Life of Brian (Terry Jones, 1979)
Brian is born on the original
Christmas, in the stable next door. He spends his life being mistaken for a
messiah.
Often regarded as the best feature film of the Monty Python troupe, Life of Brian has been condemned for
blasphemy in many countries. Mistakenly represented as a parody of the life of
Jesus Christ, Life of Brian is set
during the same time and location but it is more or less a depiction of the
time and the absurd logic of Monty Python in developing simple situations and
indulging them with a twist that makes the whole simply hilarious.
Some of the sets and decors of Franco Zeffirelli’s Jesus of
Nazareth were reused, since it was shot one year earlier and the producers of
both films were brothers. Many technical aspects of Life of Brian are excellent when we think that Terry Jones directed alone and Terry Gilliam let his co-direction
(they both directed The Holy Grail)
to work on the artistic aspects of the film.
The regular gang of Monty Python is present and Graham Chapman, Michael Palin, John Cleese,
Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Terry Gilliam,
and many others were part of the cast. As usual, the cast does multiple parts
and even if some aren’t that much equal in quality, while others are pretty
efficient.
Overall, Life of
Brian holds well together and even if some scenes lack in laughs the ratio
is excellent. Some viewers might find its humor too old school and the most
common issue is the fact that the humor is too British to be fully enjoyed. As
a good public for absurd jokes, I found myself laughing very hard at many
moments during the projection. It is probably one of the greatest comedies and definitely
Monty Python’s better offering.
Last but not least, a cinephile like me should not
underestimate the fact that the picture is part of the very select Criterion
Collection. The quintessence of movie addicted junkies, it is a title that is
worth acquiring considering being only the third comedy added to the collection
when it was released. Recommended.
