Film · 1983

The Meaning of Life

Name: The Meaning of Life
Genre: Comedy, Music
Released: 1983-03-31
Duration: 107 min
Cast: Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones

Directed by Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam · starring Graham Chapman, John Cleese and Terry Gilliam

1 h 47 min
15
Comedy · Music
UK
Released in the UK 22 June 1983

8.2 Users1 vote
10 Critics1 review

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Synopsis

'The Meaning of life' is a musical comedy film directed by Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones. It also has a great cast formed by John Cleese, Graham Chapman and also Terry Gilliam.

This time, Monty Phyton's British group focus on one of the most important questions for the humanity: whis is the meaning of life for humans? This question will be answer through different funny sketches that focus on a lot of themes like religion, sex education, philosophy, war, history, medicine, nutrition or death. Also, thanks to different scenes the film will start with the birth of humans and will finish with death. The name of the sketches are: 'The Miracle of Birth', 'Every Sperm is Sacred', 'Growth and Learning', 'Fighting each other', 'The Middle of the film', 'Find the Fish', 'Middle Age', 'Live Organ Transplants', 'The Autumn Years', 'Death' and 'The End of the Film'.

Unlike 'Holy Grail' and 'Life of Brian', the film's two predecessors, which each told a single, coherent story, 'The Meaning of Life' doesn't. Although it wasn't as acclaimed as its two predecessors, was still well received by the audience and it also collected a gross budget: $15 million on a $9 million budget.

The movie was released on 1983 and six years after, Graham Chapman passed away.

The essentials

Runtime: 107 min1 hour and 47 minutes
Budget: $9mUniversal Pictures
Rating: 15Suitable only for 15 years and over

How long is The Meaning of Life?: 1 hour and 47 minutes (107 minutes).
When was The Meaning of Life released in the UK?: It was released in the UK on 22 June 1983.
Who directed The Meaning of Life?: Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam.
Who is in The Meaning of Life?: It stars Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam and Eric Idle.

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Cast

Full cast (20)

Director: Terry Jones, Terry Gilliam
Writers: Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle

Photos and posters

All 11 photos

+3 photosand 2 posters

Reviews

See the review

8.2 1 vote

What the critics say 10, from one review

10 CriticLeonardo D'Espósito "The most wonderful fact about the film is that it keeps being a funny one: laugh is one of the first thing that tends to disappear through years, but this films is excellent (...)" Read

Soundtrack

All 10 songs

The Meaning of LifeEric Idle Spotify
Oh Lord Please Don't Burn UsMichael Palin, John Cleese, chorus
Galaxy SongEric Idle
Penis SongEric Idle Spotify

Trivia

All 7 facts

Budget problems

Terry Jones spent most of the budget on the "Every Sperm Is Sacred" sequence. The rest of the team found out later.
Singing a song

The kids who sang in the "Every Sperm is Sacred" sketch later said they had no idea what they were singing about.
Proud Chapman

Graham Chapman, who was openly gay, asked to play God in this movie because he was frustrated at the Church of England for refusing to marry him and his partner, David Sherlock. At the time same-sex marriage was not legal in the United Kingdom, or recognized by the Church of England.
Violence and Tarantino

Quentin Tarantino says that the explosion of Mr. Creosote is the only time he has been disturbed by graphic violence on film.
Mr. Creosote's moment

The "Mr. Creosote" scene was roundly rejected on its initial read-through. John Cleese saved it a few weeks later, after realizing the waiter was the funniest part.