10 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Monty Python And The Holy Grail
2. Cleese And Gilliam Did Their Own Stunts
Returning now to the Black Knight scene brings about another interesting fact about the build-up to the encounter. When first introduced to this brave knight, the audience is shown a rather epic fight between him and a Green Knight. It's by no means a groundbreaking sequence, but for a Monty Python project, it was rather impressive.
What makes this fight even more mind-boggling is the fact that it was performed by Cleese and Gilliam themselves with no external help from stuntmen. This takes it from being a decent sequence to an unbelievably impressive one, as the acrobatics and use of heavy weaponry could not have been easy to pull off.
There are flips, lunges and all sorts of wild antics, and the two actors have stated that they had an absolute blast learning and performing the choreography. Still, it's surprising to know that they took such a risk, especially seeing as both of them were suited head to toe in armour and would have easily gotten away with swapping themselves out for professionals.