Monty Python's Life of Brian [M]

We all know the story of the child born in a faraway manger…well this isn’t that story. This is the story of a nice young chap named Brian who is mistaken for the messiah, much to the annoyance of his mother. 

My mum and dad first sat me down to watch this when I was about seven or eight years old… needless to say I did not get the film at all. Years later, when I had moved way past my double digits, did I watch the film a second time and, not only understand, but really enjoy the clever and sophisticated comedy that is Monty Python’s Life of Brian. 

“He’s not the messiah, he’s a very naughty boy!” 

Everyone knows the story of the three wise men and that child born in a faraway manger…well this isn’t that story. This is the story of a nice young Jewish chap named Brian. Upon joining the anti-Roman group, The People’s Front of Judea, Brian falls into a line of work that comes without rewards. With the Romans after his blood, Brian has no time for distractions, but unfortunately he gets mistaken for the messiah and gains a large group of clueless followers, much to the annoyance of his mother. 

Not dissimilar to Holy Grail, the humour in Life of Brian is in the writing of the film. There is little emphasis placed on the costumes, sets, special effects etc, the film is moved forward solely by the way it’s written and the performances delivered by its actors. 

As Holy Grail took the piss out of the Arthurian legend, Life Of Brian takes the piss out of religion, in particular, the story of Jesus Christ. Admittedly not as visually silly as Holy Grail, this film uses a mixture of sophisticated and crude comedy. By crude, I mean sexual innuendos and nudity. There is nothing wrong with that though. Really the humour of this movie is in its writing and there is nothing much more that I can think to comment on. 

The Monty Python actors all play multiple roles just as in Holy Gail, each a hugely entertaining performance. Some are very subtle, some are very dramatised, but all are hysterical nonetheless. Just like Holy Grail, there is an abundance of memorable scenes and I simply cannot be expected to choose a favourite.  

Starring Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Michael Palin, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Terry Gilliam, with the theme song sung by Shirley Bassey, Monty Python’s Life of Brian is another comedy classic filled with martyrdom, nudity, action, torture, heckling, gladiators, speech impediments, stoning, Latin, musical numbers, and aliens. 

Making it into my personal bible: 1001 Films You Must See Before You Die, it’s a comedy classic of epic proportions and is worthy of any film buff’s collection.