A Book about the Film Monty Python and the Holy Grail: All the References from African Swallows to Zoot
Monty Python’s Flying Circus aired from 1969 until 1974, but the conclusion of the series did not mark the end of the troupe’s creative output. Even before the final original episodes were recorded and broadcast, the six members began work on their first feature-length enterprise of new material. Rather than string together a series of silly skits, they conceived a full-length story line with references to the real and imagined worlds of the mythical King Arthur, the lives of medieval peasants, and the gloomy climate of 1970s Britain. Released in 1975, Monty Python and the Holy Grail was a modest success but has since been hailed as a modern classic.In A Book about the Film Monty Python and the Holy Grail:All the References from African Swallows to Zoot, Darl Larsen identifies and examines the cultural, historical, and topical allusions in the movie. In this entertaining resource, virtually every reference that appears in a scene—whether stated by a character, depicted in the mise-en-scène, or mentioned in the print companion—is identified and explained. Beyond the Arthurian legend, entries cover literary metaphors, symbols, names, peoples, and places—as well as the myriad social, cultural, and historical elements that populate the film. This book employs the film as a window to both reveal and examine “Arthurian” life and literature, the historical Middle Ages, and a Great Britain of labor unrest, power shortages, and the common man. Introducing the reader to dozens of medievalist histories and authors and connecting the film concretely to the “modern” British Empire, A Book about the Film Monty Python and the Holy Grail will appeal to fans of the troupe as well as medieval scholars and academics who can laugh at themselves and their work.
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A Book about the Film Monty Python and the Holy Grail: All the References from African Swallows to Zoot
Monty Python’s Flying Circus aired from 1969 until 1974, but the conclusion of the series did not mark the end of the troupe’s creative output. Even before the final original episodes were recorded and broadcast, the six members began work on their first feature-length enterprise of new material. Rather than string together a series of silly skits, they conceived a full-length story line with references to the real and imagined worlds of the mythical King Arthur, the lives of medieval peasants, and the gloomy climate of 1970s Britain. Released in 1975, Monty Python and the Holy Grail was a modest success but has since been hailed as a modern classic.In A Book about the Film Monty Python and the Holy Grail:All the References from African Swallows to Zoot, Darl Larsen identifies and examines the cultural, historical, and topical allusions in the movie. In this entertaining resource, virtually every reference that appears in a scene—whether stated by a character, depicted in the mise-en-scène, or mentioned in the print companion—is identified and explained. Beyond the Arthurian legend, entries cover literary metaphors, symbols, names, peoples, and places—as well as the myriad social, cultural, and historical elements that populate the film. This book employs the film as a window to both reveal and examine “Arthurian” life and literature, the historical Middle Ages, and a Great Britain of labor unrest, power shortages, and the common man. Introducing the reader to dozens of medievalist histories and authors and connecting the film concretely to the “modern” British Empire, A Book about the Film Monty Python and the Holy Grail will appeal to fans of the troupe as well as medieval scholars and academics who can laugh at themselves and their work.
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A Book about the Film Monty Python and the Holy Grail: All the References from African Swallows to Zoot
Monty Python’s Flying Circus aired from 1969 until 1974, but the conclusion of the series did not mark the end of the troupe’s creative output. Even before the final original episodes were recorded and broadcast, the six members began work on their first feature-length enterprise of new material. Rather than string together a series of silly skits, they conceived a full-length story line with references to the real and imagined worlds of the mythical King Arthur, the lives of medieval peasants, and the gloomy climate of 1970s Britain. Released in 1975, Monty Python and the Holy Grail was a modest success but has since been hailed as a modern classic.In A Book about the Film Monty Python and the Holy Grail:All the References from African Swallows to Zoot, Darl Larsen identifies and examines the cultural, historical, and topical allusions in the movie. In this entertaining resource, virtually every reference that appears in a scene—whether stated by a character, depicted in the mise-en-scène, or mentioned in the print companion—is identified and explained. Beyond the Arthurian legend, entries cover literary metaphors, symbols, names, peoples, and places—as well as the myriad social, cultural, and historical elements that populate the film. This book employs the film as a window to both reveal and examine “Arthurian” life and literature, the historical Middle Ages, and a Great Britain of labor unrest, power shortages, and the common man. Introducing the reader to dozens of medievalist histories and authors and connecting the film concretely to the “modern” British Empire, A Book about the Film Monty Python and the Holy Grail will appeal to fans of the troupe as well as medieval scholars and academics who can laugh at themselves and their work.
Darl Larsen is professor in both the Media Arts department and the Center for Animation at Brigham Young University, where he teaches film, animation, screenwriting, and popular culture studies. He is the author of Monty Python, Shakespeare and English Renaissance Drama (2003), Monty Python's Flying Circus: An Utterly Complete, Thoroughly Unillustrated, Absolutely Unauthorized Guide to Possibly All the References (Taylor, 2013), and A Book about the Film Monty Python's Life of Brian: All the References from Assyrians to Zeffirelli (Rowman & Littlefield, 2019).
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments IntroductionList of AbbreviationsScene 1Title and Credit SequenceScene 2Coconuts and SwallowsScene 3Animation / Live Action SequenceScene 4“Bring Out Your Dead”Scene 5Dennis the PeasantScene 6The Black KnightScene 7Flagellant Monks and “She’s a Witch!”Scene 8Various Montage—AnimationScene 9“The Book of the Film”Scene 10 Camelot (“It Is a Silly Place”)Scene 11 God Announces the Grail QuestScene 12 Title Sequence AnimationScene 13 Taunting by FrenchmenScene 14 The Wooden RabbitScene 15 A Very Famous HistorianScene 16 The Tale of Sir RobinScene 17 The Tale of Sir Galahad and Springboard NovitiatesScene 18 Castle Anthrax Scene 19 Animation / Live Action Scene 24Scene 20 The Blind Soothsayer or “Scene 24”Scene 21 The Knights Who Say “Ni”Scene 22 Dead Historian and PoliceScene 23 The Tale of Sir Launcelot—“Bloody Weather”Scene 24 The Tale of Sir Launcelot Scene Scene 25 Launcelot and ConcordeScene 26 Launcelot Storms Swamp CastleScene 27 Toothless Old Crone and Roger the ShrubberScene 28 Knights of Ni Get Their ShrubberyScene 29 The Dead Historian CoveredScene 30 King Brian the Wild Scene 31 Passing Seasons AnimationScene 32 Tim the EnchanterScene 33 Killer Rabbit and Holy Hand GrenadeScene 34 The Cave of Caerbannog Scene 35 The Bridge of DeathScene 36 The Wonderful Barge and the Grail CastleScene 37 Stop the FilmAppendix A Monty Python and the Holy Grail (Book) Facing PagesAppendix B Personal CorrespondenceBibliographyIndexAbout the Author