Monty Python's the Meaning of Life

UPC: 014381422627

Studio: Image Entertainment

MPAA Rating: R   Contains:[Violence, Nudity, Adult Situations, Not For Children, Adult Humor, Profanity, Sexual Situations]

Summary: The Meaning of Life is without a doubt the most tasteless of the Monty Python feature films; it also happens to be one of the funniest. Life's questions are "answered" in a series of outrageous vignettes, beginning with a pre-credits sequence at a staid London insurance company which transforms before our eyes into a pirate ship. One of our favorite bits involve the National Health doctors who try to claim a healthy liver from a still-living donor, pointing out that there's nothing in his contract preventing this. And of course, there's the scene with the world's most voracious glutton, who brings the art of vomiting to new heights before his spectacular demise. Be warned: though hilarious, this may be the grossest bit of comedy filmmaking ever conceived (there aren't enough words in the world to describe it in detail!). Loyal Pythonites Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin star in The Meaning of Life and share writing responsibilities, while Jones is in the director's chair this time out. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Category: Comedy

Awards: Special Jury Grand Prix – Cannes Film Festival

Features: Closed captions

Monty Python's the Meaning of Life

Format: DVD

Release Date: 03/18/1998

Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Theatre Wide-Screen

Audio: DDS Dolby Digital Surround

Runtime: 107 Minutes

Sides: 1

Number of Discs: 1

Language(s) English

Region: USA & territories, Canada

Chapters: 1. The Crimson Permanent Assurance.
2. Main Title.
3. Part I: The Miracle of Birth.
4. The Miracle of Birth Part 2: The Third World.
5. Part II: Growth and Learning.
6. Part III: Fighting Each Other.
7. The Middle of the Film.
8. Part IV: Middle Age.
9. Part V: Live Organ Transplants.
10. Part VI: The Autumn Years.
11. Part VI B: The Meaning of Life.
12. Part VII: Death.
13. The Finale.
14. End Credits.

Brendon Hanley

Though their work as a television comedy troupe ended in 1974, Monty Python would intermittently reunite for features, including 1975's Monty Python and the Holy Grail, 1979's The Life of Brian, and 1983's The Meaning of Life. Unlike Brian, their most cohesive effort, Meaning is a likably scattershot collection of vignettes, reminiscent of the Monty Python's Flying Circus series and their first film, 1971's And Now for Something Completely Different. The film swings wildly between pointed hilarity and just plain silliness; the humor is also notably coarser and more vulgar their previous work, exemplified by the classic scene with a gastrologically challenged overeater. In this outing, the directing tasks were handed over to Terry Jones, but Meaning retains the idiosyncratic visual style established by longtime Python director Terry Gilliam. The comedy unexpectedly garnered the Grand Jury Prize at the 1983 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Brendon Hanley, Rovi

Cast and Crew: Myrtle Devenish  Actor 
Matt Frewer  Actor 
Andrew Maclachlan  Actor 
John Scott Martin  Actor 
Graham Chapman  Composer (Music Score) 
Graham Chapman  Screenwriter 
John Cleese  Composer (Music Score) 
John Cleese  Screenwriter 
John Du Prez  Composer (Music Score) 
Terry Gilliam  Director 
Terry Gilliam  Screenwriter 
John Goldstone  Producer 
Peter Hannan  Screenwriter 
Eric Idle  Composer (Music Score) 
Eric Idle  Screenwriter 
Terry Jones  Director 
Terry Jones  Composer (Music Score) 
Terry Jones  Screenwriter 
Michael Palin  Composer (Music Score) 
Michael Palin  Screenwriter 
Dave Howman  Composer (Music Score) 
André Jacquemin  Composer (Music Score) 
Graham Chapman  Actor 
John Cleese  Actor 
Terry Gilliam  Actor 
Terry Gilliam  Actor 
Terry Gilliam  Actor 
Terry Gilliam  Actor 
Terry Gilliam  Actor 
Eric Idle  Actor 
Terry Jones  Actor 
Terry Jones  Actor 
Michael Palin  Actor 
Michael Palin  Actor 
Michael Palin  Actor 
Michael Palin  Actor 
Michael Palin  Actor 
Carol Cleveland  Actor 
Simon Jones  Actor 
Patricia Quinn  Actor 
Mark Holmes  Actor 
Valerie Whittington  Actor 
Jennifer Franks  Actor 
Imogen Bickford-Smith  Actor 
Angela Mann  Actor 
Peter Lovstrom  Actor 
Victoria Plum  Actor 
Anne Rosenfeld  Actor 
George Silver  Actor 

Country: UK