These are the Notes from the Cutting Room Floor: Spotlight on Holy Grail

I’m Danny Boyd, this is Holy Grail, and these are the Notes from the Cutting Room Floor: the bits from the script that didn’t make the final cut:

I mean, invisible horses. It’s what instantly sets the absurdist tone of Grail from shot one, scene one, particularly for American audiences who at the time were very likely being introduced to Python, and frankly this style of foreign humor, for the first time, in 1975.

Imagine if Arthur and his man had pulled up on real horses, what would that tell you about the film you’re about to see? Nothing.

And all of Graham Chapman’s opening lines are done straight and could’ve come out of any Arthurian legend film at that time anyway.

Yet the first verbal jokes in the film are the self-aware observations made by the castle guardsman about the coconuts. It’s one of the funniest exchanges in the movie.

Not being able to afford horses led to absurdism and comedy that would otherwise not exist, were it not for those restraints.

The comedy is timeless because of its commitment to the reality of the situation. Their primary influences weren’t just Mel Brooks and the like, but serious cinema. The films of Bergman and Pasolini.

To add to your watch list:

• Monty Python’s Life of Brian (1979)

• Blazing Saddles (1974)

• The Canterbury Tales (1972)

• The Princess Bride (1987)

• The Seventh Seal (1957)

And for those who are interested, here are some references to Ingmar Bergman’s Seventh Seal found in Grail: 41 minutes in, monk scene. Hour and 3 minutes in, a scene in the woods. Hour and 15 minutes, the witch scene.

Now, here are some other notes that didn’t make the final video.

• Almost all the costumes were knitted wool painted gray, not real chainmail, with the exception of Chapman’s.

• They actually sell coconut halves at the souvenir shop at Doune Castle, where much of the movie was shot.

• Director Terry noticed in early screenings of the film that audiences laughed less during punchlines where music played, leading him to edit the music out of those segments.