King Arthur: I AM ARTHUR, KING OF THE BRITONS!
Helms: I DON'T KNOW WHY WE SORT OF FIND THE HEROES THAT WE DO,
BUT FOR ME, THOSE GUYS ARE WHY I DO WHAT I DO.
Gilliam: IF WE WERE THE PEOPLE WE ARE NOW, WE WOULDN'T EVEN TRY.
BUT WE DIDN'T KNOW BETTER.
Jones: WE HADN'T SEEN ANY OTHER MOVIES LIKE THIS BEFORE,
SO WE WANTED TO TRY IT AND SEE WHETHER IT WORKS.
Horak: MONTY PYTHON TELEVISION SHOWS
HAD BEEN BROADCAST ON AMERICAN TELEVISION,
AND THEN PYTHONS HAD DONE A COMPILATION
CALLED "AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT,"
WHICH WAS RELEASED IN THE THEATERS
BUT WAS REALLY ONLY A COMPILATION OF SKITS.
Gilliam: PYTHON, THAT POINT, WE WERE DOING VERY WELL,
AND WE WERE THE BENEFICIARIES OF THESE DRACONIAN TAX LAWS.
WE WERE VERY POPULAR WITH POP GROUPS.
SO PINK FLOYD, LED ZEPPELIN WERE LOOKING FOR TAX RELIEF.
Jones: WE WENT AWAY FOR A MONTH AND THOUGHT ABOUT IT.
I SUGGESTED DOING IT ALL IN THE MIDDLE AGES.
TO MY SURPRISE, EVERYBODY ELSE AGREED.
Gilliam: TERRY JONES, WHEN WE STARTED PYTHON, SAID,
"OH, WOULDN'T IT BE NICE IF THE SHOWS
WOULDN'T HAVE PUNCH LINES ON THE SKETCHES?"
'CAUSE ONCE YOU CUT THE PUNCH LINE OFF,
NOW YOU'RE NOW MOVING INTO SCENES AS OPPOSED TO SKETCHES.
INDIVIDUAL KNIGHTS COULD TELL DIFFERENT TALES.
WE CAN THROW IT TOGETHER THAT WAY
AND GIVE THIS ILLUSION THAT IT'S A PROPER NARRATIVE.
Man: HOW DO TWO PEOPLE
WHO HAVE NEVER DIRECTED A FILM BEFORE IN THEIR LIVES
DIRECT A FILM?
Gilliam: WELL...
TERRY AND I WERE DETERMINED TO PROVE
THAT WE WERE FILM DIRECTORS WITH VERY LITTLE QUALIFICATIONS.
Jones: WE HAD TO FILM VERY FAST.
I DIRECTED ONE DAY, AND THEN TERRY DIRECTED THE OTHER DAY.
Gilliam: WE'D BEGIN AND THEN EVERYTHING, OF COURSE, GOES WRONG.
I REMEMBER THE VERY FIRST SCENE WE SHOT WAS IN GLENCOE,
AND WE HAD BUILT THE BRIDGE OF DEATH.
TERRY AND I, OUR FIRST -- PROBABLY THE FIRST SHOT,
READY TO GO, EVERYBODY'S IN COSTUME, AND...
Jones: CAMERA SHEARED ITS GEARS -- AND THE ONLY SYNC CAMERA WE HAD.
Lancelot: OH, COME ON!
Gilliam: AND THERE WE WERE,
STUCK AT THIS FANTASTIC LOCATION WITHOUT A CAMERA TO WORK,
BUT WE MANAGED TO GET THROUGH THE FIRST DAY.
AND AFTER THAT, I GUESS THERE WAS NO STOPPING US,
EVEN THOUGH MANY THINGS TRIED TO.
French Guard: I'LL WAVE MY PRIVATE PARTS AT YOUR AUNTIES!
Jones: BUT IT IS MORE POPULAR IN AMERICA THAN IT IS OVER HERE.
Horak: THE MID '70s IS A REAL PERIOD OF TRANSITION FOR HOLLYWOOD.
MONTY PYTHON HAD SUCH A LASTING IMPACT
BECAUSE THEY WERE FOREIGNERS, WERE ALLOWED TO BREAK TABOOS,
WHERE AMERICAN COMEDIANS WOULDN'T HAVE.
-Dingo: SPANK ME. -Girl: AND SPANK ME!
-Girl #2: AND ME! -Girl #3: AND ME!
Dingo: YES! YES! YOU MUST GIVE US ALL A GOOD SPANKING!
Gilliam: I GUESS THE GREAT INFLUENCES FOR US
BESIDES MEL BROOKS, IT WAS PASOLINI.
THIS IS WHAT WE WERE TRYING TO DO,
SOMETHING AS BELIEVABLE AS A PASOLINI FILM OR A BERGMAN FILM.
AND OUT OF THAT, THE COMEDY IS RICHER.
Helms: THE DEADPAN AND THE GRAVITAS THAT THEY BRING
TO THE MOST RIDICULOUS CIRCUMSTANCES
IS WHAT MAKES IT FUNNY.
THE COMMITMENT TO REALITY MAKES THE SILLY PERFORMANCES,
LIKE, JUST THAT MUCH MORE TRANSCENDENT.
Azaria: I THINK THE ONE THAT FIRST GOT YOUR ATTENTION
WAS THE BLACK KNIGHT.
Black Knight: 'TIS BUT A SCRATCH.
King Arthur: A SCRATCH?
-YOUR ARM'S OFF! -Black Knight: NO, IT ISN'T.
Azaria: THE ARMS BEING CHOPPED OFF
AND THE GUY BEING JUST A TORSO IN THE END.
Black Knight: ALL RIGHT. WE'LL CALL IT A DRAW.
Azaria: YOU WERE, LIKE, LAUGHING
BUT ALSO KIND OF TERRIFIED AT THE SAME TIME,
AND IT SORT OF ADDED TO THE WHOLE EXPERIENCE.
-Guard: YOU'RE USING COCONUTS! -King Arthur: SO?
Jones: WE COULDN'T AFFORD HORSES, AND THAT'S WHY WE HAD THE COCONUTS.
Gilliam: WHICH IS ACTUALLY MUCH FUNNIER.
SO NOW TO TRY TO BALANCE THE ABSURDITY
OF A PAGE RUNNING AROUND
BEHIND A KNIGHT PRETENDING TO BE IN A REAL WORLD
IS A VERY ODD AND WEIRD JUXTAPOSITION, AND IT WORKED.
Horak: IT'S A KIND OF BRITISH HUMOR THAT'S VERY DARK.
AND JUST THE AUDACITY OF, YOU KNOW, HERE IS A COMEDY
WHERE YOU GET UNBELIEVABLE NUMBERS OF PEOPLE DYING.
THIS KIND OF HUMOR
WAS NOT SOMETHING AMERICANS WERE USED TO, BUT THEY LIKED IT.
Helms: AFTER SIR LANCELOT MURDERS EVERYONE AT THE FAMILY BANQUET,
LANCELOT'S LIKE, "I'M REALLY SORRY WE MURDERED EVERYBODY."
THE LAND BARON SAYS TO LANCELOT...
Father: LET'S NOT BICKER AND ARGUE ABOUT WHO KILLED WHO!
Helms: [ Laughing ] THERE'S LIKE 50 DEAD PEOPLE,
LIKE, STREWN ABOUT THIS CASTLE.
Azaria: FROM THE BEGINNING, I LOVED THIS LINE READING.
Tim: THERE ARE SOME WHO CALL ME...
Both: TIM?
Azaria: WHY DOES HE ASK THAT AS A QUESTION?
WHAT'S WITH THE PAUSE, AND WHY IS IT A QUESTION?
Helms: IT'S JUST SO SILLY.
A 5-YEAR-OLD IS GONNA LOVE IT
AND AN 80-YEAR-OLD IS GONNA LOVE IT AND EVERYONE IN BETWEEN.
King Arthur: SHUT UP! WILL YOU SHUT UP?
Dennis: AH, NOW WE SEE THE VIOLENCE INHERENT IN THE SYSTEM!
Helms: IT'S JUST AN INSANE MISH-MASH OF CULTURAL SATIRE.
Azaria: WAIT A MINUTE. YOU CAN BE THAT OUTRAGEOUS AND THAT SILLY?
YOU CAN BE A GROWN MAN AND THAT OUT OF YOUR MIND?
THEY SEEM TO BE ACTING LIKE I DID WHEN I WAS AN 11-YEAR-OLD,
AND YET THEY WERE GETTING AWAY WITH IT AND IT WAS HILARIOUS.
Gilliam: WE JUST DID WHAT WE WANTED TO DO, WHICH MADE US LAUGH.
SOMEHOW CERTAIN THINGS HIT THE MARK.
I'VE NEVER TRIED TO ANALYZE COMEDY.
I DON'T -- I JUST KNOW IT WAS FUNNY AND IT WORKED. [ LAUGHS ]
Bedemir: GOOD!
Horak: HOLLYWOOD LOVES WINNERS, AND THIS FILM MADE A LOT OF MONEY.
AND SO AFTER THAT, HOLLYWOOD PRODUCERS WERE WILLING TO THINK
ABOUT OTHER COMEDIANS WHO HAD THINGS TO SAY,
AND IT DIDN'T HAVE TO BE
NECESSARILY THIS NARRATIVE TIED UP ALL IN ONE PACKAGE.
Helms: THERE'S A LONG WAKE BEHIND THAT BOAT
OF SO MANY MOVIES THAT CAME AFTER IT
AND JUST HAVE A LITTLE BIT OF AN EASIER PATH.
Azaria: AND, LIKE, AFTER THAT, YOU'RE LIKE,
"CAN NEVER GO BACK TO BEFORE THAT.
WON'T SETTLE FOR SOME KIND OF SILLY,
HALF-THOUGHT-OUT VERSION OF COMEDY."
Gilliam: IT'S PART OF A CONTINUUM.
WE TAKE WHAT INSPIRED US
AND WE CHANGE IT AND MAKE IT WORK FOR OUR TIME AND OURSELVES,
AND THEN SOMEBODY COMES ALONG AFTER US
AND DOES THE SAME THING.
IT'S WHAT CREATIVE PEOPLE DO.