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Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (1983)

Graham Chapman , John Cleese , Terry Jones  |  R |  DVD
3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (294 customer reviews)

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Product Details

  • Actors: Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam, Michael Palin
  • Directors: Terry Jones
  • Writers: Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam, Michael Palin
  • Producers: John Goldstone
  • Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
  • Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), English (DTS 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
  • Subtitles: Spanish, French
  • Dubbed: French
  • Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Rated: R (Restricted)
  • Studio: Universal Studios Home Entertainment
  • DVD Release Date: August 23, 2005
  • Run Time: 108 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (294 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B000A2UBNE
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,423 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
  • Learn more about "Monty Python's The Meaning of Life" on IMDb

Special Features

  • Prologue with Eric Idle
  • Feature Commentary with Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam
  • Soundtrack for the Lonely

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Perhaps only the collective brilliant minds of the Monty Python film and television troupe are up to the task of tackling a subject as weighty as the Meaning of Life. Sure, Kierkegaard, Wittgenstein, and their ilk have tried their hands at this puzzler, but only Python has attempted to do so within the commercial motion picture medium. Happily for us all, Monty Python's the Meaning of Life truly explains everything one conceivably needs to know about the perplexities of human existence, from the mysteries of Catholic doctrine to the miracle of reproduction to why one should avoid the salmon mousse to the critical importance of the machine that goes ping! Using fish as a linking device (and what marvelous links those aquatic creatures make), The Meaning of Life is presented as a series of sketches: a musical production number about why seed is sacred; a look at dining in the afterlife; the quest for a missing fish (there they are again); a visit from Mr. Death; the cautionary tale of Mr. Creosote and his rather gluttonous appetite; an unflinching examination of the harsh realities of organ donation, and so on. Sadly, this was the last original Python film, but it's a beaut. You'll laugh. You'll cry (probably because you're laughing so hard). You may even learn something about the Meaning of Life. Or at least about how fish fit into the grand scheme of things. --Jim Emerson

Product Description

Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle. The Python clan is at its bawdy best satirizing religion, birth control, British politics and, of course, sex. 1983/color/107 min/R.

Customer Reviews

This movie is very funny. Andrew E. Kent  |  53 reviewers made a similar statement
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
80 of 81 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Vulgar, tasteless, sickening and worth every minute. August 15, 1999
By A Customer
Format:VHS Tape
Seeing this movie for the first time when it came out back in 1982, I remember telling my friend, "This is the coolest movie ever!" Coming back to it, I can proudly say my feelings for it have not diminished one iota.Its detractors say, "It's disgusting!" Yes, it is. An impossibly fat man explodes in a miasma of viscera and puke. But if you take note of the personality of the character in question, you could look at it as the Pythonian equivalent of Karma.It's oppnents scream, "It's filthy". Bingo. A stuffy schoolmaster and his wife demonstrate coitus for a bored classroom of schoolboys during sex-education class. During the lesson, the teacher admonishes a student to pay attention. "After all, this is for your benefit," he chides. A man so cut off from his own emotions, that not even sex interests him on a personal level.Its nay-sayers chant, "It's blasphemous!" You betcha. In a production reminiscent of the ones in 'Oliver', a Catholic family, apparently numbering in the hundreds, sings "Every Sperm Is Sacred". Maybe so, but why is papa so anxious to sell them all off for medical experiments?Fans say, "It's clever". I defy anyone to find a more clever song in a movie than "The Universe Song", a hummable Cole-Porterish ditty containing a pocketful of useful factoids about this wonderful material plane which we call home.Python disciples say, "It rings true". It does for me. That's why I laugh so hard.The usual Python targets are all here, all to illustrate a very valuable point. I think it's something like: Life is really short, the world is a confusing mess, hypocrites and scoundrels are plentiful, stupidity is more plentiful than any other substance in the universe. The meaning of life is to try your best to dodge all of this meaninglessness and do so with a measure of personal grace. The meaning of life is in how we face what is thrown at us. The Pythons do it by allowing themselves, and us, to laugh at it.
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30 of 30 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Great film, not that necessary on HD-DVD... June 17, 2007
Format:HD DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Although this is probably the most inconsistent film that Monty Python made, it's still fantastic. It ends up being a series of sketches loosely tied together around the meaning of life. Some are the absolute highlights of the Monty Python canon (e.g. the sex education scene and the disgusting Mr. Creosote), while others are much less successful. This was essentially the last material made by the Python troupe.

This HD-DVD release contains the exact same features as the recent 2-disc DVD special edition. The extra features are superb with a hilarious and insightful commentary by director Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam, who aren't afraid to admit its faults. The trouble with this release is that the film is now over 20 years old and was shot with a relatively low budget so it doesn't look that good to start with. So by getting the HD-DVD you're just seeing the graininess and clunky special effects more clearly. If you already have the DVD there's really no need to get this, but if you're looking to buy it for the first time and you have an HD-DVD player then it's a no-brainer...

...and yes, the meaning of life is revealed in this movie!
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38 of 41 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Of course it's great! It's Monty Python! October 29, 2004
Format:DVD
Up to their old tricks again, the Pythons finally brought their sketch comedy to the big screen. Putting together a series of unconnected skits with a common theme, they actually pulled it off, though most said it could never be done. As with all of their work, this movie contains several lines that fans will repeat over and over. "Every sperm is sacred!" Most of the skits went down as some of their greatest work, from Cleese teaching Sex in a private school by demonstrating it with his wife in front of the class, to the grossest scene ever performed in cinema, "Mr. Creosote." Absolutely a must-see for anyone with even the faintest of senses of humor.

This DVD presentation is also very solid, including a Making Of feature that lets the personalities of the individuals show through, including Cleese's disdain for doing this film. Some of the extras can be ignored, but I still found myself sitting down for over two hours to check them all out, and I was not disappointed.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars A Good Rogering for all!
No matter where your bend is, this IS THE grottiest humor out there and only those luvly Pythons could make it happen! Read more
Published 16 days ago by T. B. Haman
5.0 out of 5 stars THIS IS GREAT!!
MONTY PYTHON IS THE BEST!! I FIRST SAW THIS MOVIE IN THE THEATER WHEN IT FIRST CAME OUT, I HAD WATCHED 'MONTY PYTHONS FLYING CIRCUS' WHEN I WAS VERY YOUNG, AND UNDERSTOOD THE... Read more
Published 17 days ago by CHRIS B. HILL
5.0 out of 5 stars Big Fan.
I have always been a big Monty Python Fan. I had to get this to replace my ancient VHS copy.
Published 22 days ago by alienshape
5.0 out of 5 stars Depression starts..... Monty Python is the answer!
This sums it all up in a nut shell. We live and die.
But we enjoy or hope to enjoy life before departure towards the ever burning fire. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Roy Q. Magat
4.0 out of 5 stars MONTY PYTHON'S THE MEANING OF LIFE[HD DVD]
This movie is like all of their movies,wild +crazy.I had remember seeing this
along time ago, but just some parts of it,so thought i would check this out with
it being HD... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Robert
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Movie
This movie is not for everyone due to the topic but I find the humor to be hilarious. Just like the Holy Grail, this movie plays on idiotic acts of people regarding many aspects of... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Teryn
5.0 out of 5 stars good movie
awsome movie will watch it again and and and and and and and and and and and and and again
Published 2 months ago by Jason Christopher Steffens
1.0 out of 5 stars I love Monty Python but...
this one sucks. We couldn't even get through it. We are huge fans of the Holy Grail and The Life of Brian. This one doesn't even come close.
Published 2 months ago by Michael B. Kalavity
4.0 out of 5 stars classic Monty
sick but so funny! Quoteable scenes that are still able to crack me up. Not for the staid or stodgey.
Published 2 months ago by Pamela S. Ward
5.0 out of 5 stars Just don't have the Salmon.
The Monty Python crew created a cult classic with this film. Modeled more like the Flying Circus than an actual movie, it had some classic songs and sketch comedy. Read more
Published 3 months ago by M. Sellers
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Monty Python's The Meaning Of Life: What Cut Would You Or I Do Be the first to reply
Benny Hill was listed as funnier than Monty Python's Flying Circus by a...
Well, MP was listed as funnier than BH by my balls, which see a lot more action than your average UHF station.
Jul 4, 2012 by Joe |  See all 4 posts
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