WakenPayne
In the bleak days of 1983, the Crimson Permanent Assurance, an accountancy staffed by elderly workers much like a slave ship, has been taken over by efficiency-minded corporate types. When they sack an employee, there's an uprising, and the building is unleashed from its moorings to sail across the (dry) ocean and take on the financial centers of the world, starting with an all-out attack on the large skyscraper housing The Very Big Corporation of America, complete with filing-cabinet cannons, ceiling-fan broadswords, and paper-spindle short-swords. This Was The Only Part Of MPTMOL That I Enjoyed I Was Almost About To Give It A 2 Because Of This Until I Found Out That This & MPTMOL Were Accounted As Separate Movies On IMDb Then I Gave MPTMOL A 1. This Is The Only Reason I Have A MPTMOL DVD & Its The Only Reason Why I Watch It. Monty Python Is Great When Its Good But When Its Bad Its Horrible. All In All A Great Movie.
Polaris_DiB
As the Monty Python troupe was finishing up their final movie together, it seems Terry Gilliam got his hands on some of the budget and went haywire creating his own little "supporting feature" to the show, a production that most certainly looks forward to his later work with Time Bandits and Brazil, et al, and gained him some control of the surrealist adventure escapades in Gilliam's fantasy land.Starting out almost something of a send-up of Ben-Hur, some elderly accountants under the whips and shackles of corporate England revolt and turn their office building into a sailing pirate ship of corporate pillaging, heading to America and converting the everyday mundane office supplies of filing cabinets and coat hangers into weapons. This movie seems like a bridge between Monty Python's surrealist send-up sensibilities and Gilliam's own desire to stretch his fantasies to their limits, a mode he's followed ever since, sometimes to his own detriment (I guess he's finally getting Don Quixote together for a second try?).Except for one interjection into the mad antics of The Meaning of Life proper, this movie really does stand alone and fills out a different role than the larger feature.--PolarisDiB
MartinHafer
Monty Python's film, "The Meaning of Life" was a major misfire for the group. While it had some very funny bits (such as the Angel of Death scene and the song "Every Sperm is Sacred"), many more parts of the film were terribly unfunny. It just showed that the team's long absence from films as a group was detrimental to their chemistry--they just couldn't capture the magic from such work as "The Holy Grail".However, despite my major disappointment with the film, there was actually a short pre-film that was released with "The Meaning of Life"--though some friends told me that when they saw it the theater did NOT show "The Crimson Permanent Assurance" film! This is so sad because this wonderful film was by far the best aspect of "The Meaning of Life" and may just have been the best moment from any Python film--it's THAT good! The film was written and directed by Terry Gilliam and the other Pythons are not readily apparent in the film (several do appear very briefly and heavily made up). Instead, it stars a wonderful cast of elderly men--all who are working a horribly boring job. Showing the scenes of them working and comparing it to a galley ship was brilliant, but what happened next nearly had me falling on the floor laughing. I really can't say more because it would spoil the fun--let's just say that the film becomes very, very surreal...and funny.Brilliantly written, directed and performed--this is a must-see for anyone who has a sense of humor. A wonderful little film in every possible way.
TBJCSKCNRRQTreviews
The short film that directly precedes The Meaning of Life by Monty Python(meaning, it runs directly before the rest of the film starts), this was put together by Terry Gilliam, the masterful director among the team, and the man behind both Twelve Monkeys and the animations that the team include in the Flying Circus television series. I have to admit that this is my least favorite of all of the full production, but it can't be claimed that this is not well-done. Direction is top-notch, and the whole thing runs very smoothly. Acting fits well. Production values are all of very high quality. The music and score is great, and this even gets a Monty Python song, and a good one at that. Cinematography and editing(save for just a few obvious cuts for effects) are rather good. This hardly features the Monty Python people(on-screen) at all, save for a few cameos. It's got a run-time of 16 minutes or so, if you count the credits. The pacing is marvelous. It doesn't overstay its welcome, nor does it end before it should. It has the utter madness and bizarre humor that most things Python do, coupled with that of Gilliam himself. The ending itself is typically Monty Python, and a fitting end. I recommend this to any fan of Gilliam and Monty Python, but do give the rest of The Meaning of Life your time and attention, too... I personally think it's worth it. 7/10
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