![]() Jolly good show.''MONTY PYTHON'S THE MEANING OF LIFE'' is a monumental revue, the ''Ben Hur'' of sketch films, which is to say that it's a tiny bit out of proportion, something like a Brooklyn Bridge constructed to span a bathtub. Holy Grail showed the world just how formidable and brilliant these 6 individuals were, and how lucky we are the universe sought to throw them together. Flying Circus showed the world their comedy was world-class. The fact it was a creative workaround because they couldn't afford horses almost makes it better.īringing their tendency to play the ridiculous straight to the big screen with a very small budget only amplified that wonderful juxtaposition that made their comedy so delicious. Not immediately, but after the initial gag the back of your mind just accepts it, because they play it straight. As hilarious and ridiculous as it is, miming riding on horseback while someone clacks coconuts together behind you works as a cinematic substitute for horse-riding. You couldn't call it a cinematic one without a hint of irony, but there's some truth to it. Holy Grail is undoubtedly another comic masterpiece. Compare Life of Brian's Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life to Meaning of Life's Sperm song, or the universe one Eric Idle sings after John Cleese lets him out the fridge. If your passion moves from the comedy to the music itself, you end up with something that doesn't satisfy an audience in either category. The music has to reach a certain standard of quality, but you also have to leave plenty of room for clear, characterful comic delivery. ![]() There's a fine line you have to walk doing musical comedy, a line walked by stand-ups such as Tim Minchin and Bill Bailey. Which brings us to the big musical numbers. It just comes across as throwing money at the wall. But unlike Life of Brian, Meaning of Life didn't reach the same equivalent level of excellence, depth, and thematic scale. With a bigger budget came a larger scale production, with settings and characters who were larger than life, and reminiscent of the visuals from Terry Gilliam's growing filmography. There were still some good laughs, but the humor didn't dig particularly deep, and many of the skits came out rude, crude, or in one instance plain revolting. While it had its moments, the themes weren't explored as thoughtfully as some of the heavy topics the team had tackled in previous outings. The Meaning Of Life took the form of a kaleidoscope of sketches, based around the themes of life, death, sex and maturity. The films weren't all equally well-received, and given the political landscape of the time, some of the material is a little sensitive in today's world or even just downright offensive. These gave Monty Python a second life after the relatively humble BBC show, cementing their legend status and becoming a global sensation. The Monty Python filmography now contains 6 titles: a mix of sketch compilations, live shows, and feature-length movies. In 1975 Monty Python and the Holy Grail hit the big screen and any fears that the transition to feature-length wouldn't hold the original show's quality were quickly dismissed. However, the team's next move would win Cleese back and raise the bar to a whole new level. ![]() The other Pythons had no intention of leaving, but it seemed like the golden age of Monty Python was coming to a premature end. We were doing permutations and combinations of sketches from the first 2 series". He has since stated "I was genuinely bothered that by the third series we weren't really doing original material. RELATED: Monty Python: 10 Most Influential Sketches, RankedĪfter 3 series, John Cleese left the show to pursue other projects. Playing the ridiculous straight is a trend that never stopped after Python, and became an even bigger genre with the rise of the internet. Proof of the show's impact can be found on, which contains the word 'Pythonesque' - proudly hyphen-free - with the definition "denoting a kind of humor that is absurd and unpredictable zany surreal". The show has been even more influential this century than it was in the last, and was the first step in bringing the best of both sides of the Atlantic together. A new generation of world-class comic talent, a penchant for the ridiculous juxtaposed with the subtlety of British humor, and the singular iconic style of Terry Gilliam's animation birthed the greatest and most iconic sketch comedy of all time. The classic Monty Python's Flying Circus first aired in 1969, and the rest is history.
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