Monty Python's Life of Brian
Monty Python's Life of Brian Image Cover
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Director:Terry Jones
Studio:Anchor Bay
Rating:4.5
Rated:R
Date Added:2006-01-01
Last Seen:2016-07-07
Purchased On:2006-01-01
ASIN:6305388458
UPC:0013131067491
Price:14.98
Genre:Satire
Location:0110
Duration:93
Picture Format:Widescreen
Aspect Ratio:1.85:1
Sound:Dolby
Custom 1:Copied
Terry Jones  ...  (Director)
  ...  (Writer)
 
Graham Chapman  ...  
John Cleese  ...  
Michael Palin  ...  
Summary: "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