---
title: "Monty Python and the Holy Grail: the reviews"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/monty-python-and-the-holy-grail/reviews"
title_page: "https://film.one/film/monty-python-and-the-holy-grail"
critics_score: 80
critics_reviews: 14
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975): what the critics said

Critics' score 80 from 14 reviews: 12 positive, 2 mixed, 0 negative.

Most critics like it a great deal: twelve of the fourteen reviews are positive and none is negative. The praise gathers around the set pieces, with the coconut shells standing in for horses, the Knights Who Say Ni, the French taunters and the killer rabbit named again and again. Critics admire how thoroughly the film sends up Arthurian legend, chivalry and costume pictures, and several single out Gilliam’s animations and Graham Chapman’s earnest, put-upon Arthur.

The reservations are about shape. Several reviews call it a string of sketches rather than a story, and the ending divides opinion: Radio Times finds it a let-down and Paste thinks the nonsense thins out late, while Consequence thinks it lands well. The two mixed notices, from Variety and the Los Angeles Times, find it more amusing than hilarious, with talky patches and fight scenes some will find gruesome. The Times and the Los Angeles Times both think Life of Brian is the funnier film.

## Time Out — Tom Huddleston

Rating 5/5. 12 October 2015. 

One of the most original, hilarious and visually striking comedies ever made. Its unnecessary gorgeousness and goofy, slapstick laughs stand out.

[Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/monty-python-and-the-holy-grail)

## Slant Magazine — Arthur Ryel-Lindsey

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 1 December 2006. 

The critic praises the film's brilliant satire of medieval legends and lifestyles combined with strong comic timing and irreverent humor. They highlight its youthful charm, energy, and the troupe's freedom in creating an accessible, singular work despite its amateurish production qualities.

[Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/monty-python-and-the-holy-grail/)

## The New York Times — Vincent Canby

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 28 April 1975. 

The film is a marvelously lunatic endeavor that sends up the King Arthur legend, courtly love, bravery, costume movies and movie violence. It features nonstop gags, some inspired, with Graham Chapman as an earnest but doomed Arthur.

[Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1975/04/28/archives/monty-python-and-the-holy-grail.html)

## Empire — Rob Fraser

Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. 

Feature films bring out the best in the Pythons, resulting in a focused comedy packed with killer lines, sight gags and absurdity that qualifies as a medieval-on-your-ass laff-riot. Highlights singled out include the homicidal bunny, the wedding guest massacre and the use of coconut shells for horses.

[Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/monty-python-holy-grail-review/)

## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw

Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 15 October 2015. 

The critic praises the film's anarchic daring and subversive elements of anticlimax, noting its bridgehead into international stardom. Gilliam’s animations are singled out as timelessly brilliant.

[Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/oct/15/monty-python-and-the-holy-grail-review-rerelease)

## Radio Times — David Parkinson

Rating 4/5. 

A wonderfully inventive comedy that brilliantly debunks the Dark Ages and legends of chivalry. Highlights include the witch trial and Holy Hand Grenade sequence, though the ending disappoints.

[Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-5jbwyd/monty-python-and-the-holy-grail/)

## The Times — Kevin Maher

Rating ★★★★☆. 2 May 2025. 

The film offers moments of brilliance in its loosely related set pieces and early religious irreverence, though the Pythons later peaked with Life of Brian. The Knights Who Say “Ni!” and Trojan Rabbit gags are highlighted as highlights.

[Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/film/article/monty-python-and-the-holy-grail-review-classic-nz05t780g)

## Los Angeles Times — Kevin Thomas

Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 15 June 2001. 

The inspired lunacy of the Pythons' take on King Arthur is more often amusing than hilarious, with dry and talky passages. Its glorious Scottish locales and the troupe's erudition in medieval history stand out, though 'Life of Brian' remains funnier.

[Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-jun-15-ca-10596-story.html)

## Variety — Variety Staff

Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 31 December 1974. 

The British comedy group sends up Arthurian legend in whimsical fashion, with Graham Chapman effective as King Arthur. The story is an excuse for set pieces, some amusing and others overdone, including gruesome fight scenes that will get laughs from some and make others squirm.

[Read the review](https://variety.com/1974/film/reviews/monty-python-and-the-holy-grail-1200423426/)

## Consequence — Blake Goble & Dominick Suzanne-Mayer

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 12 May 2015. 

The roundtable calls the film one of Python’s finest and most accessible works, praising its infinite quotability, meta silliness, and status as a foundational comedy that influenced later works while highlighting the perfect ending.

[Read the review](https://consequence.net/2015/05/tis-a-silly-film-monty-python-and-the-holy-grail-at-40/)

## Digital Spy — Stella Papamichael

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 17 October 2015. 

The film is a triumph of silliness over British pomposity and a comedy masterpiece. The critic singles out the coconut shells used in place of horses and the irreverent satire of religious fanaticism for praise.

[Read the review](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/re-viewed/a673453/re-viewed-monty-python-and-the-holy-grail-remains-a-comedy-classic-40-years-later/)

## /Film — William Bibbiani

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 30 August 2023. 

The critic ranks Holy Grail as the troupe's best and most successful film, praising its intelligent, subversive deconstruction of Arthurian legends and British national identity alongside its clever cinematic gags and fourth-wall breaks. They highlight its enduring quotability and how it works wonderfully as a complete film.

[Read the review](https://www.slashfilm.com/1380040/monty-python-movies-ranked/)

## Eye for Film — Amber Wilkinson

Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 14 March 2002. 

The critic finds the film a funny and surprisingly fresh silly romp through medieval legends, praising its loose sketch structure, standout hilarious scenes like the French knights and Knights who say 'Ni', and Gilliam's fabulously surreal animation.

[Read the review](https://eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/monty-python-and-the-holy-grail-film-review-by-amber-wilkinson)

## Paste — Sean Fennell

Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 1 April 2025. 

The critic celebrates the film's enduring quotability and absurd humor as a shared cultural language passed between generations, while acknowledging that the nonsense thins out toward the end.

[Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/monty-python/monty-python-and-the-holy-grail-50th-anniversary-legacy-retrospective-knights-of-the-round-table)

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© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/monty-python-and-the-holy-grail.md