'Just A Flesh Wound:' 13 Best Monty Python & Holy Grail Quotes

By | April 25, 2021

test article image

In 1975, Monty Python And The Holy Grail, a quote-laden classic farce from British troupe Monty Python, opened in theaters. The low-budget film went on to reap millions at the U.S. box office and would become a strong performer in the home-video market that would soon gain steam. Like the hit TV show Monty Python's Flying Circus, the Arthurian adventure Holy Grail is not merely watchable, but re-watchable. If you like it, you've watched it many times (if you don't like it, you may have given up halfway through). The movie has given us the unlikely touchstone phrases as "just a flesh wound," "she turned me into a newt," "airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow," "bring out yer dead," "run away!" and the enigmatic "Ni!"

'Wi nøt trei a høliday in Sweden this yër?'

test article image
Source: (Screen Rant).

In Monty Python and the Holy Grail, when God sends King Arthur and his knights of the Round Table on a quest to find the Holy Grail, they must contend with taunting French knights, a bridge-keeper who demands they answer three questions before crossing a bridge, and, of course, a killer rabbit. The film begins with pseudo-Swedish subtitles, which soon transition to an appeal to visit Sweden:

Wi nøt trei a høliday in Sweden this yër?

The mysterious subtitle writer touts the furry animals, "including the majestik møøse," then seems to wander off on a personal anecdote:

A Møøse once bit my sister...

What follows is a struggle in real time between the movie's producers, who are just trying to show the opening credits, and a Swedish subtitle-writer gone rogue, who keeps inserting commentary about moose into the credits and changing job titles to be moose-related. Once the Swedish subtitler is banished, the credits conclude with different visuals, faux-Latin music and singing, and a new obsession with llamas...

Executive Producer
JOHN GOLDSTONE & "RALPH" The Wonder Llama

The Pythons created the credits to take advantage of the spot and pack in a few more jokes while not spending any money. 

After the opening credits, King Arthur (Graham Chapman) and his servant Patsy (Terry Gilliam) approach a castle to recruit knights for the round table, and once again we see a famous element that resulted from the movie's low budget. Arthur and Patsy mime riding horses, while Patsy clicks coconuts to create the sound. This was a solution to the lack of money to spend on horses. Despite the lack of funding, the film would go on to be remembered as one of the best comedies of all time.