“What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?”

        The question has floated, unanswered, through foggy, medieval air for more than 25 years.

        And it still gets a laugh.

        Like This Is Spinal Tap and Caddyshack, Monty Python and The Holy Grail has survived, even flourished, far longer than even its makers imagined possible.

        A 25th anniversary re-release, with fresh sound, a new negative and 24 seconds of additional footage, was released in theaters in 2001. It opens in Cincinnati Friday at the Esquire.

        Released in 1975, it was a low-budget cinematic venture from the British comedic troupe behind the demented TV series Monthy Python's Flying Circus. Financing came largely from simpatico musicians — including Tim Rice, Andrew Lloyd-Webber and members of Jethro Tull, Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd.

        It proved a hit that kept on coming. Today, it routinely shows up on lists of all-time favorite comedies. Key lines — “Bring out your dead!,” “We are the knights who say ni!!”, “Now go away or I shall taunt you a second time” — have found their way into common discourse. References to it show up in new comedies, including Shrek and Dude, Where's My Car?

        It has inspired a popular computer video game, a tribute film in which characters built out of Legos re-enact the “Camelot” song, countless fan sites and an official Python site where you can buy, among other items, a stuffed toy version of the movie's killer rabbit.

        Following is a small sample of Web sites where Pythonistas can indulge their obsession:

        • Lego Python tribute: www.lego.com

        • Monty Python Net fan site, with scripts and sound samples: www.montypython.net.

        • Pythonline, official Python information and goods (including the stuffed rabbit): www.pythonline.com.

        • Monty Python's Completely Useless Web site: www.intriguing.com.

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