Description: The Gospel according to Monty Python: In Judea, a boy is born in a manger a short distance from and about the same time, as Jesus Christ. Three wise men from the East are for a time deceived by this proximity into believing that he is the promised Messiah, but it soon becomes apparent that he is, in fact, only a hapless peasant named Brian. However, the 'Life of Brian' causes plenty of commotion for the Roman Empire and leaves him desperate to escape his burgeoning popularity.
Amazon.com essential video: 'Blessed are the cheesemakers,' a wise man once said. Or maybe not. But the point is Monty Python's Life of Brian is a religious satire that does not target specific religions or religious leaders (like, say, Jesus of Nazareth). Instead, it pokes fun at the mindless and fanatical among their followers--it's an attack on religious zealotry and hypocrisy--things that that fellow from Nazareth didn't particularly care for either. Nevertheless, at the time of its release in 1979, those who hadn't seen it considered it to be quite 'controversial.'
Life of Brian, you see, is about a chap named Brian (Graham Chapman) born December 25 in a hovel not far from a soon-to-be-famous Bethlehem manger. Brian is mistaken for the messiah and, therefore, manipulated, abused, and exploited by various religious and political factions. And it's really, really funny. Particularly memorable bits include the brassy Shirley Bassey/James Bond-like title song; the bitter rivalry between the anti-Roman resistance groups, the Judean People's Front and the People's Front of Judea; Michael Palin's turn as a lisping, risible Pontius Pilate; Brian urging a throng of false-idol worshippers to think for themselves--to which they reply en masse 'Yes, we must think for ourselves!'; the fact that everything Brian does, including losing his sandal in an attempt to flee these wackos, is interpreted as 'a sign.' Life of Brian is not only one of Monty Python's funniest achievements, it's also the group's sharpest and smartest sustained satire. Blessed are the Pythons. --Jim Emerson
Amazon.com: 'Blessed are the cheesemakers,' a wise man once said. Or maybe not. But the point is Monty Python's Life of Brian is a religious satire that does not target specific religions or religious leaders (like, say, Jesus of Nazareth). Instead, it pokes fun at the mindless and fanatical among their followers--it's an attack on religious zealotry and hypocrisy--things that that fellow from Nazareth didn't particularly care for either. Nevertheless, at the time of its release in 1979, those who hadn't seen it considered it to be quite 'controversial.' Life of Brian, you see, is about a chap named Brian (Graham Chapman) born December 25 in a hovel not far from a soon-to-be-famous Bethlehem manger. Brian is mistaken for the messiah and therefore manipulated, abused, and exploited by various religious and political factions. And it's really, really funny. Particularly memorable bits include the brassy Shirley Bassey/James Bond-like title song; the bitter rivalry between the anti-Roman resistance groups, the Judean People's Front and the People's Front of Judea; Michael Palin's turn as a lisping, risible Pontius Pilate; Brian urging a throng of false-idol worshippers to think for themselves--to which they reply en masse 'Yes, we must think for ourselves!'; the fact that everything Brian does, including losing his sandal in an attempt to flee these wackos, is interpreted as 'a sign.' Life of Brian is not only one of Monty Python's funniest achievements, it's also the group's sharpest and smartest sustained satire. Blessed are the Pythons. --Jim Emerso
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Average Rating:
Rating: - Very Funny In Parts But Overall Ages Well!
This one-disc version of Python's historical (note I did not say historically accurate)comedy set at the time of Jesus is rare among comedies in that it's still able to retain most of its humour value over the years and hence ages quite well. Although not all the scenes remain funny, there were some that left me in stitches such as the "Biggus Dickus" scenes with Pontius Pilate while the UFO scene was just stupid and actually in my opinion took away from the comedic value of the film a great deal. Like "Ben Hur" this film is set at the time of the birth of Christianity but other than that the story has really very little to do with Christ or Christianity in general other than as a minor sub-plot.
The story here is about a group of sinners who try to scrape a living by surviving the brutality of the Romans and particularly one of them, Brian, who is mistaken for a prophet and for a while the Messiah. ... Read More
Rating: - As entertaining as ever, and packed with extras
Not a lot to say about this movie to anyone who is a Monty Python fan, and anyone who isn't should see it anyway, it's a story packed with brilliant humor about biblical times.
It's NOT about Jesus, it's simply a very funny story happening in the same time period, when messiah cults were the norm, and Brian may be the only person who isn't crazy.
Great blu-ray edition of this movie, the behind the scenes extras and radio spots and other features are great, and the quality is excellent (no apparent clean-up work done, unlike say, Blade Runner, but the film grain makes it feel all the more theatrical in a way).
As always it has one of the most unforgettable endings in movie history. :)
Rating: - 2.5 stars out of 4
The Bottom Line:
Despite a solid premise, Life of Brian consists mainly of uninspired stretches of comedy that stretch on too long in an attempt to milk every joke for all they're worth.
Rating: - That's funny?
Sort of Saturday Night Live does Christ in a bad way... Although the acting is good and the comedy lines well done, it is so sad that they dishonor
the main part of what makes our civilization civil?
That we believe legend as written or that there is humor in our lack of belief is probably what I dispute here:
not that the comedy is well done or not.
There is no way to tell after more than 2000 years where fact starts and
myth begins, but making fun of that ancient landmark life that transformed a barbarian Empire into something more is just pretty tasteless even if British upper class endorsed.
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- Very Funny In Parts But Overall Ages Well!
- As entertaining as ever, and packed with extras
