Terry Jones Films
The Movie Career of the Former Monty Python Star
Sep 11, 2009 Jonathan Squirrell
Between the two films which defined their careers, Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) and the Biblical parody The Life of Brian (1979) three of the Python’s combined to make another film separate from the rest of the group. Jabberwocky, a bizarre mixture of comedy, fantasy and horror inspired by the poem by Lewis Carroll, was released in 1977. The film starred Michael Palin, and was directed by Terry Gilliam, but it also featured Terry Jones in the role of a poacher.
The End of Monty Python, and a New Beginning
The final Monty Python film, The Meaning of Life came in 1983, and while the writing and performing remained a collaborative effort, the direction was this time left to Jones. If this film lacked the cohesion of its predecessors, the trademark oddball humour was still very much in evidence.
Jones’ next film project came along in 1986 in the shape of Labyrinth. Like Jabberwocky this was a weird and wonderful adventure story, a family fantasy tale with a touch of the macabre. Jones did not appear in the film, which starred the effervescent David Bowie, but he did work on the script along with Dennis Lee and the man behind the Muppets, Jim Henson.
Terry Jones as Writer, Director, and Star
Having played such a large part in all aspects of the Python movies, Jones was not content simply to be an actor, and in his next two films he not only appeared on screen, but wrote and directed as well. In 1989 he made Eric the Viking, starring Hollywood giants Tim Robbins and Mickey Rooney, as well as another ex-Python, John Cleese. The film has clear parallels with Jones’ earlier work, as the strange tale of Vikings on a quest to restore sunlight to their lands contains more than a touch of humour that can only be described as ‘Pythonsesque.’ Eric the Viking received a mixed reception, but has since found something of a cult following.
Leaving aside his love of history and Norse tales, Jones then chose to adapt a quintessentially English piece of work. The Wind in the Willows (1996) was a fairly free adaptation of the much-loved classic by Kenneth Grahame, but Jones managed to keep the spirit of the story and the characters intact. Rather than use animation, Jones simply used costume and make-up to turn the cast into animals, with surprisingly good results. Taking the lead role of the larger-than-life Mr Toad himself, Jones turned in a sterling performance, much helped by a fine supporting cast which included not only the likes of Steve Coogan, but old friends from the Python days, Palin, Idle and Cleese. The presence of so many former members of the Flying Circus has perhaps led the Wind in the Willows to suffer in comparison to the official Python movies, but it remains a very decent film in its own right.
Jones’ Film Career Changes Direction
Jones has since left mainstream cinema behind, preferring to work on different projects. He took a part in the avant-garde Andew Repasky McElhinney film Magdalen in 1998, playing a character named Mr Jones.
Jones then chose to embrace French cinema for his next two outings. Firstly the animation Asterix and Obelix take on Caesar, a 1999 film based on the comic-book adventures of the super-strong Gauls who defy the Roman Empire. Jones not provided the voice for Obelix in the English language version of the movie, he actually translated the script from the original French.
As of this were not impressive enough, Jones then went on to perform in a live-action French film. Playing ‘Le Professeur d’Oxford’ in the 2009 comedy King Guillaume, an imaginative story of a French couple who stand to inherit a kingdom on an island between France and England.
Perhaps not surprisingly, these recent film outings have had little impact on the public, although if nothing else they have shown that there is much more to him than a silly sense of humour, proving him an interesting and intelligent contributor to all aspects of film making. And even if he will be best remembered as a member of Monty Python, that is certainly nothing to be ashamed of.
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