Monty Python's The Meaning of Life

Monty Python's The Meaning of Life
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Terry Jones
Written by	Graham Chapman John Cleese Terry Gilliam Eric Idle Terry Jones Michael Palin
Produced by	John Goldstone
Starring	Graham Chapman John Cleese Terry Gilliam Eric Idle Terry Jones Michael Palin
Cinematography	Peter Hannan
Edited by	Julian Doyle
Music by	John Du Prez
Production companies	Celandine Films The Monty Python Partnership
Distributed by	Universal Pictures (through United International Pictures)
Release dates	31 March 1983 (1983-03-31) (United States) 23 June 1983 (1983-06-23) (United Kingdom)
Running time	90 minutes[1]
Country	United Kingdom[2]
Language	English
Budget	$9 million[3]
Box office	$42.7 million

Monty Python's The Meaning of Life, also known simply as The Meaning of Life, is a 1983 British musical sketch comedy film written and performed by the Monty Python troupe, directed by Terry Jones. The Meaning of Life was the last feature film to star all six Python members before the death of Graham Chapman in 1989.

Unlike Holy Grail and Life of Brian, the film's two predecessors, which each told a single, more-or-less coherent story,^[3] The Meaning of Life returned to the sketch format of the troupe's original television series and their first film from twelve years earlier, And Now for Something Completely Different, loosely structured as a series of comic sketches about the various stages of life. It was accompanied by the short film The Crimson Permanent Assurance.

Released on 23 June 1983 in the United Kingdom,^[4] The Meaning of Life was not as acclaimed as its predecessors, but was still well received critically and was a minor box office success; the film grossed almost $43 million against a $9 million budget. It was screened at the 1983 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Grand Prix. The film appears in a 2010 list of the top 20 cult films published by The Boston Globe.^[5]