125) Life Of BrianDirector: Terry JonesYear: 1979Plot Summary: After joining up with an anti-Roman political organization, Brian, a Jew in Roman-occupied Judea, is mistaken for a prophet, and becomes a reluctant Messiah.Life Of Brian is Monty Python's masterpiece. From the opening seconds, it hits you with jokes so hard and so fast that you'll find yourself struggling to breathe. But, wonderfully, while other movies with such frequent gags sometimes wear off after the halfway point as you're, frankly, so exhausted you can't laugh, the Python's comedy seems to get more and more hilarious as you go along making it impossible to stop for a rest.
The humour, in trademark fashion for the comedy legends, is as mad, zany and anarchic as it always is. But, here, it's also at their most satirical and intelligent. When you look past the slapstick, far-fetched craziness of the scenes, you'll find an observant and witty look at the problems with religion. The opening sequence in which Jesus delivers a sermon and people, further in the distance, struggle to hear the exact words he's saying, for example, is a great insight into how religious teachings can be misinterpreted. Moreover, the introduction to the Judean People's Front and they're hatred of The People's Front Of Judea despite their shared goals sum up many of the religious conflicts in the world today.
What always fascinates me about Life Of Brian, furthermore, is how Monty Python can so easily sacrifice a good structure, character development, professional film-making, and even an actual narrative at the expense of humour and still pull off a brilliant movie. After all, there is no story here and any resemblance of one only occurs an hour into the 90 minute film. Moreover, there are scenes that add nothing to the narrative or the characters whatsoever. Hell, at one point aliens invade the movie! But, nevertheless, every moment remains wholly entertaining.
The funniest film ever made by a long mile and one so daring, intelligent and unique that it is rightly considered a classic.
"Blessed are the cheese makers? What's so special about the cheese makers?"
"Well, obviously it's not meant to be taken literally; it refers to any manufacturers of dairy products."5/5
1 comments:
I like it even if it is mostly a collection of gags. I do love the satire behind it but I think I've overwatched it to the point where I don't have the patience for the weak bits or the execution. I prefer Holy Grail but I've overwatched that too.
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