Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (1983)

Country of Origin: UK
Year of Production: 1983
Running Times: 107 mins
Format: Technicolor     35mm
Ratio: 1.85:1
Sound: Dolby

CREDITS

PRODUCTION
Production Companies: Celandine Films / The Monty Python Partnership / Universal Pictures
Producer: John Goldstone
Production Manager: David Wimbury

SCRIPT
Script: Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin

DIRECTION
Director: Terry Jones
1st Assistant Director: Ray Corbett
Key 2nd Assistant Director: Kieron Phipps
3rd Assistant Director: Callum McDougall

PHOTOGRAPHY
Director of Photography: Peter Hannan
Camera Operator: Dewi Humphreys
Clapper Loader: Stefan Stankowski
Focus Puller: Barry Brown
Grip: Ken Atherfold
Gaffer: Chuck Finch
Electrical Department: Alan McPherson, Fred Ashby, Larry Randall, Richard Seal, Stewart Monteith
Stills: David Appleby
Grip and Lighting Equipment: Lee Lighting Ltd

EDITING AND POST-PRODUCTION
Editor: Julián Doyle
Editing Department: Diane Ryder, Keith Lowes, Margarita Doyle, Roy Baker, Simon Milton

MUSIC
Music: John Du Prez
Johann Sebastian Bach (from Toccata and Fugue in D minor BWV 565)
Songs: Eric Idle, John Du Prez (The Meaning of Life; Galaxy Song; Accountancy Shanty); John Cleese, Graham Chapman, Eric Idle, John Du Prez (Oh Lord Please Don't Burn Us); Michael Palin, Terry Jones, André Jacquemin, Dave Howman (Every Sperm Is Sacred); Eric Idle (Penis Song); Terry Jones, Eric Idle (Christmas in Heaven)
Music Recording: Britannia Row; CTS Studios
Music Recorded At: Redwood Recording Studios

SOUND
Sound Mixer: Garth Marshall
Dubbing Mixers: Brian Paxton, Paul Carr
Supervising Sound Editor: Rodney Glenn
Dubbing Editor: Rodney Glenn
Re-Recorded At: Roger Cherrill Ltd

MAKE UP AND COSTUMES
Make Up Supervisor: Mary Hillman
Hair / Make Up Designer: Maggie Weston
Hair / Make Up: Hilary Steinberg, Mike Jones, Pamela Rayson
Costume Designer: Jim Acheson
Costume Makers: Jill Thraves, Lizzie Willey, Ray Scott, Shirley Denny, Vin Burnham, William Baboo
Costume Assistants: T. Stephen Miles, Gilly Hebden
Wardrobe Department: David Murch, James Wakley, Janet Lucas, Linda Eke

SPECIAL MAKE UP EFFECTS
Make Up For Mr Creosote: Christopher Tucker

SPECIAL EFFECTS
Special Effects Supervisor: George Gibbs
Special Effects: Bob Hollow, David Watson, Ray Hanson, Richard Conway
Animators: Jill Brooks, Kate Hepburn, Mike Stuart, Richard Ollive, Tim Ollive

VISUAL EFFECTS
Model Makers: Carole De Yong, Valerie Charlton
Optical Effects: Kent Houston, Nick Dunlop, Paul Whitbread, Roy Field, Tim Spence

DESIGN AND SET CONSTRUCTION
Production Designer: Harry Lange
Art Director: Richard Dawking
Set Decorators: Sharon Cartwright, Simon Wakefield
Property Masters: Brian Humphrey, Brian Payne, Dave Newton, John Cole
Construction Manager: Vic Simpson
Construction Department: Alan Chesters, Bill Sansom, Colin Lovering, Dick Savery, John Skinner, Ken Powell, Melvin Coleman, Mick Law, Peter Browne, Peter Cull, Reg Keywood, Tommy Kavanagh
Art Department: Andrew Ackland-Snow, Bob Walker, Dennis Griffin, Richard Hornsby, Roger Cain, Steve Cooper

MISCELLANEOUS
Continuity: Penny Eyles
Production Accountant: Mike Smith
Not The Production Accountant: Steve Abbott
Production Department: Paul Taylor
Production Assistant: Valerie Craig
Assistants To Producer: Barbara Holloway, Tim Vaughan-Hughes
Choreographer: Arlene Phillips
Assistant Choreographer: Heather Seymour
Director Of Python US Relations: Nancy Lewis
Python Manager: Anne James

LOCATIONS
Location Manager: Peter Kohn

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The Producers would like to thank all the fish who have taken part in this film. We hope that other fish will follow the example of those who have participated, so that, in future, fish all over the world will live together in harmony and understanding, and put aside their petty differences, cease pursuing and eating each other and live for a brighter, better future for all fish, and those who love them.

CASTING
Casting: Michelle Guish, Debbie McWilliams

CAST
Graham Chapman (fish 1 / obstetrician / Harry Blackitt / Wymer / Hordern / General / narrator 2 / Dr Livingstone / strange woman / Eric / Coles / Chairman / guest 4 / Arthur Jarrett / Geoffrey / Tony Bennett)
John Cleese (fish 2 / Dr Spenser / Humphrey Williams / Sturridge / Ainsworth / waiter / man / maitre 'd / Grim Reaper)
Terry Gilliam (fish 4 / Walters / Zulu announcer / M'Lady Joeline / Mr Brown / Howard Katzenberg)
Eric Idle (fish 3 / singer / Mr Moore / Mrs Blackitt / Watson / Atkison / Perkins / victim 3 / front end / Mrs Hendy / man in pink / Noel Coward / Gaston / Angela)
Terry Jones (fish 6 / mum / priest / Biggs / Sergeant / strange man / Mrs Brown / Mr Creosote / Maria / Bert / leaf 1 / Fiona Portland-Smyth)
Michael Palin (fish 5 / Mr Pycroft / dad / narrator 1 / chaplain / Carter / Spadger / Sergeant Major / Pakenham-Walsh / rear end / lady presenter / Mr Marvin Hendy / Harry / padre / Debbie Katzenberg)
Carol Cleveland (1st waitress)
Simon Jones (Jeremy Portland-Smythe)
Patricia Quinn (Mrs Williams)
Judy Loe (1st nurse)
Andrew MacLachlan (groom)
Mark Holmes (severed head)
Valerie Whittington (Mrs Moore)
Jennifer Franks (bride)
Imogen Bickford-Smith (2nd nurse)
Angela Mann (2nd guest's wife)
Peter Lovstrom (young man)
George Silver
Chris Grant
Jane Leeves (extra in Every Sperm is Sacred sequence - uncredited)
Victoria Plum, Anne Rosenfeld (daughters - uncredited)

PLOT SUMMARY

A collection of sketches that chart the various stages of life, from birth to an encounter with death itself, taking in sex, violence, compulsive over-eating, and some songs. It also features an invasion from the film's supporting short, The Crimson Permanent Assurance (1983).

CAPSULE REVIEW

A somewhat disappointing return to the sketch show format after the glorious Life of Brian (1979) found the Pythons not quite firing on all cylinders. The first half is the best and some of the sketches - the Every Sperm Is Sacred song and dance routine, Cleese's sex education lesson and the unforgettable Mr. Creosote in particular - are among their best ever work, but it tends to tail off alarmingly in the second half. Still, Python at their worst are usually still more interesting than most comedy troupes and there's still enough to enjoy here to make it essential viewing.

Germany
Theatrical Distributor: Universal Pictures Germany
DVD Distributor: Universal (31196)

UK
DVD Distributor: Universal (UDR90066)

USA
Theatrical Distributor: Universal Pictures
Video Distributor: MCA
Laserdisc Distributor: MCA/Universal Home Video (16031)
DVD Distributor: Image Entertainment (ID 4226 USDVD)

Finland
Rating: K-16

Germany
Rating: 16

Norway
Rating: 15

Sweden
Rating: 15

UK
Rating: 18

USA
Rating: R

1983
Cannes Film Festival, France
Grand Prize of the Jury (Terry Jones) - winner
Golden Palm (Terry Jones) - nominated

1984
British Academy Awards, UK
Best Original Song (Dave Howman, André Jacquemin, Terry Jones, Michael Palin - for Every Sperm Is Sacred) - nominated

TIMELINE

1982
August
Day Unknown: UK - filming begins

November
Day Unknown: UK - filming ends

1983
June
22: France - theatrical release

August
5: Finland, Sweden - theatrical release
26: West Germany - theatrical release

1998
March
18: USA - DVD release (Image Entertainment (ID 4226 USDVD))

2000
September
4: UK - DVD release (Universal (UDR90066))

October
5: Germany - DVD release (Universal (31196))

2002
January
22: Czech Republic - theatrical release

POSTER TAGS

It took God six days to create the earth, and Monty Python just 90 minutes to screw it up.

ALTERNATIVE TITLES

Monty Python - Elämän tarkoitus - Finnish title
Monty Python: il senso della vita - Italian title
Monty Python, le sens de la vie - French title
Monty Pythons meningen med livet - Swedish title
El sentido de la vida - Spanish title
Der Sinn des Lebens - German title
O Sentido da Vida - Portugese title

LINKS

SEE ALSO
El angel exterminador (1962)
The Crimson Permanent Assurance (1983)
Monty Python's Flying Circus (1969)
Det Sjunde inseglet (1957)

FOOTAGE INCLUDED IN
Monty Python's Flying Circus: Live at Aspen (1998)
Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (1997)
Seriously Funny: An Argument for Comedy (1996)

REFERENCES

MAGAZINES

The Movie Magazine vol.1 no.2 (Spring 1983) pp.2-4 (USA)
review (Monty Python Tells Us the Meaning of Life by Iain Johnstone)

KEYWORDS

sketch show, birth, death, teachers, sex education, surrealism, fish, the meaning of life, catholicism, children, food, philosophy, vomiting, obesity, zulus, the grim reaper, aquaria, birth control, religion, jungles, military, dismemberment, heaven, restaurants, waiters, christmas