History Film / MontyPythonandtheHolyGrail

* AcCENTUponTheWrongSylLABle: The Knights of the Round Table, whose shows are formidABLE, but oftentimes are given rhymes that stress the wrong sylLABLE.

** [[spoiler:The murder of the historian.]]
** The credits. [[spoiler:[[DontExplainTheJoke All of the credits guys were sacked, meaning there were no end credits.]]]]

* PainfulRhyme: The "Camelot Song" is built around these, and it's even lampshaded:
-->''We're Knights of the Round Table, our shows are for-mid-able\\
But many times, we're given rhymes that are quite un-sing-able...''

* "[[SomeCallMeTim Some call me... Tim?]]"

'''Bedevere:''' Now we wait until sundown, and then Launcelot, Galahad, and I leap out of the rabbit, taking the French completely by surprise. And not only by surprise, but totally unarmed!\\

'''Bedevere:''' Launcelot, Galahad, and I ... uh, leap out, uh, of the rabbit ... and...''(looks around at who are very obviously still standing next to him, and besides which are now openly {{facepalm}}ing)'' look: if we made this large wooden badger...

After the success of ''MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'' in the UK and US, the six Ambassadors of Anarchy got the right to make films. This was their second go-round (after ''And Now for Something Completely Different'', which did feature redone versions of several sketches from ''Circus'') and, arguably, their most famous and oft-quoted.

* DownerEnding: [[spoiler: Arthur gets arrested by (modern-day) police officers in connection with a trans-temporal murder committed by his knights earlier in the picture. Plus, Arthur and his knights are arguably innocent. The "famous historian" was murdered by a knight riding a REAL horse, whereas Arthur's knights only simulate horseriding with pantomime and coconuts.]]

** King Arthur has a tendency to skip to 5 when counting.

* RealityIsUnrealistic: More of ''Holy Grail'' is true than one would like to believe. Keep in mind, Terry Jones is an expert on medieval history, as his ''Medieval Lives'' series proves. For instance, the "spanking and oral sex" scene was closer to what women were [[AllWomenAreLustful believed to be like]] during the Middle Ages. Much of what people accept today to be the Middle Ages were fantasies of the Victorian era. (Of course, being arrested by modern police is not very realistic.)
** The single most outrageous example, quoted from [=IMDb=]: ''As part of their stained glass and interior decoration, several medieval cathedrals included illustrations of virtues and vices. The vice of cowardice was depicted as a knight running away from a rabbit. Notre Dame in Paris has no fewer than three such medallions of the "Killer Rabbit". ''
** In medieval warfare, it actually ''was'' common practice to use catapults to launch animals at enemies in hopes of spreading disease. They were usually dead animals, and they were usually launched ''at'' a castle rather than ''from'' it, but still...
** In the Middle Ages, most illiterate peasants wouldn't have had any way of knowing who their king was--and they wouldn't have had much reason to care, since they paid their taxes directly to their lords. The scene with Dennis is a pretty accurate illustration of what would happen if King Arthur had introduced himself to some random peasant.

* ThatMakesMeAngry: "You make me sad."

'''Bedevere:''' Launcelot, Galahad, and I ... uh, leap out, uh, of the rabbit ... and...''(looks around at who are very obviously still standing right next to him, and who are now openly {{facepalm}}ing)'' look: if we made this large wooden badger...

'''Bedevere:''' Now we wait until sundown, and then Launcelot, Gallahad, and I leap out of the rabbit, taking the French completely by surprise. And not only by surprise, but totally unarmed!\\

'''Bedevere:''' Launcelot, Gallahad, and I ... uh, leap out, uh, of the rabbit ... and... look: if we made this large wooden badger...

Full of random quips, hilarious stand-alone scenes, and the type of comedic anarchy and anticlimax that practically ''defines'' British comedy even to this day, the movie was a low-budget success story and has become a CultClassic over time. It also reveals Michael Palin's versatility, as he plays something like 10 roles over the course of the film. He's not alone, of course; the majority of people and about 80% of the lines are from the Pythonites, leading to some interesting blocking and directing decisions. (Watch Lancelot's helmet.)

* IGotBetter: From the "Burn the witch" scene.

*** Flagellants used whips on their bare backs, though. Hitting themselves in the face with boards is funnier.

** When the knights are hurled from the bridge of death, the actor is just crouched down, and then standing up real fast.

* BilingualBonus: The [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dies_Irae Latin chorus]] sung by the monks while hitting themselves on the head with a two-by-four (a film-friendly version of self-flagellation). It's a real prayer and has been put to music many times, most famously by Bach. The line uttered by the monks translates to ''Lord, all pitying, Jesus blest, grant them thine eternal rest.'' However, when one factors in the satirical nature of the film, it's not really that far-fetched to assume that what they're ''trying'' to say is: [[spoiler: God, give them a break already!]]

* HandSignals: Arthur uses some to direct his knights after arriving at the castle with the insulting French guards.

* HollywoodTorches: Appear during many indoor and underground scenes.

* AcCENTUponTheWrongSylLABle: The Knights of the Round Table, whose shows are formidABLE, but oftentimes are given rhymes that accent the wrong sylLABLE.