- Actors: Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin, Graham Chapman
- Format: PAL
- Language English
- Subtitles: English
- Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9 - 1.77:1
- Number of discs: 2
- Classification: 15
- Studio: Universal
- DVD Release Date: 17 May 2004
- Run Time: 101 minutes
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
- ASIN: B0001WAGHO
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 27,092 in Film & TV (See Top 100 in Film & TV)
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Product details |
Reviews
Amazon.co.uk Review
Returning to the sketch-show format of their earlier days, Monty Python' s The Meaning of Life was always going to feel less ambitious and less coherent than their cinematic masterpiece, The Life of Brian. And inevitably given the format, some sketches are better than others. But, for a movie that has been much-maligned, The Meaning of Life actually features some of the Pythons' most memorable set-pieces: the exploding Mr Creosote has to be the most wonderfully grotesque creation of a team whose speciality was the grotesque; while the sublime "Sperm Song" mixes satire and lavish visual humour in a musical skit of breathtaking audacity. Elsewhere, Eric Idle produces another musical gem with "The Universe Song" ("Pray that there's intelligent life somewhere out in space / 'Cause there's bugger all down here on earth!"), while the Grim Reaper's appearance at an achingly tedious dinner party is the Pythons doing what they do best: mocking their own middle-class origins. Best of all, perhaps, is Terry Gilliam's modest introductory feature, "The Crimson Permanent Assurance", a 20-minute epic tale of the little men rebelling against the corporate system, a theme and a visual style that foreshadows his own masterwork, Brazil. Admittedly too many sketches sacrifice subtlety for shock tactics (the organ donation scene in particular requires a strong stomach), but when this film works it's nothing less than vintage Python. --Mark Walker
Amazon.co.uk Review
Returning to the sketch-show format of their earlier days, Monty Python's The Meaning of Life was always going to feel less ambitious and less coherent than their cinematic masterpiece, The Life of Brian. And inevitably, given the format, some sketches are better than others. But for a movie that has been much-maligned, The Meaning of Life actually features some of the Pythons' most memorable set-pieces: the exploding Mr Creosote has to be the most wonderfully grotesque creation of a team whose speciality was the grotesque; while the sublime "Sperm Song" mixes satire and lavish visual humour in a musical skit of breathtaking audacity. Elsewhere, Eric Idle produces another musical gem with "The Universe Song" ("Pray that there's intelligent life somewhere out in space / 'Cause there's bugger all down here on earth!"), while the Grim Reaper's appearance at an achingly tedious dinner party is the Pythons doing what they do best: mocking their own middle-class origins. Best of all, perhaps, is Terry Gilliam's modest introductory feature, "The Crimson Permanent Assurance", a 20-minute epic tale of the little men rebelling against the corporate system, a theme and a visual style that foreshadows his own masterwork, Brazil. Admittedly, too many sketches sacrifice subtlety for shock tactics (the organ donation scene in particular requires a strong stomach), but when this film works it's nothing less than vintage Python. --Mark Walker
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
It is evident that by the time they created 'The Meaning of Life' the Python team were unafraid of offending and confusing their audience as much as they possibly could. Their cult status already established, they could more or less do as they pleased. Abandoning the more conventional narrative of their earlier films, the Pythons return to the surreal sketch format of their TV series, loosely connected by a quest for the meaning of life.
Content ranges from the disgusting, crude and unfunny live organ donation, through the disgusting, crude and very funny exploding glutton, Mr Creosote, to satires on corporate repression, catholicism, British imperialism, public schools and middle class consumerism. The film see-saws constantly between the coldly crude and delightfully cerebral, often within the same sketch, and herein lies its attraction. It's a bit of a rocky ride, sometimes uneasy, but compelling to the end. Ultimately this final Python film stands as one of the most subversive British comedies ever made.
Terry Gilliam's mock-featurette the 'Crimson Permanent Assurance Co.', which kicks off the film, could stand alone as a masterpiece of comic cinema and is worth the price of the whole DVD. Anybody who has ever suffered the indignity of clerical work for a large company will be carried away by Gilliam's fantasy of middle aged insurance clerks leading a mutiny, forcing their managers to walk the plank, raising anchor and sailing their entire neo-baroque office block off to do battle as pirates on the high-seas of international finance. Absolutely fantastic.
Content ranges from the disgusting, crude and unfunny live organ donation, through the disgusting, crude and very funny exploding glutton, Mr Creosote, to satires on corporate repression, catholicism, British imperialism, public schools and middle class consumerism. The film see-saws constantly between the coldly crude and delightfully cerebral, often within the same sketch, and herein lies its attraction. It's a bit of a rocky ride, sometimes uneasy, but compelling to the end. Ultimately this final Python film stands as one of the most subversive British comedies ever made.
Terry Gilliam's mock-featurette the 'Crimson Permanent Assurance Co.', which kicks off the film, could stand alone as a masterpiece of comic cinema and is worth the price of the whole DVD. Anybody who has ever suffered the indignity of clerical work for a large company will be carried away by Gilliam's fantasy of middle aged insurance clerks leading a mutiny, forcing their managers to walk the plank, raising anchor and sailing their entire neo-baroque office block off to do battle as pirates on the high-seas of international finance. Absolutely fantastic.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:VHS Tape
this video rates very highly among the monty python videos- although i would advise buying the dvd with superb special features- the video still packs a very funny punch
favourite sketches include the wafer thin mint sketch and the 3rd world yorkshire sketch
a dfeinite buy for any monty python fan, even though slow at times the strange and out there humour will keep you hooked for a long time- and girls like it too
favourite sketches include the wafer thin mint sketch and the 3rd world yorkshire sketch
a dfeinite buy for any monty python fan, even though slow at times the strange and out there humour will keep you hooked for a long time- and girls like it too
12 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
This is a VERY VERY funny film, but please beware that if you are offended by anything at all, you may want to turn away from the screen until the film has come to a complete stop. It's hilarity all the way through, with a lot of those little moments that make you smirk and think "I remember someone/something like that..." See the sketch that was originally thought of as completely unfunny (Mr Creosote for those who don't know), enjoy the wit and mirth of Noel Coward (or someone very much like him!) and see Terry Gilliam's very own ickle movie what he made himself with real people in it.
Packed with cynicism, irony and satire of all kinds this film will have you roaring, or running to Universal Pictures Complains Department. ENJOY!
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
monty python's meaning of life (2 disc collectors steelbook...
further to my previous review of the dvd i wrote that without playing them, the audio (spoken) is so far down in the mix i had to get grandads ear trumpet a polish nudge nudge wink... Read more
Published 7 months ago by fred kite
Classic at bargain price, cant grumble!
Classic Comedy the meaning of like at a bargain price! cant say farer than that.
if you havent seen the life of brian before it is a hilarious compilation of sketch show... Read more
if you havent seen the life of brian before it is a hilarious compilation of sketch show... Read more
Published on 8 Oct 2009 by Mr. E. A. Thompson
The Meaning of Comedy
The final Monty Python film brings them full circle with a collection of sketches themed to give us the meaning of life by breaking it up from the cradle to the grave, starting... Read more
Published on 13 Feb 2008 by Ian Wood, Author of 'Here's 2 Absent Fathers'
Lots of disjointed skits not up to snuff
Unfortunately they just do not get off the ground. Python is known for being wired provocative and in many cases cutting edge. Regrettably they missed the mark on this one. Read more
Published on 14 Nov 2005 by bernie
Buy the 2 Disc Edition Instead
The 1 star is for the fact that there are no extras on this edition, not the film, which I love (and would probably give 4 stars for). Read more
Published on 25 Jun 2005
And now for something completely different
Well this film has been seen as not as good as the previous two, but I still think it stands up to them. Read more
Published on 22 Nov 2004 by "briton2"
i wonder where that fish has gone
Although not as good as Holy Grail and Life Of Brian, this is a great film. It has some classic scenes such as the sex educator, the liver donars, death scene and the resturant... Read more
Published on 14 May 2004 by "heatworm"
Pretty Good for a laugh
Perhaps not the best of the Monty Pythons movies (coming up after The Holy grail and Life of Brian) it is still a great example of british humor. Read more
Published on 3 May 2004 by Mairita Borbale
"We'll take the foreplay as read, if you don't mind, dear?"
Absolutely fantastic! I laughed so hard I hyperventilated. I must have been one of the last people on the planet to have seen this film, and I only bought it because the goddess... Read more
Published on 17 Feb 2004 by blondielovesme
a jolly good film
Well I just think you should buy this because my dad's in it (Larry Noble). He was one of those old pirates and he did some very nice fighting bits and he had a jolly good time... Read more
Published on 16 Sep 2003 by Michele Noble de Lima
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
