a negative, abad taste in the mouth, versus my
daughter seeing it with her dad,and we share enough humor genes to the
(23:51):
pole think it's funny. So yeah, that's that's how I form my answer.
I wound up being team Darren onthis one because I did show this
to my oldest and while it's notlike her favorite movie, she got a
quite a chuckle out of it,and she got all the jokes, and
she thought it was funny as hell, and it she liked it enough that
(24:11):
we did wind up watching Life ofBrian afterward, which she does like more.
And I will fully concede in termsof a film is and it's much
more a film than this one.This is very much sketches like strung together.
This this literally, I think oneof the charms. And I can
(24:33):
honestly say that if you showed thisto me cold now, I would have
a very warm feeling for it,because I have a weak spot for things
that are just batass crazy, andthis has the verve of a bunch of
friends, talented friends getting together andsaying, let's do this thing, Let's
(24:53):
have some fun. And so ithas that energy of like an El Mariachi
or some other independent film that doesn'thave a lot of funding, and it's
just people going out and going smashmouth and having a great time with it.
And I consider that energy infectious becauseand this is the type of movie
(25:15):
where I would look at it andI would say I can honestly say that
while nostalgia makes me treat it asif it's, you know, part of
Star Wars lure for me. LikeI was saying right before we started recording,
I've easily seen this movie nearly asmany times as some of the Star
Wars movies, right and I've seenI've seen those quite a bit, and
I have it committed so much tomemory I could probably do it from beginning
(25:38):
to finish right now without a pause. But I think it's fair and I
think you're both saying sort of asimilar thing. If this type of comedy
works for you, this film isgoing to work for you. And in
terms of your wife Tristan having anunpleasant experience with it, I guarantee you
that there are at least two womenin the world who hate Star Wars because
(26:03):
of me, And there's my associationwith it. So you know, you
got a grade on a curve onthat sort of thing. But bringing it
back to Gilliam and bringing it backto putting something like this together for all
of the problems, for all ofthe criticisms that one might have, Tristan,
isn't it an accomplishment that he putthis together at all? For whatever
(26:27):
flaws you might see with it?For however, well it works for you,
given what you know about how strappedthey were for cash, how they
were flying by the seat of theirpants. Isn't putting together something that winds
up landing as well as it hasfor so many isn't that in and of
itself a testament to his skill orat least his nation's skill. Here,
(26:48):
well, I think you know itmakes you wonder, like it is it
Gilliam and Jones's ability? Is it? The Troop's ability? Is it?
You know? Like this thing isyou know, how many years old now?
It's just like it's it's on somany lists of top comedies of all
time, you know, like it'sinfluenced so many different people. I think
(27:10):
yeah, like it's enduring. Itobviously has an audience, and it's it's
this isn't just a cult following likethis is this is, This has a
gigantic following. So like I thinkbeing able to say that they put anything
together that, I mean, thelegacy is the answer to that question.
I want to ask this because like, it's so tough. This is one
(27:32):
of those one of those ones whereit's really tough I think to really discuss
it in any way that anybody elsehasn't before. So I'm going to give
it a try. Here, Iwant to say, Darren, the music
that everybody dreads and hates. Interms of the music here, we know
that this goes on and we nowhave Spam a Lot, which is a
(27:55):
Broadway musical based on this. Themusical numbers in this movie, you know,
or the either the music for thefight scenes, the themes that you
hear, the theme song for Camelot. Do you think they add to the
overall experience or do you think it'sjust as slap dash as the production itself.
(28:15):
No, I really like the scoreto this movie at literally the entire
time we've been talking. I don'tknow why, but the part where the
mastheadship is sailing up at the veryend, that part is playing on like
loop in my head and I can'tmake it stop. But yeah, the
it's like da da da da dada da, and it's just it's just
(28:37):
playing. But no, there's there'sa lot of great music there's and it's
it's a soundscape. It's it's notjust the music cues. It's the chanting
monks in one scene, and youknow, it's the you know, the
rhyming bridge keeper, Like that's musictoo. That's part of the makeup of
(28:59):
this, you know, this film. But yeah, there's still a lot
of fun parts. I've totally kindof forgotten about the Camelot part, which
is literally just a song and ajingle thrown in, but it's it's really
funny because of how it's like,actually, no, never mind, we're
not we're not gonna go there.I've seen fans who have made like a
(29:22):
lego version of that song where it'sall animated and stop motion lego just that
clip, and it's really funny.But yeah, I mean, as the
man who you know says he can'tenjoy a score without themes based on characters,
which is not really the case inthis there's just it is a hodgepodge
of stuff. But I think itworks. I think it's it's memorable.
(29:45):
I just saw there's a actual kindof soundtrack, and I'm kind of interested
of tracking that down so I canjust have that. I'm looking at the
names of the of the tracks andthey don't quite match what I would expect
from I can't remember what scenes areconnected to just by those names. But
but no, I think I thinkit works. But I also want to
(30:10):
say overall, I think, youknow, back to Gilium, I think
this is a in the edit movie. This probably had a substantial editing process
of like how do we assemble whatwe rightly know is a tangently at best
related sequence of bits together And that'swhere you find you know, the and
(30:37):
I don't know if it was likethe Lancelot running bit, Like I don't
know if that was found in theedit or if that was planned. You
know, it could be either orit could be you know, on the
set they're like, oh, whatif we just clipped it and clipped it?
But you know, there's so manymoments in this movie that are funny
because of the edit, and itwas interesting. Like I said, I
(30:57):
hadn't watched this so in proximity toa previous watch in a long while,
so this time I was noticing moreof, oh, yeah, they're they're
kind of just on the ground,Like I recognize that tree and that thing
in the back. Like they literallyprobably filmed a lot of this in like
(31:18):
fifty square meters of space and justshot it from different angles to make it
look like and it was a littlemore apparent than I had noticed in the
past of how uh, you knowconservative they had to be in their angles
to just make it look like theywere trousing all over Great Britain. But
but yeah, so overall though,I think this isn't in the edit movie
(31:41):
probably with a giant deadline, youknow, staring them down to get it
done. But I think it's integralto the type of humor and the because
that's what humor is. It's theit's the rise, the fall, the
punchline, the you know, Imean the intermission thrown in the whole opening
credits, Like I feel like thoseare things that were like, how do
we add to the run time,but how do we want people to feel
(32:05):
going into the start of this movie? Because those credits create a feeling,
create a expectation like that's not likeany other credits we've seen before. And
then you get the you know,to the intermission, which lasts like I
could totally see the joke of somepeople, because I mean, intermissions aren't
as much a thing nowadays, butthey were back in the seventies. So
(32:25):
I could see people starting to getup from their seat and they're walking away
and they're like halfway down the island, and then the movie comes back on
and they're like, what the Andthen they kind of laugh because they're like,
they did that on purpose. Theypurposely tricked me into getting out of
my seat. But we're not goingto see that joke because we're not in
the theaters in nineteen seventy five.Yeah, that's a great point, and
(32:46):
I'm glad that you mentioned editing,because if there's something that Tristan really loves
to hate when he doesn't like theway it's done, it's editing. Tristan,
do you agree with Darren that thiswas found in the edit and do
you think that that's because of theskill of John Hackney, the editor,
or do you think that it's justjokes and a blender. I think it's
(33:07):
just jokes and a blender. ButI think with a movie this cheap,
so much of it has to youreditor is your savior. It's it's it
actually can go one of two ways. When a movie's really cheap. You
can get an editor who can reusestuff that you would never think possible,
can reorient stuff, can can findlittle moments in fast cutting that really sell
(33:30):
the joke, like you know,Lencelot kicking the bridesmaid in the chest or
or anything like that. You know, like it flashes on so quickly.
And other times, if you havea really cheap movie, the editor,
the editor is like, okay,well I put a B next to B
and B next to C and seenext to D for you. Hope,
hope that works because that's all thatthey have. So it really all depends
(33:51):
on the production. But with theseguys, I'm sure they ran a lot
of film during these takes, andthey had a lot of takes to work
with, so I'd say the editorprobably had even though this was cheaply made,
they had a lot of stuff,a lot of comedic moments to work
with in order to get that moment. So a comedic editor is worth their
(34:13):
weight in gold. Even you know, Gilliam prides himself and being a technical
director, where you know, beforethis he was really only used to animation,
and so you know, it's it'sa very technical medium and animation like
knowing where everything is and the figuresand placing everything in the frame, and
a lot of the actors said thatthat's how he treated them, where they
(34:34):
weren't really people, they were justthings to be moved around. And watching
this, I didn't get that sensethat this was a technical director because the
cinematography, like certain angles that wereshot up just like really, that's where
you want to put the camera,okay, Like it felt like they just
kind of put the sticks down andwe're like, okay, we got like
five minutes in this light in thislocation that we're not supposed to be Sometimes
(34:59):
it felt like that. So,yeah, I give praise to the editor
for this one. Even though Idon't think it was a particularly well edited
film, I think it utilized whatit had in order to get the job
done. Yeah. I think theyhad lots of takes, except for the
take of the guy falling into thecrevasse, because it was the exact same
shot every time. Whether it benight or which again is funny because when
(35:24):
you notice that, it's funny howit's the same shot or this time for
the first time, I noticed inthe storming of the Castle with Lancelot that
that main room that they're in,the one you look down from really high
and all the wedding parties there,that's the same room that the Sun and
(35:45):
his dad are in, just thatsame corner, the same door. It's
just been dressed differently. I didn'tever realize they reuse that exact same room
twice. They just changed it andshot just that corner to be the upstairs
you know, locked away room,but it's the exact same the window and
the doors all line up. It'sjust I'm like, oh again, they
(36:07):
probably had just so little to workwith they had to make it all work.
I think that, I mean,the editor doesn't go on to do
anything of real note after this.He continues working, obviously, and he's
you know, good enough to continuegetting jobs. But this isn't like a
(36:29):
you know, you know, anabsolute like Stewart baired level effort here.
I think that I don't have aproblem with the editing. I also don't
have a problem with the way thatit's shot. Because there's a read of
this movie that I've heard from oneperson in the past, and it always
(36:49):
stuck with me that the movie isactually a bunch of people who had His
read of the movie was that themovie is a bunch of people who have
escaped from an asylum and are wreakinghavoc on the countryside. Now that's his
own personal thing, But I thinkthat, you know, let me throw
this to you, Tris, andwould it soften your view on this if
(37:10):
you because I've gone and I've youknow, every we all know a ton
of people, and almost every personI've spoken to has a different interpretation of
what's really happening on screen. Everybodyagrees jokes are funny, but everybody is
sort of coming at it with theirown flavor of what's actually happening. Do
you think that that is a functionof a well made movie or do you
(37:35):
think that that is the function ofa poorly made movie? That uh,
you know, there's that everybody canhave so many different takes on what's happening.
Once again, I'm going to haveto answer your questions with ambiguity,
where I don't think it's a signof either, I feel like when I
get when I get questions like thisfrom certain people, Like there was one
time I was I hated a movie. I absolutely hated it, and there
(37:59):
was this guy who was fending itand he says, you know, he's
like, well, he's like,well you felt something, right, you
felt something that's the sign of agood movie. And I said it was
like, I was like, sodoes a steaming pile of dog crap?
That makes me feel discussed? Butthat doesn't mean I enjoy what I'm seeing.
And so with the whole interpretation issue, like you know, like a
(38:21):
lot of people will think of stufflike Nolan's ending in Inception, where there's
us like what's your interpretation, what'sreal, what's not? And it's all
about the experience that you take awayfrom that. I don't think this is
one of those movies. Basically,it's not that deep, you know,
it's it's it's a collection of bitsthat they're stringing together through one through line.
I don't and I don't take anythingaway from that. I think that
(38:45):
the person I'm referring to had avery very unique take, and I think
that's why I've only ever run acrossthat interpretation all of once in my entire
life, Darren, when you cometo this movie and you watch it,
and you said, you know,you watch it every so often, you
don't necessarily watch it, you know, twice within a month of each other
sort of thing. But when youcome to this movie and you watch it,
(39:07):
what is it what is it thatyou're looking to experience again? What
is it that you're looking to recapturewhen you rewatch Monty Python and the Holy
Grail. I just the laughs.I mean I remember, I think it
was Kung Pu Panda was one ofthe when seeing it in theaters and like
actually laughing out loud like at someof the jokes and bits like and it
(39:30):
made me realize, like a lotof times comedy like that really makes you
laugh, like actually not just lO L. I typed it on my
screen, but like in person,I'm laughing at this, and I'm I'm
cackling up and I'm cracking up,like that's actually kind of rare depending on
your humor level and things like that. So yeah, when I put in
(39:52):
Mighty Python, you know, Ithink that's why I usually watch it maybe
once a year, because I'm lettingit kind of dre from memory enough so
that it can zing me again.Not that I've forgotten you know, what
happens, but I think it punchesup the jokes a little bit when they're
not like so memorized, at leastfor me, that it's like, okay,
(40:14):
you know, and then it catchesyou off guard. And again I
think Lancelot's running bit or you know, brave Sir Robbins, you know the
song from his minstrels, And youget a lot, just so much humor
from this. So that's why Iwatch it. I watch it because I
want to laugh, I want tohave a fun It's I wouldn't even say
(40:34):
it's a turn your brain off movie. It's not like you're not thinking,
You're just enjoying the bits and andjust as it goes from from one to
the next, you know, you'renot trying to follow the overarching plot of
the Nights as they search for theyou know, for the crail. It's
in there, but it's like it'sbarely what the movie's about. You know.
See that I agree with you.I think that there are just so
(40:59):
many ny bits thrown together and Trisan, I know that you took the tack
of all of this is jokes anda blender. But I think that jokes
and a blender can work when thejokes are fairly quick and I would say
reasonably intelligent, like when he whenArthur first happens across the peasant and we
(41:19):
get a whole lecture about valid systemsof government and lines like just because some
watery target throws it throws a stackout of you, I thought of you
during that joke. I was justlike, I bet John loved the joke.
I love I love it so much, And I think I just think
that there are so many things thatthat do in fact work on some sort
of level. But at the sametime, like I was saying before,
(41:44):
it's I think this is a fairlydifficult movie to talk about just because of
the fact that it's you know,it's like having it's like having a discussion
about the original Star Wars. It'slike, what are we really going to
hit on as we go through?So, actually, Tristan, I'll throw
it to you here, like,what have we overlooked? What is it
that you you want us to takeaway with before we get into our ratings?
(42:09):
You know, what is it thatthat should be taken away with Monty
Python and the Holy Grail, Like, what is it that we haven't hit
on yet? I was trying tobe a really cool guy, you know.
I was trying to let you guyshave your fun and just kind of
(42:29):
talk it out and not be thatguy. When I watched this last night,
I was like, good lord,what a piece of dog. I
just the funny thing is I inmy head? I said, I guarantee
you Tristan's gonna hate this. Iknew you would. Oh man, I
mean, okay, I'm not anidiot. Okay, I'm not an idiot.
(42:51):
I know that this movie has alegacy. I do. I really
do. Like it's clear to methat this movie has societal impact. It
has artistic impact, Like people reverethis film. It's on top ten lists,
it's in top one hundred lists.This movie has made waves in the
zeitgeist in ways that I can onlydream of making in my lifetime. I
(43:15):
understand that. Okay. When Iwas talking to my wife, I said,
I was like, why did Ihate that? Why did I despise
that? When I didn't in highschool? And she's like, well,
you watched in English class. Youwere just happy to be doing anything other
than English class. And I waslike, oh my god, you're probably
right, and this is just sonot for me. This this this type
(43:39):
of humor, this type of execution. I was cringing the entire time.
I think the only time I kindof chuckled was during the whole political thing
at the beginning like that, that'spretty much the only time that I commune
with two thirds majority for internal folks, like we literally external. And also
(44:00):
like the Black Knight was was kindof funny too, you know when he's
like, you know, does ascratch, like like it does a flesh
wound, you know, like yes, I mean that's kind of funny.
But like it just kept getting moreand more off the rails, and I
started fast forwarding it because there's justlike, oh, this scene's gonna keep
going. Like I just I thismovie was terrible, terrible. I'll give
(44:22):
you my rating now one and ahalf if I'm being generous. I just
one and a half, not sitinsides one and a half dead insides from
Tristan Riddell. And I want everyonewho who writes me letters because you guys
do, and everyone who reaches outto me online, because you guys do.
I don't know why they don't talkto you guys, but for some
reason they talk to me. Iwant you to remember everything that I said
(44:45):
and lead up to my rating tosoften. No, don't, don't remember
anything he said and lead up justcoming at ast forward that part, just
like you fast forward the movie Tristan, just like you fast forwarded past the
Holy hand Grenade of Antio, whichis one of also one of the funniest
bits of the entire movie, becausefive is right out, Darren, where
(45:07):
are you coming in with this?Right? Give me something to work with
here that isn't the Grinch living upon the hill up above Footville here?
I mean no, I think Tristanhas a good point, like it is
that kind of a movie where ifit is not your humor, it's not
gonna land. That is not surprisingat all. And I'm I'm glad that
when my daughter watched it it washer kind of humor, because I didn't
(45:29):
know I could show it to myson when he's a little older and it
could not it could not be ashumor. I don't know that, so
uh yeah, but it makes itfun when you find other people who that
is their type of humor like obviouslyyou and I John like we enjoy you
know. I think next time wesee each other in person, I'm gonna
have some you know, things tomake sure I'm getting over to where you
(45:50):
are. But so well, solong as my swallow isn't canceled to fly
out to see you. Yeah,but no, I yeah, this is
I think it's a fun movie,you know, Yeah, it's it is
interesting. I mean, I knowwe're not doing a whole sequence on Terry
Gilliam because he's got quite the diverselist of movies as well, like not
(46:15):
all comedies, you know, notall you know of this or that.
But I think, like I saidbefore, I think this the strongest aspects
are the edit. I think havingone of the comedy troupe in the director's
chair is important. I think you'regoing to get a lot out of that.
But at the end, you know, it's money python, it's a
(46:37):
comedy troupe. They they know howto tell jokes, they know their audience.
If you, I highly doubt ifyou were a fan of Flying Circus
that this didn't land, because that'syour type of humor, just like life,
but just like any so, yeah, if if if you're not you're
not British. But like if ifif that's not, if Flying Circus isn't
your bag, then this is probablynot going to land as much. But
(47:00):
it does to me. I thinkit's a really funny film. I'm glad
I've got to watch it with someone. I think, like all good comedies,
watching them alone is harder because there'ssomething about the infectious laughter of the
room where one person kind of startsto chuckle and it's self reinforces and you
don't get that when it's just youknow yourself, or it's harder. Not
(47:23):
that I don't think it's funny whenI'm watching it by myself, but yeah,
So all that to say, though, I still I'm gonna give this.
I'm gonna give this a four.It's it's I'm not going to give
it a five because it it isa bag of cats, and and just
trying to you know, like Iit's hard to say, you know,
(47:46):
I don't like saying words like perfectmovie or perfect comedy. You know,
there's definitely times that I don't feellike I'm in the mood for money python.
I'm like, I could watch thisright now, but I know it's
not gonna do anything for me,So I'm gonna wait for it to fade
a little from memory and then kindof respice it up. But yeah,
it's a solid four for me.It's it's funny, it's rewatchable, it's
(48:07):
quotable. It's so quotable. It'sso quotable it's obnoxious sometimes because you know
people won't shut up about it.But uh yeah, so but what did
you give it? John Well?I will come straight out of the gate
and say that I agree with you, Darren. It's a solid four because
(48:29):
there are so many jokes at work, But it's not a five because of
the fact that it's the laughter issporadic, like with a truly like top
tier successful comedy. I'll take,for instance, another comedy that Tristan hated
because he's dead inside plane strains andautomobiles, where there's a cadence to the
(48:50):
last, there has to be arhythm to things, and I don't think
that there's a rhythm in this,And I think that looking at it from
the vantage point of a director,I think that this is the least Terry
Gilliam movie of Terry Gilliam movies.I think even Life of Brian is more
of a Terry Gilliam movie. Ithink that this does have a disadvantage of
(49:14):
the type of production, what wasgoing on behind the scenes, of trying
to get the funding, of tryingto get everything done, of having to
work just at absolute bare bones.And as a result, like when you
go forward with Gilliam and he hasthe opportunity to have a more cohesive script
like in Life of Brian, likein The Fisher King, like in Twelve
(49:37):
Monkeys, like in Brazil, whenthere's a clear through line that is really
where he hits that absolute, youknow, rhythm that he needs for his
style to work. So this isa four five of love in my heart,
as I've said with other things,but a strong four and understandable why
(49:58):
so many people love this film.And that sets us up as we move
out of this section of the Wingof King Arthur, and we prepare to
jump forward to nineteen eighty one nextweek and we explore John Boorman's ex caliber
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