4 Quintessentially British Films

If there's one comedy troupe that can be said to capture perfect English goofiness with perfection, it's the Monty Python comedy troupe. Famed for several acclaimed hernia-inducing masterpieces like Life of Brian, the team's first film follows Arthur, King of the Britons (Graham Chapman) as he seeks the Holy Grail with his Court of Camelot.

Holy Grail has been hailed for decades as one of the funniest films Britain have ever produced, and it's very heard to deny the blanketing shadow it casts over British popular culture, even today. So many iconic scenes: the Black Knight, the Bridge of Death, the Killer Rabbit, how to spot a witch - flawlessly executed hilarity with a straight-faced English stoic nature that is impossible to not at least smile at. It's so gloriously silly, taking various queues from the Python's established comedic trope of never ever taking itself seriously.

It doesn't hurt that the film is immensely quotable too; the phrase "it's just a flesh wound" may sound odd out of context, but anyone who knows anything about the Pythons, or comedy in general, immediately has a glimpse of an armless warrior dressed in black kicking the King of Brits in the behind. The mere image just brings warmth to even the coldest, stiffest British upper lip.

It even had its own problems getting made similarly to Braveheart, though the difficulties were mainly financial and the group had to settle on filming at only two castles. Fast forward over forty years, both castles are renowned tourist attractions for Python fans. That alone means it's hard to ignore the impact Holy Grail.