Editing Terry Jones (section)

=== Directorial work ===
Jones co-directed ''[[Monty Python and the Holy Grail]]'' with [[Terry Gilliam]], and was sole director on two further Monty Python movies, ''[[Monty Python's Life of Brian|Life of Brian]]'' and ''[[Monty Python's The Meaning of Life]]''. As a film director, Jones finally gained fuller control of the projects and devised a distinct, signature style that relied on visual comedy and surreal touches to complement the jokes. He would repeatedly abandon punchlines and create fragmented, [[Non sequitur (literary device)|non-sequitur]] story arcs to bring out the deadpan  humour.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-30116194#:~:text=His%20style%20of%20visual%20comedy,on%20ancient%20and%20medieval%20history.|title = Monty Python's Terry Jones: Master of the absurd|work = BBC News|date = 22 January 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.ft.com/content/a08cabbc-3d3c-11ea-a01a-bae547046735 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221210/https://www.ft.com/content/a08cabbc-3d3c-11ea-a01a-bae547046735 |archive-date=10 December 2022 |url-access=subscription|title = Terry Jones, actor, writer and director, 1942–2020|newspaper = Financial Times|date = 23 January 2020|last1 = Andrews|first1 = Nigel}}</ref> His later films include ''[[Erik the Viking]]'' (1989) and ''[[The Wind in the Willows (1996 film)|The Wind in the Willows]]'' (1996). In 2008, Jones wrote the libretto for and directed the opera ''Evil Machines''.<ref>{{Cite news | first = Francesca |  last = Martin |url = https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2008/jan/16/theatre3| title = Ex-Python's opera rings the changes | newspaper=The Guardian| location = London| date = 16 January 2008 |access-date = 11 September 2018}}</ref> In 2011, he was commissioned to direct and write the libretto for another opera, entitled ''The Doctor's Tale''.<ref>{{Cite news | first = Holly | last = Williams | url = https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/classical/features/heads-up-operashots-2226603.html | title = Heads Up: Operashots | newspaper = The Independent | location = London | date = 27 February 2011 | access-date = 11 September 2018 | archive-date = 17 August 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180817193515/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/classical/features/heads-up-operashots-2226603.html | url-status = dead }}</ref>

Three of the films which Jones directed—''The Meaning of Life'', ''Monty Python's Life of Brian'' and ''[[Personal Services]]''—were banned in Ireland.<ref>{{cite book|title=Moralism: A Study of a Vice|first=Craig|last=Taylor|page=171|publisher=Routledge|year=2015|isbn=978-1-317-54771-6}}</ref>

Jones directed the 2015 comedy film ''[[Absolutely Anything]]'', about a disillusioned schoolteacher who is given the chance to do anything he wishes by a group of aliens watching from space.<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Michael|last=Gioia|url=http://www.playbill.com/news/article/188150-Monty-Python-Members-Eddie-Izzard-Robin-Williams-and-More-Among-Cast-of-Absolutely-Anything-Film?tsrc=nx|title=Monty Python Members, Eddie Izzard, Robin Williams and More Among Cast of ''Absolutely Anything'' Film|magazine=Playbill|publisher=Playbill, Inc.|date=27 February 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140302220515/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/188150-Monty-Python-Members-Eddie-Izzard-Robin-Williams-and-More-Among-Cast-of-Absolutely-Anything-Film?tsrc=nx |archive-date=2 March 2014 }}</ref> The film features [[Simon Pegg]], [[Kate Beckinsale]], [[Robin Williams]] and the voices of the five remaining members of Monty Python. It was filmed in London during a six-week shoot.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://filmdoctor.co.uk/2015/04/15/in-conversation-terry-jones-director-absolutely-anything-monty-python-and-the-holy-grail-life-of-brian-wind-in-the-willows/|title=In Conversation: Terry Jones (Director – Absolutely Anything, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Life of Brian, Wind in the Willows)|magazine=Film Doctor|date=15 April 2015|access-date=11 September 2018|archive-date=25 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210225090841/http://filmdoctor.co.uk/2015/04/15/in-conversation-terry-jones-director-absolutely-anything-monty-python-and-the-holy-grail-life-of-brian-wind-in-the-willows/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2016, Jones directed ''Jeepers Creepers'', a West End play about the life of comic [[Marty Feldman]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/features/marty-feldman-and-jeepers-creepers-why-terry-jones-is-celebrating-the-comic-on-stage-a6807896.html  |first=Terry|last=Jones |title=Marty Feldman and 'Jeepers Creepers': Why Terry Jones is celebrating the comic on stage|newspaper=The Independent}}</ref> It was his last directing work before his death.