Rating: 
Summary: Deep criticism of society using subtle, intelligent comedy
Review: 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
Rating:
Summary: Monty Python's finest film
Review: Determined Python fans have their preferences, and for some, LIFE OF BRIAN isn't the funniest. They might compare it to their favorite bits from HOLY GRAIL or MEANING OF LIFE. Yet this film is exemplary for sustaining the story of Brian, a young dissident who scorns Roman rule and is mistaken for the messiah, through to the end. Without any didactic aims, it pokes fun at the way human beings anoint and follow religious figures. The script is very strong, as are the performances. It remains their strongest movie. The charges of blasphemy are misplaced. The very first scene of the film establishes this: the three wise men make a mistake when they bring their gifts to Brian, catch their mistake, and take their gifts back (rather abruptly) when they discover the true Christ child in the stable next door. What follows is a comedy that makes no complaint against Jesus or God. It is all about religious behavior amongst the rest of us, as well as self-interested political activism ("We are NOT the Judean People's Front...We are the People's Front of Judea!"). Brian, our good-hearted hero, gets tragically caught up in the madness which, while exaggerated for Pythonesque comedic effect, feels very familiar.
Rating:
Summary: Always look on the bright side of life
Review: Who can fault a movie where the theme is to always look on the bright side of life? The film parallels the story of Jesus but it takes us in another direction, to see a population who can't seem to think for themselves. They must have a Messiah to follow and they think they have found one in Brian. But Brian isn't interested in being their Messiah. My favorite line is when a crowd calls for Brian to come to the window and show himself. His mother opens the window and tells the crowd: "He's not the Messiah, he's a very naughty boy." The Monte Python ensemble has a knack for making us laugh at situations that when seen from their satirical point-of-view, are quite ludicrous. The point of the film is our longing to belong and to follow a leader. Yes, if you look at it from that approach we are all sheep. We must flock and we must follow. We are all constantly searching for that Messiah to lead us. And yes, we see it in the modern world where good leadership is quite deficient. The crowds roar together, "Yes, we are individuals." "Yes, we must think for ourselves." But do we? This film will offend some, but it is harmless fun and sometimes you have to trust having fun. After all, isn't this what Jesus' life was about, teaching how to get along and connect with other fellow human beings, as well as spiritual redemption? I'm sure Christ had a good sense of humor, as I know God does. Blessed are the fun makers.
Rating:
Summary: Eat Yer Heart Out, Mel Gibson
Review: This is THE GREATEST MOVIE OF ALL TIME. (Or possibly even longer.) There is nothing deeper in the universe, nothing. Watching it was the most moving experience of my life and has changed me forever. I wept, I suffered, I was utterly transfigured by its TRUTH and BEAUTY. It is the ONLY movie really to tell us the truth about our Lord BRIAN as it is described in THE BIBLE. Everything in it is ACCURATE and the word of GOD. May God bless Terry Jones, a saint for our times, for having led mankind out of the wilderness by making it and shown us the true SPIRITUAL PATH. People who have written negative reviews are sad bitter and unspiritual people who deserve to burn in HELL for all eternity. I will pray for them. "The Passion of the Christ", on the other hand, is complete bollocks. So watch this instead.
Rating: 
Summary: "He's not the Messiah. He's a very naughty boy!"
Review: Many people prefer to quote dialogue and recall specific routines when the subject of the Monty Python films is discussed. That is unfortunate because their films offer much more than memorable comedy bits. They actually offer very insightful commentaries on their respective subjects when you take a good look at them. That is certainly the case with "The Life of Brian." On the night that Jesus is born, the Three Wise Men mistakenly deliver gifts to the nearby manger of Brian Cohen (Graham Chapman). After realizing their mistake, the trio travel to their intended destination but this one incident sets the tone for the rest of Brian's life. Years later he finds himself in Palestine leading an unremarkable existence until he hooks up with the People's Front of Judea. After participating in a botched abduction of Pontius Pilate's wife, Brian somehow ends up being worshipped as the Messiah. The Romans eventually catch up with him and hang him on the cross. Despite his pleas for help, his followers leave him there thinking that it is Brian's divine destiny to be crucified. Watching Monty Python's "The Life of Brian," one can't help but wonder about what really did happen in the past in the real world. Credit must be given to The Pythons for examining this thought in an amusing and inoffensive manner. They are not dismissing organized religion in this film but are rather cleverly reminding us that inconsistencies, oddities, and contradictions abound in religious chronicles just like they do in everything else in the world. The Pythons' brand of humor has always been more sophisticated than many of their contemporaries and it has held up remarkably well to this day. "The Life of Brian" is one of those rare gems that makes you think while it entertains you at the same time. Too bad so many films being released these days can't make a similar claim.
Rating: 
Summary: a film of great controversey
Review: This review is for the Criterion Collection Edition of the film.
The non-Criterion edition is significantly different so be warned. As a Christian, I find it difficult to review this film without bias but I will attempt to do so. I am only writing this review because it is a Criterion Collection DVD and I am writing reviews for all of them. This film which sparked outrage among Christians many of whom did not see the film. The film itself is set against the time of Christ and answers the improbable question "What if they picked the wrong man" This could not happen given Christ's divine nature but the secular world which does not believe in the divinity is entitled to their opinions. This film was banned for some time in at least 3 countries, two of which are predominately Catholic and some towns had also banned it. I think it is a mistake to ban films especially in a country where there are religious minorities. The US had a board of film censors until the 1930's which was run by the Catholic church. As a Protestant, this could present a problem since I oppose Catholic teachings. The film's audio commentary has more informaiton of the controversey surrounding the picture including the story of a Christian who gave a bad review but missed the first 5 minutes of the film which explain the story. The film is sure to offend some people but some not as much as others. From seeing the negative reviews, I can assume that many of the reviewers did not watch the film. At least they did not go with some of the other titles that were suggested for the film. The film has some great scenery and has much typical pythonesque humor I liked John Cleese a LOT better in Fawlty Towers though. There is a good amount of special features for a single disc Criterion DVD.
There is a theatrical trailer, TWO audio commentaries both of which are with cast and/or crew. They have radio spots for the film. There are 5 deleted scenes with optional audio commentary. There also is a documentary film "The Pythons" which is about the production of this film and background information on the actors. This film has significance because of its controversey and is sure to remain controversal for a long time.
Rating:
Summary: funny but wheres Bodge?
Review: This is a very funny movie. It takes place int he Stone Age. About a guy named Brian and this is his life. Most of the humor is because his name is brian and people confuse him for somebody else. "I'm not so anso I'm Brian." Also there is a very funny moment when a man says his wife is called Continual Buttocks (a butocks is a bottom) or soemthing. Some of the humor is called toilet humor that I'm not a fan of. My friends and I only thought that Bodge would have looked great in this film with his beard and BRITISH accent!!! Where was he? He would have been perfect!
Rating:
Summary: a film of great controversey
Review: This review is for the Criterion Collection Edition of the film. The non-Criterion edition is significantly different so be warned. From seeing the negative reviews, I can assume that many of the reviewers did not watch the film. As a Christian, I find it difficult to review this film without bias so instead I will only review the special features. The film's audio commentary has much information of the controversey surrounding the picture including the story of a Christian who gave a bad review but missed the first 5 minutes of the film which explain the story. There is a good amount of special features for a single disc Criterion DVD.
There is a theatrical trailer, TWO audio commentaries both of which are with seperate cast and/or crew. They have radio spots for the film. There are 5 deleted scenes with optional audio commentary. There also is a documentary film "The Pythons" which is about the production of this film and background information on the actors. Many of the special features will not be found anywhere else.
Rating: 
Summary: 5 star movie, but not much for features.
Review: This is Monty Python's masterpiece. That's well known, so I won't go on about that here. However, if you're a fan of the movie, you'll definitely want to consider the Criterion Collection edition (also in the Amazon.com catalog), which has lots of great features. However, it'll cost you a bit more.
Rating:
Summary: Funniest movie I have ever seen!
Review: Wow...this movie is so hillarious!!! It is just aboout the funniest thing I have ever seen. Highly reccomended, but rent it first or something, and then buy it.
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