The Meaning of Life (1983)

Directors:

Terry Jones
Terry Gilliam

Writers:

Graham Chapman (written by) &
John Cleese (written by) ...

Release Date:

31 March 1983 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Musical | Fantasy

Tagline:

What it is, Where it is, and how to avoid treading in it [Video Australia]

Plot:

The comedy team takes a look at life in all its stages in their own uniquely silly way.

Plot Keywords:

Bizarre | Cult | Female Nudity | Controversial | Gore

Awards:

Nominated for BAFTA Film Award. Another 1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Graham Chapman	...	Fish #1 / Obstetrician / Harry Blackitt / Wymer / Hordern / General / Narrator #2 / Dr. Livingstone / Strange woman / Eric / Coles / Chairman / Guest #4 / Arthur Jarrett / Geoffrey / Tony Bennett
John Cleese	...	Fish #2 / Dr. Spenser / Humphrey Williams / Sturridge / Ainsworth / Waiter / Man / Maitre D / Grim Reaper
Terry Gilliam	...	Fish #4 / Walters / Zulu announcer / M'Lady Joeline / Mr. Brown / Howard Katzenberg / Window Washer
Eric Idle	...	Fish #3 / Singer / Mr. Moore / Mrs. Blackitt / Watson / Atkison / Perkins / Victim #3 / Front End / Mrs. Hendy / Man in pink / Noel Coward / Gaston / Angela
Terry Jones	...	Fish #6 / Mum / Priest / Biggs / Sergeant / Strange man / Mrs. Brown / Mr. Creosote / Maria / Bert / Leaf #1 / Fiona Portland-Smyth
Michael Palin	...	Fish #5 / Mr. Pycroft / Dad / Narrator #1 / Chaplain / Carter / Spadger / Sergeant Major / Pakenham-Walsh / Rear End / Lady presenter / Mr. Marvin Hendy / Harry / Padre / Debbie Katzenberg / Window Washer
Carol Cleveland	...	Wife of Guest #4 / Heaven greeter
Simon Jones	...	Cedric
Patricia Quinn	...	Mrs. Williams
Judy Loe	...	Nurse #1
Andrew MacLachlan	...	Groom
Mark Holmes	...	Severed head
Valerie Whittington	...	Mrs. Moore
Jennifer Franks	...	Bride
Imogen Bickford-Smith	...	Nurse #2

Also Known As:

Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (UK) (complete title)
Monty Python - Elämän tarkoitus (Finland) [fi]
Monty Python - O Sentido da Vida (Brazil) [pt]
Monty Python, le sens de la vie (France) [fr]
Monty Python: il senso della vita (Italy) [it]
Monty Pythons Vom Sinn des Lebens (West Germany) [de]
Monty Pythons meningen med livet (Sweden) [sv]
Sentido da Vida, O (Portugal) [pt]
Sentido de la vida, El (Spain) [es]
Sinn des Lebens, Der (West Germany) [de]

Runtime:

107 min | Germany:112 min (2003 restored director's cut)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Canada:18 (Nova Scotia) (re-rating) (2003) | Canada:R (Manitoba) | Canada:R (Nova Scotia/Ontario) (original rating) | Canada:PG (Ontario) (re-rating) (2003) | Brazil:18 | Italy:VM14 | Ireland:(Banned) (original rating) (1983-1990) | Iceland:12 | Portugal:M/18 | Australia:M | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Finland:K-16 | Ireland:15 (re-rating) | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:15 (re-rating) | Norway:16 (original rating) | Singapore:M18 (cut) | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (video re-rating) (2000) | UK:18 (original rating) | USA:R | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

England, UK

Company:

Celandine Films

Trivia:

During an interview to promote the film when it was first released, one of the members of the team said the meaning of life concept was the only way they could think of to tie together a lot of unrelated sketch material.

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: During the World War II segment Eric Idle can be seen stifling laughter when he is supposed to be dead.

Quotes:

Humphrey: Now two boys have been found rubbing linseed oil into the school cormorant. Now some of you may feel that the cormorant does not play an important part in the life of the school, but I would remind you that it was presented to us by the corporation of the Town of Sudbury to commemorate Empire Day...

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Meaning of Monty Python's Meaning of Life (1983) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Galaxy Song

More hilarity on film from the Monty Python team; this time, in sketch-comedy form

The third and last real film by the Monty Python crew. First, they made fun of the medieval times and its beliefs. Then, they gave the earliest followers of Jesus a whooping'. Now, they... well, they pretty much cover every stage of life in the search for the 'meaning of life'. The film, unlike the two other ones(Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Life of Brian) is basically a series of sketches(whereas the two aforementioned films had progressive plots), much like the series(Monty Python's Flying Circus). As such, it's pretty much like watching an episode of said series, if the episodes were nearly two hours long. Of course, this means that if you like the series, you'll like the film. To this date, I have yet to meet anyone who likes the group and doesn't like the series, so I guess it was a good idea. Despite the title, it has reasonably little actual philosophy and such, but I doubt any Python-fans will be completely devastated by this. As another new thing for a Python-film, it's also a musical. There have been one or two musical numbers during the previous films and the series, but nothing this major. There are about 8-9 musical scenes in the film, complete with choreographed dancing, lead singers and backup vocals. Of course, it's all done in typical Python-style, so not a single one of them is what you'd normally expect from a musical. The comedy is pretty much the same as usual from the Python troupe, with some misses, but mostly hits. Plot is pretty much nonexistent, but what there is, is good. The pacing is good, but because of the film's all-sketch content, it gets somewhat dull around the middle(as Cleese also points out in the 'making of' featured on the DVD). The acting is all pretty good. The special effects are nice. Not much else to say, since you already pretty much know the Pythons' style of humor from the series and the two earlier films. And if you don't, you should probably check out either of the films first, or, even better, one of the more sober episodes of the series. I recommend this to any fan of the Monty Python group, particularly those who prefer the Flying Circus over the two other films, since it's more sketch-comedy than the others. 8/10