Here it is - for those of you who don't own the DVD and would like an opinion, or for those who do and would just like to read my opinion for what it's worth: my review of the fairly new Monty Python & The Holy Grail SE DVD.
Movie Synopsis: Well, this one is fairly obvious. I'm not going to go through it because, face it, we all know what the movie is about. Otherwise, you wouldn't have come to this website. Nevertheless, for those who might have just stumbled onto this page from websurfing, here's a quick rundown. The movie is a hilarious spoof of the King Arthur legend of the search for the Holy Grail. Arthur and his knights, along on their quest, encounter silly sods like outspoken peasants, taunting frenchmen, Knights Who Say Ni, and a killer bunny. For a more complete plot summary, please visit the IMDB.
THE DVD ITSELF
Picture: After seeing this film in a wide variety of incarnations, including different video editions, the Criterion laserdisc and the first half-hearted attempt of a DVD, this is the best presentation I've seen thus far. It is presented in a wide-screen, anamorphic transfer, in the original aspect ratio of 1.85:1. When the film was first released on DVD back in 1999, the aspect ratio was a paltry 1.66:1 so this is a definite improvement. It is a remastered version which was struck from the original negative, specially for the 21st Anniversary edition (as seen on a UK video format) and for the theatre re-release in the US during 2001. Granted, it certainly does show its age in spots as other reviewers have pointed out, but in general the picture is quite bright, clear and crisp.
For DVD owners! Fun Thing To Try: If your DVD player has a zoom-in feature, zoom in at the crane shots of the knights at the castle of the french taunters. You can finally see the knights' (and Arthur's) individual facial expressions. Not that you might be interested in this, but it does give you an idea of what the film looks like on the big screen...
Sound: I'd like to point out that I'm not an expert in audio/visual matters whatsoever; this is just a review from an avid fan's viewpoint. Right, then. As promised, the film features a rather nice 5.1 Dolby Digital soundtrack. Actually, perhaps the best thing for purists of the film, it includes not only the digital soundtrack, but the original mono soundtrack as well. This may be because a few changes are made on the digital soundtrack. More atmospheric background noises - like birds chirping - are added, as well as different incidental music in a few scenes (see my review of the rereleased version of the film here.) Furthermore, it is quite noticeable that Michael Palin has rerecorded all his voiceovers as the Narrator throughout the film. This certainly isn't a big deal, but for those of us who are purists, the good old-fashioned mono soundtrack is an option if the digital soundtrack becomes unnerving in the least. On the whole, the sound is quite good, and as demonstrated in the little interactive scene selection menus, it is used very well on the DVD.
THE EXTRAS
Disc One
Subtitles for people who don't like the film (taken from Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part II): This was actually a quite interesting feature. Of course it would be strange for someone to spend the money for the DVD and not like the film, but I suppose there could be people who mistakedly grabbed it off the shelf in their haste, and found that they weren't able to return the DVD. Then again, it can be pretty amusing for those of us who do like the film. Rumor has it that a Terry Jones collegue named Jess (see Pythonline's Chit-Chat board for info) was in charge of arranging the text of Henry IV to each scene of the movie, and I must say that it does tend to match up well! Give it a try, if only for a giggle.
On-screen screenplay: This is a nice little extra, if only to compare the screenplay of the film with the action taking place. It probably works best if you have a computer with a DVD-ROM drive, but it's fine with a DVD player as well.
Enlightening commentaries by Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones, plus general complaints and back-biting by John Cleese, Eric Idle and Michael Palin: There are two different commentary tracks which can be accessed in the "Audio and Subtitles" menu on disc 1: one by Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam, and the other by John Cleese, Eric Idle and Michael Palin. Both commentaries were very enlightening to say the least. The Jones/Gilliam one was lifted from the Criterion Collection laserdisc released in 1992, and offers many insights into the technical aspects of the film, especially on how certain scenes were shot. They also offer some insight into Python in general, including how the group was formed. The Cleese/Idle/Palin commentary was recorded especially for this DVD, and each Python's commentary was recorded separately (though at times you certainly wouldn't notice). This one is a bit more fun in my opinion. All three offer insight from the actor point-of-view on what it was like shooting the film. They also recount some behind-the-scenes happenings. All in all, both commentaries were very delightful, and the average fan can learn quite a bit from listening to them.
Extraordinary animated menus and scene selection with very loud 5.1 Dolby Digital sound: As mentioned above, the use of digital sound on this DVD is quite good, and the animated menus and scene selection menus are no exception. The animated menus make good use of Terry Gilliam's artwork, with silly sound effect and/or incidental music from the actual film. Quite nice. With the scene selection feature, you can access various chapters of the movie while a scene highlight from each is played with digital sound. Another nice treat.
Exciting "Follow the Killer Rabbit" feature: This is actually a spoof of the "follow the white rabbit" feature on The Matrix DVD. While not the best special feature on the DVD, it's still a hoot. When this feature is turned on, throughout the movie you will see either a white rabbit or an accountant rabbit (in spectacles and with a monetary symbol) will appear in certain scenes. Pressing Enter will result in storyboard sketches by either of the two Terry's (for the white rabbit) or details on how much it cost to film certain scenes (accountant rabbit), showing just how cheaply the movie was made.
A glorious extra 24 seconds "absolutely free": This may not seem as new to most Grail fans, at least those who have seen the infamous "missing 24 seconds." This is a scene from the Tale of Sir Galahad, in Castle Anthrax where Zoot suddenly turns to the camera and asks if the scene should be cut. This is followed by a few "Get On With It"s from various characters before returning to the rest of the film. The DVD would certainly not be a special edition DVD without these 24 seconds, and they are hilarious. It is down in grade from the rest of the film in terms of picture and sound, but that's hardly a complaint as the scene had been missing from the original film for at least 20 years.
Disc Two
Three mindless sing-alongs: Basically, that's all it is. It is the scenes featuring the Knights of the Round Table, Brave Sir Robin, and the chanting monks at the start of the Witch scene ("Pie Jesu Dominae...") songs, with the words at the bottom of the screen so you can sing along. For the monks' chant, you are treated to instructions on how to re-enact the scene yourself with the DVD case.
Michael Palin and Terry Jones' special feature documentary, The Quest for the Holy Grail Locations: This is a very interesting, highly informative, 58-minute documentary in which the two Pythons visit the Scottish locations where the movie was filmed, some 25 years later. It is nearly reminiscent of Michael's various travel shows, and is almost a cute way of tying the two together (his roles in Holy Grail and his role as a travelling informant). At each of the locations, Michael and Terry give quite a bit of insight on the different scenes which were filmed. Watch for the segment at Doune Castle where the two find a pair of coconut halves for rent and copies of their own screenplay for sale at the gift shop, as well as the bit at Castle Stalker where Michael recruits a group of kids to help re-enact the final scene of Holy Grail.
How To Use Your Coconuts (an educational film): This is a funny bit which starts Michael Palin as a rep from the Ministry of Foods, explaining how to make your very own set of coconuts for use in the same way they were used in the film. A short bit, but it's quite cute watching Michael trot around his office with a coconut-clopping servant behind him.
Monty Python and the Holy Grail in Lego: Holy Grail as you've never seen it before...in Legovision! This is the Camelot scene, done entirely in Legos (remember those things you used to play with as a kid? Now there's something called Lego Studios if ever you'd like to use them for movie-making). It's cute and very well made. For a sneak peak, there is a link provided to it on the News page of my site (go here and look under "Olde News"). Watch for the quick Flying Circus references.
Monty Python and the Holy Grail in Japanese: Another feature almost entirely lifted from the Criterion laserdisc (but more is added and the picture is much better). This consists of the French Taunting scene and the Knights Who Say Ni scene, with a Japanese soundtrack. It's funny enough to hear the film in Japanese, but it's even funnier to read the English subtitles, which appear across the bottom of the screen and have been translated back from the Japanese soundtrack. The search for the Holy Sake Cup...too funny.
"On Location with The Pythons": genuine 18 minute location report made in 1974 by BBC Film Night (broadcast 19th Dec. 1974): In my opinion, this is the best extra on this entire DVD (but then again, I'm a sucker for behind-the-scenes material). For it's weekly program, Film Night visited the set of Holy Grail in May 1974, whilst they were at Doune Castle filming the French Taunting scene. The result is some cool behind-the-scenes footage (including page Neil Innes getting the cow dropped on him) along with insightful (insightful?) interviews with the Pythons. This little documentary shows just how young the boys where when the movie was made. See an enthusiastic Terry Gilliam...a dazed Graham Chapman (who can blame him?)...an exhausted Terry Jones...a wisecracking Eric Idle...a quite shy (though cute and helpful) Michael Palin, and all the rest in action. My only regret is that this feature wasn't longer.
Interactive Cast Directory: A very helpful tool, it features all the credited cast members and their different roles in the film. Simply click on a cast member's name and you will see a list of the characters they played. Click on a character and a picture of the actor in that role will appear. As the DVD case says, "find out just how many roles Michael Palin plays!" A bit of trivia: Michael does play the most parts in the film, including some uncredited bit parts...check the film and see if you can spot any.
Tons of Terry Gilliam's original sketches plus posters: This is a small directory of Terry's sketches for various scenes in the film. Nice behind-the-scenes material which shows how the film came to life. The posters section shows a few 1-sheet posters with different amusing slogans. Nice to have if you can't afford the exorbitant prices for these things on eBay.
Behind-the-scenes photos:This is a gallery of 83 never-before-seen photos. They're all in rich, vibrant color and give us a bit more understanding of what went on behind camera, though they could stand to be a bit larger, especially for those of us with smaller television sets. Nevertheless, great material for behind-the-scenes junkies.
A Load of Rubbish, "a surprise package of mystery items specially included for the mentally challenged": In reality, an assortment of press release items made available at the film's theatre release, including a quite biting review narrated by Terry Jones. Nothing too special, but still pretty interesting.
Unused locations (directors' recce): This is a small feature with commentary by Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones, showing various locations they traveled to on their location scout, which shows how they quickly used up the film's budget. Actually, if you really believe that, you're a bit naive. It's actually a sort of Blair Witch spoof, cleverly done by the two Terry's (whose commentary I believe was recorded together). It's one of those tongue-in-cheek sort of things that is not to be taken seriously, fun Python humor that it is.
Unused ideas: Basically more sketches by Terry Gilliam, showing potential ideas for the film that were later scrapped. I believe quite a bit of these sketches are from the "Holy Grail (Book)" (Methuen, 1977; 1980; Mandarin, 1992), but it's still interesting material.
Theatrical trailers and weblinks: There are two trailers for the film on this DVD: that of the original release of the film from 1975 in all its original glory, and the version for the 2001 theatre re-release. Both are essentially the same, except the latter has been digitally remastered. They are both hilarious, involving several readers auditioning for the voiceover, only to be rejected for a Chinese reader (and an advert for a Chinese restaurant is shown at the end, appropriately). The weblinks are basically links to PythOnline the official Python website, Columbia TriStar's special Holy Grail site with fun and games, and the general Columbia TriStar site. These sites can only be accessed directly if you have a computer with a DVD-ROM drive.
In A Nutshell
What else can I say about this DVD that hasn't been said yet? It's just wonderful! Scores of Holy Grail fans were given the ultimate letdown with the first DVD release, and I'm more than happy that Columbia TriStar has given it the treatment it deserves. The picture is great, the sound is great, and the extras are fabulous. If there is an ultimate DVD release for Holy Grail, I'm sure glad this is it. Buy it and treat yourself to some good old silly, irreverent Python humor, it's well worth it.
- Jessica McEachern, 1/06/2003