This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

Almost ten years before "The Crimson Permanent Assurance", Terry Gilliam began his career directing another short film named "Miracle of Flight". Here he returns to the genre, though no animation, but live action instead. This effort managed a BAFTA-nomination for Best Short film, but came up short against a film named "Goodie-Two-Shoes", which has pretty much vanished into oblivion by now.But not so The Crimson Permanent Assurance. It deals with an office full of elderly workers. Everybody seems to be working as fast as they can without enjoying it, almost like galley slaves. When one of the bunch is fired by the foreman, the situation escalates. His colleagues rise to the occasion and take over. As they turn the building into a pirate-ship they start sailing the seas and we get to accompany them on their journey which includes among other things, entering and taking over an enemy company. It's a good film that profits a lot from a truly smart idea and the good execution of it. It's certainly one of Gilliam's best works and a must-see for every Monty Python enthusiast. I wouldn't say it's 17 minutes that flew by second to none, but all in all it's still a recommendable final result.

As the Monty Python troupe was finishing up their final movie together, it seems Terry Gilliam got his hands on some of the budget and went haywire creating his own little "supporting feature" to the show, a production that most certainly looks forward to his later work with Time Bandits and Brazil, et al, and gained him some control of the surrealist adventure escapades in Gilliam's fantasy land.Starting out almost something of a send-up of Ben-Hur, some elderly accountants under the whips and shackles of corporate England revolt and turn their office building into a sailing pirate ship of corporate pillaging, heading to America and converting the everyday mundane office supplies of filing cabinets and coat hangers into weapons. This movie seems like a bridge between Monty Python's surrealist send-up sensibilities and Gilliam's own desire to stretch his fantasies to their limits, a mode he's followed ever since, sometimes to his own detriment (I guess he's finally getting Don Quixote together for a second try?).Except for one interjection into the mad antics of The Meaning of Life proper, this movie really does stand alone and fills out a different role than the larger feature.--PolarisDiB

Monty Python's film, "The Meaning of Life" was a major misfire for the group. While it had some very funny bits (such as the Angel of Death scene and the song "Every Sperm is Sacred"), many more parts of the film were terribly unfunny. It just showed that the team's long absence from films as a group was detrimental to their chemistry--they just couldn't capture the magic from such work as "The Holy Grail".However, despite my major disappointment with the film, there was actually a short pre-film that was released with "The Meaning of Life"--though some friends told me that when they saw it the theater did NOT show "The Crimson Permanent Assurance" film! This is so sad because this wonderful film was by far the best aspect of "The Meaning of Life" and may just have been the best moment from any Python film--it's THAT good! The film was written and directed by Terry Gilliam and the other Pythons are not readily apparent in the film (several do appear very briefly and heavily made up). Instead, it stars a wonderful cast of elderly men--all who are working a horribly boring job. Showing the scenes of them working and comparing it to a galley ship was brilliant, but what happened next nearly had me falling on the floor laughing. I really can't say more because it would spoil the fun--let's just say that the film becomes very, very surreal...and funny.Brilliantly written, directed and performed--this is a must-see for anyone who has a sense of humor. A wonderful little film in every possible way.

CPA(I wonder if that was intentional?)leaves one quite daffy upon the first viewing. For those of you who may not be familiar with it, It is a short film at the beginning of Monty Python's The Meaning of Life. Pure Gilliam. He is one of the few people who can mix satire with lunacy in such festive films. If you like it, rent some of Gilliam's other accomplishments: Brazil, 12 Monkeys, and The Fisher King.