The Rice Thresher, Vol. 89, No. 4, Ed. 1 Friday, September 7, 2001 Page: 15 of 24
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Texas Digital Newspaper Program and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Rice University Woodson Research Center.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
v.'W' ,
if i :
.
. > ' . ."ly.. ?} ■ ; • , v'.
THE RICE THRESHER ARTS ft ENTERTAINMENT FRIDAY. SEPTEMBER
7, 2001
15
■■■■Ml
/ \/ W</ A' 11 III. \ III: s /. i/;)
COURTESY RAINBOW RELEASING
King Arthur (Graham Chapman, center) and his Knights of the Round Table (from left, Eric Idle, John Cleese, Terry
Jones and Michael Palin) behold the guidance of a cartoon God in Monty Python and the Holy Grail.
'Holy Grail' of comedies gets re-release
Dalton Tomlin
THRESHER EDITORIAL STAFF
This year has seen the release of
a classic movie from the 70s, with
added footage and restored sound
and picture. It's a must-see for any
film buff seeking a well-rounded
education.
Of course I'm talking about
Apocalypse Now Redux. But for those
of you who don't feel like sitting
through over three hours of Viet-
nam War madness, there's the re-
release of the 90-minute Monty Py-
thon and the Holy Grail.
'monty python and
the holy grail'
Rating: irititir 1/2
(out of five)
In theaters.
I don't think many people regard
comedies as films that are hard to
make. But really, they can be as
tough — or tougher—to make than
dramas.
Think about it. What's the point
of a comedy? Bottom line: to make
you laugh. Have you ever seen a
movie that makes you laugh the en-
tire way through, without giving you
a few minutes now and then to catch
your breath? I doubt you have.
Neither have I, but Grail is one of
the few that comes close. And even
better, it's not part of the low-brow
recent fare that relies on "dick-and-
fart" jokes. In fact, you need a decent
liberal arts education to get some of
the humor, such as Dennis the
peasant's rant about his anarcho-
syndicalist commune and how
"strange women lying in ponds dis-
tributing swords is no basis for a
system of government."
In that sense it's a geek-friendly
movie. If you had an AV club at your
high school, there's no doubt some
of its members quoted Grail fre-
quently. Have you ever walked down
the hallway and had "Ni!" shouted at
you? I thought so.
For those who have no idea what
I'm talking about, here's some back-
ground. Monty Python was a com-
edy troupe made up of five Brits
(John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Jones,
Michael Palin, and the late Graham
Chapman ) and one American (Terry
Gilliam, who went on to direct Twelve
Monkeys and The Fisher King).
"Monty Python's Flying Circus" ran
on the BBC from 1969 to '74; its later
seasons were not nearly as fresh and
energetic as the early ones.
Then in 1975 the gang made
Monty Python and the Holy Grail,
their first movie. It's somewhat skit-
like in format, but the basic story is
that King Arthur (Chapman) and his
Knights of the Round Table are trav-
eling around England on their quest
for the Holy Grail, just before the
turn of the last millennium.
There are several classic scenes
along the way. There's Arthur's ri-
diculously bloody and hilarious fight
with the Black Knight. There's the
witch burning, the song and dance
at Camelot, the Trojan Rabbit,
I>ancelot's violent wedding rescue
... They're all separate and have little
to do with each other, but many are
nuggets of pure comic gold.
Each of the cast members plays
multiple roles, although there are a
few supporting actors such as Carol
Cleveland and Connie Booth (they're
employed when an actual woman is
needed, rather than one of the sex-
tet dressed in drag). It's especially
funny when an actor plays two roles
in the same scene, such as when
John Cleese, as a rude French sol-
dier, shouts insults at King Arthur
and his knights, one of whom is Sir
Umcelot, played by John Cleese. Oh,
the irony.
Part of the promotion for the re-
release is 24 more seconds of foot-
age at the Castle Anthrax, sort of a
wink at the audience. While it's not a
much-needed addition, it's not like
the revisionary "improvement" of
Greedo shooting first at Han Solo.
Ads claim the film's print and
audio track have been restored.
Since the original film had such a
small shooting budget, there wasn't
much to work with, but I was still
somewhat disappointed. Most
scenes looked fine, but ir compari-
son others were a little murky. The
sound track has been upgraded from
mono to stereo, so that has merit.
I hadn't seen Grail in a few years,
so watching it this time was a more
objective (read: less funny) experi-
ence. In my days of youth, whenever
we would take a trip in my aunt and
uncle's Suburban it was my movie of
choice for the drive. They tired of it
quickly, whereas I never did.
But now there are a few dragging
moments, most after the halfway
point. The last big laughs come at
the Bridge of Death, about 10 min-
utes before the end of the movie.
But as I said, the perfect comedy has
not yet been (and probably will never
be) achieved, so in that light Grail is
as good as it gets.
High school-based 'Othello' hits most of its marks
(), from Page 13
O tries to create a motivation for
its teenage Iago but instead winds
up detracting from his effectiveness.
Hartnett's Hugo is the neglected son
of Coach Duke (Martin Sheen), an
invented character loosely based on
the Venetian Duke.
Sheen's character has little to do
except gruffly yell at his players and
ignore Hugo while referring to Odin
as his "son." This contrived father-
son struggle makes it too easy to
explain Hugo's actions and dilutes
Iago's pure evil. Showing Hugo us-
ing drugs and steroids does not help
either.
Still, the acting is solid and im-
passioned. Hartnett comes off as
chilling and believably two-faced
despite the changes in the material.
Stiles plays Desi as a mature young
woman, hardly the pure innocent of
Shakespeare's play, but still unde-
serving of her fate.
Phifer realistically plays Odin's
descent from self-sure school hero
to a mess of emotions completely
dependent on Hugo. Phifer's early
scenes with Stiles establish their
relationship as more than just sexual
and give Hugo something meaning-
fid to destroy. The supporting cast is
adequate, but the stars propel the
film forward.
There are several other problems,
including a hawk and dove meta-
phor that becomes almost laughably
obvious thanks to Hugo's final nar-
ration. However, director Tim Blake
Nelson (who played Delmar in O
brother Where Art Thou?) for the
most part constructs a film that
moves swiftly and relentlessly to-
ward its conclusion. The soundtrack
and the basketball scenes empha-
size the racial issues, while (he of-
ten-stunning visuals show the grow-
ing darkness and isolation of Hugo
and Odin's world.
None of the actors struggle with
the verse because there is none, and
at times that is sad. While Othello is
not a complete poetic masterpiece
\\ke Hamlet or Macbeth, I still missed
lines like "green-eyed monster," "Put
money in thy purse," "Put out the
light," 'The beast with two backs"
and the "good name" speeches. I
especially yearned for Iago's wicked
soliloquies. Instead we have dialogue
that is not distracting but adds noth-
ing to the film.
Othello is Shakespeare's master-
piece of evil and arguably one of his
best plays. While not as poetic or
thoughtful as Hamlet, as brutal as
Macbeth or as full of raw emotion as
King Lear, Othello still has incred-
ible power and brilliance and a time-
less story. O, while flawed, retains
most of its source's power, and those
unfamiliar with the play will not lose
anything. In a time where almost all
films about teenagers focus on crude
jokes, sex and shallow romance, it's
a shame O was forced into hiding for
so long.
Hudi veiser
CONCERT SERIES
SATURDAY. SEPTEMBER 29
• :i3:
This Bud s For You.:
ani dif ranco
with special guest bitch and animal
&
MM
revelling Q reckon
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 6
Aerial Theater
Aerial Theater Box Office 520 Texas Ave. 713-225-6551
See it First, Buy it First — aerialtheater.com
get tickets at
Call for Tickets 713-629-3700 (automated), or online at
Ticketmaster com Tickets also available at all
outlets and the Aerial Theater Box
Office All dates, acts, and ticket prices subject to
change without notice A service charge is added lo
each tickct. Produced by Ciear Channel Entertainment
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Liu, Leslie & Reichle, Robert. The Rice Thresher, Vol. 89, No. 4, Ed. 1 Friday, September 7, 2001, newspaper, September 7, 2001; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth443165/m1/15/?rotate=270: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.