'Monty Python and the Holy Grail' in a high-def 37th-anniversary remastering

'It's just a flesh wound."

If you're a fan of Monty Python and the Holy Grail - the Brit-com ensemble's sublime sendup of Arthurian legend and Hollywood's Camelot-ization of such - you know where that line figures in the 1975 farce.

King Arthur has just literally disarmed the Black Knight - bringing his sword down to cleave both upper limbs, the blood gushing every which way - but the Black Knight stands his ground. And soon he's just stumping his ground, but not before he bravely and blithely delivers the defiant utterance cited above.

Famous for its coconuts-in-lieu-of-horse-hooves-clippity-clop scene, for its testy name-calling between the snooty French and the stoic Brits, and for its trenchant sociopolitical commentary (in response to hearing the legend of Excalibur, a serf wags: "You can't expect to wield supreme executive power just because some watery tart threw a sword at you!"), Monty Python and the Holy Grail is nothing short of brilliant.

It is also short.

To celebrate the 37th anniversary (let's see, 37, that's celebrated with a herring, right?), a high-def remastered edition of the Terry Gilliam/Terry Jones-directed medieval quest classic has been readied, and opens Friday at the Ritz at the Bourse.

Extra bonus short: "Terry Gilliam's Lost Animations," featuring various characteristically trippy and collage-y cartoon intros, outros and extended segments by the Python's lone American member, including long-ish opening sequences to "The Tale of Sir Robin" and "The Tale of Sir Lancelot."

The Knights of Ni await.

Directed by Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones. With Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin, Connie Booth, and Neil Innes. Distributed by Rainbow Releasing.

Running time: 1 hour, 44 mins. (with short)

Parent's guide: PG (comic violence, adult themes)

Playing at: Ritz at the BourseEndText