The Python troop is back.
Cast, Crew, and Other Info
Graham Chapman as Brian Cohen and others
John Cleese as Reg and others
Terry Gilliam as Man Even Further Forward and
others
Eric Idle as Harry the Haggler and others
Terry Jones as Mandy Cohen and others
Michael Palin as Mr. Big Nose and others
Sue Jones-Davies as Judith
Written by Chapman, Cleese, Gilliam, Idle, Jones and
Palin.
Directed by Terry Jones.
Complete information is available from the
IMDB.
Buy from: Amazon.com
or Amazon.ca
Past movie reviews can be found here.
Premise
This follows the life of the boy born in the manger
next to Jesus.
High Point
The irony of when they sing “Bright Side of Life.”
Low Point
How did the other PFJ members escape? They were all
unconscious!
The Scores
This is certainly and original concept. Who
else but Python
had the guts to make an entire movie, just to spoof
organized
religion? Who else dares to spoof organized religion
for any length
of time? Sure, The Simpsons does it, but not
until well
after this came out. I give it 6 out of 6.
The effects are few and poor, primarily in
the tower escape
sequence. I give it 3 out of 6.
The story, like other Python fare, is a
series of related
skits. They are certainly more closely related than
some other Python
fare, though still somewhat disjoint. I give it 4 out
of 6.
The acting is stiff and similar for all
actors. When one
actor plays multiple parts, you shouldn’t need
wardrobe to tell them
apart. I give it 3 out of 6.
The emotional response is the strongest
feature of any
Python. This is, in my opinion, even funnier than
Holy
Grail. I give it 6 out of 6.
The production is certainly better than
Holy Grail.
There were some restrictions due to having one actor
play multiple
roles in the same scene, which made some camera
set-ups awkward, but
it’s a significantly better package than Holy
Grail. I give
it 5 out of 6.
Overall, it’s all about the funny, and the
funny is
definitely here. I give it 5 out of 6.
In total, Monty Python’s Life of Brian
receives 32 out of
42.
"No one is to stone anyone until I blow this whistle…."
Some people went ballistic when this film was released. Some regions banned it. While it will never be as referenced as …Holy Grail, I think it’s the Python troupe’s best film, with a relatively coherent plot and theme. As one critic said at the time, "there’s no need to forgive the Monty Pythons. They knew exactly what they were doing."
That’s a low-point?
C’mon. They could’ve escaped. They could’ve been released. It could’ve been other members entirely (just cause it’s the same actors doesn’t mean it’s the same characters).
I guess having a minor plot hole as the low point is a good thing, though (:
Who else?
Perhaps Kevin Smith? :)
Dogma did this quite well…
Re: Who else?
I thought of that. Dogma was, however, a celebration of what Smith loves about faith first, and then a jab at the human structures around it second. Still, with so few examples over several decades, such spoofs are rare, and the Pythons still did it first.