Product Description

Those six pandemonium-mad Pythons are back with their craziest adventure ever! John Cleese Graham Chapman Terry Jones Eric Idle Terry Gilliam and Michael Palin have returned to explain The Meaning of Life. These naughty Britons offer the usual tasteful sketches involving favorite bodily parts and functions the wonders of war the miracle of birth and a special preview of what's waiting for us in Heaven. Nothing is too sacred for the Python crew. After seeing them in action you'll never look at life in quite the same way again. It's far-out frank and jolly good fun. Winner of the 1983 Cannes Film Festival Special Jury Prize.Runtime: 108 minsFormat: DVD HD Genre: COMEDY Rating: R UPC: 025193293725 Manufacturer No: 61032937

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #24421 in DVD
• Brand: UNIVERSAL STUDIOS HOME ENTERTAIN.
• Released on: 2007-06-12
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Color, Dolby, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, French
• Dubbed in: French
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 108 minutes

Amazon.com essential video
Perhaps only the collective brilliant minds of the Monty Python film and television troupe are up to the task of tackling a subject as weighty as the Meaning of Life. Sure, Kierkegaard, Wittgenstein, and their ilk have tried their hands at this puzzler, but only Python has attempted to do so within the commercial motion picture medium. Happily for us all, Monty Python's the Meaning of Life truly explains everything one conceivably needs to know about the perplexities of human existence, from the mysteries of Catholic doctrine to the miracle of reproduction to why one should avoid the salmon mousse to the critical importance of the machine that goes ping! Using fish as a linking device (and what marvelous links those aquatic creatures make), The Meaning of Life is presented as a series of sketches: a musical production number about why seed is sacred; a look at dining in the afterlife; the quest for a missing fish (there they are again); a visit from Mr. Death; the cautionary tale of Mr. Creosote and his rather gluttonous appetite; an unflinching examination of the harsh realities of organ donation, and so on. Sadly, this was the last original Python film, but it's a beaut. You'll laugh. You'll cry (probably because you're laughing so hard). You may even learn something about the Meaning of Life. Or at least about how fish fit into the grand scheme of things. --Jim Emerson

Amazon.com
Perhaps only the collective brilliant minds of the Monty Python film and television troupe are up to the task of tackling a subject as weighty as the Meaning of Life. Sure, Kierkegaard, Wittgenstein, and their ilk have tried their hands at this puzzler, but only Python has attempted to do so within the commercial motion picture medium. Happily for us all, Monty Python's the Meaning of Life truly explains everything one conceivably needs to know about the perplexities of human existence, from the mysteries of Catholic doctrine to the miracle of reproduction to why one should avoid the salmon mousse to the critical importance of the machine that goes ping! Using fish as a linking device (and what marvelous links those aquatic creatures make), The Meaning of Life is presented as a series of sketches: a musical production number about why seed is sacred; a look at dining in the afterlife; the quest for a missing fish (there they are again); a visit from Mr. Death; the cautionary tale of Mr. Creosote and his rather gluttonous appetite; an unflinching examination of the harsh realities of organ donation, and so on. Sadly, this was the last original Python film, but it's a beaut. You'll laugh. You'll cry (probably because you're laughing so hard). You may even learn something about the Meaning of Life. Or at least about how fish fit into the grand scheme of things. --Jim Emerson

Customer Reviews

The Meaning of Laughter
It's Monty Python at their best. Very funny lengthy sketches and musical numbers that have you rolling on the floor. Absolutely hysterical. They show silly, yet intelligent humor that is sure to be appreciated by their audiences.

Get it and you will want to own all of the Monty Python's movies... but that's a good thing.

The weakest of the Python films, but it's hardly unfunny
Out of all three Python films (Holy Grail, Life of Brian, Meaning of Life) this one is by far the weakest. But just because it's not as good as the other two doesn't mean it's highly unfunny. There are some many great sketches here that'll make many fall on the floor laughing. My favorite skits here are "Mr. Creosote", "Live Organ Transplants", "The Protestants' View", "Find the Fish", "Galaxy Song", and the prologue of the film, "The Crimson Permanent Assurance". The Actors/Writers never cease to amaze (Graham Chapman with his straight-faced attitude, John Cleese with his authoritarian madness, Eric Idle with his verbal wit, Terry Jones with his shrieking pepperpot impersonation, and Michael Palin with his diverse acting abilities; and let's not forget Terry Gilliam for his imaginative animations).

The only flaw I can find here is the DVD transfer. I have to turn up the volume very high so I can watch the movie, and the screen quality is just above average. With that flaw aside, "Meaning of Life" is yet another classic from the Python team.

A-

Decent transfer for a 25 year old movie
Don't expect this to be your refrence HD material. While in my opinion this is the best of the Monty Python movies, none of the movies were visually stunning. That does not mean that this got a bad transfer, quite the opposite, but if you are looking for something to impress your friends about your expensive HD set, this is not the disc.

If you are a film purist, you will be happy to know that you can still see the film grain in the picture in places. Colors seem to be natual, and may be a disappointment for those of you who are used to more vibrant things in your HD. Washed out comes to my mind, but that is really more of the style of the film, and not a problem with the transfer. In fact, the animated scenes are quite vivid and brilliant, so while not breathtaking, I will say that the transfer is faithful to the original source.

There is no high-res audio track, but do not let that disappoint you. The Monty Python movies were not known for having the subwoofer pounding, full surround emersion experience, and the Dolby Digital Plus soundtrack faithfully represents the movies soundtrack without giving up anything.

Bonus features seem to mirror previous DVD releases, and nothing special is really added.

If you are a fan of this movie, this is probably as good of an HD transfer as you will ever get, and I would highly recommend it. If you are not a Monty Python fan, pass over this one.