Monty Python and the Holy Grail was rejected by studios but the comedy troupe found funding from a number of famous musicians, and fans are only just realising who
A film described as one of the all-time comedy greats has a set of musicians to thank for its existence. Monty Python and the Holy Grail delighted audiences on release and it’s thanks to the likes of Pink Floyd members and Elton John that the film was made. The Monty Python troupe were hit with financial woes before the motion picture was made, meaning funding the smash hit was looking impossible.
But they managed to do so after relying on friends in the music industry who saw the film not only as a sound business plan, but a chance to invest in the group’s work. Film studios had refused to back the project, and instead it would take the likes of Genesis, Jethro Tull, and Led Zeppelin to get the film onto the big screen.
A post to the r/TodayILearned Reddit page has since shed a light on where Monty Python got the money for their film adaptation.
The post reads: “After studios refused, Monty Python and the Holy Grail was instead financed by the rock stars Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Genesis, Jethro Tull and Elton John who all saw it as simply “a good tax write-off”.
Fans of the film are thankful it was made and have since shared stories about the “first cut” of the film being so awful it had the music legends worried.
One user commented: “When the Pythons invited the investors to a private screening of the first rough cut, the evening started extremely well, with lots of happy talk and copious drinking and so on.
“But the first cut was so awful — and few if any of them understood how rough a rough cut could be, with little to no music or sound effects and so on — that afterwards it was incredibly awkward and embarrassing, as the rock gods just sorta quietly slipped away.”
The budget for the film was still tight, hence why jokes like coconuts clacked together are in the film in lieu of horses.
A fan explained: “I learned that the horse coconut joke was in fact an actual budget comprise.”
It was a similar situation for Monty Python’s Life of Brian, which was funded by The Beatles’ George Harrison simply because he wanted to see the movie.
This funding would lead to Harrison accidentally becoming a movie magnate, financing the likes of Withnail and I, The Long Good Friday, and Time Bandits.
Fans were thrilled by Harrison’s work as a movie producer, with one person writing: “How cool would it be, to be able to finance a movie just because you wanted to see it.”
Harrison would even receive a cameo in Life of Brian, where he was praised by The Pythons as a “kind gentleman”. One thrilled fan wrote: “Just another reason why George Harrison was the best Beatle.”