What's All This Then - Monty Python's Best Movie Poll

Grail ftw.

Brian and it isn't really that close, good as Grail is.

^^^

Brian followed by Grail.

Holy Grail is mostly really good but the ending is pretty lame. Life of Brian is strong all the way through.

Rogue Meaning of Life fan here. Because it follow the real beauty of MP, which is not really having a plot and being a sort of free association meander through surreality.

The first time I saw Meaning of Life I was so crushingly disappointed that I've never been able to watch it fairly since. There are great moments, no doubt, but the ubiquity of that Mr Creosote bollocks plus a bunch of sketches that seem to only be there cos they couldn't swear much on the TV make it still feel like a misguided grab for Derek and Clivedom to me.

YOUR SCREEN NAME KEEPS TOTALLY FREAKING ME OUT

I dunno, Meaning of Life was the first one I saw, and it was such a kind of rite of passage seeing it - I think it was the first R rated film that my dad took me to, saying "you're an adult now" - that it has such positive associations for me. I was deemed too young to see Brian when it came out, though from the ecclesiastical gossip surrounding its release in my mum's parish, I was expecting it to be a lot wickeder than it actually was.

hahaha sorry kate Herol "Bomber" Graham was one of the greatest middleweight boxers of all time who never actually won anything.

xpost yeah this is part of my problem with the film it was one of those things when I was 13 that kids at school were going on and on and on about like it cos they'd seen it on video and were acting like it was an underground porno.

That makes more sense.

But every time, I still keep getting scared he's followed me over from his forum to shout at me about something. :-P

Erol Alkan has been a member of ILX for years but I think he uses a Finnish pseudonym or something

Brian is my favorite. Grail is very good, and handy with a historical detail and all, but Brian is that plus a boatload of piss. Definitely their best movie, as a movie.

Meaning of Life was the first one I saw, and it was such a kind of rite of passage seeing it - I think it was the first R rated film that my dad took me to, saying "you're an adult now" - that it has such positive associations for me.

Seriously? Speaking of a boatload of piss... Jesus. There is some very funny stuff in this movie, no doubt, but I would never describe my feelings toward it as "positive associations." It's dark as a gravedigger's asshole, beginning to end.

Except for maybe that fishy bit in the middle.

So many things in Brian that I either reference or make use of the logic of on a regular basis. "What did the Romans ever do for us?"

You would have to understand my father, and my relationship with him in order to understand why it was a big deal that he took me to see that movie.

He actually took me to some really quite inappropriate for my age movies (Poltergeist, Alien/The Fly double bill) but it was one of the first times he treated me as an equal, let alone an adult. Plus, it was a very much "the two of us" activity that excluded my brother and my mother, so it was very special. Meaning of Life provided a hell of a lot of shared in-jokes between my dad and I in a relationship that had been very distant - yes, it was dark as fuck, but even at 12 or 13 or however old I was when I saw it - I was a pretty "dark" child, and that whole british darkness was a real relief when I felt I was drowning in American mindless positivism.

All this stuff is very personal to me, specifically, and not that much to do with that movie, specifically. But it is special to me, for those personal reasons.

I have probably told the story before of my father taking me to see Alien in a theater. So wrong in so many ways. Even if I wasn't going to be scarred for life, I at least was surely going to be bored.

Amber got in from school and texted me.

I checked the TV sched and said "Oh, "The Children's Hour" is on soon, Film4"

(AudHep and ShirlMac)

That's quite adult, innit?

Brian, it was close. I love MoL too, but yeah it's grim viewing at points.

Before you think to just vote like everyone else is voting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQqq3e03EBQ

(Brian's mum is the best.)

The first time I saw Meaning of Life I was so crushingly disappointed that I've never been able to watch it fairly since.

this ;_;

Brian > Grail > And Now > Meaning > Hollywood Bowel

Brian has several great bits in it ("Romans go home", "What have the Romans ever done for us?", "oooh, you lucky bastard", "He's a very naughty boy!", etc., etc.), but Grail holds up better because it's pure Python nonsense from beginning to end. Graham Chapman's performance in Grail is better as well, while in Brian he's playing someone who things just happen to.

i'd probably go with brian just because it seemed like the best one at the time. grail isn't funny at all anymore (except "what, the curtains?"), and meaning is good but a little too creepy and unpleasant for me to really feel much affection for. flying circus was really better than any of the movies, mainly because no one ever quotes from at least 95 percent of it.

When asked in 5th or 6th grade Sunday school if we knew the story of Jesus' life, I raised my hand most enthusiastically, and said "Yes."

Well, how did you learn about Jesus' life?

I've seen "The Life of Brian."

My mother heard about that one. My uncles awarded me massive points. My dad was amused.

Life of Brian hangs together better as a concept and even has a plot, but I voted Holy Grail because it made me laugh louder and more often, especially the scene where Cleese has his arms chopped off and insists it's only a scratch. That one is always piss-down-my-leg funny.

I can just remember all the fuss and bother and discussion around the time that Brian came out, and I distinctly remember a conversation between my mum and the head priest at our church, with paritioners complaining how blasphemous it all was and my basically going "erm, it's LOL Monty Python, it's supposed to be" and everyone else going "you going to hell if you see that!"

So I was expecting it to be, you know, Last Temptation levels of blasphemous when I finally saw it. And it was just LOL Monty Python.

It is probably the most plot-driven and conventional comedy of the lot, so I can see how it appeals to so many people. I just prefer Meaning of Life.

I'd like to stand up for 'Meaning of Life' too. There's an obnoxious cantankerousness there which I like, and I didn't find in 'Brian'. Possibly a reaction to the response to "Brian"?

Saw both at the pictures when they came out, wasn't disappointed with either.

Brian and it isn't really that close, good as Grail is.

and Grail has grown on me over the years too, but the duff notes in it are duffer and more plentiful than Brian

they're both light years ahead of Meaning of Life which tbh has only Gilliam's budget busting opener to lift it above being a b-side compilation standard for python.

Grail is funnier (the duff ending is one of the best jokes!), Brian is more mature.

I suppose I'm fairly standard -- Grail and Brian as the pinnacle, in a dead heat for different reasons. But all the films have their virtues, even the otherwise unnecessary And Now if only because the higher budgets used for the refilming of TV skits sometimes resulted in a nicely different design.

But I'd like to suggest a comparison of the officially released movie soundtracks for Grail, Brian and MoL (separate from the other Python albums) -- on that level, Grail in an absolute romp because while bits of the film's more memorable skits do crop up it's actually a wholly different animal, supposedly being a series of reports from a live screening of the film in some dumpy theater in a London suburb, further framed by claims that one is listening to the official special edition of the soundtrack as distinct from the regular version for the great unwashed and yet further interrupted by film breakages, bomb threats and more besides. In comparison the other two soundtrack albums have a couple of similar bits but are far more straightforward in comparison, and nowhere near as necessary.

I loved the part on the doc when they discuss putting two different grooves on one of their albums to confuse everyone.

They actually did do that.

I used to own Matching Tie & Handkerchief with the two grooves on one side. I used to stare at it in wonderment thinking, "There are THREE SIDES to this record!" Haven't seen the doc, tho.

I was in high school when Life of Brian came out, and was informed, in religion class, by one of the higher level priests, that it was a mortal sin to see that movie. A mortal sin. Turns out, tho, that that particular priest was a completely self-centered douchebag asshole.

My boring vote goes to Grail.

it was a mortal sin to see that movie

You must understand that God resembles Texas in many ways.

Brian easy. Chapman nails it in that film.

I rank these Brian > MOL > Grail > others

Grail > MOL > Brian > ANFSCD > Hollywood Bowl

I think Brian was the first R film I saw by myself.

i remember watching Grail for the first time ever, on a new years eve night and i was totally fucking depressed. laughed my tits off in a 'fightin the tears' kinda way. was good though.

I'm right with you. I especially remember how The Black Night had me convulsing in laughter.

Can't resist but to draw attention to a typo...
http://vinylfreakmusicstore.com/img/singles/DeepPurpleBlackNight.jpg
(
co-incidentally this image is scarfed from an ILX thread
Are there any black knights?
)

Alright goddamnit, so I have trouble with homonyms when typing. Just string me up, why dontcha. ;)

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Rogue Meaning of Life fan here. Because it follow the real beauty of MP, which is not really having a plot and being a sort of free association meander through surreality.

--Strawberry Letter 22 (Masonic Boom)

Seconded. The Pythons always seemed altogether too proud of the fact that "Brian" had an actual plot & held together just like a "real movie", big deal (cf. "Duck Soup" vs. the wayyyyy inferior "A Night At the Opera".) The first hour of "Grail" is glorious but all the best stuff is front-loaded, and "Blazing Saddles" did the meta-non-ending ending thing better the year previous. "Meaning of Life" is the one that's closest to the spirit of the "Flying Circus" (except maybe for "And Now..." which I'm conveniently overlooking)

So many things in Brian that I either reference or make use of the logic of on a regular basis. "What did the Romans ever do for us?"

― tie me up, dress in drag, and read to me from the bible (kenan), Saturday, October 24, 2009 5:48 AM (1 week ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

this. whenever someone says something dismissive to me i think or say, "That's just what Jesus said, sir!"

Who was the knight she accuses at the end, "You killed my husband!"
Did she actually get the right knight?
Also, how would you guys have ended "Holy Grail"?

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

rong again

are you keeping a list of all the ways we've been rong?

too labor-intensive

rong.xls

grail barely over brian for me, but i was raised on those two to a somewhat-inappropriate level, so they both feel like home.

somewhat-inappropriate, but probably similar to the way others on this thread were

blargh worst syntax of all time

there is a sin tax in Judea

There ought to have been a pun tax.

meaning of life follows the structure of a python show, but crucially kinda forgets to bring the lols or much quality control. very surprised to see it take so many votes from the other two.

Mr. Creosote is more indelible than baby falling down steps in Potemkin.

NO lovers of '...Completely Different'?? Wow seeing as its my 2nd fave i'd have been convinced at least one person thought it was best.

Hey who in the states has seen any of the 6 hour documentary tv show yet? We're not getting over here if you can believe that. We got an hour long compilation which felt like a trailer.

meaning of life follows the structure of a python show, but crucially kinda forgets to bring the lols or much quality control. very surprised to see it take so many votes from the other two.

I actually rewatched it again the other night along with the new documentary when they did the special DVD of it, and I think Cleese had it right when they said they should have gone through one more pass on it before filming -- at the same time I think their overall judgment that while it was uneven it contained some of their absolute best material holds true.

LEARNIN THE PIANO!?

ive seen the first 2 hours of the documentary, and its really pretty good so far.

Can't wait.

Hey who in the states has seen any of the 6 hour documentary tv show yet? We're not getting over here if you can believe that. We got an hour long compilation which felt like a trailer.

The whole thing was on IFC. About 80% of it was good - I don't think any of the non-python's talk about python crap was at all interesting. Eric Idle's still an insecure twat.

Seen the whole documentary. Fun stuff.

Watched The Meaning of Life for the first time in 30 years probably -- definitely their "middle-aged rage," misanthropic movie. I had forgotten entire segments, like the two war sequences, one of which contains my fave gag: officer Cleese reassuringly claps a soldier's shoulder on the battlefield, and the guy slides apart like a carved salami.

...a sliced salami, I suppose

lol yes and then when they are hunting the tiger they have their guns on safety ties attached to their necks

The results of the poll are correct, or at least according to 15 year old me, but more recently I reckon The Meaning Of Life is the one that works best on me. Pitch black and deeply disturbing.

That assurance company "short" that kicks it off is a rather bloated pirate-movie joke, though.

I never really saw the point in that one. Some cool filmwork on behalf of Gilliam but just a bit too long and not particularly hilarious

hence representative of TG's subsequent filmography

i still remember all the words to the galaxy song

now remember when you're feeling somewhat small and insecure
how amazingly unlikely is your birth
and pray they find intelligent life somewhere out in space
cause there's bugger-all down here on earth

one of the things i like most about meaning of life is that it's the most 'flying circus'-like of all their films, a series of sketches unencumbered by narrative but united under a theme. it really starts to feel like flying circus towards the end when all the sketches bleed into each other, like the creosote scene to the scene with the french waiter (which is kind of a waste, but whatever), grim reaper scene into the heaven scene, etc.

Hard as it is to watch some of it, Meaning of Life might be my favorite thing they did (although I do love much of the rest of it). 'Find the Fish' still kinda fucks with me.

yes, "Galaxy Song" is a good one, and Idle goes full Noel Coward impersonation on the penis song.

The choreographer Arlene Phillips, who get high marks for "Every Sperm Is Sacred," also did the John Huston film of Annie. Context is everything.

It's fine and accurate to say that MOL is most like python but that's why it's a bad movie

"bad," my God, you are wrong about almost everything

Meaning of Life most definitely their best.

xp come come morbs if we hadn't strong opinions about trivia what would we have

darraghmac you've been getting very challopsy lately.

Simply untrue dl, unless it be the "stating the obvious stridently" original meaning and idk if that's even the case.

Possibly there's been a load of old shite lauded as passable-to-good lately and I've been doing god's work in fighting back against the lowering of standards.

Besides, morbs is constant challops tbf

This movie won the Special Jury Grand prize at the Cannes film festival. In "Monty Python Live at Aspen", John Cleese joked that it might have been because Orson Welles, who was on the judging panel, identified with Mr. Creosote.

The best movie from Monty Python is Life of Brian, for all the loonies from the left wing politics it shows, something a lot of the American left wing can't begin to appreciate, because we saved our country from communism.

Story checks out.

The best joke in Life of Brian is that all the fanatics are named for books of the Bible, including Numbers and Judges.

Obviously I didn't see this poll at the time or And Now For Something Completely Different would have got 1 vote.

deems otm tbh

It was the first Python I ever saw and I played the tape over and over for a few years. (Re)watched recently and it still seems inspired. I forgot how much 'meta' stuff there is in there.

I love Flying Circus and Holy Grail but for some reason I never watched Brian or Life, maybe because I didn't think they could live up?

I saw Life of Brian for the first time fairly recently. Nowhere near as good as Grail or the records. Thought Michael Palin fucking with the extras during the "Biggus Dickus" scene was the best part. Didn't get what was so funny about the "He's not the messiah, he's a very naughty boy!" line.

Otm re Palin corpsing support obv

Oh man Life of Brian is genius.

'You're all individuals'
'YES! WE'RE ALL INDIVIDUALS!'
'You're all different'
'YES! WE'RE ALL DIFFERENT!'
'I'm not...'

as a kid Holy Grail was always my favorite. ended up watching it so much to the point of being sick of it. i gave it a rewatch last year (after reading a bunch of books on medieval history) and it felt like seeing it for the first time. the anarcho syndicalist peasant speech is all-time classic ("Help! Help! I'm being repressed! Now we see the violence inherent in the system!")

now we have things like LOTR and Games of Thrones funny how this mucky crappy medieval anti-fantasy just gets more relevant as time marches on.

the anarcho syndicalist peasant speech is all-time classic

Definitely the best scene

'You're all individuals'
'YES! WE'RE ALL INDIVIDUALS!'
'You're all different'
'YES! WE'RE ALL DIFFERENT!'
'I'm not...'

I remember that being really the only big laugh I had during that movie.

one of the great things about holy grail is how grim and muddy it is and how bleak and miserable everybody in it looks, p much nothing about it looks like a "comedy" which makes the jokes all the more effective

meaning of life disturbed the hell out of me when i first watched it (in my early 20s, yet), can't think of any other comedies i've seen that made me shudder the way certain scenes of that did

I vividly remember Stanley Kauffmann's Meaning rave in The New Republic, which I can only find an excerpt of online:

"It's by the most dangerous madmen at large, ruthlessly perceptive and torrentially gifted, who are angry at everything improvable in human behavior that is not being improved. It's not their most consistently funny film, but it's the one that is most free in fantasy and most savage."

karaoke (and you can find the Stephen Hawking cover easily enough)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buqtdpuZxvk

The overblown American accents towards the end of Meaning of Life are among the most amazing I've ever heard.

that's Chapman doing the Vegas-y singer in "Christmas in Heaven"? Scary makeup.

Whilst MOL came across as a lot more revolting compared to Brian and Grail, I still remember most of the sketches being utterly brilliant.

I don't think I can ever shake the image of school kids getting their heads bashed in by huge hairy rugby players.

another scene i'd completely forgotten

i'd never seen this cut bit, which is not only unfunny but i don't understnd what Jones is going for, making Luther sound like a 1930s American vaudeville comic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXzubuENjHk

When Daft Punk's "One More Time" came out, I used to sing the "It's Christmas in Heaven" refrain over the top of it.

'we've got lumps of it round the back'

xxpost HOW is that not funny?

John Cleese hated it

Premise is great, execution pretty weak. His accent is all over the place too.

i don't understnd what Jones is going for, making Luther sound like a 1930s American vaudeville comic

It's the ur-version of Tom Kenny's Abe Lincoln from Mr. Show.

https://youtu.be/ZI0hvm10AHo?t=95

Made me laugh. Sorry, John.