Monty Python's Life of Brian: Difference between revisions

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| gross = $20.7 million<ref>{{cite web |title=Monty Python's Life of Brian |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0079470/ |website=[[Box Office Mojo]] |access-date=17 July 2020}}</ref>

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'''''Monty Python's Life of Brian''''' (also known as '''''Life of Brian''''') is a 1979 British [[Surreal humor|surreal]] [[Biblical film|biblical]] [[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 [[Judaea (Roman province)|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 [[The Beatles|Beatle]] [[George Harrison]] and his business partner [[Denis O'Brien (producer)|Denis O'Brien]] arranged financing for ''Life of Brian'' through the formation of their [[HandMade Films]] company.<ref name="rolling stone">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/10-things-you-didnt-know-george-harrison-did-w452593|title=10 Things You Didn't Know George Harrison Did|author= Runtagh, Jordan|date=26 November 2016|access-date=25 February 2017|magazine=Rolling Stone|archive-date=26 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170226050247/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/10-things-you-didnt-know-george-harrison-did-w452593|url-status=dead}}</ref>

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PFJ leader Reg tasks Brian to paint slogans overnight on [[Roman governor]] [[Pontius Pilate]]'s palace, but a [[Centurion|Roman officer]] catches him in the act. However, the officer shows more concern with Brian's appalling [[Latin grammar]] than the act of [[vandalism]], and after correcting the slogan to "''[[Romani ite domum]]''", orders him to write it on the wall one hundred times. Brian finishes after sunrise and is chased by guards before being rescued by Judith.

Reg gives a revolutionary speech to the PFJ asking, "What have the Romans ever done for us?" at which point the listeners outline all forms of positive aspects of the Roman occupation such as [[sanitation]], medicine, education, wine, [[Public-order crime|public order]], [[irrigation]], [[Roman roads in Judaea|roads]], a [[fresh water]] system, [[public health]] and [[peace]]. He then outlines plans to kidnap [[Pontius Pilate's wife|Pilate's wife]]. However, inside Pilate's palace, the PFJ encounters another revolutionary group, the Campaign for a Free Galilee, who have had the same idea, and a violent argument ensues. Brian survives from the fight and is about to escape, but is captured by the palace guards. The guards bring Brian before Pilate, but his questioning is cut short when the guards begin to laugh at the names of Pilate's friend from Rome, Biggus Dickus, and his wife, Incontinentia Buttocks.

After escaping from the Romans, Brian is accidentally scooped up by a passing [[extraterrestrial life|extraterrestrial]] spaceship that crash -lands back on Earth. He tries to blend in among prophets who are preaching in a busy plaza, repeating fragments of Jesus' sermons. Brian stops his sermon mid-sentence when some Roman soldiers depart, leaving his small but intrigued audience demanding to know more. Brian grows frantic when people chase him to the mountains, and there they declare him to be the [[Messiah]]. After spending the night with Judith, Brian discovers an enormous crowd of followers assembled outside his mother's house. Her attempts at dispersing the crowd are rebuffed, so she consents to himhis addressing them. Although he tells them that they areneed allto individualsthink andfor themselves that they needare toall think for themselvesindividuals, they ironically parrot his words as doctrine.

The PFJ seeks to exploit Brian's celebrity status by having him minister to a thronging crowd of followers demanding [[Faith healing|miracle cures]]. Brian sneaks out the back, only to be captured by the Romans and sentenced to [[crucifixion]]. In celebration of Passover, a crowd has assembled outside the palace of Pilate, who offers to pardon a prisoner of their choice as a show of friendship between the Romans and the people of Judea. However, the crowd shouts out names containing the letter "r", mocking Pilate's [[Rhotacism (speech impediment)|speech impediment]], and are further amused by his friend Biggus's [[lisp]], which causes them to laugh uncontrollably. Eventually, Judith appears in the crowd, who frantically calls for the release of Brian, which the crowd (assuming it is another joke) parrots. Realising this, Pilate agrees to "welease Bwian".

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[[Category:Film censorship in Norway]]

[[Category:Religious controversies in Ireland]]

[[Category:Surreal comedy films]]

[[Category:Censored films]]

[[Category:Cross-dressing in British films]]

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[[Category:British black comedy films]]

[[Category:British historical comedy films]]

[[Category:ReligiousBritish religious comedy films]]

[[Category:English-language black comedy films]]

[[Category:English-language historical comedy films]]