Yar, you be here: Monty Python's Life of Brian > Customer Reviews

Monty Python's Life of Brian Customer Reviews (22 - 24 of 25 Reviews)

Deep criticism of society using subtle, intelligent comedy
No doubt the Monty Python group is one of the funniest tv-shows and movie-makers of all time. Their straight-faced, intelligent kind of humor is so everlasting that today, roughly 25 years after their three main movies were made, they still have a huge legion of worldwide fans, and among them very young people, some of them born after their movies were released.

In "Life of Brian", the setting is Judea, around 33 A.D. The movie is about Brian, a jewish man-boy, raised by a tough mother; Brian's life is seemingly meaningless, until he joins a hilarious group whose main task is to go against Roman domination. Suddenly, and unwillingly, Brian has an enormous set of followers that, based on strange omens, think he is the Messiah.

From beginning to end, "Life of Brian" is much more than just a bunch of nonsense scenes revolving around a common base-point. Of course, the characters are made and chosen to fit the Python actors, but that doesn't mean the acting is bad. John Cleese, Michael Palin, Eric Idle, Terry Jones (among many others) are still active and very much well-known today or in recent years - 007 series, "A fish called Wanda", etc.

But "Life of Brian", more than a simple comedy, is a tremendous criticism of the society we live in. It is not blasphemous in any way. Countries and societies that have banned this movie on religious grounds completely missed the point. This is not about religion, it's about people's relationships. To criticize globalization, lack of individualism and misguided leaderships (if they were able to see the problem then, what can we say about nowadays, when it's even worse?) they took as an example the christian societies and religious movements because, being westerners, and making a movie mainly for western audiences, they thought this would be more simple to achieve their goal. Well, in the end it was proved they were really ahead of their time. Even today "Life of Brian" is not completely understood, and mistaken as a religious parody.

Congratulations for the Pythons, on the subject choice and on the intelligence with which the movie was made.

Grade 9.2/10

Brilliant...
...especially as the first in a double feature with The Last Temptation Of Christ. You'll see loved ones around you wonder what's so funny about the scene playing on Temptation, thus missing the satire of it shown in Life Of Brian.
If you have any liking of Monty Python and haven't seen it, get it and you'll thank the Python crew for making it for years!

Even if you don't like Python, the satire will make you laugh at the historical look at how things were "then". It'll make you look at today's events with a more open mind.

Budget-priced version of one of the funniest films ever!
This is the "no-frills" budget-priced DVD of "Life of Brian," containing just the movie with no extras (except for a trailer). Criterion has released an excellent Special Edition with commentaries, a documentary, and deleted scenes; however, the price of it is pretty steep. If you're a Python fan, you'll want to spend the money on the Criterion Collection DVD. If you have a more casual interest in the film, or just don't want to spend so much money, then this DVD will satisfy your needs. Either way, you'll get one of the funniest films ever made.

With Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" ringing up box-officer registers and inflaming controversy, it's never been a better time to re-visit this classic but also controversial film from the Monty Python troupe, which takes on the story of the Messiah in a hysterical, yet sharply satiric, way. It's the best piece of work the Pythons ever produced, exceeding all their other movies and their television programs. Instead of merely stringing together sketches around a common theme, as they usually did, the Pythons here created a wonderful, coherent story with consistent themes and a steady target for their cynical humor. It's not only a wonderful comedy, it's really a wonderful character drama as well!

No big producer would touch the controversial material, so the film was funded with the help of former Beatle George Harrison. Although filmed on a tiny budget, the work of director Terry Jones and designer Terry Gilliam make it look as handsome as a multi-million dollar Cecil B. DeMille epic. (It helped that they had sets available from Zefferelli's recent TV mini-series "Jesus of Nazareth" still around for their use.)

The story follows the misadventures of Brian Cohen (Graham Chapman), who was born just down the street in Bethlehem on the same night as another famous baby. Brian's life parallels Jesus's (glanced occasionally, played by Ken Colley), only in a completely mistaken, unintentional way. He becomes part of the People's Front of Judea, becomes an unwitting rebel, then an unwitting messiah to a group of mindless followers ("Yes, we are all individuals!" they shout together), and then an unwitting martyr. (Which leads to the classic finale song, "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.")

John Cleese in interviews has tried to distance the film from being a direct attack on Christianity, saying it was really meant to criticize the mentality of people who follow leaders without question. However, "Life of Brian" is very cynical about religion in general, there's no mistaking that. But it doesn't have to be viewed as an insult to the Christian religion at all, as many claimed it was. It also makes fun of historical epics, gender roles, "Star Wars" (in a very funny special-effects sequence created by Terry Gilliam), and people who would rather fight with those who agree with them than with their common enemy.

There's also no mistaking that this is one of funniest films ever made. Hysterical scene piles up on hysterical scene: John Cleese as a priest trying to control a mob at a stoning; Michael Palin as the world's least inspiring prophet ("And then a friend shall lose his friend's hammer..."); Eric Idle forcing Graham Chapman to haggle when he doesn't want to; Michael Palin's lisping and completely ridiculous Pontius Pilate ("Thwow him to floor, Centoorion!"); John Cleese as the leader of the P.F.J. trying to prove that the Romans have done nothing for Judea, despite his followers many claims to contrary (the aqueduct, the roads, the court systems, education, wine, sanitation...); and Terry Jones as Brian's mother telling his crowd of followers: "He's not the Messiah! He's a very naughty boy!" My personal favorite scene has John Cleese's centurion correcting Graham Chapman's Latin in the anti-Roman graffiti he's painting on the palace walls.

I would like to point out what an excellent actor Graham Chapman was. All the Python's were brilliant comedic performers and writers, but Chapman was a very talented, pure actor. He could have played dramatic roles as easily and comic ones, and there's a reason he took the lead role in this film. His sincerity in the role of Brian really holds the film together. It's a tragedy that he died so young.

Grab this DVD for gut-busting comedy and satire - unless you want to lay down the dough for the Criterion Collection (which I think is worth it).

Previous Page

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Next Page