| Monty Python's Life of Brian | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Terry Jones |
| Written by |
|
| Produced by | John Goldstone |
| Starring |
|
| Cinematography | Peter Biziou |
| Edited by | Julian Doyle |
| Music by | Geoffrey Burgon |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Cinema International Corporation |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 94 minutes[1] |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $4 million[2] |
| Box office | $20.7 million[3] |
Monty Python's Life of Brian (also known as Life of Brian) is a 1979 British black comedy film starring and written by the comedy group Monty Python (Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin). It was directed by Jones. The film tells the story of Brian Cohen (played by Chapman), a young Judaean man who is born on the same day as—and next door to—Jesus, and is subsequently mistaken for the Messiah.
Following the withdrawal of funding by EMI Films just days before production was scheduled to begin, musician and former Beatle George Harrison and his business partner Denis O'Brien arranged financing for Life of Brian through the formation of their HandMade Films company.[4]
The film's themes of religious satire were controversial at the time of its release, drawing accusations of blasphemy and protests from some religious groups. Thirty-nine local authorities in the United Kingdom imposed either an outright ban or an X (18 years) certificate.[5] Some countries, including Ireland and Norway, banned its showing, and in a few of these, such as Italy, bans lasted over a decade.[6][7] The filmmakers used the notoriety to promote the film, with posters in Sweden reading, "So funny it was banned in Norway!"[8]
The film was a box office success, the fourth highest-grossing film in the United Kingdom in 1979, and highest-grossing of any British film in the United States that year. It has remained popular and has been named as the greatest comedy film of all time by several magazines and television networks, and it later received a 96% rating on Rotten Tomatoes with the consensus reading, "One of the more cutting-edge films of the 1970s, this religious farce from the classic comedy troupe is as poignant as it is funny and satirical."[9] In a 2006 Channel 4 poll, Life of Brian was ranked first on their list of the 50 Greatest Comedy Films.[10]
- ^ "Monty Python's Life of Brian (AA)". British Board of Film Classification. 24 August 1979. Retrieved 21 July 2013.
- ^ "Life of Brian (1979)". The Numbers. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
- ^ "Monty Python's Life of Brian". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
- ^ Runtagh, Jordan (26 November 2016). "10 Things You Didn't Know George Harrison Did". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 26 February 2017. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
- ^ "Monty Python's Life Of Brian". BBFC. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
- ^ "Life of Brian is 40 years old, but is it still controversial?". ABC. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
- ^ "Monty Python's Life of Brian". Festival International de Films de Fribourg. Retrieved 21 July 2023.
- ^ Bhaskar, Sanjeev (29 November 2009). "What did 'Life of Brian' ever do for us?". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 17 May 2015.
- ^ "Monty Python's Life of Brian Movie Reviews". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on 20 June 2022. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
- ^ "50 Greatest Comedy Films". London: Channel 4. 2005. Archived from the original on 15 April 2006. Retrieved 31 May 2019.