'Monty Python and the Holy Grail' anniversary: Here's when it's coming back to theaters

'Python' is a parody of the King Arthur legend and is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. The movie was made on a small budget but became a big hit.

The classic comedy “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” will reportedly return to theaters for its anniversary.

Park Circus, a British film distributor, will reportedly release the movie in Britain and internationally, while distributor Rainbow Releasing will bring the movie to America. 

In addition, audiences will be encouraged to sing along with the film, at least in Britain. It will screen on Oct. 14 in theaters in Britain, but a date for American screenings has not yet been announced.

“Python” stars the members of the Monty Python comedy group (Graham Chapman, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Terry Gilliam, John Cleese, and Michael Palin) and is a parody of the King Arthur tale. Directed by Gilliam and Jones, the film debuted in 1975 and became a hit in America. Since then, it frequently appears on lists of the best comedies ever made.

The movie was far from a Hollywood big-budget comedy. In an interview, Gilliam said of the film, “There was no studio interference because there was no studio. None of them would give us any money … so we turned to rock stars for finance. Elton John, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, they all had money, they knew our work and we seemed a good tax write-off. Except, of course we weren't. It was like ‘The Producers.’”

If released today, “Python” would still no doubt receive acclaim – its oddball humor would certainly find fans. But is much happening with the world of low-budget comedy? Audiences are most familiar with big-budget comedies like recent hits “22 Jump Street” (to look at that budget as an example, it was reportedly made for $50 million), “The Heat,” and “Anchorman 2.”

It’s also been some time since a low-budget comedy has broken through. In 2007, low-budget film “Juno” did extremely well at both the box office and during awards season. And in 2006’s “Little Miss Sunshine,” another comedy with what was reportedly a small budget, also did well at both the box office and with critics. In addition, the 2004 low-budget comedy “Napoleon Dynamite" became very popular. 

But the closest equivalent may actually be other British movies – the films directed by Edgar Wright, beginning with 2004’s “Shaun of the Dead” and continuing with 2007's “Hot Fuzz” and 2013's “The World’s End.” All became hits despite their low budgets and all have won fervent fans, enough so that many were disappointed when Wright didn’t direct the new Marvel comic book film “Ant-Man.” (Actor Simon Pegg starred in and co-wrote all three movies with Wright.)

Wright’s next project is reportedly a movie titled “Baby Driver” with Ansel Elgort and Lily James. Pegg, meanwhile, is set to star in the movie “Absolutely Anything,” which actually co-stars many Monty Python members. It’s debuting later this month in Britain.