Monty Python's Life of Brian: Difference between revisions

You've''Crowd:''' got to think for yourselvesYes! YouWe're all ''individuals''!<br />

'''CrowdBrian:''' Yes! WeYou're all individuals''different''!<br />

'''BrianCrowd:''' YouYes! We're all ''different''!<br />

'''''Monty Python's Life of Brian''''' is a tremendously popular and very funny film by [[Monty Python (Creator)|Monty Python]], following the misadventures of Brian (played by [[Graham Chapman (Creator)|Graham Chapman]]), who was born just down the street from [[Jesus Christ]]. Dissatisfied with his life as a Jew in Roman territory, Brian attempts to join [[La Résistance]] (though mostly because there's a very pretty girl there) and ends up fleeing from the Romans. In the middle of this, he accidentally starts a cult, becomes a Messiah figure, gets captured by the Romans, and is crucified.

A recent made-for-TV comedy film, ''[[Holy Flying Circus (Film)|Holy Flying Circus]]'', about the controversy surrounding the film, was released on [[BBC]] 4.

See also ''[[Monty Python's Flying Circus (TV)|Monty Python's Flying Circus]]''.

{{quote| '''Merchant one:''' 'Ere, this guy won't haggle!<br />

* [[Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking]]:

{{quote| '''Pilate:''' Who is this "Wodewick" you speak of?<br />

'''Man:''' He's a "wobber"!<br />

'''Other man:''' And a "wapist"!!<br />

* [[Away in Aa Manger]]: Brian is born at the same time as Jesus, in the manger next door.

{{quote| '''Brian's mom:''' He's not [[The Messiah]]! He's a very naughty boy!}}

* [[Deadpan Snarker]]: Mandy, Reg, Brian, Mr. Cheeky, Mr. Big Nose, The Old Man at the Stoning, Ben, The Ex-Leper... It's basicllybasically a [[World of Snark]].

* [[Does This Remind You of Anything?]]: The crowd starts arguing about whether the sign is the shoe or the gourd. And even if it's a shoe or a sandal.

* [[Flanderization]]: Pontius Pilate is [[Camp|High Camp]]? [[Jesus Christ Superstar (Music)|Who knew]]?

* [[Genre Deconstruction]]: Though it portrays Jesus in a favorable light, the movie is a pretty harsh deconstruction of society's romanticized view of life in the time of Christ, and of Biblical stories in general. As it points out, the Romans weren't just cruel oppressors with [[Zero Percent0% Approval Rating]] -- they—they did more to improve the Judean people's lives than anyone before them. Conversely, "God's chosen people" had criminal justice that could be just as brutal and unfair as the Romans', and they were never a noble [[La Résistance]] -- they—they spent more time getting involved in petty squabbling amongst themselves than they did resisting the Romans. And in any case, having a cult of devoted followers who expect you to solve all of their problems isn't nearly as cool as you would think. And getting betrayed by your friends and "sacrificing" yourself on the cross? It's only inspiring '''''when it's not happening to you!'''''

* [[Girls Withwith Moustaches]]: Some women unconvincingly disguise themselves as men, complete with big bushy beards, in order to attend a stoning.

* [[Hypocritical Humor]]: A key theme of the movie is many of the [[Hypocrite|hypocrisies]] and [[Double Standard|Double Standards]]s present in organized religion and, in a broader context, in society at large. This being a movie by the Pythons, it becomes a rich source of humourhumor as well.

* [[I Am Spartacus]]: Direct [[Shout -Out]], subverted. "I'm Brian! And so's my wife!"

* [["I Know What We Can Do!" Cut]]: The kidnapping plan.

* [[Its"It's Not Rape If You Enjoyed It"]]

{{quote| '''Brian:''' My God, Mother, you were raped?!<br />

** And again when the [[Exactly What It Says Onon the Tin|Crack Suicide Squad]] arrives to free Brian.

* [[Leaning Onon the Fourth Wall]]: "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" compares death to the end of a production from the actors' perspective. It's played at the end of the film.

* [["No" Means "Yes"]]: Denying he's the Messiah just makes the believers even more certain of Brian's divinity.

* [[Occupiers Out of Our Country!]]: They only want the cruel but effective Romans to go home.

* [[Only Sane Man]]: In as much as a [[Monty Python (Creator)|Monty Python]] movie can be said to have a "sane" man, Brian usually fulfills this role. Of the Romans, the centurion played by John Cleese seems to be the only one with his head screwed on straight.

* [[Open the Door Andand See All Thethe People]]: With [[Male Frontal Nudity]], no less.

* [[Paper -Thin Disguise]]

* [[Precision F -Strike]]:

{{quote| '''Brian:''' Alright, I ''am'' the Messiah!<br />

'''WorshippersWorshipers:''' Yes! He is the Messiah!<br />

'''Brian:''' Now...''fuck off!''<br />

'''WorshipperWorshiper:''' ''[[[Beat]]]'' How shall we fuck off, O Lord? }}

* [[Sorry, Billy, butBut You Just Don't Have Legs|Sorry Stan, But You Just Don't Have a Womb]]: "Where's the fetus going to gestate? You going to keep it in a box?"

* [[Stop Worshipping Me!]]: Brian is continually [[Mistaken for Special Guest|Mistaken for the Messiah]].

{{quote| "Bloody Romans, can't take a joke."}}

* [[Unusually Uninteresting Sight]]: When the [[BigNon LippedSequitur Alligator MomentScene]] mentionnedmentioned in YMMV occurs, a man is watching Brian, standing nearby when the alien craft crashes. When Brian crawls out of the wreckage, he merely comments "[[Understatement|You lucky bastard]]." Later, the Roman guards chasing him (that didn't fall off the tower) pass by the wreckage without batting an eye.

* [[We ARE Struggling Together!]]: The [[Trope Namer]]. This is a bit of a [[Genius Bonus]]: while any idiot could see the reference to the British Left in the late '70s (which was about to [[It Got Worse|get much, much worse]]), the truth is that the ''actual'' Judaean rebels ''really were'' incredibly divided and often couldn't get it together enough to fight the Romans.

* [[What Have You Done for Me Lately?]]: "All right, but apart from [[Long List|the sanitation, medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, the fresh water system and public health]], what have the Romans ever done for us?"

{{quote| "...Brought peace?"<br />

** Also an example of [[Did Not Do the Research]] as they credit the Romans with stuff they did not introduce to Judaea -- wineJudaea—wine, for instance had been around for ages (it is mentioned in the very first book of the Bible), religious purity laws covered at least some aspects of sanitation, fresh water systems and public health, and other of the mentioned items had been introduced by previous occupiers such as the Persians (famous roadbuilders) and the Greeks. Either a [[Funny Aneurysm Moment]] or [[Hilarious in Hindsight]], the whole routine was a sillier sort of satire directed at far-left groups in the UK during [[The Seventies]] who simply didn't know what they were doing, and were spending more time arguing with each other and pointlessly discussing trivial things rather than trying to help people, see [[With Us or Against Us]] below. This is pretty much exactly what all the Pythons (who were some flavourflavor of Labour to a man back then) were going for. They were more or less screaming, "What ''are'' you idiots doing! You keep at it and [[Margaret Thatcher|that woman]] is going to win the next election!" Funny thing that: between the completion of the film in January and its release in August, she did. Oops. ([[John Cleese (Creator)|John Cleese]] would later leave Labour for the SDP/Liberal Alliance, doing a [[Party Political Broadcasts|Party Political]] for them in 1987).

{{quote| '''Brian:''' We should unite against our common enemy!<br />

'''Others:''' The Judean People's Front?<br />

{{quote| '''Centurion:''' People called Romanes, they go the 'ouse?!}}

{{quote| ''<big>And... Always look on the bright side of death! Just before you draw your terminal breath!</big>''}}