holygraildvd

The Holy Grail makes it to DVD some 26 years after it's original release, and it seems to have been worth the wait. The story as it goes, focuses on King Arthur being charged with a mission from God to retrieve the Holy Grail. Recruiting a gang of knights from across the land, they set off in search of the famed cup. Along the way they encounter witches (who aren't really witches), three headed tea obssessed knights, a fearless knight who will not give up, even after all his limbs have been hacked off, endless taunting from french soldiers and a big anti-climax. All this is, of course, done in true Python surrealism, with Gilliam's animation interspersing the action at opportune moments (and disappearing when the animator suffers a fatal heart attack). This is by all accounts, quite a shortt film, being around 86 minutes long, but is packed with humour and it gets along at a fair old pace. Some people may question the ending, but overall this is a fun and bizarre comedy from the masters of comedy.

EXTRA FEATURES
On disc one there are two commentaries, one by the two Terry's who directed the film, and the other by Cleese, Palin and Idle who recount anecdotes and memories about the movie. It's good to see all the cast involved in this feature, and it really adds to the viewing experience. The animated menus are pure Python, and its worth letting them run for a couple of minutes just to see what happens. As well as this, you can watch the film with the on-screen screenplay, detailing directions as well as the characters' lines, and also the 'killer rabbit' feature, that, when selected, means a white rabbit pops up occasionally. Clicking on this will lead to a brief interlude where ideas, sketches and more can be viewed in relation to that scene. And if you don't like the film, you can always select a subtitle option to read "Henry IV, Act II" instead of watching the film.
Disc 2 carries many throwaway extras that may seem silly, but to Python fans are worthwhile and pretty funny. You get three singalongs to musical numbers from the film (even instructions on how to copy the chanting monks and banging the DVD box against your head), a short educational film starring Palin showing how to use coconuts properly, the Knights Of The Round Table sequence presented in Lego, cast list, sketches and concept drawings, posters, photo gallery, a spoof unused locations feature with commentary, and some trailers. The main extras on the second disc are a good 47 minute documentary starring Jones and Palin where they go in search of the modern day locations used in the film, and a 1974 Film Night special which interviews all the group and looks at the filming process on location. Overall, an (occasionally silly) packed two disc set for all fans of the oddball comedy team.