MONTY PYTHON'S THE MEANING OF LIFE

UK, 1983, 112 minutes, Colour.
Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin.
Directed by Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam.

Monty Python’s Flying Circus burst onto the television world in the late 1960s with entertaining television sketches – often with non sequiturs but playing on visuals and verbal humour. They moved into making films with Monty Python and the Holy Grail and Jabberwocky during the 1970s. Both of these themes played with mediaeval stories and parodies.

However, they made their mark internationally with The Life of Brian, the parody of biblical films which was very funny – but, with sterner audiences it was considered blasphemous. This film followed four years later – a group of sketches, parodying all kinds of themes and film genres.

The members of the Monty Python Flying Circus had individual careers which took them to different films, Eric Idle and John Cleese to America. They had great success on television with Michael Palin and his travel films, Terry Jones and his historical television series. Terry Gilliam made his mark with a succession of films including Brazil, The Fisher King, Twelve Monkeys. Eric Idle in America was able to create Spamalot for Broadway which brought the Pythons together (in a musical comedy based on Monty Python and the Holy Grail).

The Pythons appear in many roles in a great range of stories which range from the presentation of an obstetrician, a schoolmaster, science fiction, the future, Mr Creosote and his greed as well as a parody of American tourists going to a restaurant (where philosophical conversations are on the menu instead of food).

There is something to entertain everyone – as well as a great potential to offend. (One of the highlights, of course, is the parody of Oliver with the song ‘Every Sperm is Sacred’ and its hits on both Catholic families and their large numbers as well as their more prim Protestant families.

1. The reputation of Python humour? Its quality? Development and tradition? Humorous laughter, satire, exaggeration, offensive humour, moralising humour? The growing popularity of such humour in the '70s and '80s? A type of British humour?

2. The stage and television origins of the humour? The reliance on brief sketches? Characters and caricatures? The nonsense tradition? Visual humour, verbal humour? The humour of situations and irony? The impact on world-wide audiences? British themes, universal targets? This film geared for an American audience? The film winning the Special Jury Prize at the Cannes Festival?

3. The strength of the six performers and their ease in working as a team? Their differing presences, personalities? Audiences bringing appreciation of the personalities to each film? The range of the performers: the range of male characters, female characters? Their abilities as mimics? The importance of song? The patter, the verbal humour (with intellectual content) and routines?

4. The importance of the songs and lyrics in this film: The Meaning of Life with its bump and grind tones and irreverent lyrics? The Sperm song with its elaborate Oliver-like choreography and staging? The School Hymn and the humour about pleading with God not to be burnt in hell? The Noel Coward take-off with its phallic content? The Galaxy Song, with its genuine awe as well as its ironic ending? Christmas in Heaven with its take-off of the Tom Jones Las Vegas lyrics, sentimental tune, choreography and staging?

5. The contribution of the animation? The opening and the focus on God and the Universe, the squashing of the Universe, the creation of humankind, the machine moulding human families, monotone housing etc.? The animation with the Crimson Permanent Assurance ?especially in its being destroyed? The mood of the animation? Visual style and skill?

6. The stances of the Python comics: the opening with the fish and their discussion about the meaning of life? The particular views of the characters? As fish? Their discussion in the middle of the film? The epilogue about basic decency and respect as the message of the fish? The stance of the comics as humanist? Anti-pretentiousness, anti-institutions, anti-pomposity, anti-dogmatic traditions? The church, society, racism, British public schools, British sport, the military, the medical profession, commercialism, violence in films, kitsch, commercial television, Ingmar Bergman and Woody Allen?

7. The brevity of the film and its pace? The ability of the comics to cover aspects of human existence? The communication of the message by humour, jolting the audience, making them thoughtful, emotional response, laughter and disgust? The comedy making demands on the audience, making it react? The device of the chapters, the captions, the deadpan and ironic voiceover?

8. The effectiveness of the prologue with the Crimson Permanent Assurance? The expert parody of pirate films: the sails, the office block looking like a galleon, the antique crew (and the flashback to Ben Hur galleys), the use of pirate movie score, the revolt of the old men, their breaking the furniture and making weapons, the choreography of their fight with cutlasses and pikes etc, the building and their executing the young men in charge of them, the satire on the young executives? The humour of the uprooting of the anchor, the building on the move, the blend of realism with animation as the galleon sailed away to the United States? The satire on Wall Street? The invasion of the United States? The old men as slaves rebelling, making the young men walk the plank? The tea lady and the songs and congratulations? The firing of the cabinet drawers as weapons etc.? The smooth American offices and their being computerised, the old man painting the sign?

9. The satire on birth and hospitals? Michael Palin as the foolish administrator, John Cleese and Graham Chapman as the craven surgeons, the staff, the bringing in of the elaborate equipment for show, the machine that went 'Ping!', their losing the mother, their expertise and the expelling of the father for having nothing to do with it, telling the mother that she was not qualified to contribute to the surgeons, the theatrical nature of the birth, the barbaric treatment of the child and showing it to its mother, the warnings about depression and leaving her abandoned? The sterility and affluence of the modern hospitals? The couldn't care less of the doctors?

10. The transition to birth in the Third World and the irony of the Yorkshire houses and streets? The stork and the dropping of yet another baby? The mother doing the washing and getting the baby taken away? The enormous number of children, the various divisions for having their meals and having baths? The naming of the children? The atmosphere of the workhouse with its dirt and grime? The father and his loss of job, speech about selling them for scientific experiments? The explanation about condoms and being a Catholic? The irony about the history of the church and its pretensions? Stances on birth control? The lyrics of the song with its emphasis on glorying in being a Roman Catholic? Its transition to the Sperm Song and God's being irate? The children singing it? The choreography? The moving into the street and the imitation of Oliver and Annie etc.? The people with the hearse, the Cardinals, the nuns? The elaborate liveliness of the song and dance?

11. The transition to the Protestants and their self-centred bigotry, assertions of freedom, the isolated couple and the elegant eating of the meal, the discussion and their fluency, the humour of the lack of sexual relationship, the discussion about Luther and the meaning of the Reformation, the wife wanting a sexual relationship? The targets of Protestant self-assertion?

12. Growing up and the atmosphere of the English public school, John Cleese's expert rendition of a boring scripture lesson? The prayer and the praise of God as being so big etc.? The satire on the meaning of prayer? John Cleese's discussion on the treatment of the cormorant and relationships with the Japanese? The offhand message about the boy's mother dying? The hymn and the plea to God not to burn them in hell? The parody of films about British public schools and school spirit?

13. The boring class about sex? John Cleese's routine about orders in school and moving clothes to the lower peg? The Pythons' impersonation of British schoolboys? The boring discussion about sex, their wavering attention, the irony of parallelling the sex class and the expected prurience with a boring maths etc? The explicit language? The teacher's wife coming in, the four-poster, the stripping and the demonstration, as if it were a scientific experiment and the reprimanding of the boys?

15. The transition to the football match, the self-assertion of the staff over the kids, their brutality, the over-exalting exulting of the staff at the winning of the match and the kids strewn over the field?

16. Fighting one another: the atmosphere of the trenches, the parallel with so many war films, the going over the top, the sentiment of the discussions before going over the top, the leader, the variety of speeches in his favour, the presenting of the clocks and watches, the alienation and criticism, the speech about the making of the cake, the various men being killed? The inanity of the situation and its comments on war?

17. The transition to Graham Chapman giving the lecture about war and the few people listening?

18. The pomposity of the military with Michael Palin's routine as the Sergeant Major letting people off drilling because they had other things to do, leaving him marching inanely alone?

19. The satire on British military tradition? The Zulu war and the echoes of the film Zulu? John Cleese as the officer shaving, Eric Idle and his leg being bitten off and his casual approach, the doctor and his soothing words and having to backtrack? The vapid talk and the presumptions of the officer class? The ordinary soldier talking of the massacre and apologising to clear the mess of injured and wounded men? The satire on the violence in war films? The search for the leg? The silly tiger routines and the verbal humour?

20. The announcing of the middle of the film with the black man unzipping his make-up, Michael Palin's routine as the woman talking about the middle of the film and the meaning of life? The interlude with the 'find the fish' competition and the bizarre characters: Graham Chapman as the woman with the corset with Egyptian postures, the man with the long arms, the mutant monster? The target of satire?

21. The fish reappearing and discussing the meaning of life and their expectations? Setting a tone for the transition to middle age and the restaurant with menus for conversations? The satire on the middle-aged American couple, the motel, the torture of people in the authentic dungeon atmosphere, the waiter with John Cleese's American patter, the cards for conversation and ignorance of the American, Michael Palin and his not wanting to know the meaning of life? The discussions about philosophy and the inanity of the discussion?

22. The episode on transplants: the Jewish man wanting to keep his liver, the satire on the gory films of the '80s? Mrs. Brown and her flirting? The emergence of Eric Idle from the fridge? The interlude of the Galaxy Song with its gentle touch - yet the irony of the ending with 'bugger all down here on earth'? Mrs. Brown giving her liver for science?

23. The satire on Noel Coward's songs - with their sexual implications, the phallic symbolism, the homosexual overtones?

24. The standard of satire with the Mr. Creosote episode? The memories of films on gluttony like La Grand Boeuf? The ugliness of the sequence? Mr. Creosote's arrival. John Cleese's impeccable and imperturbable waiter routine? The humour and satire of such waiters? The vomiting sequences and their effect? With the affluent guests in the stylish restaurant? Mr. Creosote's disregard of everybody? His vomiting over society? His bursting? The humour and ugliness of the sequence? Effective as satire?

25. The interlude with the waiter and the long tracking shots following him to his home as he explained himself ? and his reaction to the seeming condemnation of the audience for the meaningless and banality of his life?

26. The charlady cleaning up Mr. Creosote's vomit and discussing the important places where she had worked ? without learning anything? The culmination of her anti-Semitic statement with the waiter's reaction?

27. The transition to death: Graham Chapman being pursued by the topless girls with their crash helmets, the funeral group waiting by the seashore and his catapulting into his tomb? The humorous but serious look at death?

28. The appearance of Death - echoes of Ingmar Bergman's and Woody Allen's films? The croaky Grim Reaper and his not being understood? Trying to make his presence felt, even walking through the table? British hospitality? The chatter and the fashionable chatter about death in the late 1970s? Death telling the Americans to shut up? Attacking the British for their primness? The American wife trying to one-up Death? The American man and his incessant talk? The English hostess? The drunk wife? The revelation about death and the humour of their taking their cars and driving to eternity? The animation touch before heaven?

29. Heaven and everybody being at the Las Vegas style restaurant: Zulus, Mrs Brown, the orphans etc.? The motel style with its smooth talk? The Las Vegas stage and the Tom Jones imitation with the irony of Christmas in Heaven?

30. The comments at the end of the film and the basic meaning of life as decency and respect? The ironic comments about audience capacity for controversy and the salacious? The slap at video and television watchers?

31. The humanist values in The Meaning of Life? The search for transcendent values? Genuine religious values? The film putting audiences in touch with important questions via comedy, critique and moralising?