The Life of Brian (127/250)
July 20, 2006 11:38 pm
“[Dying on the cross] Cheer up, Brian. You know what they say: some things in live are bad. They can really make you mad. Other things just make you swear and curse. When you’re chewing on life’s gristle, don’t grumble; give a whistle, and this’ll help things turn out for the best. And… always look on the bright side of life… “Overview: A Monty Python film. 4 years after the surprisingly successful (and absolutely hilarious) “Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail”, the Python boys follow it up with a film about the times of Christ. Personally, I like one of the working titles: “Jesus Christ: Lust for Glory”. This film is all about a character named Brian (Graham Chapman) who’s life keeps crossing over / getting mixed up with that of the late J.C. He gets involved with one of the political rebellious movements (”the People’s Front of Judea”), and keeps mis-hap’ing his way into the spotlight along with all the other would-be messiahs. People end up following him by accident, and he dies on the cross due to a mix-up. (hardly a spoiler given the context of the movie 
Noteworthy Actors/Actresses: The Python Boys (John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Michael Palin, Terry Jones, Graham Chapman, Eric Idle)
Homages/References/Trivia: The six Python characters played 40-some characters. George Harrison has a brief cameo in the film, when he shakes hands with Brian on The Mount and says “‘ullo” to him. The film was banned in Norway until 1980 for blasphemy. Some of the scenes were shot on sets left behind by “Jesus of Nazareth” (1977)
Verdict: Now, I’m all for satirical movies — I find nothing funnier than taking a big old stab at dogma, but I only found this movie marginally enjoyable. I suppose part of it was Brian Cohen’s mother’s voice (Terry Jones, doing a falsetto), which was a rather rough recording. Also, the fact that the character played so many different roles made it a little difficult to follow who was who, if their costumes were similar (particularly with respect to some of the citizens. The final scene with all the crucifixions features Eric Idle playing two different crucified people, one of which is pardoned, the other not). I happend to really enjoy “Monty Python: The Meaning of Life” and was really surprised that *that* movie was NOT on the top 250, but THIS one *was*. This movie was ok… I really love all the stuff the Python guys do, and love their style of humor, but the movie just didn’t tickle me quite as much as the other ones did.
From IMDB: (1979) Brian is born in a stable on Christmas, right next to You Know Who. The wise men appear and begin to distribute gifts. The star moves further, so they take it all back and move on. This is how Brian’s life goes. The Jews are looking for a release from the Romans, Spiritual and political decay, keep looking for signs and a group decides Brian is the Messiah. He cannot convince them he is not. He joins the Peoples’ Front of Judea, one of several dozen separatist groups who actually do nothing, but really hate the Romans. While not about Jesus, it is about those who hadn’t time, or interest to listen to his message. Many Political and Social comments.
