‘The Life of Brian’ or how to turn the most enduring legends into the best comedy

The origins of ‘Bria’n’s Life’ literally date back to the introduction of ‘Knights of the Square Table’. “What will your next movie be?” over and over again. You are tired of the question. Eric Idle responded: “Jesus Christ: Desire for Glory” becomes “Jesus Christ: ansias de Gloria” in Spanish. The rest of Monty Python found this idea interesting and together they began to shape it. They documented the 1st century and its surroundings and studied the Bible with particular interest. —The Dead Sea Scrolls are involved in the Idle case—they retreated to the Bahamas to write the script and Even Graham Chapman, who had serious alcohol problems, decided to quit drinking in order to shoot face to face in the best conditions..

What no one could have imagined was that Bernard Delfont would prefer to subject EMI to a costly legal action for breach of contract rather than suffer again the consequences of a religious argument such as that experienced by The Beatles when Lennon declared that the Fab Four were more famous . than Jesus Christ. Actually it would be like that Another Beatle to come to the aid of the comedian group. He was aware that the shooting was in danger. George Harrison mortgaged his mansionHe formed a production company with business manager Denis O’Brien and paid for the film, which was eventually released in 1979.

Screenwriter and author almost half a century later Javier Durán in Torton recently asked ‘What has Monty Python done for us?’ published his book. (Plataforma Editorial, 2024), an article in which he reviews “The Life of Brian,” which he describes as “one of the best comedies in the history of cinema” or without too many circumlocutions.

“A film that stands out for its freedom and ingenuity in taking the world’s best-known story and turning it into pure comedy. The starting point is genius, but the film is also a series of brilliant jokes. For example, that ‘damned benefactor’ who loses his way of life because Jesus heals him.” The scene of an old leper is one of the best props of a ‘sketch.’ I saw it. A wicked miracle.” explains Durán, The intelligence of the group as they develop a brilliant critique of religions in the film.

“There are brilliant script lines that explain populism, fanaticism, and messianism in a single sentence, such as: ‘I say you’re the Messiah, and I understand that, because I’ve followed several,’ or the scene of the sandals Brian leaves behind, which eventually becomes an object of veneration for his followers, ‘The complete history of religion in two and a half minutes’, as John Cleese put it, is a completely unnecessary, expensive, surreal and therefore magnificent scene that is nothing less than the spaceship part of cinema history. As if that wasn’t enough, Durán notes: Monty Python “took Christianity’s founding myth of the crucifixion and turned it on its head, creating Disney’s musical ending.”Today it has become another legend, but comedy.”

A chain of miracles

If making ‘Life of Brian’ was a miracle, getting it released was also a miracle. Some countries censored it and thirty-nine councils in the UK banned its exhibitions.It doesn’t matter that some of them don’t even have a movie theater. Critics, some of whom had not seen the film before banning it, cited the film’s mockery of the Catholic religion and, of course, that they would not dare to do so when it came to Muhammad.

“The film fits perfectly with the Christian religion because it has such a strong and recognizable iconography and a hero who is perfect for parody. As Terry Jones said, ‘this is a religion that turns a form of torture into an icon’ and that’s comedy fodder. And Catholicism.” It is the most widespread religion in the world, the references in the film are recognizable everywhere, which undoubtedly helped the film’s huge international success,” explains Javier Durán. In his book, he analyzes whether the film is perverse, blasphemous, or an extremely clever comedy.

“Terry Jones He stated that the film is “perverse but not blasphemous” as it does not mock religious beliefs in any way. Eric Idle accepted this explanation but John Cleese This was not heresy because the movie was making fun of people’s lack of understanding of the teaching. In my opinion, it is difficult not to focus on the figure of Jesus Christ, to see it as blasphemy, especially from a legal perspective, fortunately for Monty Python,” Durán explains. What the movie actually does is question dogmas: “He questions the concept of messianism and blindly follows some teachings, no matter how strange, without any critical attitude. If this is anti-Catholic, then I think the problem is in Catholicism.”

Forty years after its premiere, ‘The Life of Brian’ continues to impress both those who knew it and those who approached it for the first time. Predicting that this positive reception will continue in the future, Durán says, “Of course there are some dialogues and situations that would definitely not be replicated today because society has evolved on certain issues, but the film has aged very well.” . “The good thing about parodying a religion and making ‘the greatest story ever told’ is that these are references we have learned since childhood and will continue to operate as long as that religion continues to maintain its social perception, “Catholicism is a goldmine for comedians and defense attorneys.”jokes Durán, who shows in his book how the historical debate accusing the film of sacrilege was resolved to Monty Python’s benefit: for several years, television and film distributors have been incorporating ‘The Life of Brian’ into the Bible. Weekly movie programs with ‘Ben-Hur’, ‘The Sacred Robe’ or ‘King of Kings’. Hallelujah!