Life of Brian (1979)

Director:

Terry Jones

Writers:

Graham Chapman (written by) &
John Cleese (written by) ...

Release Date:

17 August 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

A motion picture destined to offend nearly two thirds of the civilized world. And severely annoy the other third.

Plot:

Brian is born on the original Christmas, in the stable next door. He spends his life being mistaken for a messiah.

Plot Keywords:

Christmas | Judea | Revolutionary | Satire | Black Comedy

Cast

Graham Chapman	...	Wise Man #2 / Brian Cohen / Biggus Dickus
John Cleese	...	Wise Man #1 / Reg / Jewish Official / Centurion / Deadly Dirk / Arthur
Terry Gilliam	...	Man Even Further Forward / Revolutionary / Jailer / Blood & Thunder Prophet / Frank / Audience Member / Crucifee
Eric Idle	...	Mr. Cheeky / Stan (Loretta) / Harry the Haggler / Culprit Woman / Warris / Intensely Dull Youth / Jailer's Assistant / Otto / Lead Singer Crucifee
Terry Jones	...	Mandy Cohen / Colin / Simon the Holy Man / Bob Hoskins / Saintly Passer-by / Alarmed Crucifixion Assistant
Michael Palin	...	Wise Man #3 / Mr. Big Nose / Francis / Mrs. A / Ex-Leper / Announcer / Ben / Pontius Pilate / Boring Prophet / Eddie / Shoe Follower / Nisus Wettus
Terence Bayler	...	Gregory
Carol Cleveland	...	Mrs. Gregory
Kenneth Colley	...	Jesus
Neil Innes	...	A weedy Samaritan
Charles McKeown	...	False Prophet / Blind Man / Giggling Guard / Stig
John Young	...	Matthias, Son of Deuteronomy of Gath
Gwen Taylor	...	Mrs. Big Nose
Sue Jones-Davies	...	Judith
Peter Brett

Also Known As:

Brian of Nazareth (UK) (working title)
Jesus Christ: Lust for Glory (UK) (working title)
Monty Python's Life of Brian (UK) (complete title)
The Gospel According to St. Brian (UK) (working title)

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English | Latin

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Canada:R (Manitoba/Nova Scotia/Ontario) | Norway:(Banned) (1979 - 1980) | Finland:K-16 (1988) | Finland:K-16 (cut) (1980) | Netherlands:MG6 (DVD rating) | Iceland:L | Spain:T | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:(Banned) | Norway:18 (1980) | Sweden:15 | Australia:MA (Special Edition DVD) | France:U | Australia:M | Brazil:18 | Argentina:16 (re-rating) | Argentina:18 (original rating) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Ireland:(Banned) (1979-1987) | Ireland:15 (re-rating) | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:11 (re-rating) (2004) | UK:15 (video rating) (1988) | UK:AA (original rating) | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Amphitheater, Carthage, Tunis, Tunisia

Company:

HandMade Films

Trivia:

Eric Idle originally recorded the song "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" in his normal singing voice. After deciding this was not quite right, he re-recorded it with a Cockney accent, singing the new dub in a hotel room with mattresses pushed up against the walls. The line, "Bernie, I said, they'll never make their money back" refers to Lord Bernard Delfont pulling out of financing the movie at the last minute. In the 2000s, the song was reused in the musical "Spamalot," adapted from Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975).

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: During the crucifixion scene, after the PFJ sing "For he's a jolly good fellow", you can see a very obvious double for John Cleese playing "Reg" amongst the PFJ when John Cleese enters the scene as the Centurion, looking to free Brian.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Wise Man #1: Ahem!
Brian?s mother: Oh!
[falls over in chair]
Brian?s mother: Who are you?
Wise Man #2: We are three wise men.
Brian?s mother: What?
Wise Man #1: We are three wise men.
Brian?s mother: Well, what are you doing creeping around a cow shed at two o'clock in the morning? That doesn't sound very wise to me.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Friday Night, Saturday Morning: (#1.7)" (1979)

Soundtrack:

Always Look on the Bright Side Of Life

Not necessarily laugh-out-loud every minute, but it's satirical edge and wit is as clever as the technical side of the film

Monty Python's follow-up to their cult smash Holy Grail was Life of Brian, a film that takes on (if not always with the utmost seriousness, then usually with a mix of silliness and slight intellectualism) the believers in religions, the zealous nature that belief brings out in people. I first saw the film in the theater upon its re-release last month, and I found it very funny, though not with the kind of belly laughs that I had on my first reaction to Holy Grail. It's not without it's scenes that stick out as some of Python's finest (the Stoning, Pilate's scenes, the Spaceship sequence), even as sometimes it goes a little too broad for comfort (part of the colisseum).

Yet, the great strengths that lie in Life of Brian are that 1) the writers and performers (Chapman, Cleese, Gilliam, Jones, Idle, Palin) bring their irreverent strengths to a fine point with the script and multiple roles. Even when a scene doesn't get the laughs it could've or should've, it turns out to be a scene brimming with a cleverness that could only exist in the "Python-esque" universe. 2) the director (Jones) and designer/animator (Gilliam) lay the groundwork for this realistic atmosphere of 33 A.D. and bring out what is the best in the acting, Pythons or otherwise (famous British comedian Spike Milligan has a role of note). Held over from the sets of Franco Zeferelli's Christ film, the Pythons use all these locations and settings and little details to spring out their wild, brilliant gags. The look of the film enriches the comedic elements, and the result is (arguably, of course) the troupe's best film. Not for all tastes by the way (Monty Python in general for me took some while to warm up to, but paid off once it worked). Grade: A