Rating: 
Summary: The Pythons in top form!
Review: Here we have THE best Monty Python movie ever! I know I said that about Life Of Brian...but I mean it this time (no, really). Meaning of Life is a stroll through the world according to Monty Python. Many aspects of the human condition are twisted by our favorite Brit-comedians into a series of hilarous sketches. Although there are a few standouts-Birth the Third World, intercourse instruction, live organ transplants and *my favorite* the entire Death section-everything is funny. Additionally, all of Eric Idle's songs are so good you'll never forget them-and find yourself singing them in the shower. Show this to your uninitiated friends and see what happens! Beware: there are those who may find some of this offensive. I personally find MEANING an exhilarating ride! One thing does trouble me. Monty Python says it'll be Christmas in Heaven every single day! Don't you think this'll get annoying after the first 4 or 5 months? This is on my favorite all-time movies list; which explains why I own both the DVD and the VHS version. Don't expect a Life Of Brian DVD type Criterion treatment-you get the movie, scene selection and that's it. But that's all you need. The VHS isn't bad either if you don't want the widescreen or higher price of the DVD. I was worried about wearing out the VHS...not a problem now!
Rating: 
Summary: See it for the musical numbers
Review: I just re-watched _The Meaning of Life_ on DVD last night, and more than once felt my finger twitching over the remote control's "Fast Forward" button during the non-musical sequences. (The exceptions being, of course, "Mr. Creosote" and the supremely bizarre "Find the Fish" segment.) But, boy, every single song is immortal. Other reviewers have already commented at length on *why* the songs are so wondrously unforgettable, so I won't rehash all their points, but I do have one observation on the "Every Sperm is Sacred" number. Anyone who has ever seen a splashy Hollywood musical will enjoy how the genre's cliches are spoofed; for example, a huge chorus of backup singers appears out of nowhere, and everyone instantly knows the lyrics. However, I've always felt that you need to be an ex-Catholic -- or at least a liberalized Catholic -- to fully "get" the segment. Viewers who weren't raised in The One True Church may not appreciate how terrifyingly *close* the song's lyrics come to expressing actual Catholic dogma on birth control (the Vatican really does attach astonishing moral significance to where and how a man ejaculates, so "every sperm is sacred" is only a modest exaggeration). On the other hand, doctrinaire Catholics will simply be offended. Oh yeah -- watching the movie last night, I thought that the "Galaxy Song," along with the title song ("are we just simply spiraling coils of self-replicating DNA?") made appropriate codas to the life of Douglas Adams, who also skewered humankind's inflated sense of our own wonderfulness.
Rating:
Summary: End with a whistle end with a BANG
Review: While this may not be the funniest of the Python movies it's stil one of the funniest films ever made, and one that will always stick in your memory. This film is basicly a series of sketchs about the meaning of life though for a while (as the fish mention" they don't say much about the meaning of life at all... though in subtle ways they do. The parts about Killing One Another stand out, and the Birth segment should be viewed by anyone involved in the medical profession. There are a lot of songs in this movie all very funny and several are quite imvormative. Sceans that you'll never forget are Mr. Creatosol exsplonding, the "Every Sperm Is Sacred" musical-dance number and many more. Let's hope these guys get together again to do a reunion one of these days, the world needs their humor and impact badly.
Rating:
Summary: Don't skimp on the pate, and put the quail eggs on top!
Review: This is one funny film. Note I did NOT say a tastefully funny film. The Meaning of Life has plenty of "epater les bourgeois" --shock those who are conventional. Religion takes plenty of hits here, from the Every Sperm is Sacred ditty to Heaven as Eternal Christmas being broadcast from a Las Vegas show, complete with bare breasted beauties. Now that the religious folks have left the theater in a huff, we're on to stronger stuff. Like the obese Mr. Creasote, who orders "the lot" meaning the entire menu, mixed up in a bucket and please, please don't skimp on the pate. His demise is memorable. There are many other hysterical scenes, in fact, too many. That's a hallmark of the Python crew. They just don't know when to leave anything on the cutting room floor, so we are treated to an assault on the film by an insurance building that fancies itself a pirate ship, liver-hijackings, and the Grim Reaper, who collects the members of a dinner party, whether or not they've partaken of the tainted salmon mousse. Funny, funny stuff, but not for the faint of stomach.
Rating: 
Summary: ummmm... it's pretty good
Review: Though there a good bits and bad bits, this is an experience that CANNOT BE MISSED. There was so much to it that's it's hard to remember all that they did with it. The fat man sequence was sort of funny at first, but lasted waaayy too long. The grim reaper sequence was among the best, and of course, who doesn't love "Every Sperm is Sacred"? The humor may be inconsistent throughout, but maybe the best part of this movie is its unpredictability...always some unexpected new commentary around the corner. Get this movie if you enjoy humor...in any and every form.
Rating:
Summary: Uneven But Still Great
Review: I love Python, and even though this is not my favorite of their films, I still like it a lot. It's a bit uneven, moving forward as it does in fits and starts (as in the case of And Now For Something Completely Different, feature films do not make the best home for sketch comedy); Gilliam's Crimson Permanent Assurance short is well overlong, though amusing enough. Some of the other sketches misfire as well -- the search for the missing leg goes on far too long, though a good deal of the surrounding material ("A tiger? In Africa?" "Shh!", plus the hilarious examples of british pluck in battle) still makes me laugh. Gilliam coming out of the Zulu suit is also a good bit. The American tourist couple in the Hawaiian Torture Chamber restaurant, however, brings the film, not just to a screeching halt, but damn well near to narcolepsy (if I want this kind of dialogue, I'll watch a Pinter play, thanks very much). And I could live a long and happy life if I never had to hear "Christmas In Heaven" (hip-hip-hip-hip-hip hooray!) EVER again. What does work: Jones and Palin's utterly brilliant "Every Sperm Is Sacred," which does for the Catholic position on birth control what Yoko Ono did for the Beatles (sorry, that was a cheap shot). Ditto Eric Idle's "Universe Song", which compresses billions of years into three minutes and still can't prove the existence of intelligent life on Earth. The boys' school scenes are vintage Python (Cleese's matter-of-fact sex-ed class is a scream), as are the WWI (WWII?) battle sequence and the drill sergeant bit ("'Aven't you ever seen the 'And of God before?!"). And of course, it wouldn't be Python without some disgusting humor -- the "Organ Donor" sketch, with Gilliam as the Jewish-sounding Rastafari, is a classic ("Can we have your liver, then?"); as is "Mr. Creosote," which is simultaneously the most sickening and the most hilarious thing I've ever seen Python do. Terry Jones makes you want to laugh and puke at the same time, and that's an incredible triumph. And then there is the "Death" sequence, with Cleese as the Grim Reaper, which almost defies description it's so good. I love Palin's exit line in that bit. It's just too bad it's followed by the abovementioned "Heaven" sequence. (They should have gone to Hell instead -- it would have been a lot funnier!) There are other good bits in this film too -- such as when the Crimson Permanent Assurance attacks the film, and the beyond-surreal "Middle of the Film" bit, but that's all my heart can stand for now. If I had my druthers I'd watch Holy Grail or Life of Brian instead, but Meaning of Life is still worth watching.
Rating:
Summary: Mixed bag with generally favorable results
Review: Really little more than a series of loosely held together sketchs. Each sketch lampoons various assumptions people make about different aspects of life. Birth, sex, war, middle age and death are all treated with equal disrepect and irreverence. Mostly sex and breasts, really. Plenty of gross parts too. Since it's not a continuing narrative, each segment stands alone and, of course, some are better than others. The sex-ed scene, the master/schoolboy rugby match, the two guys in the tiger suit, and the Grim Reaper at the dinner party are among the best bits. The two songs, "Every Sperm is Sacred" and the "Galaxy Song" are the film's best moments. Personally, I found myself laughing at some of the more tasteless moments in the movie. Wonder what that says about me.
Rating:
Summary: Life shore is funny
Review: After seeing Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and Monty Python's Flying circus, i wanted more. So one day i went to a local video store and rented this film. GREAT! The opening seen Features Terry Gilliams animation of 5 fish (Representing the Python crew) seeeing there best friend, howard, being eaten. One of the fish than asks, whats life all about? From that very line, i was hooked, and been hooked since i saw it about a year ago. This film isn't for everybody. Some people will hate it, like my brother, some people will find it weird, like my friend, and some people will find it to be create of and funny, like myself. This Movies got lots of good little ditties and songs such as "Every Sperm is Sacred" "The Penis Song" "The Galaxy song" and "Christmas in heaven" A must have, for a good laugh
Rating:
Summary: This is what satire is all about.
Review: It would take much more than 1000 words to comment on this movie. So I thought I'd concetrate on the restaurant sketch which many reviewers didn't seem to understand of whom some wrote favorable reviews and some unfavorable. The restaurant room represents planet Earth.That monstrous guy represents man ( homo sapiens ) while the rest of the people represent the other living things on our planet.The vomit signifies enviromental pollution.Although we try to contain that ( the man asks for a bucket so he can puke inside ) we're not very succesful.One of the results of that is that species which have lived on this planet for millions of years dissappear ( the people who live the restaurant room ).Finally the waiter who tries to convince the customer to eat this extra mint at the end ( which leads to his explosion ) signifies the role of advertising which constantly tries to convince us to buy things we don't really need.This the rough outline of the main ideas. However the purpose of the artists is not to express in symbolic terms things we already know but rather to have us look at ourselves in a different light.We tend to admire our species a lot but what Monty Pythons suggest is that not only we're not admirable but rather monstrous and disgusting like Mr. Creosote.That's because we live in disharmony with our enviroment unlike the rest of the living things.Not only that but we also have a destorted view of the world.We tend to view things like vomit or excrement as disgusting.But these don't really pollute the environment.Actually excrement is quite important for something called the nitrogen cycle in nature.On the other hand we feel totally at ease with say plastic although this really harms the environment and takes a very long time to dissolve. Real satire ( which is much more than making fun of things ) is supposed to make you think and this is what this sketch does.It is offensive but that's how it should be.It tries to grab us by the shoulders , metaphorically speaking of course , shake us and shout at us:"Do you see what you have become ?".I must say that although when I first saw it I was holding my sides now I don't think it's so funny anymore. Let me finish on a slight personal tone.In the beginning of the second part of "The miracle of birth" Yorkshire is described as part of the third world.I have been in living in Leeds ( West Yorkshire ) for over 1+1/2 years now and I can attest to the fact that most streets do indeed look like they belong to a third world country !
Rating:
Summary: Cliff Notes brought to life...with a easy-to-digest method!!
Review: This is one tape you seriously need if your gonna take up Philosophy in College or High School. What it took God a certain number of days, takes the Monty Python gang a insane hour or so to dismantle. Seriously, they take the meaning of life and litteraly skew it to such lengths that would even get Philosophy teachers thinking...and laughing. From the Maternity ward, to the African continent, to even Heaven, no place is safe from these folk. If you want to know the meaning of life, this is as best you can go without going insane with a detailed textbook, or reading Socrates. P.S. The skit in the begining is a hoot of the Business culture today!!
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