Monty Python's Life Of Brian - The Immaculate Edition [Blu-ray]

Monty Python's Life Of Brian - The Immaculate Edition [Blu-ray] | Terence Bayler, Carol Cleveland | Always Wonderful

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Monty Python's Lif...

	Monty Python's Life Of Brian - The Immaculate Edition [Blu-ray] Terence Bayler, Carol Cleveland Sony Pictures, 2008 average customer review:based on 287 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

On a Midnight Clear 2000 years ago three wise men enter a manger where a babe is wrapped in swaddling clothes. It is an infant called Brian...and the three wise men are in the wrong manger. For the rest of his life Brian (Graham Chapman) finds himself regarded as something of a Messiah yet he's always in the shadow of this Other Guy from Galilee. Brian is witness to the Sermon of the Mount but his seat is in such a bad location that he can't hear any of it ("Blessed are the cheesemakers?"). Ultimately he is brought before Pontius Pilate and sentenced to crucifixion which takes place at that crowded non-exclusive execution site a few blocks shy of Calvary. Rather than utter the Last Six Words Brian leads his fellow crucifixees in a spirited rendition of a British music hall cheer-up song "Always Look On The Bright Side of Life." The whole Monty Python gang (Chapman John Cleese Michael Palin Eric Idle and Terry Gilliam) are on hand in multiple roles playing such sacred characters as Stan Called Loretta Deadly Dirk Casts the First Stone and Intensely Dull Youth; also showing up are Goon Show veteran Spike Milligan and a Liverpool musician named George Harrison.System Requirements:Run Time: 94 Mins. Genre: COMEDY Rating: R UPC: 043396225947 Manufacturer No: 22594

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Monty Python and the Life of Brian

A scathing social satire by the most accomplished satirists of the age, Monty Python, born in the '60s but particularly relevant after the invasion of Iraq. Those who are squeamish about religious satire should probably avoid this movie, but for anyone worried by the rise of Christian Fascism in America, you couldn't find a better vehicle for dissent than this insightful and roaringly funny movie. "Brian" is born next to and at the same time as Christ, and his life experience, as he attempts to make sense of Roman oppression and the Jewish resistance, parallels those of Jesus. Drawn into the Jewish rebellion, Brian experiences the ambiguities of all third world peoples resisting colonial rule.

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Always Wonderful

There's nothing that can't be said that hasn't already about this film. A classic and masterpiece. Vendor was great and did as promised, shipping on time and a great product.

Satirizes Everything in the Gospels Except Christ, to Unexpected Effect.

Monty Python's "Life of Brian" lampoons romanticized interpretations of the Gospels by bringing us the tragicomic story of Brian (Graham Chapman), a man born in the same time and place as Jesus Christ, who lived and died under similar circumstances, though a touch more ironic and a lot funnier. When the wise men come from the East, bearing gifts for their infant Savior, they mistakenly enter the wrong stable, where they are berated by Brian's mother (Terry Jones), before they realize their error. Thus begins the life of Brian, who eventually joins the revolutionary People's Front of Judea to resist Roman rule and accidentally acquires a following who believe he is the Messiah.

Though clearly inspired by stories about the life of Jesus, "Life of Brian" is not making fun of Jesus or the words or actions attributed to him. Jesus is only present in one scene in this film and referred to in one other. "Life of Brian" pokes fun at those who look to others to determine their values and follow their leaders blindly. The ineffectual People's Front of Judea, with its idle leader Reg (John Cleese) and feminist activist Judith (Sue Jones-Davies), satirizes the leftist revolutionary groups of the 1960s and 1970s. The Romans are mocked as sybarites and bureaucrats, the Jews as primitives, and they are all viewed as barbaric.

Though its chief purpose is to amuse, "Life of Brian" is an equal opportunity offender that offhandedly focuses the audience's attention on what the authors consider the important part of the Christian message by persistently knocking everything else off its pedestal. Maybe this film is serious after all. I don't expect orthodox Christians will like it, because it doesn't treat the Gospels reverentially or take them literally. But liberal Christians may appreciate the laughs and even the lesson. I found Brian, himself, too whiney to be likable, but, otherwise, "Life of Brian" is a clever parody of human ideologies and idiocies, ancient and modern.

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Being JC's neighbor makes Brian's life a bit difficult

Monty Python's most coherent film "Life of Brian" tells the story of Brian who just happens to be born next door to Christ. The parallel follows him his whole life as he is mistaken for the Messiah throughout his life. A very funny parody of the hypocrisy that often exists within religion, politics with a great interlude that pokes fun at "Star Wars", "Life of Brian" faced a lot of controversey before it was even released. The Pythons lost their funding from EMI and they faced the Coalition of Light a Christian group in the UK that attacked the film.

Ironically, the Pythons DON'T lampoon JC as when they went back to the Bible to prepare the screenplay they realized he had terrific things to say. It was the follow thorugh that kind of sucked. Luckily, George Harrison stepped in and took out a second on several of his mansions to get the film made.

The Blu-Ray looks extremely good. Does it look as great as a contemporary film? No but the film was shot on a low budget (around $4 million)but looks more expensive because the Pythons took advantage of the standing sets for other biblical epics. Although Terry Jones' direction is more pedestrian looking than Terry Gilliam (who does art direction, animation and appears in multiple roles here)he handles the characters and comedy extremely well.

We get a 30 minute documentary on the making of the film with current interviews from the surviving Pythons (Graham Chapman who played Brian died of cancer over a decade ago), the current leader of th Coalition of Lights, critics and those associated with the production. It's a terrific documentary looking at the film's reception and even has clips from Tom Snyder's show where they appeared defending their work and a UK show where they did a showdown with a pair of religious leaders who attacked the film.

There will always be those who don't "get" the film either because it's not to their taste or because they have religious objections (although I've found that usually those that do object for the second reason haven't seen the film or miss the fact that it is a satire of the politics and distortion of religious beliefs and not because it satires Christ--it doesn't--although it does satirize how we can often distort what we hear..as in the line "blessed are the cheesemakers" heard by one person because they are standing too far away from Christ when he gives his sermon on the mount to hear him and being razzed). If that's the case, this film truly wasn't made for them.

We also get deleted scenes, an audio read through of the script and other goodies including commentary tracks.

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