Monty Python And The Holy Grail
1975
King Arthur and his knights embark on a chaotic quest for the Holy Grail across a grimy, plague-ridden medieval England, encountering absurd obstacles, French antagonists, and bureaucratic anachronisms at every turn. The Monty Python team's most sustained and beloved feature film is both a sharp parody of Arthurian legend and a freewheeling comedy classic.
Director
- Terry Gilliam
Cast
- Terry Jones
- Graham Chapman
- John Cleese
- Terry Jones
- Terry Gilliam
- Eric Idle
- Michael Palin
Filming Locations
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Castle Stalker
Castle Stalker, a 15th-century tower house on a tidal islet in Loch Laich, served as Castle Aaarrgh - the island fortress where the Holy Grail supposedly resides - in the film's climactic final sequence.
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Doune Castle
Doune Castle was used for the majority of the film's castle scenes, standing in for multiple different castles including Camelot (with its Great Hall used for the Knights of the Round Table musical number), Castle Anthrax (where Sir Galahad is tempted), and Swamp Castle (site of Lancelot's bloody wedding intervention).
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Epping Forest
The Black Knight scenes early on in the film were filmed here.
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Glen Coe
Glen Coe's dramatic mountain landscape provided the setting for the Bridge of Death sequence near the film's climax, where the bridge-keeper hurls knights into the Gorge of Eternal Peril; the Pass of Glencoe was also used for other outdoor wilderness scenes.
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Hampstead Heath
Hampstead Heath was used for several scenes filmed on the cheap around London after the main Scottish shoot, including the opening sequence of King Arthur and Patsy 'riding' with coconuts, and Arthur's approach to the first castle.
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Loch Tay
The south shore of Loch Tay provided the setting for scenes filmed around Tomnadashan Mine, which doubled as the Cave of Caerbannog - the lair of the killer rabbit - as well as the nearby scenes with Tim the Enchanter.