Editing Monty Python's The Meaning of Life

{{Short description|1983 film by British comedy group Monty Python}}
{{About|the film}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2022}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Monty Python's<br />The Meaning of Life
| image          = Meaningoflife.jpg
| alt            = 
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = [[Terry Jones]]
| producer       = John Goldstone
| writer         = {{Plainlist|
* [[Graham Chapman]]
* [[John Cleese]]
* [[Terry Gilliam]]
* [[Eric Idle]]
* Terry Jones
* [[Michael Palin]]
}}
| starring       = <!--DO ''not'' CHANGE. PER BILLING BLOCK-->{{Plainlist|
* Graham Chapman
* John Cleese
* Terry Gilliam
* Eric Idle
* Terry Jones
* Michael Palin
}}
| music          = [[John Du Prez]]
| cinematography = [[Peter Hannan (cinematographer)|Peter Hannan]]
| editing        = [[Julian Doyle (filmmaker)|Julian Doyle]]
| production_companies = {{Plainlist|
* Celandine Films
* [[Python (Monty) Pictures|The Monty Python Partnership]]
}}
| distributor    = [[Universal Pictures]] (through [[United International Pictures]])
| released       = {{Film date|df=y|1983|03|31|United States|1983|06|23|United Kingdom}}
| runtime        = 90 minutes<!--Theatrical runtime: 90:12--><ref name="BBFC">{{cite web|title=''Monty Python's The Meaning Of Life'' (18)|url=https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/monty-pythons-the-meaning-of-life-film-qxnzzxq6vlgtnza5njez|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221129094559/https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/monty-pythons-the-meaning-of-life-film-qxnzzxq6vlgtnza5njez|url-status=dead|archive-date=29 November 2022|work=[[United International Pictures]]|publisher=[[British Board of Film Classification]]|date=26 April 1983|access-date=21 July 2013}}</ref>
| country        = United Kingdom<ref>{{cite news |title=Monty Python's the Meaning of Life (1983) |url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6e742e39 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180113030743/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6e742e39 |url-status=dead |archive-date=13 January 2018 |access-date=26 July 2021 |agency=BFI}}</ref>
| language       = English
| budget         = $9 million<ref name="guard2013"/>
| gross          = $42.7 million
}}
'''''Monty Python's The Meaning of Life''''', also known simply as '''''The Meaning of Life''''', is a 1983 British [[Musical film|musical]] [[sketch comedy]] film written and performed by the [[Monty Python]] troupe, directed by [[Terry Jones]]. ''The Meaning of Life'' was the last feature film to star all six Python members before the death of [[Graham Chapman]] in 1989.

Unlike ''[[Monty Python and the Holy Grail|Holy Grail]]'' and ''[[Monty Python's Life of Brian|Life of Brian]]'', the film's two predecessors, which each told a single, more-or-less coherent story,<ref name="guard2013"/> ''The Meaning of Life'' returned to the sketch format of the troupe's [[Monty Python's Flying Circus|original television series]] and their first film from twelve years earlier, ''[[And Now for Something Completely Different]]'', loosely structured as a series of comic sketches about the various stages of life. It was accompanied by the [[short film]] ''[[The Crimson Permanent Assurance]]''.

Released on 23 June 1983 in the United Kingdom,<ref>McCall, Douglas (12 November 2013). Monty Python: A Chronology, 1969-2012, 2d ed. p97. McFarland. {{ISBN|9780786478118}}.</ref> ''The Meaning of Life'' was not as acclaimed as its predecessors, but was still well received critically and was a minor box office success; the film grossed almost $43 million against a $9 million budget. It was screened at the [[1983 Cannes Film Festival]], where it won the [[Grand Prix (Cannes Film Festival)|Grand Prix]]. The film appears in a 2010 list of the top 20 [[cult film]]s published by ''The Boston Globe''.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.boston.com/ae/movies/gallery/top_cult_films?pg=2 |title=Top 20 cult films, according to our readers |author=<!--Not stated-->|publisher=The Boston Globe |work=boston.com |access-date=1 February 2016 |date=27 December 2010}}</ref>

==Plot==
Six fish in a restaurant's [[fish tank|tank]] greet each other, then see their friend being eaten. This leads them to question the [[meaning of life]]. In the first sketch, "The Miracle of Birth", maternity doctors ignore a woman in labour while trying to impress the hospital's administrator. In [[Yorkshire]], a [[Catholic Church in the United Kingdom|Roman Catholic]] man is made redundant from his job, and informs his numerous children that he must sell them for scientific experiments ("[[Every Sperm Is Sacred]]"). A [[Protestantism in the United Kingdom|Protestant]] man looks on disapprovingly and proudly remarks that Protestants can use contraception and have sex for pleasure (although his wife observes that they never do).

In "Growth and Learning", a class of boys learn school etiquette before partaking in a [[sex education]] lesson, which involves watching their teacher have sex with his wife. One boy laughs and is forced into a violent [[rugby football|rugby]] match pitting pupils against the school masters as punishment. "Fighting Each Other" features three scenes concerning the British military. First, during the [[Battle of the Somme]] in [[World War I]], a British officer tries to rally his men during an attack, but they instead present him with going-away gifts. Second, a modern army [[Regimental sergeant major|RSM]] bullies his soldiers to say what they would rather be doing than drill practice, then dismisses each in turn. Lastly, in 1879 during the [[Anglo-Zulu War]] during the [[Battle of Rorke's Drift]], a soldier finds his leg has been bitten off. Suspecting a [[tiger]], the soldiers hunt for it and find two men in a tiger costume.

An announcer introduces "The Middle of the Film," during which bizarre characters challenge the audience in a segment called "Find the Fish." "Middle Age" involves an American couple visiting a [[Cuisine of Hawaii|Hawaiian]] restaurant with a [[medieval]] [[torture]] theme, where, to the interest of the fish, the waiter offers a conversation about philosophy and the meaning of life. The customers are unable to make sense of it and move on to a discussion of live organ transplants. In "Live Organ Transplants", two [[paramedic]]s visit an [[organ donor]] and remove his [[liver]] while he is alive. His wife is reluctant to donate her liver, but she relents after a man steps out of a refrigerator and reminds her of humanity's insignificance in the universe ("[[Galaxy Song]]"). Executives of an American conglomerate debate the meaning of life before a raid by [[The Crimson Permanent Assurance]] briefly interrupts them.

"The Autumn Years" starts off with a musician in a French restaurant singing about the joys of having a [[penis]] ("The Not [[Noël Coward]] Song"). As the song ends, the ill-tempered glutton [[Mr. Creosote]] enters the restaurant, causing the fish to scatter and hide. He vomits continually and devours an enormous meal. After the [[maître d'hôtel]] persuades him to eat an after-dinner mint, Creosote's gut explodes, splattering the other diners. In "The Meaning of Life", the restaurant's cleaning woman proposes that life is meaningless before revealing that she is a racist. A waiter leads the audience to the house where he was born, recalls his mother's lessons about kindness, and then becomes angry when his point trails off.

"Death" features a condemned man choosing the manner of his own execution: being chased off the [[Cliffs of Dover]] by topless women in sports gear and falling into his own grave below. In a short animated sequence, despondent leaves commit suicide by throwing themselves from the branches of a tree. The [[Grim Reaper]] enters an isolated home and convinces the hosts and dinner guests, with difficulty, that they are all dead. They accompany the Grim Reaper to [[Heaven]], revealed to be the Hawaiian restaurant from earlier. They enter a [[Las Vegas]]-style hotel where it is always [[Christmas]] and meet the characters from the previous sketches, where a [[Tony Bennett]]-esque singer begins to sing about various commercial items that can be bought in Heaven and how amazing life is there ("Christmas in Heaven").

The song abruptly ends for "The End of the Film". The hostess from "The Middle of the Film" opens an envelope and blandly reveals the meaning of life: "Well, it's nothing very special, really. Try and be nice to people, avoid eating fat, read a good book every now and then, get some walking in, and try and live together in peace and harmony with people of all creeds and nations".

==Cast==
<!-- Main cast (the top 5) and featured cast (the 7 shown in same size font as the Pythons) is in credits order, with names as credited. Roles were not given in onscreen credits and have been pulled from other unofficial sources -->
* [[Graham Chapman]] as Chairman / Fish #1 / Doctor / Harry Blackitt / Wymer / Hordern / General / Coles / Narrator #2 / [[David Livingstone|Dr. Livingstone]] / Transvestite / Eric / Guest #1 / Arthur Jarrett / Geoffrey / [[Tony Bennett]]
* [[John Cleese]] as Fish #2 / Dr. Spencer / Humphrey Williams / Sturridge / Ainsworth / Waiter / Eric's Assistant / Maître D' / Grim Reaper
* [[Terry Gilliam]] as Window Washer / Fish #4 / Walters / Middle of the Film Announcer / M'Lady Joeline / Mr. Brown / Howard Katzenberg
* [[Eric Idle]] as Gunther / Fish #3 / 'Meaning of Life' Singer / Mr. Moore / Mrs. Blackitt / Watson / Blackitt / Atkinson / Perkins / Victim #3 / Front End / Mrs. Hendy / Man in Pink / [[Noël Coward]] / Gaston / Angela
* [[Terry Jones]] as Bert / Fish #6 / Mum / Priest / Biggs / Sergeant / Man with Bendy Arms / Mrs. Brown / [[Mr Creosote|Mr. Creosote]] / Maria / Leaf Father / Fiona Portland-Smythe
* [[Michael Palin]] as Window Washer / Harry / Fish #5 / Mr. Pycroft / Dad / Narrator #1 / Chaplain / Carter / Spadger / Regimental Sergeant Major / Pakenham-Walsh / Rear End / Female TV Presenter / Mr. Marvin Hendy / Governor / Leaf Son / Debbie Katzenberg
* [[Carol Cleveland]] as Beefeater Waitress / Wife of Guest #1 / Leaf Mother / Leaf Daughter / Heaven Receptionist
* [[Simon Jones (actor)|Simon Jones]] as Chadwick / Jeremy Portland-Smythe
* [[Patricia Quinn (Northern Irish actress)|Patricia Quinn]] as Mrs. Williams
* [[Judy Loe]] as Nurse #1
* [[Andrew MacLachlan]] as Groom / Wycliff / Victim #1 / Guest #3
* Mark Holmes as Victim #2 (Cheerful Severed Head) / Troll Waiter / Guest #2
* Valerie Whittington as Mrs. Moore
* Jennifer Franks as Bride
* Imogen Bickford Smith as Nurse #2
* Angela Mann as Wife of Guest #2
* Peter Lovstrom as Brown's Son
* [[George Silver (actor)|George Silver]] as Diner Eating Howard the Fish
* Chris Grant as Narrator
* [[Matt Frewer]] as VBCA Executive
* [[Jane Leeves]] as Dancer (uncredited)

==Production==
According to Palin, "the writing process was quite cumbersome. An awful lot of material didn't get used. ''Holy Grail'' had a structure, a loose one: the search for the grail. Same with ''Life of Brian''. With this, it wasn't so clear. In the end, we just said: 'Well, what the heck. We have got lots of good material, let's give it the loosest structure, which will be the meaning of life'".<ref name="guard2013" />

After the film's title was chosen, [[Douglas Adams]] called Jones to tell him he had just finished a new book, to be called ''[[The Meaning of Liff]]''; Jones was initially concerned about the similarity in titles, which led to the scene in the [[title sequence]] of a tombstone which, when hit by a flash of lightning, changes from "The Meaning of Liff" to "The Meaning of Life".<ref name="guard2013" />

[[File:Cartwright Hall and fountain, Bradford (22nd October 2010).jpg|thumb|right|The grounds of [[Cartwright Hall]] in [[Bradford]] ''(pictured)'' was used as a location for the dancing nurses singing "[[Every Sperm Is Sacred]]".]]
Principal photography began on 12 July 1982 and was completed about two months later, on 11 September. A wide variety of locations were used, such as [[Porchester Hall]] in [[Queensway, London|Queensway]] for the Mr Creosote sketch, where hundreds of pounds of fake vomit had to be cleaned up on the last day due to a wedding being scheduled hours later. The Malham Moors were chosen for the Grim Reaper segment; the countryside near [[Strathblane]] was used for the Zulu War; and "Every Sperm Is Sacred" was shot in [[Colne]], [[Lancashire]], with interiors done at [[Elstree Studios (Shenley Road)|Elstree Studios]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Douglas |first1=McCall |title=Monty Python: A Chronology, 1969-2012, 2d ed. |date=2013 |publisher=McFarland |page=958}}</ref>  The school chapel scene with the song "O Lord, Please Don't Burn Us" was shot at [[Churchill College]], [[Cambridge]].

The film was produced on a budget of less than US$10 million, which was still bigger than that of the earlier films. This allowed for large-scale choreography and crowd sequences, a more lavishly produced soundtrack that included new original songs, and much more time able to be spent on each sketch, especially ''The Crimson Permanent Assurance''. Palin later said that the larger budget, and not making the film for the [[BBC]] (i.e., television), allowed the film to be more daring and dark.<ref name="guard2013" />

The idea for the hospital sketch came from Chapman, himself a doctor,<ref name=split>{{cite web|url=http://splitsider.com/2013/09/dick-cavetts-semi-serious-talk-with-graham-chapman/|title=Dick Cavett's Semi-Serious Talk with Graham Chapman|last=Ess|first=Ramsey|date=20 September 2013|work=Splitsider|publisher=[[The Awl]]|access-date=21 September 2015|archive-date=1 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151001111858/http://splitsider.com/2013/09/dick-cavetts-semi-serious-talk-with-graham-chapman/|url-status=dead}}</ref> who had noticed that hospitals were changing, with "lots and lots of machinery".<ref name="guard2013" /> According to Palin, the organ transplant scene harked back to Python's love of bureaucracy, and sketches with lots of people coming round from the council with different bits of paper.<ref name="guard2013" />

During the filming of the scene where Palin's character explains Catholicism to his children, his line was "that rubber thing at the end of my ''sock''", which was later overdubbed with ''cock''.<ref name="guard2013" />

===''The Crimson Permanent Assurance''===
{{main|The Crimson Permanent Assurance}}
The [[short film]] ''[[The Crimson Permanent Assurance]]'' introduces the feature. It is about a group of elderly office clerks working in a small [[accounting]] firm. They rebel against [[yuppie]] corporate masters, transform their office building into a [[pirate ship]], and raid a large financial district. One of the boardrooms raided reappears later in the film, from shortly before the attack begins until the narrator apologises and a skyscraper falls and crushes the marauders.

The short was intended as an [[animation|animated]] sequence in the feature,<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hunter |first1=I. Q. |last2=Porter |first2=Laraine |year=2012 |title=British Comedy Cinema |page=181 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-66667-1}}</ref> for placement at the end of Part V.<ref>{{cite book|last1=McCabe |first1=Bob|year=1999|title=Dark Knights and Holy Fools: The Art and Films of Terry Gilliam: From Before Python to Beyond Fear and Loathing |page=106|publisher=Universe |isbn=0-7893-0265-9}}</ref> Gilliam persuaded the other members of [[Monty Python]] to allow him to produce and direct it as a [[live action]] piece instead.

==Release==
The original [[tagline]] read "It took God six days to create the Heavens and the Earth, and Monty Python just 90 minutes to screw it up"<ref>{{cite book |last1=Birkinshaw |first1=Julian |last2=Ridderstråle  |first2=Jonas |year=2017 |chapter=Linking Strategy Back to Purpose |title=Fast/Forward: Make Your Company Fit for the Future |publisher=Stanford University Press |isbn=978-1503602311}}</ref> (the length of ''The Meaning of Life'' proper is 90 minutes, but becomes 107 minutes as released with "Our Short Feature Presentation", ''The Crimson Permanent Assurance''). In an April 2012 re-release held by the [[American Film Institute]], the tagline is altered to read "It took God six days to create the Heavens and the Earth, and Monty Python just 1 hour and 48 minutes to screw it up".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.afi.com/silver/films/2012/v9i2/montypython.aspx |title=Monty Python at the Movies |publisher=[[American Film Institute]] |access-date=22 July 2017}}</ref>

Ireland banned the film on its original release as it had previously done with ''[[Monty Python's Life of Brian]]'', but later rated it [[Irish Film Censor's Office|15]] when it was released on video. In the United Kingdom the film was rated [[18 (British Board of Film Classification)|18]] when released in the cinema<ref name="BBFC"/> and on its first release on video, but was re-rated [[British Board of Film Classification|15]] in 2000. In the United States the film is [[Motion Picture Association of America film rating system#Ratings|rated R]].<ref name="Canby"/>

==Reception==
===Box office===
The film opened in the United States on 31 March 1983. At 257 cinemas it ranked number six at the US box office, grossing US$1,987,853 ($7,734 per screen) in its opening weekend. It played at 554 cinemas at its widest point, and its total gross in the United States and Canada was $14,929,552.<ref name="mojo">{{cite web | url=https://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=montypythonsmeaningoflife.htm | title=Monty Python's The Meaning of Life | work=[[Box Office Mojo]] | publisher=[[IMDb]] | access-date=27 July 2014}}</ref> In the United Kingdom it opened on 3 screens in London and grossed £49,641 in its first seven days to rank third at the London box office.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Screen International]]|page=1|date=July 2, 1983|title=London's Top 10}}</ref> Internationally it grossed $27.8 million for a worldwide total of $42.7 million.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=11 September 1995|page=92|title=UIP's $25M-Plus Club}}</ref>

===Critical reception===
[[Roger Ebert]] of the ''[[Chicago Sun-Times]]'' gave the film two and a half stars out of four, calling it a "a barbed, uncompromising attack on generally observed community standards".<ref>{{cite web|last1=Ebert|first1=Roger|title=Monty Python's The Meaning of Life Movie Review (1983)|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/monty-pythons-meaning-of-life-1983|work=[[Chicago Sun-Times]]|access-date=22 February 2016|date=1 April 1983}}</ref> In ''[[The New York Times]]'', [[Vincent Canby]] declared it "the ''[[Ben Hur (1959 film)|Ben Hur]]'' of sketch films, which is to say that it's a tiny bit out of proportion", concluding it was amusing, but he wished it were consistently amusing.<ref name="Canby">{{cite web|last=Canby |first=Vincent |title=Monty Python, 'The Meaning Of Life' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9F03E4D7123BF932A05750C0A965948260 |work=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=20 July 2017 |date=31 March 1983}}</ref> ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' staff assessed it as disgusting, ridiculous, tactless, but above all, amusing.<ref>{{cite web|author=<!--Not stated--> |title=Review: Monty Python's The Meaning of Life |url=https://variety.com/1982/film/reviews/monty-python-s-the-meaning-of-life-1200425486/ |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |access-date=20 July 2017 |date=31 December 1982}}</ref> [[Gene Siskel]] of the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' awarded 3 stars out of 4, calling it "fresh and original and delightfully offensive. What more can you ask of a comedy?"<ref>[[Gene Siskel|Siskel, Gene]] (1 April 1983). "Python 'Meaning of Life' tingles with high-voltage shocks". ''[[Chicago Tribune]]''. Section 3, p. 1.</ref> Sheila Benson of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' wrote that the film was full of "raunchy talk, blasphemy (well, sacrilege) and one example of what kids call a totally ''gnarly,'' gross-out scene. The problem for the reviewer (to be specific, this reviewer) is when you are laughing this much it makes logging all the fast-flying offenses almost impossible."<ref>Benson, Sheila (31 March 1983). "Python's 'Life' Raunchy But Funny". ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''. Calendar, p. 1.</ref> Gary Arnold of ''[[The Washington Post]]'' was negative, writing that "The strongest impressions left by this picture have less to do with its largely tedious attempts to burlesque human weakness and pomposity than with the group's failure to evolve a coherent satiric outlook."<ref>{{cite news |last=Arnold |first=Gary |date=4 April 1983 |title='Life' Without Meaning |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |page=B1, B2 }}</ref> A review by Steve Jenkins in ''[[The Monthly Film Bulletin]]'' was also negative, writing that the return to a sketch format constituted a "great leap backwards" for the troupe and that the film's outrageous moments "cannot disguise the overall air of ''déjà vu'' and playing it safe."<ref>{{cite journal |last=Jenkins |first=Steve |date=June 1983 |title=Monty Python's Meaning of Life |journal=[[The Monthly Film Bulletin]] |volume=50 |issue=593 |page=163 }}</ref>

In 2004, acclaimed director [[Quentin Tarantino]] once stated "The only time I've ever had to look away, because I couldn't bear to watch, was ''The Meaning of Life'', when that fat b***ard keeps being sick. I felt really nauseous – it was just too much. I was looking around and I thought, 'If anyone here is sick and I have to smell vomit, I'm going to hurl'. I just about held onto my lunch in the end, but I still can't think about that scene without retching."<ref>{{cite web|title= Tarantino shocked by Python scene|url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/arid-30145079.html |work=[[Irish Examiner]] |access-date=16 November 2021 |date=29 April 2004}}</ref>

In 2007, ''[[Empire (film magazine)|Empire]]''{{'}}s Ian Nathan rated it three of five stars, describing it as "too piecemeal and unfocused, but it possesses some of their most iconic musings and inspired madness".<ref>{{cite web|last=Nathan |first=Ian |title=Monty Python's The Meaning of Life Review |url=https://www.empireonline.com/movies/monty-pythons-meaning-life/review/ |work=[[Empire (magazine)|Empire]] |access-date=20 July 2017 |date=1 March 2007}}</ref> In 2014, ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' gave the film four stars out of five.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Chilton|first1=Martin|title=Monty Python's The Meaning of Life, review|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/filmreviews/10765951/Monty-Pythons-The-Meaning-of-Life-review.html|newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|access-date=22 February 2016|date=20 April 2014}}</ref> In his ''2015 Movie Guide'', [[Leonard Maltin]] awarded it three stars, calling it "A barrel of bellylaughs", identifying the [[Mr. Creosote]] and "[[Every Sperm Is Sacred]]" sketches as the most memorable.<ref>{{cite book |last=Maltin |first=Leonard |year=2014 |title=Leonard Maltin's 2015 Movie Guide |publisher=Penguin |isbn=978-0698183612}}</ref> 
''[[Family Guy]]'' creator [[Seth MacFarlane]] states: “I view Monty Python as the great originator of that combination [provocative humour and high-quality original music]. ''The Meaning of Life'' in particular comes to mind, and my favorite example is "Every Sperm Is Sacred." It's so beautifully written, it's musically and lyrically legit, the orchestrations are fantastic, the choreography and the presentation are very, very complex – it's treated seriously."<ref>{{cite news |title=8 TV Shows and Comedy Stars Inspired by Monty Python |url=http://www.bbcamerica.com/anglophenia/2019/09/8-tv-shows-and-comedy-stars-inspired-by-monty-python |access-date=30 September 2019 |agency=BBC America}}</ref> The [[review aggregator]] website [[Rotten Tomatoes]] gives the film a rating of 86% based on 37 reviews, with an [[Weighted mean|average rating]] of 7.30/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "''Monty Python's the Meaning of Life'' is rude, ribald, and unafraid to take comedic risks – which is to say it should more than satisfy fans of the titular troupe."<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/monty_pythons_the_meaning_of_life/ | title=Monty Python's The Meaning of Life | work=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] | publisher=[[Flixster]] | access-date=6 December 2024}}</ref> {{Metacritic film prose|72|11|access-date=20 November 2024}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Meaning of Life Reviews |url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-meaning-of-life/ |access-date=2024-11-20 |website=www.metacritic.com |language=en}}</ref>

===Accolades===
''The Meaning of Life'' was awarded the [[Grand Prix (Cannes Film Festival)|Grand Jury Prize]] at the [[1983 Cannes Film Festival]].<ref name="festival-cannes.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/1432/year/1983.html |title=Festival de Cannes: Monty Python's The Meaning of Life |access-date=16 June 2009|work=festival-cannes.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120121185217/http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/1432/year/1983.html |archive-date=21 January 2012 }}</ref> While the Cannes jury, led by [[William Styron]], were fiercely split on their opinions on several films in competition, ''The Meaning of Life'' had general support, securing it the second-highest honour after the [[Palme d'Or]] for ''[[The Ballad of Narayama (1983 film)|The Ballad of Narayama]]''.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Dionne |first1=E.J. Jr. |title=Japanese Film Awarded Top Prize At Cannes |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1983/05/20/movies/japanese-film-awarded-top-prize-at-cannes.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=20 May 1983 |access-date=1 March 2017}}</ref>

At the [[37th British Academy Film Awards]], Andre Jacquemin, Dave Howman, Michael Palin and Terry Jones were also nominated for Original Song for "[[Every Sperm is Sacred]]." The award went to "[[Up Where We Belong]]" in ''[[An Officer and a Gentleman]]''.<ref>{{cite web|title=Original Song Written for a Film in 1984 |url=http://awards.bafta.org/award/1984/film/original-song-written-for-a-film |publisher=[[British Academy of Film and Television Arts]] |access-date=1 March 2017}}</ref>

==Home media==
A two-disc [[DVD]] release in 2003 features a documentary on production and a [[director's cut]],<ref>{{cite web|last=Murray |first=Noel |title=Monty Python's The Meaning Of Life (Special Edition DVD) |url=https://www.avclub.com/review/monty-pythons-the-meaning-of-life-special-edition--11786 |work=[[The A.V. Club]] |access-date=22 July 2017 |date=22 September 2003}}</ref> which adds deleted scenes into the film, making it 116 minutes. The first is ''The Adventures of Martin Luther'',<ref>{{cite web|title=Monty Python's The Meaning of Life: 2-Disc Collector's Edition
|url=https://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/7480/monty-pythons-the-meaning-of-life-2-disc-collectors-edition/ |work=[[DVD Talk]] |access-date=22 July 2017 |date=2 September 2003}}</ref> inserted after the scene with the Protestant couple talking about condoms. The second is a promotional video about the British army, which comes between the marching around the square scene and the Zulu army scene. The third and last is an extension of the American characters performed by Idle and Palin; they are shown their room and talk about [[tampon]]s. In [[DVD region code#1|Region 1]], it was released on [[Blu-ray]] to mark its 30th anniversary.<ref>{{cite web|last=Heilbron  |first=Alexandra |title=Monty Python's The Meaning of Life 30th Anniversary Blu-ray
|url=https://www.tribute.ca/news/monty-pythons-the-meaning-of-life-30th-anniversary-blu-ray/2013/10/08/ |work=[[Tribute (magazine)|Tribute]] |access-date=22 July 2017 |date=8 October 2013}}</ref>
In May 2020, it was released on [[Netflix]] in the United Kingdom.

==References==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name="guard2013">{{cite web| title= How we made Monty Python's The Meaning of Life |url= https://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/sep/30/monty-python-meaning-of-life | date=30 September 2013| newspaper = [[The Guardian]] | first=Chris| last= Michael |access-date= 1 October 2013}}</ref>
}}

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
* {{IMDb title|0085959|Monty Python's The Meaning of Life}}
* {{TCMDb title|83923|Monty Python's The Meaning of Life}}
* {{mojo title|montypythonsmeaningoflife|Monty Python's The Meaning of Life}}
* {{rotten-tomatoes|monty_pythons_the_meaning_of_life|Monty Python's The Meaning of Life}}

{{Monty Python}}
{{Terry Jones}}
{{Graham Chapman}}
{{Cannes Film Festival Grand Prix}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Monty Python's The Meaning Of Life}}
[[Category:Monty Python films]]
[[Category:Films with atheism-related themes]]
[[Category:1983 films]]
[[Category:1980s satirical films]]
[[Category:British musical comedy films]]
[[Category:British political satire films]]
[[Category:British satirical films]]
[[Category:British self-reflexive films]]
[[Category:Religious satire films]]
[[Category:Films about God]]
[[Category:Films critical of the Catholic Church]]
[[Category:Films critical of Christianity and Christians]]
[[Category:Metafictional works]]
[[Category:Existentialist films]]
[[Category:Films directed by Terry Jones]]
[[Category:Films scored by John Du Prez]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Graham Chapman]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by John Cleese]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Terry Gilliam]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Eric Idle]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Terry Jones]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Michael Palin]]
[[Category:British anthology films]]
[[Category:Films shot in Buckinghamshire]]
[[Category:Films shot in Cambridgeshire]]
[[Category:Films shot in England]]
[[Category:Films shot in Hertfordshire]]
[[Category:Films shot in London]]
[[Category:Films shot in Scotland]]
[[Category:Films shot at EMI-Elstree Studios]]
[[Category:Films set in England]]
[[Category:Films set in South Africa]]
[[Category:Universal Pictures films]]
[[Category:United International Pictures films]]
[[Category:Heaven in popular culture]]
[[Category:Films about personifications of death]]
[[Category:Works about the meaning of life]]
[[Category:Sketch comedy films]]
[[Category:Cannes Grand Prix winners]]
[[Category:1980s English-language films]]
[[Category:1980s British films]]
[[Category:English-language musical films]]
[[Category:1983 musical films]]