Product Details

• Actors: Sydney Arnold, Imogen Bickford-Smith, Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Carol Cleveland
• Directors: Terry Gilliam
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Universal Studios
• VHS Release Date: March 12, 1992
• Run Time: 103 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (263 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 1558806768
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #12,944 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

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  #6 in	Video > Comedy > Comedy Directors > Terry Gilliam
  #13 in	Video > Comedy > Comedy Stars > John Cleese

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com essential video

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

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

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 42 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

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.

34 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Of course it's great! It's Monty Python!, October 29, 2004

By	Glynn Clapsaddle "[e-mail]" (San Diego, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Monty Python's the Meaning of Life (2-disc Collector's Edition) (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.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great film, not that necessary on HD-DVD..., June 17, 2007

By	Lee (Arizona) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Monty Python's The Meaning of Life [HD DVD] (HD DVD)

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!