The Monty Python crew are comedy legends who have delighted generations. Their 1979 film, Life of Brian is considered their magnum opus: a hilarious film that still holds up to this day.

In first-century Judea is under the thump of the Roman Empire. One of the civilians in the territory is Brian Cohen (Graham Chapman), a Jewish man raised by a domineering single mother (Terry Jones). Over the course of a weekend, Brian gets caught up in the struggle for Judean independence and accidentally gets mistaken for the Messiah.

The Monty Python crew deserve their reputations for their work. The Dead Parrot and The Lumberjack Song are still quoted to this day and the group’s first film, Search for the Holy Grail is also a comedy classic. But the Monty Python team had a random sense of humour and Search for the Holy Grail was more a load of funny jokes loosely tied together. Life of Brian was more focused because of its setting and having a central character.



Life of Brian does still have some random incidents and the story is thin. The scene where Brian gets abducted by aliens did induce a ‘what the fuck’ reaction and seemed like the filmmakers wanted to show-off with a Star Wars parody. But even this randomness is hilarious.

Life of Brian was a laugh riot from the outset to the end. Some of the most famous moments were the Stoning scene, the soldiers laughing at the name ‘Biggus Dickus’, the famous line ‘he’s not the Messiah, he’s a very naughty boy,’ and the ending song “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.” Many of these are classics. Some of my favourite scenes were Brian’s attempt at graffiti, and Brian getting chased by the fanatics.

The scenes with the fanatics offer some commentary about the nature of cults. Brian falls into a logic trap when he gets cornered by the fanatics. If Brian denies being the Messiah the fanatic believe this is what the true Messiah would do, but Brian confirms their beliefs if he says he is the Messiah. The film has a hilarious contradiction where Brian preaches that people should be individuals and the fanatics parrot it back. It is a wonderful look at the mob mentality and how cult members behave.



Life of Brian offers a wonderful mix of smart humour and jokes for the masses. The Monty Python members had an elite education and it must have influenced them for the Latin grammar joke. One of them must have suffered at the hands of a Latin teacher. Another smart joke was anything involving the various Judean liberations groups who fight amongst themselves. This was a commentary of Left-Wing groups in the UK who argued more with each other and never got to achieve anything. Life of Brian also has the ‘what have the Romans ever done for us’ joke which gives the viewers a quick rundown of Roman achievement. However, I wouldn’t be surprised if someone argued that this was a Neo-Colonial justification for Empires but I just enjoy this moment as a joke. Broader aimed jokes involved the film’s liberal use of swear words and a bit of male nudity.

Life of Brian was infamously a controversial film when it was released because of its religious themes. It was banned in numerous nations and within the UK it was banned by 39 authorities. I can understand why some Christians would be upset by the crucifixion scene since that is a major part of Jesus’ story, but the film’s real target was dogmatic beliefs. It wasn’t an attack on Christianity as a whole. The controversy was a marketing coup: the film was advertised in Sweden as “The film so funny that it was banned in Norway.”

Life of Brian is a comedy classic that was a great mix of satire, social commentary, and farce. A truly Great British comedy.











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