It stands the test of time.

Rating: 7/10 (13 July 2006)

Whether you love it or hate it, Monty Python is forever etched into British comedy history and this edition of the filmic Python exploits has stood the test of time, just.
The thing with Monty Python is that it's very random. The bizarreness and variedness of the humour is really something to behold and there are numerous examples in this film alone which backs this up. Whether it's a completely random and insane discussion-come-argument about swallows to a really scathing, surreal attack on how the English dealt with the 'black death' or the 'plague' or whatever killer virus' were going around back then, in the carefree manner that is shown. It can be a joy to behold.
With this film, we are instantly thrown into a world of confusion as the 'projectionist' actually loads up the wrong film to begin with. From here, you know something's up as no other film that I've ever seen or heard of has a beginning like this and you know that this is going to be different. Once the real film has started, the dialogue in the early scenes superbly juxtaposes the setting in 900 odd B.C. as political arguments and, as I've mentioned, discussions about migratory birds pop up. It feels like an extra long episode of a comic, sketch TV programme which has no real plot, but is just a montage of jokes and hilarious situations the characters find themselves in and this isn't a bad thing. The great thing about this is, is that the early situations and exchanges work as a flame for us, the moths, and it sets the stage very well; drawing us into the world of humour on show. Since no one around now knows exactly what happened in the time of the films setting, no one can argue whether any of this would really happen. Were minstrels who followed people/knights around that annoying? What did knights guarding the turrets of castles actually do/talk about to pass the time? Swallows maybe? Effective little scenarios like this make you wonder and it just adds to the genius of the writing.
One of the early scenes has to be one of the funniest in films entire one hundred year plus history. This is the fight scene between Arthur and the black knight. Following on from a good fight scene, the black knight delivers some of the funniest lines in the most funniest of ways following his own decapitation. The line: 'All right, we'll call it a draw.' has me in stitches just thinking about it.
One quarrel I have with the film is the animated sequences. Now, they look terribly dated and really aren't that funny. Fortunately, they only last a few seconds (most of them) and don't distract you too much but why even bother to have them in the first place? The titles in-between the knight's own separate stories are fine but little things like the 'artist suddenly having a heart attack' just insult the viewer. Not good, unfortunately.
I think most people would have a problem with the characters who talk to the screen, breaking the 'fourth wall', something which was stamped out of narrative film-making decades ago. I had a minor frustration with this as although it only happened twice from memory, it spoilt what was a perfectly good/funny scene. The incident in the castle full of young girls is the one which immediately springs to mind as she starts talking to the audience. In an analytical sense, this is actually supposed to add to the experience in the sense that it's all theatre anyway and this film shouldn't be taken seriously. It's fun and farcical and that's all that matters. I didn't let it get away with it when it came to the rating, though.
This film's great to watch alone, especially if you've not seen it either before or for a very long time. If you've never experienced Python before, then this is a great appetiser and remember  there are two other films and plenty of TV series' as-well.