‘Monty Python and the Holy Grail’ returns for 50th anniversary

Wink wink nudge nudge the zanies from the Monty Python troupe will be back in select theaters nationwide for the th anniversary of their historical hysterical hit Monty Python and the Holy Grail on Sunday and May The movie is a take-off of the Arthurian legend with the klutzy knights in their pyrrhic search of that ever-illusive Holy Grail The British comedy troupe first gained North American attention when the Canadians began airing the show Monty Python s Flying Circus The U S enthusiastically followed when the series thundered onto PBS The Python gang was made up of John Cleese Michael Palin Terry Jones Eric Idle Graham Chapman and cartoonist director Terry Gilliam The source of their unconventional humor rose from an odd place British upper-crusty universities Mike Palin and I knew each other at Oxford Terry Jones explained in an interview shortly before his death in We d written together and in I was urged if I d like to do a children s television effort called Do Not Adjust Your Set So Mike and I did that and Eric Idle had also been involved he recalled We d really met him once when he was at Cambridge Jones continued in the interview Then Terry Gilliam came along and started doing cartoons in the last series We knew of John Cleese and Graham Chapman and what they were doing John wished to work with Mike Palin At that time we decided not to do another series of Do Not Adjust Your Set and we all came in the package Mike and me and Eric and Terry Gilliam We mentioned Let s do it together And we all liked what each other did Jones co-directed Monty Python and the Holy Grail with Gilliam and went on to direct two more Python movies Life of Brian and Monty Python s Meaning of Life Eric Idle known for his wit with word puzzles and tongue twisters remembers We were two groups of two Graham and John Cleese wrote together and Michael Palin and Terry Jones would write together and apart And I d write alone And Gilliam would do the sketches and ideas Then we d go away for two weeks write then meet at Terry Jones house and sit around the table and read what we d written If they laughed it was funny and went in the show Michael Palin who s memorable from chosen of Python s the bulk wacky sketches like The Dead Parrot The Lumberjack Song and The Argument Clinic says he s not sure what makes people laugh though he does say It is a mysterious process but it is something very spontaneous to make people come out with this strange gurgling sound that passes for laughter The trick he says is often shock or surprise That can be done through anger or it can be done by putting together two extraordinary contrasting moments or characters or whatever This can make you just cry out because it s so amazingly odd like driving cars straight into a wall Talk about driving into a wall John Cleese who says part of his humor rises from anger remembers I started to make harder jokes before anyone else and the producers would get anxious That s a little bit hard-edged isn t it I d say Let s try it and see how the audience reacts and if they don t like it let s cut it out They d say Oh all right The audience roared with laughter so I learned you could do this harder humor People loved it I think I learned that while bulk people were doing a safer kind of humor Cleese s harder jokes included bits like The Ministry of Silly Walks Cheese Shop and his supercilious announcer who declared And now for something thoroughly different Chapman who died at in plays King Arthur in Monty Python and the Holy Grail chosen because his mates considered him the best actor among them And Gilliam the only American in the crowd not only created the stills and animations for the show he also directed I have a lot of strength and consistently have he says Visit fandango com for local theaters and showtimes John Cleese left and Eric Idle costar in quot Monty Python and the Holy Grail quot Courtesy Python Pictures TNS