14 minutes of "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" lost footage coming soon
2015-10-15
Terry Gilliam is arguably best know as a director of films that inspire millions of dorm room posters: Time Bandits, Brazil, Twelve Monkeys, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and a perpetually in-development, never completed Don Quixote project. But before those films, Gilliam served as the animator for British comedy troupe Monty Python, eventually becoming a full fledged member. Forty years ago, he co-directed what's become one of the most beloved cult films of all time, Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Today, 14 minutes of lost animation from that film have been resurfaced on the official Monty Python YouTube page.
Gilliam introduces the lost animation, part of an upcoming 40th anniversary Blu-ray, explaining why the art wasn't used, and how he developed his style. "This in fact is probably the only reason to buy this new Blu-ray version of the film, for the new animation," jokes Gilliam. "In fact, it's old animation, but its the animation that was cut out by the rather envious members of the group, who were trying to restrain a young, talented animator. A man who could have gone on to be a great animator, but no, he was forced into live-action filmmaking to cover the scars."