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LIFE OF BRIAN / Terry Jones (1979)

September 23rd, 2007 by Scott Marks

Terry Jones’ LIFE OF BRIAN (1979)

Life of Brian (1979)

Directed by: Terry Jones

Written by: Graham Chapman, John Cleese

Cast: Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin, Terence Bayler, Carol Cleveland, Kenneth Colley, Neil Innes, Charles McKeown, John Young, Gwen Taylor, Sue Jones-Davies

Aspect Ratio: 1.85 : 1

Running Time: 94 min.

Genres: Comedy

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

A satiric sandbag aimed not at the Lord, but his overzealous parishioners. In this case, attacks were as inevitable as they were spurious. Pre-publicity clearly anticipated potential discord: “See the movie that’s controversial, sacrilegious, and blasphemous. But if that’s not playing, see Life of Brian.” The life of Brian Cohen and the Kid in the crèche next door (a child named Jesus) bear remarkable similarities. The affinity is so pronounced that Brian, like Christ, winds up nailed to a cross, this time to the sprightly strains of Always Look on the Bright Side of Life. The film was originally prohibited in Norway, didn’t hit Italian screens until 1991 and, according to author Dawn B. Sova, “as recently as July 2000, Ireland retained the film on its list of movies that are banned from exhibition.” We may all sleep better at night knowing that somewhere in the world people live in fear of art. Too bad the film isn’t funnier.

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Filed Under DVD, Reviews