• Amazon Sales Rank: #240 in DVD
• Released on: 2012-03-06
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: AC-3, Dolby, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: Chinese, English, French, Japanese, Korean, Mandarin Chinese, Portuguese, Spanish, Thai
• Dubbed in: French, Japanese, Portuguese
• Running time: 91 minutes

Amazon.com
Could this be the funniest movie ever made? By any rational measure of comedy, this medieval romp from the Monty Python troupe certainly belongs on the short list of candidates. According to Leonard Maltin's Movie & Video Guide, it's "recommended for fans only," but we say hogwash to that--you could be a complete newcomer to the Python phenomenon and still find this send-up of the Arthurian legend to be wet-your-pants hilarious. It's basically a series of sketches woven together as King Arthur's quest for the Holy Grail, with Graham Chapman as the King, Terry Gilliam as his simpleton sidekick Patsy, and the rest of the Python gang filling out a variety of outrageous roles. The comedy highlights are too numerous to mention, but once you've seen Arthur's outrageously bloody encounter with the ominous Black Knight (John Cleese), you'll know that nothing's sacred in the Python school of comedy. From holy hand grenades to killer bunnies to the absurdity of the three-headed knights who say "Ni--!," this is the kind of movie that will strike you as fantastically funny or just plain silly, but why stop there? It's all over the map, and the pace lags a bit here and there, but for every throwaway gag the Pythons have invented, there's a bit of subtle business or grand-scale insanity that's utterly inspired. The sum of this madness is a movie that's beloved by anyone with a pulse and an irreverent sense of humor. If this movie doesn't make you laugh, you're almost certainly dead. --Jeff Shannon

Most helpful customer reviews

143 of 152 people found the following review helpful.
The Special Edition is Special
By Paul Wilson
Certain individuals have erroniously indicated in these reviews that the Special Edition will not have commentaries or other special features. They are wrong.

The special edition will contain the following:

A "21st anniversary" cut of the film that is 24 seconds longer, Dolby digital 5.1, a subtitle track for people who don't like the film (with text from Shakespeare's Henry IV), an onscreen screenplay option, audio commentary with Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones, John Cleese, Eric Idle and Michael Palin, and Follow the Killer Rabbit option. Disc 2 contains "Three Mindless Sing-Alongs" and "The Quest for the Holy Grail Locations" featurette, "How to Use Your Coconuts" educational film, "Monty Python and the Holy Grail in Japanese" (with English subtitles), the BBC Film Night special "On Location with the Pythonos", an interactive cast directory, still galleries with Terry Gilliam's original sketches and behind-the-scenes photos, "A Load Of Rubbish" with mystery items, unused ideas and other material, and finally two trailers and weblinks.

There will be no special features with the special edition? RUBBISH! This is not simply a reissue of the older DVD with new sound and audio as some have implied.

81 of 90 people found the following review helpful.
one of the best comedies ever and dvd extras to rave about!
By audrey
This is what dvds were invented for -- there are so many great features here! So in addition to seeing one of the funniest movies ever made, you can be entertained for hours with the extras, and the extras are terrific: subtitles in English, French or Spanish; audio track choices -- English (the original mono or a brand new full stereo version), French, a directors' (Gilliam and Jones) track or a commentary track with Cleese, Idle and Palin; a copy of the script overlaid on the film; a painstaking, hilarious Henry the IV-ish subtitle for those who don't like the film; a hard-of-hearing feature; killer rabbit easter eggs; animated menus using Gilliam's original animation; karaoke renditions of 'Knights of the Round Table', 'Sir Robin' and the 'Monks Chant'; a delightful 45 minute visit to the locations with Jones and Palin; an educational film about the 'other' uses of coconuts; Japanese versions of the French Castle and Knights Who Say Ni scenes, including references to the 'holy sake cup'; a 1974 BBC Film Night visit to a location site during filming; photos of tickets, press releases, reviews, posters, production stills and original artwork; trailers; cast credits (Palin played over a dozen parts!) with pictures of each character; a Lego knights version of the Camelot scene; pictures of sketches that were never used (a killer snail?!); a web link.

A lot of effort went into this special edition dvd, and it shows. I particularly enjoyed seeing Jones and Palin visit locations. They were in a jolly mood, their comments are interspersed with film footage, and they meet affectionate and funny fans along the way.

If you like this film you will love this dvd version; if you love the film, you wil adore this two-dvd set. An essential item for your collection.

Highest recommendation.

412 of 484 people found the following review helpful.
Not even with an African swallow...
By A Customer
This is one of the funniest movies ever committed to film, no doubt about it. Were I to judge this DVD on the film alone, I would have given it five stars. If you are one of the few who have never seen this picture, do yourself the favor of and buy a copy on VHS straight away.

Purchasing this title on DVD, however, I have to take marks away from an otherwise excellent comedy. There has been absolutely nothing done to enhance the quality of this 25 year old film, and a DVD system drives the visual and auditory pitfalls home with feeling. The picture is grainy and jittery in many places, and the audio is mudded and full of hiss. I confess, I was looking forward to a sharper, cleaner viewing of one of my all time favorite movies than I had ever had before. I was profoundly dissapointed.

It is an hysterical movie, but don't look for an experience above what is delivered on the average bargin basement SLP recorded VHS tape here. If you've never seen it, go run and rent a copy from the local video store, and wait for a remastered release.