Talk:Monty Python's The Meaning of Life

Part 1 - Miracle of Birth
"...although his frustrated spouse (Idle) points out that they never do..." a) is wrong, and b) misses the point.

174.97.189.100 (talk) 22:22, 4 September 2011 (UTC)

Is that even a reference?
What the hell does this have to do with The Meaning of Life?

"In the movie Finding Nemo a stingray teacher swims towards his class, covers them all beneath his wings and then says 'I wonder where my class is gone'."

- TorbenFrost 12:51, 26 August 2007 (UTC)

A line from 'Meaning of Life' is "I wonder where that fish has gone.". If it is a reference, it is a very tenuous one.

67.97.80.5 17:29, 21 September 2007 (UTC)

Find the Fish
Hm, the 'Find the Fish' sketch reminded me of Andy Warhol... whether this had any influence I don't know, but maybe someone could add to this? Misuto 09:50, 1 October 2005 (UTC)

hey does anyone have any idea what that sketch is really about...? there are lots of fairly hardcore philosophical references in this film (the vomit scene is possibly a spoof of Sartre's Nausea), I think I once saw an argument that find-the-fish is making some comment about subjectivity and experience: the scene is shot througha fish-eye lens, and is being watched by the fish in the tank -- possibly suggesting that the fish is in fact the /viewer/ rather than anything /in/ the scene... which is pretty deep... kind of like Nagels "the view from Nowhere" perhaps? The subject cannot direct intensionality towards himself, rather his perception /is/ the scene... is that a reference to something? Or were they just all on drugs and we are tryign to read into it... ?


 * You think too much. Comradeash 05:45, 15 June 2007 (UTC)
 * No such thing

How did they get the hands on the ends of the long-arms to wiggle like that? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.72.21.221 (talk) 06:09, 6 April 2008 (UTC)

The scene was not shot with a fisheye lens, it was shot with an ultra wide angle lens. And to say that it is the lens they are referring to sounds like original research and incorrect unless there is a citation for it. I'm sure Terry Gilliam would have known that it wasn't a fisheye lens and would have let the other members know that. It seems very likely that it's just a very silly scene with no actual fish to find. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 89.240.233.230 (talk) 21:20, 4 April 2012 (UTC)

Whole film has influences from french surrealist Luis Bunuel. Particularly 'Meaning of life' from 'the discrete charm of the bourgousie' or 'phantom of liberty' -supposedly in turn had influences from earlier python sketches. Just the amount of surreal dinner scenes and mocking of catholic church are a start. It seemed the sketched mocked avante garde cinema in general however. Bunuel was an influence on them, and python an influence on later films of his, if someone could find a source would be good, but the similarities are strikingly close to this surrealist director, that aside from his comedic elements did avante garde scenes which the fish scene seems to mock or actually pay homage to (well surrealism was never that serious right?). — Preceding unsigned comment added by 91.125.181.234 (talk) 21:36, 15 July 2014 (UTC)

The DVD
Are there any surprises on the DVD for  like Monty Python and the Holy Grail? --68.37.116.234 20:07, 19 February 2006 (UTC)
 * What I mean by surprises on the DVD is are there any surprises like on The Holy Grail when "Play Movie" is first played and the first one minute, 47 sec. of Dentist on the Job, then the projector operator (Terry Jones) "changes the reels" and Holy Grail starts. Are there any surprises like that on the MEANING OF LIFE DVD? -Thank you very much! 15:06, 19 February 2006 (UTC)

Not to my recollection. Eclipsed Moon 22:35, 8 March 2006 (UTC)

But there is a "long version" of the movie, with all the cut scenes. It should be said in the plot section of the article, I think. For example after the Catholic kids' song and the Protestant talk about love for pleasure there is the Martin Luther scene. 41.214.122.99 (talk) 22:47, 28 June 2011 (UTC)

Rename?
Following from Monty Python's Life of Brian and Monty Python and the Holy Grail, should we rename this article Monty Python's The Meaning of Life? —anskas 23:55, 22 October 2006 (UTC)
 * IMDb refers to it as The Meaning of Life. That would be the justification for leaving it as is. However, IMDb also refers to Life of Brian as Monty Pythons... What do other sources refer to it as? --Dylan Lak e 00:00, 23 October 2006 (UTC)
 * In my experience, IMDB is not the most reliable source. I will look for other sources to see how they treat these films. —anskas 16:19, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

I should have left this note last night. The opening credits of the film, the VHS and DVD releases, the poster and all other ancillary material call this film "Monty Python's The Meaning of Life" so I have moved the page to match this fact. You are right Anskas the info at IMDb, in spite of all that it does for those of us who like films, is not totally reliable.MarnetteD | Talk 13:50, 15 June 2007 (UTC)
 * Now that the page has been moved, shouldn't these two lines be removed and placed on the old page?
 * This page is about the Monty Python film; for the philosophical concept, see the Meaning of life (philosophy).
 * For the song by The Offspring, The Meaning of Life (Offspring song).
 * I'd do it myself, but my Wikipedia skills aren't up to the task.--RenniePet 09:43, 15 June 2007 (UTC)


 * Hello RenniePet. The answer to your question is that the old page no longer exists. Using the move command moves all the items, including the history and this talk page, of that page to this new one. Actually, there is one thing left on the old page and that is a redirect command. Anyone typing the name of the old page into the search line is autmatically taken to this one. I also took the time to fix all of the redirects that occur on other pages that moving this page entailed. Now most people who move pages skip this step, sometimes because they miss the instruction to do it (the page that comes up after a move mentions it but doesn't make completely clear which link you need to click on to find all of the pages that link to this one) and, more often, because they are lazy. It took about three hours to fix all of the redirects because it was incredible how many pages, some of them having nothing to do with films!, were linked to this one. Amazingly the page for "The Offspring"s Discography (not the specific song but the page for all of their albums) on the line mentioning their song linked to this films page. Who knows how long that bad link existed. Because the lines you mentioned can't be moved to the old page the could just be deleted from this page but I should say that I am not perfect and I might have missed fixing some of the redirects so I would be inclined to leave them at the top of the page for awhile at least. I would think that if we leave them for a few weeks it just might be a help to any editors who wind up on this page when they were looking for something else. Thanks for your question and if you have any others please feel free to ask either here or on my talk page. MarnetteD | Talk 13:50, 15 June 2007 (UTC)
 * Thanks for the long answer. Actually, I'm not thinking so much about existing links, I'm thinking about people who come to Wikipedia and search for "the meaning of life". They get a page that only contains a re-direct to this page (which is fine if that's what they were looking for), but doesn't offer them the other two possibilities right off the bat. --RenniePet 14:29, 15 June 2007 (UTC)
 * There's another page, Meaning of life (without "(Philosophy)") that is even more relevant to have as a possible link on the old The Meaning of Life page. --RenniePet 14:37, 15 June 2007 (UTC)

Well I tried adding it to the redirect page based on your desires and I am afraid that it messed that page up a little. I think that it will be okay as the redirect still exists, but if it isn't I am sure that I will hear from an admin. It was only one more click to get to this page, but I think that we should leave them here as well as on the readirect page to assist readers in the future. MarnetteD | Talk 14:51, 15 June 2007 (UTC)

Reversions 6th of February
When I viewed the page at about 23:00 CET, a two day old vandalised version showed up. This caused me to revert a perfectly fine version by mistake. I have since reverted it back to the version before my reversion. Sorry about that. 85.167.90.31 22:31, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

missing citation on DVD commentary track
The missing citation from the quote below could be referenced from the commentary track of the DVD (Studio: Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Release Date: 2005-08-23, ASIN: B000A2UBNE, UPC: 025192894329). Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam discuss the origin of the short at length several times through the film and nothing in the quote is contradicted.

"The Crimson Permanent Assurance, a short introductory film directed by Terry Gilliam. In a satire on globalization, elderly office clerks rebel against their cold, efficient corporate masters at 'The Permanent Assurance Company', commandeer their building and turn it into a pirate ship, raiding financial districts in numerous big cities before falling off the edge of the world. Originally conceived by Gilliam as a 6-minute animated sequence in the middle of the film (at the end of Part V), it was later expanded to a 16-minute live-action piece, to the point where it no longer fit into the framework of the film and became a pre-movie short film in its own right.[citation needed]"

Hope that helps. Please feel free to contact me about proper posting etiquette if I'm out of line. Freesharon 20:08, 10 August 2007 (UTC)

The meaning of Liff
Most lovers of Monty Python will know about Douglas Adams. Most of the Pythons knew, respected and some even adored him. This, their last "Magnum Opus" is, in part, dedicated to him. In the opening credits a stone tablet showing the text "The Meaning of Liff" is corrected to the "The Meaning of Life". Many will discuss this and there will be opponents and proponents. It has already been officially denied that it is so. Which made me think of the First Law in Politics: Nothing is true until it has been officially denied. The Meaning of Liff, written by Douglas Adams and John Lloyd is a book, for which I do not particularly care, which many of the Pythons will have known about and maybe even read. Having spoken to Douglas and being a great admirer of his other work, I think this was a fitting tribute, as will most Pythons. Most Pythons will also consider it a great compliment that this article in the Wiki has been deemed "of no significant importance". The contribution of Monty Python's Flying Circus to comedy is not quantifiable. A lot of their sketches are not really funny. But it is intellectual comedy at it's best. Although most Python's will agree that there is no place for anarchy in this world, they have shown that we all love it. And boy, were they good at it (in comedy). Monty Python's Flying Circus lasted only a few seasons in the seventies but we still talk about it today. It has almost become a religion in it's own right (as parodied in Not the Nine O'Clock News). Way to go Pythons!

I will come back and corrrect my grammar and spelling, but for now I will see if the article is allowed to stand. JHvW (talk) 12:47, 2 January 2009 (UTC)


 * Obviously the above post was made a few years ago, but I think it's worth pointing out for future reference that Adams' book was published November 1983, while Monty' Python's The Meaning of Life was released in March 1983. Therefore it seems pretty unlikely that the Python film was a tribute to Adams or his book. Arthur Holland (talk) 09:22, 13 April 2011 (UTC)


 * The publication date of the book is not really a fact in dispute. The Meaning of Liff was a game played by a number of people including John Lloyd and Douglas Adams. Adams wrote for the BBC and is actually featured in one of the MPFC episodes. It is and probably will always be speculation if the "Meaning of Liff" is or is not a tribute to Adams and Lloyd. JHvW 20:01, 17 September 2011 (UTC)

middle age
are you sure the couple are yankee? actually aI don't agree....why should two yankee eat "original hawaian ..... in an english meioeval prison"? Actually I watch the film in italian (most of the times)so I cannot  notice if their accent is whether british or american  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 91.187.195.236 (talk) 16:07, 17 March 2009 (UTC)


 * Yes, they speak in the nasally flat accent that signifies "American" to the Pythons. Comet Tuttle (talk) 17:38, 26 May 2010 (UTC)

On the DVD commentary track , Terry Gilliam notes that the Hendys are Americans , and suspects that they are caricatures of his parents! ( Whom, according to him , often visited various Python filming sets. ). It's also a commentary about Americans not being so savvy about the world outside of the U.S. It should further be noted , the restaurant is supposed to be an American establishment , as John Cleese's waiter , Carol Cleveland's waitress , and Terry Gilliam's hostess , all speak with cheesy American accents. 75.104.190.255 (talk) 20:29, 15 January 2016 (UTC)

Repulsive
"which is considered some of the most repulsive footage in twentieth century cinema" ... Seriously? The Mr. Creosote scene is seen as that bad? There's plenty of repulsive scenes throughout cinema history.... I say that line should be taken out if nobody can come up with a serious citation. GamerErman2001 (talk) 23:34, 22 March 2009 (UTC)

DVD Release Date(s)
Under the "Release" section of the page:

"In 2003, a Special Edition DVD was released..."

"In the 2005 DVD release of the film..."

"...found on the 2004 "2 Disc Special Edition" DVD..."

Are these all the same release or different releases? My copy of the two-disc set (Region 1) is dated 2003. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.127.172.89 (talk) 03:44, 8 November 2009 (UTC)

"Globalization"
There was an uncited claim that The Crimson Permanent Assurance was a satire on globalization. There's nothing about globalization in the sketch. Even "The Very Large Corporation of America" boardroom sketch, though it satirizes very big business, doesn't refer to globalization. I changed it to say that it satirizes "cold corporate culture", but in any case the claim is still unreferenced. Comet Tuttle (talk) 17:43, 26 May 2010 (UTC)

Why no cast section?
Well, title pretty much explains it. 67.81.18.68 (talk) 20:21, 3 September 2010 (UTC)


 * No clue! I added a simple cast list just now. Erik (talk &#124; contribs) 20:40, 3 September 2010 (UTC)


 * Yikes, I used Allmovie as my source, but I see from IMDb that they played even more multiple roles for each part. Maybe a table with a column for the actor and other columns for the different parts, in which we can identify the different roles? Erik (talk &#124; contribs) 20:42, 3 September 2010 (UTC)


 * Yeah, the table would be good, they used it on "Holy Grail" and it works well. Thanks. 67.81.18.68 (talk) 02:40, 7 September 2010 (UTC)


 * y'know what, ill just fill in the rest of the cast, and if you want you can convert it to a table, k? 67.81.18.68 (talk) 02:43, 7 September 2010 (UTC)

Meaning of Life in popular culture
Surely there needs to be a popular culture section in this film. It has had many infuluences in popular culture and is considered a cultural icon - if not (along with other Monty Python films) a cult film. I was watching Stranger Than Fiction, and in it the main character is shown at one point in a cinema watching the Meaning of Life. I was just going onto wikipedia to add it on as a reference. I'm surprised to see no section Colt .55 (talk) 16:44, 17 July 2011 (UTC)
 * yes, very much agree. Wholehearted support for this new section.  ♥ VisitingPhilosopher ♥ talk ◊ contribs 20:42, 19 November 2012 (UTC)

Reduce (cast-member) references in the text?
I think so many (cast-member) references in the text interrupts the flow, could be reduced by 20-30%?

Just a thought. ♥ VisitingPhilosopher ♥ talk ◊ contribs 20:42, 19 November 2012 (UTC)

Is this a co-incidence?
Surely the film's seven chapters are a reference to the seven ages of man in the famous Shakespearian soliloquy All the world's a stage? All except "Live Organ Transplants" and "The Meaning of Life" are named similarly to one of the ages of man; even "Fighting Each Other" may be based on the soldier.

However, I know this is exactly the sort of speculation that will never make it onto the article unless someone with more authority has made the same observation and committed it to writing... — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.30.133.31 (talk) 00:22, 9 February 2013 (UTC)

'Yorkshire'
In part one it states the 'third world' section is supposed to represent Yorkshire but what is the source for this? The screenplay simply says 'northern street' (with no mention of location in any of the speech) and it was filmed in Colne, a Lancashire town. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 80.3.185.52 (talk) 23:37, 12 August 2013 (UTC)
 * If I'm not mistaken, there's a caption in the beginning of the scene that reads "Yorkshire". Hearfourmewesique (talk) 00:35, 13 August 2013 (UTC)

UK Release date
I just want to let people know that April 22 1983 is NOT the UK release date. It is the BBFC classification date of the film NOT the release date. A British newspaper advertisement of the film states 'From Thursday June 23rd at the Plaza off Piccadilly Circus cinema and from Thursday July 7th across the country'. Brianp95 (talk) 00:55, 16 April 2017 (UTC)

Noel Coward
I am torn as to whether it is appropriate to point out that the 'musician in a French restaurant' is obviously modeled on Sir Noel Coward. On the one hand, it's original research. On the other, it's glaringly obvious and contributes to the appreciation and understanding of the movie. Toyokuni3 (talk) 16:40, 9 June 2020 (UTC)


 * Sir Michael Caine
 * Did really nobody notice the cameo apperance of Sir Michael Caine (as a red uniform in the battlefield scene)? it is nowhere mentioned here. 46.114.172.85 (talk) 17:45, 24 June 2023 (UTC)

Michael Caine
It has been confirmed that Michael Caine has a cameo during the Zulu war segment, most likely in reference to his role in the 1964 film Zulu. Has this page ever attempted to point this out? 03ElecBerg (talk) 17:20, 2 September 2023 (UTC)


 * "It has been confirmed" - source please. cagliost (talk) 19:02, 19 December 2023 (UTC)

Separate films?
The article(s) claim that The Crimson Permanent Assurance is a separate film. Is this true? The claim is unsourced, and the Crimson Permanent Assurance company features in the main film. cagliost (talk) 19:00, 19 December 2023 (UTC)


 * The article doesn't specifically say that, but it's true since the short was directed separately from the main film and had its own credits. 2601:642:4600:BE10:A824:618C:D7D8:A5E8 (talk) 21:09, 24 January 2024 (UTC)