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** WhatCouldHaveBeen: According to the DVD audio commentary, this segment was a remnant of a previous draft of the film, where all of MontyPython were going to be convicted at the beginning of the film for trying to use it as a tax dodge, and each be sentenced to death in a manner of their choosing.
to:
** WhatCouldHaveBeen: According to the DVD audio commentary, this segment was a remnant of a previous draft of the film, where all of MontyPython Monty Python were going to be convicted at the beginning of the film for trying to use it as a tax dodge, and each be sentenced to death in a manner of their choosing.
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* BloodyHilarious: "Live Organ Transplants"
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** WhatCouldHaveBeen: According to the DVD audio commentary, this segment was a remnant of a previous draft of the film, where all of MontyPython were going to be convicted at the beginning of the film for trying to use it as a tax dodge, and each be sentenced to death in a manner of their choosing.
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* WhatCouldHaveBeen: The second verse of the Galaxy song was meant to be an animated sequence along with the instrumental part, but Terry Gilliam opted out in favour of shooting more of "The Crimson Permanent Assurance".
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* CurtainCall: In the "Christams in Heaven" scene, most (if not all) of the characters we've seen in the film appear in the Heaven nightclub.
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* CurtainCall: In the "Christams "Christmas in Heaven" scene, most (if not all) of the characters we've seen in the film appear in the Heaven nightclub.
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Not noted above as being this
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** The "Crimson Permanent Assurance" short, as noted above.
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** The "Crimson Permanent Assurance" short, as noted above.short.
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* ShoutOut: iOS' Siri will quote the ending if you ask what the meaning of life is.
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* ModularEpilogue: In the video game adaptation, a series of interludes between scenes ask "moral dilemma" questions with Multiple Choice answers. At the end of the game, a woman comes on to tell you your personal, individual Meaning of Life based on your answers.
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Refuge In Vulgarity is being renamed to Vulgar Humor. Zero Context Examples and bad examples are being cut.
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* RefugeInVulgarity: So, so much:
** In "The Third World" segment, a slimy newborn baby drops like excrement out of a Yorkshire housewife while she's doing her chores, and hits the floor.
-->'''Housewife:''' [[UnusuallyUninterestingSight Get that for me, would you, Deidre?]]
** Young children sing, with their parents and the entire neighbourhood, about semen and masturbation.
** A teacher and his wife having sex in front of an entire classroom, shortly after the teacher rather curtly describes foreplay.
** The unfortunate organ donor who has his liver removed, in gory detail, while he's still alive.
** During the "Galaxy Song", the standard cosmic grid morphs into a pregnant woman with legs spread, impregnated by a beam of light as sperm.
** The Noel Cowardesque "Penis Song".
** And last but certainly not least, Mr. Creosote. "Better get the bucket..."
** In "The Third World" segment, a slimy newborn baby drops like excrement out of a Yorkshire housewife while she's doing her chores, and hits the floor.
-->'''Housewife:''' [[UnusuallyUninterestingSight Get that for me, would you, Deidre?]]
** Young children sing, with their parents and the entire neighbourhood, about semen and masturbation.
** A teacher and his wife having sex in front of an entire classroom, shortly after the teacher rather curtly describes foreplay.
** The unfortunate organ donor who has his liver removed, in gory detail, while he's still alive.
** During the "Galaxy Song", the standard cosmic grid morphs into a pregnant woman with legs spread, impregnated by a beam of light as sperm.
** The Noel Cowardesque "Penis Song".
** And last but certainly not least, Mr. Creosote. "Better get the bucket..."
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* VulgarHumor: So, so much:
** In "The Third World" segment, a slimy newborn baby drops like excrement out of a Yorkshire housewife while she's doing her chores, and hits the floor.
-->'''Housewife:''' [[UnusuallyUninterestingSight Get that for me, would you, Deidre?]]
** Young children sing, with their parents and the entire neighbourhood, about semen and masturbation.
** A teacher and his wife having sex in front of an entire classroom, shortly after the teacher rather curtly describes foreplay.
** The unfortunate organ donor who has his liver removed, in gory detail, while he's still alive.
** During the "Galaxy Song", the standard cosmic grid morphs into a pregnant woman with legs spread, impregnated by a beam of light as sperm.
** The Noel Cowardesque "Penis Song".
** And last but certainly not least, Mr. Creosote. "Better get the bucket..."
** In "The Third World" segment, a slimy newborn baby drops like excrement out of a Yorkshire housewife while she's doing her chores, and hits the floor.
-->'''Housewife:''' [[UnusuallyUninterestingSight Get that for me, would you, Deidre?]]
** Young children sing, with their parents and the entire neighbourhood, about semen and masturbation.
** A teacher and his wife having sex in front of an entire classroom, shortly after the teacher rather curtly describes foreplay.
** The unfortunate organ donor who has his liver removed, in gory detail, while he's still alive.
** During the "Galaxy Song", the standard cosmic grid morphs into a pregnant woman with legs spread, impregnated by a beam of light as sperm.
** The Noel Cowardesque "Penis Song".
** And last but certainly not least, Mr. Creosote. "Better get the bucket..."
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-->'''Housewife:''' [[UnusuallyUninterestingSight Get that for me, would you, Deidre?]]
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-->'''Major:''' Right. Search the thickets.\\
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-->'''Major:''' Right. Search the thickets.thicket.\\
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'''Major:''' ... '''''Search the thickets'''''.
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'''Major:''' ... '''''Search the thickets'''''.thicket'''''.
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-->'''Sergeant Major:''' Don't stand there gawking like you've never seen the hand of God before!
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-->'''Sergeant Major:''' Don't stand there gawking like gawpin'! Like you've never seen the hand of God before!
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* FatBastard: Mr. Creosote, the rude and incredibly messy restaurant patron.
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* CurtainCall: In the "Christams in Heaven" scene, most (if not all) of the characters we've seen in the film appear in the Heaven nightclub.
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* CorporateWarfare: The Crimson Permanent Assurance
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* VisualPun: The "Middle Age" segment mostly takes place in a recreation of a Medieval dungeon.
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* [[APirate400YearsTooLate A Bunch of Pirates 400 Years Too Late]]: The Crimson Permanent Assurance.
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* HypocriticalHumor: Graham Chapman's character is chased off a cliff by a group of topless women for sexism in a motion picture.
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* HypocriticalHumor: Graham Chapman's character is excuted by being chased off a cliff by a group of topless women for sexism women. His crime? "First degree making of sexist jokes in a motion moving picture."
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* MisplacedWildlife: Subverted. "A tiger? In Africa?" No, it's really two guys in a costume.
to:
* MisplacedWildlife: Subverted. "A Invoked, lampshaded:
--> '''Pakenham (Michael Palin):''' A tiger? InAfrica?" No, it's Africa?
--> '''Ainsworth (John Cleese):''' Well, it probably escaped from the zoo.
--> '''Pakenham:''' Well, I don't think that's very likely- ''(Ainsworth sshs him)''
** And ultimately subverted: It was really two guys in a tiger costume.
--> '''Pakenham (Michael Palin):''' A tiger? In
--> '''Ainsworth (John Cleese):''' Well, it probably escaped from the zoo.
--> '''Pakenham:''' Well, I don't think that's very likely- ''(Ainsworth sshs him)''
** And ultimately subverted: It was really two guys in a tiger costume.
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* APirate400YearsTooLate: The Crimson Permanent Assurance.
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It Got Worse de-wicking.
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* RugbyIsSlaughter: A boarding school holds a rugby match pitting little boys against grown men. [[ItGotWorse As if that weren't brutal enough]], when a boy finally gets to make a try, a teacher trips him from the sidelines. To further underline the point, the scene segues directly into a WorldWarOne segment.
to:
* RugbyIsSlaughter: A boarding school holds a rugby match pitting little boys against grown men. [[ItGotWorse As if that weren't brutal enough]], enough, when a boy finally gets to make a try, a teacher trips him from the sidelines. To further underline the point, the scene segues directly into a WorldWarOne segment.
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* BookEnds: Not in the movie itself, but for MontyPython as a whole -- the last MontyPython film ends with a TV set playing the original credits for ''MontyPythonsFlyingCircus''.
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* BookEnds: Not in the movie itself, but for MontyPython Creator/MontyPython as a whole -- the last MontyPython Monty Python film ends with a TV set playing the original credits for ''MontyPythonsFlyingCircus''.''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus''.
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'''Narrator:''' Shush!\\
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'''Narrator:''' Shush!\\Shush!
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** From "Fighting Each Other":
-->'''Narrator:''' Democracy and humanitarianism have always been trademarks of the British Army.\\
'''Sergeant Major''': Rubbish!\\
'''Narrator:''' Shush!\\
-->'''Narrator:''' Democracy and humanitarianism have always been trademarks of the British Army.\\
'''Sergeant Major''': Rubbish!\\
'''Narrator:''' Shush!\\
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Changed line(s) 68 (click to see context) from:
* Racist Grandma: "You see I feel that life's a game, you sometimes win or lose. And though I might be down right now, at least I don't work for Jews!"
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* Racist Grandma: RacistGrandma: "You see I feel that life's a game, you sometimes win or lose. And though I might be down right now, at least I don't work for Jews!"
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* Racist Grandma: "You see I feel that life's a game, you sometimes win or lose. And though I might be down right now, at least I don't work for Jews!"
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* BrickJoke: The "Crimson Permanent Assurance" short, as noted above.
to:
* BrickJoke: BrickJoke:
** The "Crimson Permanent Assurance" short, as notedabove.above.
** The movie opens with the "Meaning of Life" song, wherein the singer goes through all the big questions about the meaning of life that humanity tends to torture itself with, rather grandiosely boasting that "tonight, for a change, it will all be made clear!" Then, after all the surreality wherein these central questions are loosely touched on at best, the movie ends with a short scene wherein the Meaning of Life is, in fact, revealed -- and it turns out to be nothing that special.
** The "Crimson Permanent Assurance" short, as noted
** The movie opens with the "Meaning of Life" song, wherein the singer goes through all the big questions about the meaning of life that humanity tends to torture itself with, rather grandiosely boasting that "tonight, for a change, it will all be made clear!" Then, after all the surreality wherein these central questions are loosely touched on at best, the movie ends with a short scene wherein the Meaning of Life is, in fact, revealed -- and it turns out to be nothing that special.
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* BookEnds: Not in the movie itself, but for MontyPython as a whole -- the last MontyPython film ends with a TV set playing the original credits for ''MontyPythonsFlyingCircus''.
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** A teacher and his wife having sex in front of an entire classroom, shortly after the teacher rather curtly describes foreplay.
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** ''[[JustifiedTrope Justified,]]'' no less, as the method by which a convicted felon asked to be executed (makes perfect sense as far as Monty Python goes)!
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** ''[[JustifiedTrope Justified,]]'' no less, as the method by which a convicted felon asked to be executed (makes perfect sense as far as Monty Python goes)!less! See HowWouldYouLikeToDie below.
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** ''[[JustifiedTrope Justified,]]'' no less, as the method by which a convicted felon asked to be executed (makes perfect sense as far as Monty Python goes)!
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* Gainaxing: The women in the bit mentioned under HowWouldYouLikeToDie below.
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* Gainaxing: {{Gainaxing}}: The women in the bit mentioned under HowWouldYouLikeToDie below.
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* Gainaxing: The women in the bit mentioned under HowWouldYouLikeToDie below.
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* OnlySaneMan: The Grim Reaper. It takes him several minutes to impress upon the hosts and guests of a dinner party that he's not there to trim the hedge, doesn't want wine and won't discuss philosophy with them. When they finally die and follow him to the great beyond, they decide to take their cars, causing the Reaper to do a hilarious double-take before shrugging it off and beckoning them on.
to:
* OnlySaneMan: The Grim Reaper. It takes him several minutes to impress upon the hosts and guests of a dinner party that he's not there to trim the hedge, doesn't want wine and won't discuss philosophy with them. When they finally die and follow him to the great beyond, they decide to take their cars (their ''ghost'' cars, which, like them, leave behind the original forms), causing the Reaper to do a hilarious double-take before shrugging it off and beckoning them on.
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** During the "Galaxy Song", the standard cosmic grid morphs into a pregnant woman with legs spread.
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** During the "Galaxy Song", the standard cosmic grid morphs into a pregnant woman with legs spread.spread, impregnated by a beam of light as sperm.
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Moving to Namespace.
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[[quoteright:340:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Monty_Python_meaning_of_life_158.jpg]]
'''''Creator/MontyPython's The Meaning of Life''''' arrived in 1983 as the last hurrah of the complete six-man troupe, directed by Terry Jones. The film marked the troupe's return to sketch-based comedy after two films that followed a linear plot. The film's sketches are loosely connected and arranged by the stages of human life.
The movie opens with the unrelated Creator/TerryGilliam-directed short film "The Crimson Permanent Assurance", the tale of accountant pirates who take on Wall Street. From there, we move on to the film proper, a series of sketches purporting to examine the Meaning of Life, arranged from "The Miracle of Birth" to "Death". But even this structure allows for stops examining "The Third World" and "Live Organ Transplants".
This is notable as ''by far'' the grossest of the Python films, via such highlights as the aforementioned "Live Organ Transplants" sketch and the restaurant scene featuring Mr. Creosote. That didn't stop it from receiving the Grand Prize of the Jury award at the 1983 Cannes Film Festival, however.
----
!!''Monty Python's The Meaning of Life'' provide examples of the following tropes:
* AnimatedCreditsOpening
* AudienceParticipation: We are invited to "Find the Fish" at The Middle of the Film.
* BackForTheFinale: The "Christmas in Heaven" song.
* BadassGrandpa: The entire "crew" of the Crimson Permanent Assurance.
* BadLiar / BlatantLies: [[SarcasmMode Oddly enough]], the two men dressed as a tiger have difficulty convincing anyone of their various stories about a) why they're dressed as a tiger and b) why they definitely ''didn't'' steal an officer's leg and run away with it.
-->'''Major:''' Right. Search the thickets.\\
'''Man Dressed as the Front of a Tiger''': Oh, come on! I mean, do we look like [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial the sort of chaps who'd creep into a camp at night, steal into someone's tent, anaesthetise them, tissue-type them, amputate a leg and run away with it]]?\\
'''Major:''' ... '''''Search the thickets'''''.
* BoltOfDivineRetribution:
-->'''Sergeant Major:''' Don't stand there gawking like you've never seen the hand of God before!
* BrickJoke: The "Crimson Permanent Assurance" short, as noted above.
* CowTools: The "machine that goes 'Ping.'" It supposedly tells whether the baby, during labour, is still alive, albeit without being connected to the mother. The hospital administrator and staff are very proud of it.
* CrowdSong: "Every Sperm Is Sacred."
* DarkerAndEdgier
* DrillSergeantNasty: [[ParodiedTrope Parodied]] with the sergeant major who ''talks'' (or, rather, [[NoIndoorVoice yells]]) like one, but proves remarkably lax about discipline.
* EducationalSong: The Galaxy Song is surprisingly educational for a Monty Python film (although the science is [[ScienceMarchesOn a bit outdated]], at the time the film was made the numbers used were considered [[http://ephemeris.sjaa.net/0312/b.html fairly accurate]]).
* {{Fanservice}}: The thirty-odd topless women running in slo-mo, bouncing, sweating...
* FluffyCloudHeaven: PlayedForLaughs, of course. Heaven is a Vegas-style lounge, complete with glib [[LoungeLizard singer]]. Also, every day is Christmas.
* FunnyForeigner
** [[FakeAmerican American]]: [[EagleLand The exaggeratedly]] broad-accented couple eating dinner and their waiter in the "The Middle Age" sketch, the business executives discussing the meaning of life. Also, Howard Katzenberg, the loud, brash, [[ArmchairPsychology pop-psychology]]-obsessed dinner party guest in the "Grim Reaper" sequence:
-->'''Grim Reaper:''' [I have come to] take you away. That is my purpose. I am Death.\\
'''Host:''' Well, that's cast rather a gloom over the whole evening, hasn't it?\\
'''[[Creator/TerryGilliam Howard]]:''' I don't see it that way, Geoff. Let me tell you what I think we're dealing with here: a potentially positive learning experience to get an--\\
'''Grim Reaper:''' Shut up! Shut up, you American. [[LampshadeHanging You always talk, you Americans.]] You talk and you talk and say "let me tell you something" and "I just wanna say this". Well, you're dead now, so shut up!
** French: The comically-accented maître d' and waiter in the "Mr. Creosote" sketch and its aftermath.
-->'''Maître d':''' Anozzer bucket for monsieur... ''(Creosote vomits on his leg)'' and perhaps -- a khhhhose.
* GreekChorus: The fish in the tank.
* TheGrimReaper
* GrossOutShow
* HighClassGlass: Livingstone (Graham Chapman), the military surgeon, uses a monocle in the Anglo-Zulu War sketch.
* HostileShowTakeover: The Crimson Permanent Assurance attempts to do this towards the end of the "Live Organ Transplants" chapter.
* HowWouldYouLikeToDie: A condemned criminal chooses to be chased off a cliff by a crowd of topless, helmeted women. Conveniently, he falls right into his coffin at the funeral already in progress.
* HumansAreMorons: As if the last line of "The Galaxy Song" doesn't make it clear enough,
-->"Pray that there's intelligent life somewhere up in space, 'cause there's [[StockBritishPhrases bugger all]] down here on Earth."
* HurricaneOfEuphemisms: The Noel Cowardesque "Penis Song".
* HypocriticalHumor: Graham Chapman's character is chased off a cliff by a group of topless women for sexism in a motion picture.
* JabbaTableManners: Mr. Creosote
* {{Leitmotif}}: The evil, ''{{Film/Jaws}}''-style string theme that accompanies Mr. Creosote's entrance and recurs right before he explodes.
* LyricalDissonance: "Every Sperm Is Sacred". A cheery, EarWorm-y song about [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin sperm]].
* MajorInjuryUnderreaction: A British army officer has a rather blasé attitude about waking up with a leg missing: "Stings a bit." So does the doctor examining him:
-->"Yes, well, this is nothing to worry about [...] Yes, there's a lot of it about. Probably a virus. Uh, keep warm, plenty of rest, and if you're playing football or anything, try and favor the other leg."
* MeatgrinderSurgery: Two "surgeons" forcibly harvest organs from a man just because he's got an organ donor card. Mostly offscreen but obviously MeatgrinderSurgery.
* MisplacedWildlife: Subverted. "A tiger? In Africa?" No, it's really two guys in a costume.
* NoIntelligentLifeHere: "Pray that there's intelligent life somewhere up in space 'cause it's bugger all down here on earth!"
* OhCrap:
-->'''Fish:''' Oh ''shit'', it's Mr. Creosote!
* OnlySaneMan: The Grim Reaper. It takes him several minutes to impress upon the hosts and guests of a dinner party that he's not there to trim the hedge, doesn't want wine and won't discuss philosophy with them. When they finally die and follow him to the great beyond, they decide to take their cars, causing the Reaper to do a hilarious double-take before shrugging it off and beckoning them on.
* TheOner: The scene with Gaston the waiter.
* OopNorth: Parodied with the portrayal of Yorkshire.
* OrganTheft: Or at least very aggressive organ collection.
* APirate400YearsTooLate: The Crimson Permanent Assurance.
* ProlongedPrologue: "The Crimson Permanent Assurance" goes on for 15 minutes before the actual film starts.
* RefugeInVulgarity: So, so much:
** In "The Third World" segment, a slimy newborn baby drops like excrement out of a Yorkshire housewife while she's doing her chores, and hits the floor.
** Young children sing, with their parents and the entire neighbourhood, about semen and masturbation.
** The unfortunate organ donor who has his liver removed, in gory detail, while he's still alive.
** During the "Galaxy Song", the standard cosmic grid morphs into a pregnant woman with legs spread.
** The Noel Cowardesque "Penis Song".
** And last but certainly not least, Mr. Creosote. "Better get the bucket..."
* RugbyIsSlaughter: A boarding school holds a rugby match pitting little boys against grown men. [[ItGotWorse As if that weren't brutal enough]], when a boy finally gets to make a try, a teacher trips him from the sidelines. To further underline the point, the scene segues directly into a WorldWarOne segment.
* SelfDeprecation: An Englishman's attempt to upbraid the Grim Reaper for his poor manners is met with this response:
-->'''Grim Reaper:''' ''(poking him in the eye)'' Quiet! Englishmen, you're all so fucking [[BritishStuffiness pompous]]. None of you have got any balls.
* SmiteMeOhMightySmiter: A military recruiter, after showing a war documentary, says, "That is why we will always need an army, and [[TemptingFate may God strike me down]] were it to be otherwise." [[BoltOfDivineRetribution Whereupon...]]
* SoundtrackDissonance: The "Galaxy Song", a cheery, happy-go-lucky tune, with vaguely upbeat lyrics about the wondrous vastness of the universe, that ends on a big downer about the [[HumansAreMorons lack of intelligent life]] on Earth. It's sung right after a scene wherein a man has his liver harvested while he's still alive. Immediately after the song finishes, his wife agrees to undergo the process herself.
* StupidBoss: The hospital administrator in "The Miracle of Birth".
-->'''Administrator:''' And what are you doing this morning?\\
'''Obstetrician:''' It's a birth.\\
'''Administrator:''' Ah. And [[YouFailBiologyForever what sort of thing is that]]?\\
'''Doctor Spenser:''' Well, that's when we take a new baby out of a lady's tummy.\\
'''Administrator:''' Wonderful what we can do nowadays!
* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: The man in the front end of the tiger costume:
-->"Oh come on! I mean, do we look like the sort of chaps who'd creep into a camp at night, steal into someone's tent, anaesthetise them, tissue-type them, amputate a leg and run away with it?"
* TheUnreveal: Although several theories as to the "meaning of life" are given throughout the film, when the "true" answer is finally revealed at the end it's [[{{Anticlimax}} not very life-changing.]] And this is only a segue into a totally unrelated and tangential joke.
* VomitIndiscretionShot: The Mr. Creosote scene.
* WalkThePlank: The "Crimson Permanent Assurance" short.
* WhileRomeBurns: [[ExaggeratedTrope Exaggerated]] in the "Zulu War" sketch. While British infantrymen are getting maimed and slaughtered left and right, the officers [[StrollingThroughTheChaos walk through the thick of battle completely unmolested and unfazed by the carnage]]. They even mutter curt excuse-mes as they pass by, and combatants on both sides make way for them.
* TheXOfY
----
->Well, that's the end of the page, now here's the Meaning of Life:\\\
[[spoiler:"[[TVTropesWillRuinYourLife Add more tropes"...?]]]]
----
'''''Creator/MontyPython's The Meaning of Life''''' arrived in 1983 as the last hurrah of the complete six-man troupe, directed by Terry Jones. The film marked the troupe's return to sketch-based comedy after two films that followed a linear plot. The film's sketches are loosely connected and arranged by the stages of human life.
The movie opens with the unrelated Creator/TerryGilliam-directed short film "The Crimson Permanent Assurance", the tale of accountant pirates who take on Wall Street. From there, we move on to the film proper, a series of sketches purporting to examine the Meaning of Life, arranged from "The Miracle of Birth" to "Death". But even this structure allows for stops examining "The Third World" and "Live Organ Transplants".
This is notable as ''by far'' the grossest of the Python films, via such highlights as the aforementioned "Live Organ Transplants" sketch and the restaurant scene featuring Mr. Creosote. That didn't stop it from receiving the Grand Prize of the Jury award at the 1983 Cannes Film Festival, however.
----
!!''Monty Python's The Meaning of Life'' provide examples of the following tropes:
* AnimatedCreditsOpening
* AudienceParticipation: We are invited to "Find the Fish" at The Middle of the Film.
* BackForTheFinale: The "Christmas in Heaven" song.
* BadassGrandpa: The entire "crew" of the Crimson Permanent Assurance.
* BadLiar / BlatantLies: [[SarcasmMode Oddly enough]], the two men dressed as a tiger have difficulty convincing anyone of their various stories about a) why they're dressed as a tiger and b) why they definitely ''didn't'' steal an officer's leg and run away with it.
-->'''Major:''' Right. Search the thickets.\\
'''Man Dressed as the Front of a Tiger''': Oh, come on! I mean, do we look like [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial the sort of chaps who'd creep into a camp at night, steal into someone's tent, anaesthetise them, tissue-type them, amputate a leg and run away with it]]?\\
'''Major:''' ... '''''Search the thickets'''''.
* BoltOfDivineRetribution:
-->'''Sergeant Major:''' Don't stand there gawking like you've never seen the hand of God before!
* BrickJoke: The "Crimson Permanent Assurance" short, as noted above.
* CowTools: The "machine that goes 'Ping.'" It supposedly tells whether the baby, during labour, is still alive, albeit without being connected to the mother. The hospital administrator and staff are very proud of it.
* CrowdSong: "Every Sperm Is Sacred."
* DarkerAndEdgier
* DrillSergeantNasty: [[ParodiedTrope Parodied]] with the sergeant major who ''talks'' (or, rather, [[NoIndoorVoice yells]]) like one, but proves remarkably lax about discipline.
* EducationalSong: The Galaxy Song is surprisingly educational for a Monty Python film (although the science is [[ScienceMarchesOn a bit outdated]], at the time the film was made the numbers used were considered [[http://ephemeris.sjaa.net/0312/b.html fairly accurate]]).
* {{Fanservice}}: The thirty-odd topless women running in slo-mo, bouncing, sweating...
* FluffyCloudHeaven: PlayedForLaughs, of course. Heaven is a Vegas-style lounge, complete with glib [[LoungeLizard singer]]. Also, every day is Christmas.
* FunnyForeigner
** [[FakeAmerican American]]: [[EagleLand The exaggeratedly]] broad-accented couple eating dinner and their waiter in the "The Middle Age" sketch, the business executives discussing the meaning of life. Also, Howard Katzenberg, the loud, brash, [[ArmchairPsychology pop-psychology]]-obsessed dinner party guest in the "Grim Reaper" sequence:
-->'''Grim Reaper:''' [I have come to] take you away. That is my purpose. I am Death.\\
'''Host:''' Well, that's cast rather a gloom over the whole evening, hasn't it?\\
'''[[Creator/TerryGilliam Howard]]:''' I don't see it that way, Geoff. Let me tell you what I think we're dealing with here: a potentially positive learning experience to get an--\\
'''Grim Reaper:''' Shut up! Shut up, you American. [[LampshadeHanging You always talk, you Americans.]] You talk and you talk and say "let me tell you something" and "I just wanna say this". Well, you're dead now, so shut up!
** French: The comically-accented maître d' and waiter in the "Mr. Creosote" sketch and its aftermath.
-->'''Maître d':''' Anozzer bucket for monsieur... ''(Creosote vomits on his leg)'' and perhaps -- a khhhhose.
* GreekChorus: The fish in the tank.
* TheGrimReaper
* GrossOutShow
* HighClassGlass: Livingstone (Graham Chapman), the military surgeon, uses a monocle in the Anglo-Zulu War sketch.
* HostileShowTakeover: The Crimson Permanent Assurance attempts to do this towards the end of the "Live Organ Transplants" chapter.
* HowWouldYouLikeToDie: A condemned criminal chooses to be chased off a cliff by a crowd of topless, helmeted women. Conveniently, he falls right into his coffin at the funeral already in progress.
* HumansAreMorons: As if the last line of "The Galaxy Song" doesn't make it clear enough,
-->"Pray that there's intelligent life somewhere up in space, 'cause there's [[StockBritishPhrases bugger all]] down here on Earth."
* HurricaneOfEuphemisms: The Noel Cowardesque "Penis Song".
* HypocriticalHumor: Graham Chapman's character is chased off a cliff by a group of topless women for sexism in a motion picture.
* JabbaTableManners: Mr. Creosote
* {{Leitmotif}}: The evil, ''{{Film/Jaws}}''-style string theme that accompanies Mr. Creosote's entrance and recurs right before he explodes.
* LyricalDissonance: "Every Sperm Is Sacred". A cheery, EarWorm-y song about [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin sperm]].
* MajorInjuryUnderreaction: A British army officer has a rather blasé attitude about waking up with a leg missing: "Stings a bit." So does the doctor examining him:
-->"Yes, well, this is nothing to worry about [...] Yes, there's a lot of it about. Probably a virus. Uh, keep warm, plenty of rest, and if you're playing football or anything, try and favor the other leg."
* MeatgrinderSurgery: Two "surgeons" forcibly harvest organs from a man just because he's got an organ donor card. Mostly offscreen but obviously MeatgrinderSurgery.
* MisplacedWildlife: Subverted. "A tiger? In Africa?" No, it's really two guys in a costume.
* NoIntelligentLifeHere: "Pray that there's intelligent life somewhere up in space 'cause it's bugger all down here on earth!"
* OhCrap:
-->'''Fish:''' Oh ''shit'', it's Mr. Creosote!
* OnlySaneMan: The Grim Reaper. It takes him several minutes to impress upon the hosts and guests of a dinner party that he's not there to trim the hedge, doesn't want wine and won't discuss philosophy with them. When they finally die and follow him to the great beyond, they decide to take their cars, causing the Reaper to do a hilarious double-take before shrugging it off and beckoning them on.
* TheOner: The scene with Gaston the waiter.
* OopNorth: Parodied with the portrayal of Yorkshire.
* OrganTheft: Or at least very aggressive organ collection.
* APirate400YearsTooLate: The Crimson Permanent Assurance.
* ProlongedPrologue: "The Crimson Permanent Assurance" goes on for 15 minutes before the actual film starts.
* RefugeInVulgarity: So, so much:
** In "The Third World" segment, a slimy newborn baby drops like excrement out of a Yorkshire housewife while she's doing her chores, and hits the floor.
** Young children sing, with their parents and the entire neighbourhood, about semen and masturbation.
** The unfortunate organ donor who has his liver removed, in gory detail, while he's still alive.
** During the "Galaxy Song", the standard cosmic grid morphs into a pregnant woman with legs spread.
** The Noel Cowardesque "Penis Song".
** And last but certainly not least, Mr. Creosote. "Better get the bucket..."
* RugbyIsSlaughter: A boarding school holds a rugby match pitting little boys against grown men. [[ItGotWorse As if that weren't brutal enough]], when a boy finally gets to make a try, a teacher trips him from the sidelines. To further underline the point, the scene segues directly into a WorldWarOne segment.
* SelfDeprecation: An Englishman's attempt to upbraid the Grim Reaper for his poor manners is met with this response:
-->'''Grim Reaper:''' ''(poking him in the eye)'' Quiet! Englishmen, you're all so fucking [[BritishStuffiness pompous]]. None of you have got any balls.
* SmiteMeOhMightySmiter: A military recruiter, after showing a war documentary, says, "That is why we will always need an army, and [[TemptingFate may God strike me down]] were it to be otherwise." [[BoltOfDivineRetribution Whereupon...]]
* SoundtrackDissonance: The "Galaxy Song", a cheery, happy-go-lucky tune, with vaguely upbeat lyrics about the wondrous vastness of the universe, that ends on a big downer about the [[HumansAreMorons lack of intelligent life]] on Earth. It's sung right after a scene wherein a man has his liver harvested while he's still alive. Immediately after the song finishes, his wife agrees to undergo the process herself.
* StupidBoss: The hospital administrator in "The Miracle of Birth".
-->'''Administrator:''' And what are you doing this morning?\\
'''Obstetrician:''' It's a birth.\\
'''Administrator:''' Ah. And [[YouFailBiologyForever what sort of thing is that]]?\\
'''Doctor Spenser:''' Well, that's when we take a new baby out of a lady's tummy.\\
'''Administrator:''' Wonderful what we can do nowadays!
* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: The man in the front end of the tiger costume:
-->"Oh come on! I mean, do we look like the sort of chaps who'd creep into a camp at night, steal into someone's tent, anaesthetise them, tissue-type them, amputate a leg and run away with it?"
* TheUnreveal: Although several theories as to the "meaning of life" are given throughout the film, when the "true" answer is finally revealed at the end it's [[{{Anticlimax}} not very life-changing.]] And this is only a segue into a totally unrelated and tangential joke.
* VomitIndiscretionShot: The Mr. Creosote scene.
* WalkThePlank: The "Crimson Permanent Assurance" short.
* WhileRomeBurns: [[ExaggeratedTrope Exaggerated]] in the "Zulu War" sketch. While British infantrymen are getting maimed and slaughtered left and right, the officers [[StrollingThroughTheChaos walk through the thick of battle completely unmolested and unfazed by the carnage]]. They even mutter curt excuse-mes as they pass by, and combatants on both sides make way for them.
* TheXOfY
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->Well, that's the end of the page, now here's the Meaning of Life:\\\
[[spoiler:"[[TVTropesWillRuinYourLife Add more tropes"...?]]]]
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