Monty Python
Movies You Might Have Missed: Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life
Terry Gilliam recently spoke movingly about his namesake and Monty Python colleague Terry Jones. The latter has been suffering with dementia and Gilliam said: “You see a friend, somebody you know really well, kind of disappearing … It’s really sad because there’s nothing one can do about it.”
The pair co-directed Monty Python and the Holy Grail before Jones took on sole directing duties with Life of Brian and the troupe’s final movie The Meaning of Life (1983). While not as acclaimed as its predecessors, perhaps as a result of its sketch format, The Meaning of Life still contains some of the funniest scenes ever committed to film.
The writing process was far from easy. The two previous Python films had employed loose structures but retained a narrative of sorts. With their final film, Michael Palin has said they opted to “give it the loosest structure, the meaning of life” since they had lots of material but no obvious through line. John Cleese believes the film was “a bit of a cock-up” and the other Pythons have also suggested it was not up to their previous big-screen efforts. Despite this, it was awarded the Grand Jury Prize at the 1983 Cannes Film Festival and has several iconic moments.[ . . . ] Read More at: Movies You Might Have Missed: Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life
Monty Python
John Cleese of Monty Python talks ‘Holy Grail’ tour
British comedy legend visits the ‘Fan Theory’ podcast
Comedy legend John Cleese, a founding member of the iconic British comedy troupe Monty Python, is back on the road.
At the age of 77, the Academy Award nominee is crossing the country this fall, screening the stupendously silly 1975 cult classic film “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” and engaging in question-and-answer sessions following the movie.
“I was amazed how easy it was to sell tickets,” Cleese told the Asbury Park Press’ “Fan Theory” podcast, “because Americans like ‘Holy Grail’ best of all …
“And the nice thing is the questions afterwards. You see, when I’m doing my one-man show I say pretty much the same thing every night, but when I’m answering questions from the audience they can be completely different. I can do two shows and they’re completely different because it just depends on the direction the audience takes it. That makes it much more interesting for me.”
Listen to the Fan Theory Podcast: John Cleese of Monty Python talks ‘Holy Grail’ tour