Monty Python's Life of Brian (Criterion #61).
1979 Handmade Films & Python (Monty) Pictures.
Written By and Starring: Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin
Also Starring: Carol Cleveland, Kenneth Colley, Neil Innes, Charles McKeown, John Young, Spike Milligan, George Harrison (uncredited)
Director: Terry Jones
Amazon listings: Life of Brian, Criterion Collection. The Immaculate Edition (two discs). Also part of the Monty Python Holy Trinity box set.
Quite possibly Monty Python's finest hour, or finest 94 minutes.
Brian Cohen (Chapman) is born in a stable just down the alley from the one that Jesus Christ was born in, which initially confuses the three wise men. They tolerate Brian's mother Mandy (Jones) until they realize they are in the wrong stable. Brian himself grows up an idealistic person who resents the Roman occupation of Judea.
While attending the Sermon on the Mount, Brian becomes infatuated with an attractive female rebel, Judith (Sue Jones-Davies), which leads him to join the People's Front of Judea, one of the many separatist movements that spend more time feuding with one another instead of fighting off the Romans. Brian is assigned to scrawl graffiti ("Romanes eunt domus") on the wall of the governor's palace, which he does, only to find himself ordered to write the grammatically correct message, "Romani ite domum", or "Romans go home" 100 times. By dawn, the walls are covered in text, and Brian evades capture with Judith's help. After a failed kidnapping mission, Brian is arrested and summoned before Pontius Pilate (Palin) where he pleads his case, and manages to get away after the court becomes a laughing stock thanks to a lead guard's ill timed joke about a man named Biggus Dickus.
Later on, Brian notices that he has unintentionally started a movement after spouting off pseudo-religious babble while in a lineup of would-be mystics and prophets. To his annoyance, Brian is now being followed by several people who have proclaimed him as the Messiah, which becomes a crowd of thousands literally overnight. Brian desperately tries to persuade the people to follow their own destinies, but the people use every word he says as a point of doctrine.
Brian is eventually captured after he tries leaving the PFJ's headquarters, and scheduled to be crucified. Brian's followers gather outside the palace, and Pilate gives them the decision on who should be pardoned in a bold attempt at fending off a revolt. After being fed numerous names beginning with the letter R, and Biggus Dickus (also played by Chapman) attempts to take control of the situation, where his speech impediment causes the masses to collapse in laughter, Pilate orders Brian's release. However, after numerous crucified people proclaim themselves to be Brian of Nazareth, the wrong prisoner is released. One by one, Brian's "allies", including Judith, step forward with their reasons why they are leaving the "noble freedom fighter" to die on the cross. Despite their fate, Brian and his fellow sufferers break into "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life".
Highly, highly recommended.
P.S. For a day by day diary of what was happening on the set of Life of Brian written by Python superfan Kim "Howard" Johnson (who played several very small roles in the film), check out his book Monty Python's Tunisian Holiday. It's an excellent read.
Showing posts with label terry jones. Show all posts
Showing posts with label terry jones. Show all posts
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Dentist on the Job. 1961 Bertram Osterer Productions & Anglo-Amalgamated Film Distributors.
Starring: Bob Monkhouse, Ronnie Stevens, Kenneth Connor, Shirley Eaton, Richard Wattis, Charles Hawtrey, Arthur Mullard
Director: C.M. Pennington-Richards
Available at Amazon (Region 2 only!)
A 1961 British comedy in the vein of the Carry On films about a revolutionary type of toothpaste called Dreem, and...what? Hey, wait a second here!
I seem to be watching the wrong movie!
[One Moment Please]
Monty Python and the Holy Grail. 1975 Python (Monty) Pictures, released to DVD by Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment.
Written by and starring: Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin
Also starring: Connie Booth, Carol Cleveland, Neil Innes, John Young
Directors: Terry Gilliam & Terry Jones
Available at Amazon: Special Edition DVD, or the Extraordinarily Deluxe Three-Disc Edition.
Okay...enough has been written about Holy Grail that I can probably get away with not posting a brief synopsis about the film. You probably know the story: King Arthur (Chapman) travels through England recruiting knights in his quest to find the Holy Grail. You also probably know all of the best jokes and most memorable scenes by heart now, right?
* Coconuts.
* The airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?
* "Bring out your dead!"
* The Black Knight and his refusal to quit.
* The French Taunter.
* Run away! Run away!!
* A famous historian, and his death.
* Knights who say "ni!"
* Castle Anthrax.
* The Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog (yes, it has an official name).
* Sir Not-Appearing-in-This-Film, who is represented by a picture of William Palin, Michael's son.
* The Legendary Black Beast of Aaaaarrrrrrggghhh, and the animator's fatal heart attack.
This is the movie that finally broke Monty Python in America (they had a cult following after Monty Python's Flying Circus was imported to PBS in the early '70s), and it's probably the only Python project that just about everyone and their mother can quote verbatim. I also feel this is still their funniest movie.
Holy Grail was also very difficult for the Pythons to make, as they were plagued by troublesome weather, subpar hotel accomodations, their own inexperience at producing their own feature film, two directors with different artistic visions, and Graham Chapman's alcoholism, which had yet to peak, but it was during the film's production that he realized that it was becoming a serious problem. Even the normally calm and relaxed Michael Palin lost his temper at one point during production, which took his fellow Pythons by surprise (Cleese found himself applauding after Palin finally calmed down).
Highly, highly recommended. Now, get on with it!
Starring: Bob Monkhouse, Ronnie Stevens, Kenneth Connor, Shirley Eaton, Richard Wattis, Charles Hawtrey, Arthur Mullard
Director: C.M. Pennington-Richards
Available at Amazon (Region 2 only!)
A 1961 British comedy in the vein of the Carry On films about a revolutionary type of toothpaste called Dreem, and...what? Hey, wait a second here!
I seem to be watching the wrong movie!
Monty Python and the Holy Grail. 1975 Python (Monty) Pictures, released to DVD by Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment.
Written by and starring: Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin
Also starring: Connie Booth, Carol Cleveland, Neil Innes, John Young
Directors: Terry Gilliam & Terry Jones
Available at Amazon: Special Edition DVD, or the Extraordinarily Deluxe Three-Disc Edition.
Okay...enough has been written about Holy Grail that I can probably get away with not posting a brief synopsis about the film. You probably know the story: King Arthur (Chapman) travels through England recruiting knights in his quest to find the Holy Grail. You also probably know all of the best jokes and most memorable scenes by heart now, right?
* Coconuts.
* The airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?
* "Bring out your dead!"
* The Black Knight and his refusal to quit.
* The French Taunter.
* Run away! Run away!!
* A famous historian, and his death.
* Knights who say "ni!"
* Castle Anthrax.
* The Killer Rabbit of Caerbannog (yes, it has an official name).
* Sir Not-Appearing-in-This-Film, who is represented by a picture of William Palin, Michael's son.
* The Legendary Black Beast of Aaaaarrrrrrggghhh, and the animator's fatal heart attack.
This is the movie that finally broke Monty Python in America (they had a cult following after Monty Python's Flying Circus was imported to PBS in the early '70s), and it's probably the only Python project that just about everyone and their mother can quote verbatim. I also feel this is still their funniest movie.
Holy Grail was also very difficult for the Pythons to make, as they were plagued by troublesome weather, subpar hotel accomodations, their own inexperience at producing their own feature film, two directors with different artistic visions, and Graham Chapman's alcoholism, which had yet to peak, but it was during the film's production that he realized that it was becoming a serious problem. Even the normally calm and relaxed Michael Palin lost his temper at one point during production, which took his fellow Pythons by surprise (Cleese found himself applauding after Palin finally calmed down).
Highly, highly recommended. Now, get on with it!
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Monty Python's The Meaning of Life
Monty Python's The Meaning of Life. 1983 Universal Pictures.
Written and performed by Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin
Director: Terry Jones
The Crimson Permanent Assurance. 1983 Universal Pictures.
Featuring: Matt Frewer, Michael Palin, Graham Chapman, Terry Gilliam (uncredited)
Director: Terry Gilliam
Available at Amazon: Single DVD. Two-disc special edition.
The final Python film is a return to the sketch format seen during their television days, and those sketches are following the progressing ages of a human life from conception to death. Reportedly, writing the film proved to be very hard until Eric Idle blurted out that the movie was about "the meaning of life" during a meeting. Terry Gilliam also did not want to contribute much animation aside from the opening credits, and he offered to direct one sketch, which evolved into The Crimson Permanent Assurance, and its production grew quite ambitious and elaborate. The sketch was cut from the main film and used as a supporting feature before it, although the sketch's participants did attempt to try to attack the main film halfway through. Gilliam justified his excesses by saying "Nobody told me to stop".
Anyway, a brief summary of the main film:
Part I: The Meaning of Birth, which features a woman in labor and the machine that goes PING!, followed by a poor Catholic family singing "Every Sperm is Sacred" before deciding how many children get sold for medical experiments.
Part II: Growing and Learning, where school children are subjected to a sexual education lesson, and the teacher (Cleese) gives a live demonstration with his wife (Patricia Quinn). A rugby match follows with students playing teachers, which segues into...
Part III: Fighting Each Other. Military themed sketches, where an officer (Jones) tries to rally his troops, but they insist on celebrating his birthday, complete with gifts and cakes. We next travel back to 1879 and the Anglo-Zulu War, where the British have been decimated in a Zulu attack, but the more pressing issue is an office has had his leg stolen during the night. A tiger is blamed, and two men in a tiger costume are quickly rounded up.
The Middle of the Film. Drag queens (Palin & Chapman), a playboy (Jones), and a man in blackface (Gilliam) interact with an elephant-headed butler. The famous fish also make an appearance.
Part IV: Middle Age, where an American couple vacationing at a bizarre resort order a conversation about "the meaning of life", but they send it back, since it's not very good.
Part V: Live Organ Transplants sees two paramedics showing up at the doorstep of an organ donor (Gilliam) wanting his liver. The donor is still alive, and refuses, so the paramedics kill him and take the organ "under condition of death". The man's wife is unsure when asked about donating her liver, so a man who lives in the refrigerator (Idle) comes out to sing the "Galaxy Song". The boys from the Crimson Permanent Assurance attack the main film, but they are dispatched by a skyscraper.
Part VI: The Autumn Years. Two words: Mr. Creosote. Three more words: wafer thin mint. This may be one of the most vile scenes ever made, but damn, it's funny! There's a brief discussion of racism after the cleanup, and a French waiter (Idle) leading the camera on a long walk to where he grew up, and that's where he delivers his philosophy on life, which degenerates into profanity.
Part VII: Death. First, a criminal (Chapman) convicted of making gratuitous sexist jokes in a movie is killed in the manner of his choosing: chased off a cliff by topless women. Next, the Grim Reaper (Cleese) visits an isolated house in the country where the dinner guests argue with him before they are persuaded to join him on the way to the afterlife, which is the resort from part four. We find out that in Heaven, every day is Christmas.
The End of the Film: One of the drag queens from the Middle (Palin) reads out the meaning of life ("It's nothing very special really!") before promising sexually graphic pictures to annoy the censors.
Highly recommended.
Written and performed by Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, Michael Palin
Director: Terry Jones
The Crimson Permanent Assurance. 1983 Universal Pictures.
Featuring: Matt Frewer, Michael Palin, Graham Chapman, Terry Gilliam (uncredited)
Director: Terry Gilliam
Available at Amazon: Single DVD. Two-disc special edition.
The final Python film is a return to the sketch format seen during their television days, and those sketches are following the progressing ages of a human life from conception to death. Reportedly, writing the film proved to be very hard until Eric Idle blurted out that the movie was about "the meaning of life" during a meeting. Terry Gilliam also did not want to contribute much animation aside from the opening credits, and he offered to direct one sketch, which evolved into The Crimson Permanent Assurance, and its production grew quite ambitious and elaborate. The sketch was cut from the main film and used as a supporting feature before it, although the sketch's participants did attempt to try to attack the main film halfway through. Gilliam justified his excesses by saying "Nobody told me to stop".
Anyway, a brief summary of the main film:
Part I: The Meaning of Birth, which features a woman in labor and the machine that goes PING!, followed by a poor Catholic family singing "Every Sperm is Sacred" before deciding how many children get sold for medical experiments.
Part II: Growing and Learning, where school children are subjected to a sexual education lesson, and the teacher (Cleese) gives a live demonstration with his wife (Patricia Quinn). A rugby match follows with students playing teachers, which segues into...
Part III: Fighting Each Other. Military themed sketches, where an officer (Jones) tries to rally his troops, but they insist on celebrating his birthday, complete with gifts and cakes. We next travel back to 1879 and the Anglo-Zulu War, where the British have been decimated in a Zulu attack, but the more pressing issue is an office has had his leg stolen during the night. A tiger is blamed, and two men in a tiger costume are quickly rounded up.
The Middle of the Film. Drag queens (Palin & Chapman), a playboy (Jones), and a man in blackface (Gilliam) interact with an elephant-headed butler. The famous fish also make an appearance.
Part IV: Middle Age, where an American couple vacationing at a bizarre resort order a conversation about "the meaning of life", but they send it back, since it's not very good.
Part V: Live Organ Transplants sees two paramedics showing up at the doorstep of an organ donor (Gilliam) wanting his liver. The donor is still alive, and refuses, so the paramedics kill him and take the organ "under condition of death". The man's wife is unsure when asked about donating her liver, so a man who lives in the refrigerator (Idle) comes out to sing the "Galaxy Song". The boys from the Crimson Permanent Assurance attack the main film, but they are dispatched by a skyscraper.
Part VI: The Autumn Years. Two words: Mr. Creosote. Three more words: wafer thin mint. This may be one of the most vile scenes ever made, but damn, it's funny! There's a brief discussion of racism after the cleanup, and a French waiter (Idle) leading the camera on a long walk to where he grew up, and that's where he delivers his philosophy on life, which degenerates into profanity.
Part VII: Death. First, a criminal (Chapman) convicted of making gratuitous sexist jokes in a movie is killed in the manner of his choosing: chased off a cliff by topless women. Next, the Grim Reaper (Cleese) visits an isolated house in the country where the dinner guests argue with him before they are persuaded to join him on the way to the afterlife, which is the resort from part four. We find out that in Heaven, every day is Christmas.
The End of the Film: One of the drag queens from the Middle (Palin) reads out the meaning of life ("It's nothing very special really!") before promising sexually graphic pictures to annoy the censors.
Highly recommended.
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