It wasn’t quite 932 A.D. when I first crossed paths with King Arthur, Sir Lancelot, Brave Sir Robin and the Knights of the Round Table, but even though it was 1975, it seems like it was just yesterday that I was standing on line at the Esquire Theatre in Dallas for the ‘world premiere’ of this little unknown film called Monty Python and the Holy Grail. After about an hour on line, they handed each of us two coconuts and moved us inside. As we really had no clue as to what the film was about, we just knew it was from the brilliantly twisted mind palaces of Monty Python so it would definitely be worth the wait. Fortunately, it only took about 5 minutes before we understood completely the importance and meaning of getting a pair of coconuts as a parting gift for attending the premiere.

While it’s a bit hard to believe it’s been 40 years since that unforgettable night in 1975, my belief stands that this is one of the greatest comedic masterpieces of all-time and has not diminished one bit over time. This is not one of those films you loved decades ago and then when you re-watch it years later, your first comment is “what on Earth was I thinking”. This is still, and will always be, comedy gold.

To commemorate, and celebrate, the 40th anniversary, Monty Python and the Holy Grail will be re-released in the UK (and in the U.S.) for one night, and one night only, on Wednesday, 14 October, 2015 courtesy of Park Circus and Sony Pictures. Not only will the screening be accompanied by a specially filmed, exclusive, introduction from Terry Jones, Terry Gilliam, Michael Palin, Eric Idle and John Cleese, but the film will be re-released in a very Rocky Horror-ish sing-a-long version! Personally, I can’t wait to hear an entire theatre sing “The Camelot Song” and “The Tale of Sir Robin”. At this point, over 500 cinemas in the U.K. are participating so far with, I’m sure, more to come in addition to cinemas nationwide in America.

It was a month or so earlier that same year that four members of the Monty Python troupe came to KERA, the first public television station in the U.S. to broadcast Monty Python’s Flying Circus on a promotional tour for this little film that they really weren’t sure would be released. Unfortunately, this is all that is left of a full 2-hour interview but it’s interesting to listen to them talk about how they had just flown in from L.A. where this ‘film’ that they did, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, was just screened in L.A. and they almost seemed embarrassed about it and have no clue that this was a film we’d all still be talking about 40 years later!