| | | "It Took God Six Days to Create the Earth, and Monty Python Just 90 Minutes to Screw it Up."
Features: DVD, Widescreen, English, French, Dolby, Digital Audio
Those six pandemonium-mad Pythons are back with their craziest adventure ever! Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin have returned to explain The Meaning of Life. These naughty Brits offer the usual tasteful sketches involving favorite body parts and bodily functions, the wonders of war, the miracle of birth and a special preview of what's waiting for us in Heaven. Time pronounces it "an exhilarating experience!" Newsweek agrees, calling it, "the best movie from England's satirical sextet."
"A zany and outrageous comedy about the wrong-headedness of many serious people." Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice
"Some of the troupe's finest moments ever are here." James Sanford, Kalamazoo Gazette
"...appallingly hysterical...the troupe's iconoclastic spirit shines through." Rob Vaux, Flipside Movie Emporium
"...drop-dead funny." Scott Weinberg, eFilmCritic.com
"Prime Monty Python, primo laughs." Steve Crum, Kansas City Kansan
Editor's Note
The Monty Python collective explains it all in this episodic comedy that dares to take on the most "sacred" aspects of life--sex, food, politics and religion--and bring them hilariously down to earth. One of the many highlights is the "Every Sperm is Sacred" episode that opens the film.
| Features | Selling The Meaning Of Life: 6 Promo Spots | | Songs Unsung: 3 Alternative Song Versions | | Soundtrack For The Lonely: Prologue - Eric Idle Introduction | | Audio: English Dolby Digital Plus 5.1 Surround Sound | | Audio: French Dolby Digital Plus Stereo | | Deleted Scenes | | Dubbed: French | | Featurettes: The Meaning Of Making The Meaning Of Life, Education Tips, Un Film De John Cleese, Remastering A Masterpiece, Song & Dance, Fish Virtual Reunion, & What Fish Think | | Interactive Menus | | Scene Selection | | Subtitles: English, French | | Terry Jones & Terry Gilliam Audio Commentary | | This Is An HD-DVD Made For HD-DVD Format Players Which Produce Higher Quality Picture & Sound |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: Universal |
| Release Date: 6/12/2007 |
| Running Time: 108 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 1983 | | Catalog ID: 61032937 | | UPC: 00025193293725 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English, French Dubbed | | Available Subtitles: English, French | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | Widescreen 1.85:1 |
| Cast & Crew
| Awards |
Nominee (1984) | | | British Academy Awards, Michael Palin, et. al., Best Original Song | |
Winner (1983) | | | Cannes Film Festival, Terry Jones, Grand Prize of the Jury | |
Nominee (1983) | | | Cannes Film Festival, Terry Jones, Golden Palm Award |
| Memorable Quotes| "PART ONE: THE THIRD WORLD...| Somewhere in the North of England" ---- First two title cards for opening skit| |
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| | Professional Reviews | New York Times
"...A monumental revue, the BEN HUR of sketch films..." 03/31/1983 p.C13Variety
"...Funny....The seasoned British comedy troupe has this time come up with an expertly biting, off-the-wall satire of life's various passages..." 03/23/1983 Entertainment Weekly
"...A film that makes exhaustive and exhilarating mirth out of every grimness known to man..." 09/12/2003 p.135 USA Today
"...[The film] has riotous moments..." 09/05/2003 p.9E DVD Town 8 of 10
"You may already have to be a confirmed Monty Python fan to appreciate this film, in which case you will probably want to buy it no matter what I say. It is the only movie I've ever seen where people in the theater walked out in groups. My wife and I saw it three different times in two different theaters, and the same thing happened in every case! I've owned the film on Beta and VHS for years, and I find it truly hilarious, but I guarantee there is something in it to offend almost everyone...Once again Terry Gilliam's wacky animations and Eric Idle's amazingly adept songs help to link the various routines together. For me, most of it works. Indeed, there are bits in the film that are as classic as the TV show's dead parrot or lumberjack song...I still think that ""Find the Fish"" is tedious and the whining of a disgruntled waiter is vulgar and pointless. Which is probably the aim of both pieces." - John J. Puccio
Chicago Sun-Times 7 of 10
"Halfway through ""Monty Python's Meaning of Life,"" the thought struck me that One-Upmanship was a British discovery. You remember, of course, the book and movie (""School for Scoundrels"") inspired by Stephen Potter's theory of One-Upmanship, in which the goal of the practitioner was to One-Up his daily associates and, if possible, the world...Take, for example, the scene featuring projectile vomiting. We don't get just a little vomit in the scene, like we saw in ""The Exorcist."" No, sir, we get gallons of vomit, streams of it, all a vile yellow color, sprayed all over everybody and everything in a formal dining room...By admitting to being offended by some of the stuff in this movie, I've been One-Upped. By liking the funny stuff, I've been One-Upped again. (""But you liked the jokes that were in good taste? Jolly good!"") But I'm a good loser, and I don't mind being One-Upped. In fact, let's say this is a tennis match, and the Pythons are the winners. Here, I'll hold down the net while they jump over to shake hands with me. Whoops!" - Roger Ebert
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