The Life of Brian is 40 years old...

[kalowski]

...and it is still magnificent. Perhaps only Spinal Tap is better.



"It's not my cross..."

[DrGreggles]

Never seen it on the big screen before.
That's being rectified on Thursday.

I still just prefer Holy Grail over it if I had to choose.
Luckily I don't and they're both magnificent.

[Twed]

I still just prefer Holy Grail over it if I had to choose.
Luckily I don't and they're both magnificent.

I agree. Both films are just so fucking good, they still stand head and shoulders above almost all of cinema for me.

[Virgo76]

A masterpiece.
Python's finest hour, in my view.

[Lisa Jesusandmarychain]

Easily Python's worst film. Gratuitous swearing (Joe Orton referencing or not, not funny) , gratuitous nudity , dull, linear storyline,  (very Unpython, that),Spike Milligan in an unfunny, nothingy cameo, getting laughs out of people with speech impediments, that fucking Eric Idle song at the end... In stark contrast to the massively inventive, and , indeed, madcap and zany "Monty Python and the Holy Grail". Indeed, this film may mark the moment that Python started becoming more trad. comic and unfunny ("Meaning Of Life" is patchy, but there's some good stuff in there ). Even the tie-in book and soundtrack album are dull.

[Virgo76]

I wonder if the film has ever provoked this much controversy before?

"Gratuitous swearing"? Is that a joke?

[Lisa Jesusandmarychain]

Why would you introduce yourself to somebody's mum while being stark naked? Always irked me , that scene did
(Well, I was 13 at the time of first seeing the film, so it didn't irk me too much, then )

[St_Eddie]

The Life of Brian is my least favourite of the Python films but it's still a classic.  The whole 'Biggus Dickus' scene never fails to make me laugh.

[Lisa Jesusandmarychain]

I wonder if the film has ever provoked this much controversy before?

"Gratuitous swearing"? Is that a joke?

No. " You're fucking nicked, me beauty ", and all that. Didn't find it funny.
The only funny swearing in Python is John Cleese saying "I don't care how fucking runny it is. " on the album version of "The Cheese Shop Sketch", and Michael Palin saying " Oh, sod the fucking air" on the "Holy Grail" soundtrack album.

[kalowski]

A masterpiece.
Python's finest hour, in my view.

This is the correct answer, in my opinion, which is also correct.
It is a masterpiece. It is incredibly funny.
The concept of people being quite far away, and therefore unable to hear the sermon on the mount clearly is funny, even before they takewit into the "blessed are the big noses" territory.

[Tony Tony Tony]

"Found this spoon sir"

"Well done Sargent"

Does it every time for me.

[Blumf]

"Well, you could be stabbed"

[madhair60]

Meaning of Life is the best Python film, bye

[Phoenix Lazarus]

John Cleese getting that giant stone dropped on him is funny; so are the dead soldiers' toes-tapping, when Idle on the cross sings, 'always look on the bright side of death.'

[chveik]

Easily Python's worst film. Gratuitous swearing (Joe Orton referencing or not, not funny) , gratuitous nudity , dull, linear storyline,  (very Unpython, that),Spike Milligan in an unfunny, nothingy cameo, getting laughs out of people with speech impediments, that fucking Eric Idle song at the end... In stark contrast to the massively inventive, and , indeed, madcap and zany "Monty Python and the Holy Grail". Indeed, this film may mark the moment that Python started becoming more trad. comic and unfunny ("Meaning Of Life" is patchy, but there's some good stuff in there ). Even the tie-in book and soundtrack album are dull.

this is spot on.

[Autopsy Turvey]

Even the tie-in book and soundtrack album are dull.

I could take issue with a lot of what you've said, although it's always fun to hear someone pissing on a consensus, however sensible the consensus is, but on the subject of the soundtrack, I'll remind us of this, for me one of the funniest failed communications in Python:

Link man In the meantime...
Studioman No, er...
Link man During? During?
Studioman Yes. Try during.
Link man During the meanwhile...
Studioman No, that's not right. That's not good English. Can you try "during the meantime"?
Link man During the meantime...
Studioman No. That's not right either.
Link man Meantime, meanwhile, mean during the...
Studioman While.
Link man During the while...
Studio man No, that won't work at all.
Link man Well, it sounded quite good to me.
Studio man No, I don't think it's very good English, I'm sorry.
Link man Wouldn't it?
Studio man No.
Link man Oh. During... What did I say?
Studio man During the meanwhilst.
Link man During the meanwhilst... No, I don't like that at all.
Studio man No.
Link man During... Well, what sh.. what should I try?
Studio man We'll just cut this.
Link man What?
Studio man We'll just cut this link.
Link man Well, you don't need it at all?
Studio man I don't think so.
Link man Well, that's all right then...

[Phoenix Lazarus]

The corpsing over 'Biggus Dickus' bugs me.  I find real corpsing funny, but not acted corpsing, which always looks unnatural and put-on.

[Default to the negative]

It was all worth it for the televised debate with the bishop who, when he speaks, sounds like The World's Most Obvious Homosexual. In many ways he embodies the institutional contradictions of Christianity and is like a character the Pythons would have invented themselves.

[EOLAN]

The corpsing over 'Biggus Dickus' bugs me.  I find real corpsing funny, but not acted corpsing, which always looks unnatural and put-on.

Might be a bit of mythologizing (or trolling as we call it now) but I believe Terry Jones had a practice run where he showed the crowd how to corpse. When they replicated this there was no cameras rolling and when they finally shot it he felt a lot of the energy was lost from this.

Do like the Idle and Chapman interaction on the soundtrack but it is fairly mild. The Holy Grail one is just outstanding if not much of a soundtrack. One of my friends was a bit pissed off about how accurately it depicted splits within revolutionary/political movements which was nice.
Own favourite part is probably Cleese's jump as the exasperated executioner trying to getting the (wo)men to stop throwing stones. 

[QDRPHNC]

Life of Brian is my personal favourite, but it's definitely the more mainstream choice. Much like the show itself, Holy Grail has its fantastic moments, but can also be a bit dull in stretches.

[Twed]

Meaning of Life is the best Python film, bye

Ah look, a travelling wrongsman!

[McChesney Duntz]

It was all worth it for the televised debate with the bishop who, when he speaks, sounds like The World's Most Obvious Homosexual. In many ways he embodies the institutional contradictions of Christianity and is like a character the Pythons would have invented themselves.

That's the thing - all the fundamentalist bastards who condemned this film (often sight unseen, naturally) never got that they should have been offended - not that the Pythons were satirizing the life of Jesus, that the Pythons were satirizing them. A lesson that few of them ever learned in four decades, which only points up how strong the film remains.

Just watched it again via Netflix the other night - good heavens, it's a gorgeous-looking film, isn't it? And quite impressive after Holy Grail - pure Pythonic sensibility, yes, but something (if you'll pardon the expression) completely different. A decade on, and they finally embraced the notion of satire they spent their early years volubly avoiding, and did so brilliantly. Grail is funnier, true, but Brian is more satisfying, film-wise.

[petril]

it feels very, very Summer Sunday Night to me. but then, that seemed to be a lot of summer Sundays for about 12 years from the late 80s onward, swords, sandals and ancient times. I feel weird watching it when it's not that kind of night

[DJ Bob Hoskins]

I could take issue with a lot of what you've said, although it's always fun to hear someone pissing on a consensus, however sensible the consensus is, but on the subject of the soundtrack, I'll remind us of this, for me one of the funniest failed communications in Python:

Heh, I sent the exact same script to a friend of mine the other day by way of pointing out how terrific that soundtrack album is. Not as good as the Holy Grail one, but great nonetheless.

[alan nagsworth]

That's the thing - all the fundamentalist bastards who condemned this film (often sight unseen, naturally) never got that they should have been offended - not that the Pythons were satirizing the life of Jesus, that the Pythons were satirizing them. A lesson that few of them ever learned in four decades, which only points up how strong the film remains.

Just watched it again via Netflix the other night - good heavens, it's a gorgeous-looking film, isn't it? And quite impressive after Holy Grail - pure Pythonic sensibility, yes, but something (if you'll pardon the expression) completely different. A decade on, and they finally embraced the notion of satire they spent their early years volubly avoiding, and did so brilliantly. Grail is funnier, true, but Brian is more satisfying, film-wise.

good post with which i agree strongly

[up_the_hampipe]

I think the opening song to Life of Brian is the most underrated part of the film. It's a belter!

[Sin Agog]

Meaning of Life is the best Python film, bye

Sorta agree.  Well, it's Holy Grail, but I've burnt myself out on that.  I find too much of the humour in Brian comes from Python's persnickety grammar school side, wih all the lists and lessons and whatnot.  Also disagree with it looking better.  It looks good, and sends up those panoramic Biblical epics well, but I way prefer Gilliam's shrouded Bergmanisms on Grail that fucked the other Pythons off so much.  The humour in that and most of MOL feels more 'huh?' than 'ah ha!' and thus is much better.

[JCR]

I wonder if the film has ever provoked this much controversy before?

"Gratuitous swearing"? Is that a joke?

Funny thing is the 2019 cinema release has a 12A rating. Take your kids, they'll love it.

http://www.bbfc.co.uk/releases/monty-pythons-life-brian-1979

[Virgo76]

Spike Milligan in an unfunny, nothingy cameo

Swearing doesn't bother me that much. I've never really noticed it in Life of Brian.
It's still the best film.
I agree about the Milligan cameo though.
I'm sure I heard one Python describe it as "marvelous" in an interview.
It isn't. It's crap. Presumably because Milligan - annoyed at having his holiday in Tunisia interrupted - walked off set before his part was finished (I believe?)
It's only a few seconds though and hardly spoils what is the Pythons' finest hour.

I think the opening song to Life of Brian is the most underrated part of the film. It's a belter!

Agreed.

Meaning of Life?
A bit like claiming Godfather III is the best Godfather!
Actually, it's not. It has moments of brilliance - Godfather III doesn't. But who are we trying to fool? It's obviously not the best one.
John Cleese doesn't even like it.

[DrGreggles]

I think the opening song to Life of Brian is the most underrated part of the film. It's a belter!

Sung by a 16 year old lass.