I had teachers who showed us this movie. After I took religion classes I got more of the jokes that were going over my head before, like the argument among the spectators at the Sermon on the Mount being an argument among the various Jewish sects of that time and place. My Latin teacher showed us the "Romans go home!" scene. And my take on the spaceship scene, which you summed up when you said, "Well, how do you explain this?", is that it's a reference to the Bible stories of people, like Ezekiel, seeing or being taken up in vehicles or machines that defied the peoples' ability to describe them. Anyway, I think this movie is hilarious.
Also, _Star Wars_ had just blown up the box office and ripoffs were already being shat out like crazy when this was in early pre-production, so an alien space battle made the perfect WTF moment and also gave Terry Gilliam an opportunity to strut his animation effects and bizarre designs outside of the opening credits. _(Holy Grail_ and _Meaning of Life_ have a LOT more animation shots.)
Definitely, the more you know about the history of Christianity, the more you get. And also some jokes that seem silly and random all of a sudden connect with actual history, and they become brilliant. ("Blazing Saddles" has the same exact phenomenon). LOVE "Life Of Brian"!!!!!!!!
The film isn’t so much mocking the concepts of the Divine, or mysticism in general, but is more mocking the very human failings of religious organisations, conflicts and humanity in general.
The end song was written for this film. As far as the two dungeon masters that you didn't care for, they're one of my favorite parts. Terry Gilliam always has some of the best roles. Between that and the ash covered prophet, I feel he gave some really great performances.
Terry Gilliam sure had good roles. But I agree with Jay Bond that the dungeon masters scene went on for too long. My only minus point for this brilliant movie. [edited for typo]
@@tubularap Well, I respect your opinion, but it broke me. I thought it was epic.I also loved how non-communicative he chose to be and how ugly. I thought it was super funny, even without the reveal that they were faking. But, fair point. One love, your point.
It's clear you understood the gags they were trying to make and of course it's ok to say "not all my cup of tea". I will say that, in contrast to much of the sillyness Monty Python is so famous for, this was an attempt to get some serious points across by way of humor (not just jokes for the sake of joking) as several of them were very knowledgable historians: Terry Jones (who plays Brian's mother), for example, has written several books on medieval history.
Wow, that's pretty neat. They definitely seem like a group of knowledgeable guys. I have a few other Terry Gilliam movies on my list that I'm excited to watch as well as stuff like A Fish Called Wanda w/ John Cleese.
Terry Gilliam did the animations for Monty Python's TV show and movies. The only American in the group, he went on to being a director of numerous films.
Yes, that "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" song is from this 1979 movie originally, though the song was modeled after older "think positive" songs like "Whistle While You Work" from Disney's 1937 "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves." The seemingly incongruous use of such a cheerful song during a death scene may have been a comment from the Pythons on Christians' promotion of Jesus's crucifixion as inspirational. As for the spaceship scene, it was a jokey acknowledgment of the massive popularity in the late seventies of new sci-fi films and TV shows like "Star Wars" (1977), "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" (1977), and "Battlestar Galactica" (1978), as well as an opportunity for animator Terry Gilliam to indulge himself (Gilliam is also the one responsible for Python's characteristic opening animations that you like so much).
The animations for Monty Python were done by the only American member of the Group, Terry Gilliam - who, post Python, became the famous director of Brazil, Time Bandits, King of the Fishers, 12 Monkeys, Münchhausen...
One of my favorite parts of the movie is: "We are ALL unique!!! Crowd cheers back: We are all unique!!! One man raises his hand and sheepishly says:. "I'm not." (all embarrassed) 😆
Terry Gilliam was their animator and cast member.. responsible for their intro and interstitials... the only American Python. He went on to be a legendary director in his own right... "Brazil", "Time Bandits", "12 Monkeys", "The Adventures of Baron Munchhaisen", etc. Hes a director known for outrageous visuals and for sort of torturing his actors to get them.
Oh interesting, thanks! I remember seeing 12 Monkeys but not the others. I'm a fan of outrageous visuals, so perhaps I'll check out more of his. Appreciate the heads up.
@@JayBondReacts id say, start with Time Bandits... it's a dark kids movie financed by Beatle George Harrison (who also financed a lot of Python films), with a really unique time travel concept. ua-cam.com/video/h27sUJtngq4/v-deo.html
If anyone has any military experience or knowledge Notice how when the Roman’s search the house, that’s uncannily similar to when troops pile out of an armored personnel carrier like the striker or Bradley 😂🤣
"What the actual F!" I think the aliens are there to juxtapose with the inherent absurdity of religion. Like 'you can accept all this stuff but aliens are too much?'
"He's not the Messiah. He's a very naughty boy! Now, piss off!" Some say this is better than Monty Python And The Holy Grail (1975), but I think both are equally great and I would recommend both. However you can tell there's more money behind this production. Fun Fact: This movie pokes fun at revolutionary groups and 1970s British left-wing politics. The groups in this movie all oppose the Roman occupation of Judea, but fall into the familiar pattern of intense competition among factions that appears, to an outsider, to be over ideological distinctions so small as to be invisible, thus portraying the "narcissism of small differences" phenomenon. Dare To Be Stupid Fact: When Sir Michael Palin as Pontius Pilate addressed the soldiers daring them to laugh, he was truly daring them. The soldier extras were ordered to stand there and not laugh, but not told what Palin was going to say. Palin, in fact, can barely stifle his own laughter when asking if "Biggus Dickus" is "risible" in front of a soldier. Music Enthusiast Fact: The singer Sonia Jones for the opening song is often miscredited by fans as being sung by Dame Shirley Bassey. It is done the the style of John Barry, and fans often comments how it sounds like Bassey singing Goldfinger. Though she sounds mature when she sings the song, Sonia Jones was 16 at the time it was recorded.
About the song...I thought the same thing while watching now and was going to look it up after going thru the comments. Thanks, you saved me a bit of time!
@@JayBondReacts Abraham Lincoln once asked a group of people how many legs a dog would have if you counted its tail as a leg. The people answered five. Lincoln replied no four, calling a dog's tail a leg does not make a dog's tail a leg. The same logic applies to this discussion.
@@JayBondReacts Maybe that's how people see it *now* and I've seen a lot of younger people say things like "Oh how progressive!" etc - but when this was written, it was 100% NOT about trans rights. It was literally a joke. And the immediate acceptance of it was also part of the joke. That's just how it was during the time period, and the fact "Loretta" was even going on about this during, what, 30 AD, was part of the ridiculousness of it all and a part of the joke. They weren't out there writing "trans rights" dialogue into their movies in the 70s. It was absurdist humor. Which now it's not even a joke for some people I've seen react to this. John Cleese has even gotten in trouble once or twice for defending JK Rowling who is popular to hate nowadays for her views on women-only spaces and transwomen in biological women's sports. So.. believe me when I say.. this was not about trans rights. It was an absurdist joke. And I'm not saying that to be transphobic, but simply to be accurate.
@btamamura That was part of the joke, though. It's absurdist humor. People now take that stuff so seriously that they see it as trans rights in a movie from the freakin' 70's, but him wanting to be called Loretta, have babies and actually have people *call him Loretta* is all part of the absurdist humor and part of the joke, especially considering the time period the movie was based in, not just written in. John Cleese has gotten in trouble himself for defending JK Rowling and her opinions on transwomen in women's spaces and transwomen in women's sports because he agrees with her. So he's been simultaneously called a "transphobe" for what he believes is simple biological fact and has people seriously thinking a movie he was in and helped develop in the 70's was fighting for trans rights, against deadnaming and men's rights to have babies (the last 2 not even being even remotely a popular thing or an idea when they were writing this).
The Judean People's Front who kill themselves at the end were originally intended to have more scenes. They were essentially Jewish Nazis but that joke was scrapped as the team thought it was going a bit too far so most of their scenes were cut. Their suicide scene was the only one which made it into the final release. If you look closely, you can see the remnants of that original joke. Note that they all have Hitler moustaches. The stars of David worn by them also have little lines added at each point of the star to make them look like an amalgamation of both the swastika and star of David.
Awesome reaction video. Life Of Brian definitely did get kickback from religious groups. But it was exactly the kind of blind followers more concerned with their identity than the message, that this movie was criticizing. And most of them hadn't even watched the movie of course, leading to some pretty funny "debates".
The church did get agitated about this. Several local councils banned its showing in cinemas. One was the home town of the actress who played Judith. She is, last I heard, mayor of that town.
18:50 'etching it on tomes instead of paper' They look like wax tablula, very common 1-3000 years ago, for the average person permanent messages for travel/storage would be carved into or painted onto stone. The only places actually making textile analogues of paper 2000 years ago were papyrus in Egypt, and cloth/hemp/bamboo in China. There were Quipu/Khipu made by South Americans which was a string & knot based written language from 3000+ years ago & was used well into Spanish colonialism. (Just reading that the Chinese & Japanese used them too.) The only glaring mistake they made in this was that the statues would have all been painted, oh and the Jewish priests garb from the stoning scene caused an outcry from them.
03:50 Not so much "Arms for lepers" as "Alms for lepers", historically charity for the poor although the joke is definitely there. Note also "wolf's nipple chips" is a Romulus and Remus reference. There's a lot of these humorous references throughout the film, for instance I've read that the lettering on the tail of the spacecraft is Hebrew for 'Star Trek'.
Thanks for the heads up! When editing I was trying to listen hard about that arms for lepers cause it didn't seem right but never heard the word "alms" before. 😂
Hi Jay, this is one of my favorite comedy movies of all time! You're right, when it was released, many people were not amused, including the catholic church. My favorite scene is the latin lesson, which is even funnier when you you that John Cleese (centurion) actually worked as a latin teacher 😂The space ship scene in my opinion is making fun about movies where the hero gets miraculously saved out of a dead end situation (deus ex machinae) and of course, they did it the most bizarre way possible 😂 Fun fact: George Harrison was a big Python fan and financed the movie.
Life of Brian was the best work, by far, the Monty Python team did. When asked, the Monty Python crew also think Life of Brian is their best work & what they're most proud of. I've watched a lot of YT reaction videos of Life of Brian, made by Americans, & none of them truly understand irony,. Although most said they liked Life of Brian, none of them fully understood the gags, when viewed in the whole context of the film.
I can't tell if this is a jab at me specifically or not as I'm not American and I understood irony and the concept of the film. I certainly missed some jokes but at the same time no one will get every single joke in a movie like this or Mel Brooks or similar that throw everything at the wall on their first watch.
@@JayBondReacts It's not movie work that you'd know him from; he did his best work on the radio (and to a lesser extent, TV and stage). Sadly he suffered from PTSD following his service in WWII (something he wrote about brilliantly - I cannot recommend "Adolf Hitler, My Part in his Downfall" highly enough) and I never got the sense he was that well known internationally, but he was as big as comedians get in the UK. Having Spike in this movie has a lovely symmetry to it because the Pythons were very heavily influenced by the Goons of which Spike was a key member. He's in this film because he happened to be on holiday in Tunisia at the time, and they planned to give him a little more to do but he got bored at lunch time and wandered off... I'd put Spike in a very special bracket of comic geniuses - perhaps only Peter Cook was truly his equal. They shared an utterly fearless quality. Back in his days as a touring comic Spike played Portsmouth, a city he hated, so he had himself billed there as Spike "I Hate Portsmouth" Milligan.
The church were in absolute uproar about this movie saying it was taking the Lords name in vein etc but as Monty Pythons kept saying its not about Jesus it's about man called Brian who lived at the place in time.
Hey man, great reaction! Yeah, I don't like those two stuttering characters either. The thing about Python is not EVERYTHING lands - but when it does, it's fantastic! And totally one-of-a-kind. And I love what you said about them being able to pull off doing multiple characters without it being confusing! In this movie, Michael Palin just blows me away. He plays so many characters, all of them different.....and he's hilarious in all of 'em! One second he's chained to the wall, the very next scene he's Pontius Pilate. I actually hate to single out any one Python because they're ALL essential and all excellent performers. Congratulations for getting this movie under your belt; no one can say you haven't seen "Life Of Brian" now! Let's just see them try! 😅
@@JayBondReacts Are they just mocking the idea here though rather than treating it as anything serious. I know recent interviews with John Cleese (the leader in that scene) he's not been very kind to 'woke' ness. Or at least he's just not had time to take it seriously, maybe he just doesn't care because he's too old to get into it all. Then again this movie itself was really trashed when it came out. Look up interviews he did where he had catholic and protestant bishops accusing him of mocking their religion
@@Calzaki I think that scene is mostly one the side of acceptance, despite Reg's distaste for the idea as a whole. Mainly because for the remainder of the movie Stan is referred to as Loretta and when Reg is disrespectful he's corrected. Although, I think people will see it how they see fit. I definitely need to see the backlash. Someone had linked me a video about it I'll check out later on. When all is said and done, they created conversation that stood the test of time in many regards from politics, gender identity and roles, religion, and more that are still relevant today.
The extras were told that if they laughed during the Biggus Dickus scene, they wouldn’t get paid, making them try to not laugh even better of a performance.
Not many women who appreciate the humor of Monty Python, I only have one girlfriend who movie quotes The life of Brian with me! Anyway, great movie! Who else whistles, Always look on the bright side of life while they are doing mundane work? Favorite line from this movie is "I want to be a girl. I want to have babies" The way he says it.
Stutterers and stammerers are inherently hilarious. I could watch an entire movie making fun of them. In fact, I think I did see a movie once that did just that. I can't remember what it's called off the top of my head. Let me do a little research and I'll get back to you.
Probably gonna be shot down in flames here, but - you didn't mention "Monty Python and The Holy Grail"? Absolutely essential, earlier back in '74, shot on a shoestring budget, and equally if not more hilarious than this. Of course, the joy of this, is it has absolutely nothing to do with Jesus. Those who took the most offence at the time didn't even watch it - dangerous people with dogmatic ideas will always try to keep humanity from evolving.
Not Jesus exactly, but it's mocking religion as a whole and is a satire on how mundane or misinterpreted stories can be turned into an entire belief system.
So the two guys who couldn't talk, the joke was that they actually speak normally, it does show them having a conversation shortly after that last scene with them in it!;) Oh and the random spaceship scene was just that, i like to think it was an extra gesture to show how ridiculous religion is, I always wished they threw in a dinosaur as well!
I get the characters could talk and they were putting it on, I just wasn't a fan. The joke was too long winded for the punchline of them being normal. Totally see the alien thing now. 😂 Brilliant. That's a joke that I think you almost have to sit and think about afterwards to realize the intent. Good stuff. 😂
@@JayBondReacts Lol yeah not all jokes or characters are always enjoyable! First Time Watching is up my alley, I love watching people reactions in real life to movies I've already seen! I just pretend I have never seen it either and go for the ride! Thanks for doing this!
Life of Brian drags on a bit for me and ends up low in my Python rankings 😅 Some of the bits are great, but overall I would rather watch Meaning of Life or Holy Grail given the chance. The Pythons are mostly scattered after this 😞, but occasionally do projects together. Top pick in Python-adjacent films - A Fish Called Wanda, with Cleese and Palin. And be sure not to miss Terry Gilliam's loose thematic trilogy - Time Bandits, Brazil, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
Totally agree with you on some of the slower bits. I haven't seen Holy Grail in it's entirety (to my knowledge), so my ranking is Meaning of Life then this. 😂 A few people have recommended Time Bandits and Brazil. I haven't seen A Fish Called Wanda either but John Cleese is great, so I'd be down for that.
Most of the Bickus Dickus scene was improvised. Guards were college students and such. They were told they don't get paid if they laugh. Michael Palin just went completely bonker's there and... we got comedy classic.
Easily one of the most memorable scenes from this. The idea to improvise for genuine reactions is genius! That one guy twisting his mouth up trying not to laugh. 😂
Thank you. That's fair. Comedy is almost always hit or miss with little middle ground. I'll have to watch Holy Grail and then see if I dig em. I prefer Mel Brooks delivery out of these older movies so far.
“Fine!! I am the Messiah!”
“He is! He is the Messiah!”
“Now…..Fuck Off!!!”
“How shall we fuck off lord?”🤣🤣
I had teachers who showed us this movie. After I took religion classes I got more of the jokes that were going over my head before, like the argument among the spectators at the Sermon on the Mount being an argument among the various Jewish sects of that time and place. My Latin teacher showed us the "Romans go home!" scene. And my take on the spaceship scene, which you summed up when you said, "Well, how do you explain this?", is that it's a reference to the Bible stories of people, like Ezekiel, seeing or being taken up in vehicles or machines that defied the peoples' ability to describe them. Anyway, I think this movie is hilarious.
Also, _Star Wars_ had just blown up the box office and ripoffs were already being shat out like crazy when this was in early pre-production, so an alien space battle made the perfect WTF moment and also gave Terry Gilliam an opportunity to strut his animation effects and bizarre designs outside of the opening credits. _(Holy Grail_ and _Meaning of Life_ have a LOT more animation shots.)
Definitely, the more you know about the history of Christianity, the more you get. And also some jokes that seem silly and random all of a sudden connect with actual history, and they become brilliant. ("Blazing Saddles" has the same exact phenomenon). LOVE "Life Of Brian"!!!!!!!!
The film isn’t so much mocking the concepts of the Divine, or mysticism in general, but is more mocking the very human failings of religious organisations, conflicts and humanity in general.
The end song was written for this film. As far as the two dungeon masters that you didn't care for, they're one of my favorite parts. Terry Gilliam always has some of the best roles. Between that and the ash covered prophet, I feel he gave some really great performances.
Terry Gilliam sure had good roles. But I agree with Jay Bond that the dungeon masters scene went on for too long. My only minus point for this brilliant movie.
[edited for typo]
@@tubularap Well, I respect your opinion, but it broke me. I thought it was epic.I also loved how non-communicative he chose to be and how ugly. I thought it was super funny, even without the reveal that they were faking. But, fair point. One love, your point.
It's clear you understood the gags they were trying to make and of course it's ok to say "not all my cup of tea". I will say that, in contrast to much of the sillyness Monty Python is so famous for, this was an attempt to get some serious points across by way of humor (not just jokes for the sake of joking) as several of them were very knowledgable historians: Terry Jones (who plays Brian's mother), for example, has written several books on medieval history.
Wow, that's pretty neat. They definitely seem like a group of knowledgeable guys. I have a few other Terry Gilliam movies on my list that I'm excited to watch as well as stuff like A Fish Called Wanda w/ John Cleese.
Terry Gilliam did the animations for Monty Python's TV show and movies. The only American in the group, he went on to being a director of numerous films.
9:58 Pilate: “The little rascal has spirit… spirit… bravado, a touch of derring-do.”
Yes, that "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" song is from this 1979 movie originally, though the song was modeled after older "think positive" songs like "Whistle While You Work" from Disney's 1937 "Snow White and the Seven Dwarves." The seemingly incongruous use of such a cheerful song during a death scene may have been a comment from the Pythons on Christians' promotion of Jesus's crucifixion as inspirational.
As for the spaceship scene, it was a jokey acknowledgment of the massive popularity in the late seventies of new sci-fi films and TV shows like "Star Wars" (1977), "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" (1977), and "Battlestar Galactica" (1978), as well as an opportunity for animator Terry Gilliam to indulge himself (Gilliam is also the one responsible for Python's characteristic opening animations that you like so much).
Best python movie ever
The animations for Monty Python were done by the only American member of the Group, Terry Gilliam - who, post Python, became the famous director of Brazil, Time Bandits, King of the Fishers, 12 Monkeys, Münchhausen...
Pilate says: "The young rascal has spirit, bravado, a touch of daring do". :)
One of my favorite parts of the movie is: "We are ALL unique!!! Crowd cheers back: We are all unique!!! One man raises his hand and sheepishly says:. "I'm not." (all embarrassed) 😆
Hahaha Yes! 😂
I'm Brian, and so is my wife!
Mocking Spartacus....
The look of shock and confusion on your face when the aliens arrived was priceless, lol. MP always manage to take abrupt turns you never see coming.
Terry Gilliam was their animator and cast member.. responsible for their intro and interstitials... the only American Python. He went on to be a legendary director in his own right... "Brazil", "Time Bandits", "12 Monkeys", "The Adventures of Baron Munchhaisen", etc. Hes a director known for outrageous visuals and for sort of torturing his actors to get them.
Oh interesting, thanks! I remember seeing 12 Monkeys but not the others. I'm a fan of outrageous visuals, so perhaps I'll check out more of his. Appreciate the heads up.
@@JayBondReacts id say, start with Time Bandits... it's a dark kids movie financed by Beatle George Harrison (who also financed a lot of Python films), with a really unique time travel concept. ua-cam.com/video/h27sUJtngq4/v-deo.html
If anyone has any military experience or knowledge
Notice how when the Roman’s search the house, that’s uncannily similar to when troops pile out of an armored personnel carrier like the striker or Bradley 😂🤣
Oh awesome...was not expecting this. Monty Python is a staple in our house hold...Blessed are the Cheese makers.
It's not meant to be taken literally, it refers to any manufacturers of dairy products.
"What the actual F!"
I think the aliens are there to juxtapose with the inherent absurdity of religion. Like 'you can accept all this stuff but aliens are too much?'
"He's not the Messiah. He's a very naughty boy! Now, piss off!"
Some say this is better than Monty Python And The Holy Grail (1975), but I think both are equally great and I would recommend both. However you can tell there's more money behind this production.
Fun Fact: This movie pokes fun at revolutionary groups and 1970s British left-wing politics. The groups in this movie all oppose the Roman occupation of Judea, but fall into the familiar pattern of intense competition among factions that appears, to an outsider, to be over ideological distinctions so small as to be invisible, thus portraying the "narcissism of small differences" phenomenon.
Dare To Be Stupid Fact: When Sir Michael Palin as Pontius Pilate addressed the soldiers daring them to laugh, he was truly daring them. The soldier extras were ordered to stand there and not laugh, but not told what Palin was going to say. Palin, in fact, can barely stifle his own laughter when asking if "Biggus Dickus" is "risible" in front of a soldier.
Music Enthusiast Fact: The singer Sonia Jones for the opening song is often miscredited by fans as being sung by Dame Shirley Bassey. It is done the the style of John Barry, and fans often comments how it sounds like Bassey singing Goldfinger. Though she sounds mature when she sings the song, Sonia Jones was 16 at the time it was recorded.
The Biggus Dickus fact is best! I would have cracked up. 😂
About the song...I thought the same thing while watching now and was going to look it up after going thru the comments. Thanks, you saved me a bit of time!
They were ahead of their time. Hilarious that Stan wants to be called Loretta and have babies showing the stupidity of such an idea. 😂🤣😂
They were for sure ahead of their time, but it's less a joke and more about trans rights and immediately accepting Loretta's decision.
@@JayBondReacts no it was a joke about the ridiculousness of it all
@@JayBondReacts Abraham Lincoln once asked a group of people how many legs a dog would have if you counted its tail as a leg. The people answered five. Lincoln replied no four, calling a dog's tail a leg does not make a dog's tail a leg. The same logic applies to this discussion.
@@JayBondReacts Maybe that's how people see it *now* and I've seen a lot of younger people say things like "Oh how progressive!" etc - but when this was written, it was 100% NOT about trans rights. It was literally a joke. And the immediate acceptance of it was also part of the joke. That's just how it was during the time period, and the fact "Loretta" was even going on about this during, what, 30 AD, was part of the ridiculousness of it all and a part of the joke.
They weren't out there writing "trans rights" dialogue into their movies in the 70s. It was absurdist humor. Which now it's not even a joke for some people I've seen react to this.
John Cleese has even gotten in trouble once or twice for defending JK Rowling who is popular to hate nowadays for her views on women-only spaces and transwomen in biological women's sports.
So.. believe me when I say.. this was not about trans rights. It was an absurdist joke. And I'm not saying that to be transphobic, but simply to be accurate.
@btamamura That was part of the joke, though. It's absurdist humor. People now take that stuff so seriously that they see it as trans rights in a movie from the freakin' 70's, but him wanting to be called Loretta, have babies and actually have people *call him Loretta* is all part of the absurdist humor and part of the joke, especially considering the time period the movie was based in, not just written in.
John Cleese has gotten in trouble himself for defending JK Rowling and her opinions on transwomen in women's spaces and transwomen in women's sports because he agrees with her.
So he's been simultaneously called a "transphobe" for what he believes is simple biological fact and has people seriously thinking a movie he was in and helped develop in the 70's was fighting for trans rights, against deadnaming and men's rights to have babies (the last 2 not even being even remotely a popular thing or an idea when they were writing this).
The Judean People's Front who kill themselves at the end were originally intended to have more scenes. They were essentially Jewish Nazis but that joke was scrapped as the team thought it was going a bit too far so most of their scenes were cut. Their suicide scene was the only one which made it into the final release. If you look closely, you can see the remnants of that original joke. Note that they all have Hitler moustaches. The stars of David worn by them also have little lines added at each point of the star to make them look like an amalgamation of both the swastika and star of David.
Oh interesting. It's odd that THAT's where they draw the line. They've done pretty outlandish stuff. 😂
Jay - "That's bigger than I thought it was"
. . . . "That's what she said" 🤣
Awesome reaction video. Life Of Brian definitely did get kickback from religious groups. But it was exactly the kind of blind followers more concerned with their identity than the message, that this movie was criticizing. And most of them hadn't even watched the movie of course, leading to some pretty funny "debates".
The church did get agitated about this. Several local councils banned its showing in cinemas. One was the home town of the actress who played Judith. She is, last I heard, mayor of that town.
Woah! Thanks for the info. What a strange turn of events.
The town is Aberystwyth in Wales.
One of her actions was to 'un ban' it
18:50 'etching it on tomes instead of paper'
They look like wax tablula, very common 1-3000 years ago, for the average person permanent messages for travel/storage would be carved into or painted onto stone.
The only places actually making textile analogues of paper 2000 years ago were papyrus in Egypt, and cloth/hemp/bamboo in China.
There were Quipu/Khipu made by South Americans which was a string & knot based written language from 3000+ years ago & was used well into Spanish colonialism. (Just reading that the Chinese & Japanese used them too.)
The only glaring mistake they made in this was that the statues would have all been painted, oh and the Jewish priests garb from the stoning scene caused an outcry from them.
Awesome, thank you for the info!
Always look on the bright side of life . . . (yes, it's from here)
Praise Brian! Our gourd and savior! His one sandal is as… one.
Jay, you certainly strike me as someone who often looks on the bright side of life.
Hahaha I try my best to look on the bright side of life. *whistle* *whistle*
eric idle (the singer) wrote it for the film
03:50 Not so much "Arms for lepers" as "Alms for lepers", historically charity for the poor although the joke is definitely there. Note also "wolf's nipple chips" is a Romulus and Remus reference. There's a lot of these humorous references throughout the film, for instance I've read that the lettering on the tail of the spacecraft is Hebrew for 'Star Trek'.
Thanks for the heads up! When editing I was trying to listen hard about that arms for lepers cause it didn't seem right but never heard the word "alms" before. 😂
The Latin lesson is hilarious.
Look for "Not the Nine O'Clock News - Monty Pythons worshipers" and you will see a reversal of the controversy caused.
Excellent, thanks!
The 'debate over it is on YT also - with Cleese and Palin vs Muggeridge and a Bishop - both making prats of themselves
Hi Jay,
this is one of my favorite comedy movies of all time! You're right, when it was released, many people were not amused, including the catholic church. My favorite scene is the latin lesson, which is even funnier when you you that John Cleese (centurion) actually worked as a latin teacher 😂The space ship scene in my opinion is making fun about movies where the hero gets miraculously saved out of a dead end situation (deus ex machinae) and of course, they did it the most bizarre way possible 😂
Fun fact: George Harrison was a big Python fan and financed the movie.
17:40 "I'm not."
Life of Brian was the best work, by far, the Monty Python team did. When asked, the Monty Python crew also think Life of Brian is their best work & what they're most proud of. I've watched a lot of YT reaction videos of Life of Brian, made by Americans, & none of them truly understand irony,. Although most said they liked Life of Brian, none of them fully understood the gags, when viewed in the whole context of the film.
I can't tell if this is a jab at me specifically or not as I'm not American and I understood irony and the concept of the film. I certainly missed some jokes but at the same time no one will get every single joke in a movie like this or Mel Brooks or similar that throw everything at the wall on their first watch.
@@JayBondReacts It wasn't a jab at you specifically. What country do you live in?
@@trevorrix9901 Canada
Always sad when folks don't recognise Spike Milligan.
Not sure how I could. His entire filmography looks to be made before I was 10 and I definitely wasn't watching any of those movies. 😂
@@JayBondReacts It's not movie work that you'd know him from; he did his best work on the radio (and to a lesser extent, TV and stage). Sadly he suffered from PTSD following his service in WWII (something he wrote about brilliantly - I cannot recommend "Adolf Hitler, My Part in his Downfall" highly enough) and I never got the sense he was that well known internationally, but he was as big as comedians get in the UK. Having Spike in this movie has a lovely symmetry to it because the Pythons were very heavily influenced by the Goons of which Spike was a key member. He's in this film because he happened to be on holiday in Tunisia at the time, and they planned to give him a little more to do but he got bored at lunch time and wandered off...
I'd put Spike in a very special bracket of comic geniuses - perhaps only Peter Cook was truly his equal. They shared an utterly fearless quality. Back in his days as a touring comic Spike played Portsmouth, a city he hated, so he had himself billed there as Spike "I Hate Portsmouth" Milligan.
Oh interesting, thanks for filling me in!
I’m Brian and so is my wife!
The church were in absolute uproar about this movie saying it was taking the Lords name in vein etc but as Monty Pythons kept saying its not about Jesus it's about man called Brian who lived at the place in time.
Hey man, great reaction! Yeah, I don't like those two stuttering characters either. The thing about Python is not EVERYTHING lands - but when it does, it's fantastic! And totally one-of-a-kind. And I love what you said about them being able to pull off doing multiple characters without it being confusing! In this movie, Michael Palin just blows me away. He plays so many characters, all of them different.....and he's hilarious in all of 'em! One second he's chained to the wall, the very next scene he's Pontius Pilate. I actually hate to single out any one Python because they're ALL essential and all excellent performers. Congratulations for getting this movie under your belt; no one can say you haven't seen "Life Of Brian" now! Let's just see them try! 😅
Thank you. Michael Palin is so good. I'm not familiar with him but was great!
5:10 were they ahead of their time or is it depressing that people are still having this argument?
Both to be honest. I'm just shocked to see the conversation happening way back then when it's so relevant now.
@@JayBondReacts Are they just mocking the idea here though rather than treating it as anything serious. I know recent interviews with John Cleese (the leader in that scene) he's not been very kind to 'woke' ness. Or at least he's just not had time to take it seriously, maybe he just doesn't care because he's too old to get into it all. Then again this movie itself was really trashed when it came out. Look up interviews he did where he had catholic and protestant bishops accusing him of mocking their religion
@@Calzaki I think that scene is mostly one the side of acceptance, despite Reg's distaste for the idea as a whole. Mainly because for the remainder of the movie Stan is referred to as Loretta and when Reg is disrespectful he's corrected. Although, I think people will see it how they see fit. I definitely need to see the backlash. Someone had linked me a video about it I'll check out later on.
When all is said and done, they created conversation that stood the test of time in many regards from politics, gender identity and roles, religion, and more that are still relevant today.
The extras were told that if they laughed during the Biggus Dickus scene, they wouldn’t get paid, making them try to not laugh even better of a performance.
Hahaha That's perfect! Looks like I wouldn't be getting paid then. 😂
8:35 it’s a grower not a shower
Not many women who appreciate the humor of Monty Python, I only have one girlfriend who movie quotes The life of Brian with me! Anyway, great movie! Who else whistles, Always look on the bright side of life while they are doing mundane work? Favorite line from this movie is "I want to be a girl. I want to have babies" The way he says it.
Stutterers and stammerers are inherently hilarious. I could watch an entire movie making fun of them. In fact, I think I did see a movie once that did just that. I can't remember what it's called off the top of my head. Let me do a little research and I'll get back to you.
To each their own, I'm good if you don't figure out what movie you're referring too. Not for me. 😂
This movie is great
John Cleese with the shoe is funnier on an esoteric level, as it's a Masonic joke, and Cleese is a Brother.
Whatever you do, don't say "Jehovah!" ...ARRRGGHHHH!
Probably gonna be shot down in flames here, but - you didn't mention "Monty Python and The Holy Grail"? Absolutely essential, earlier back in '74, shot on a shoestring budget, and equally if not more hilarious than this.
Of course, the joy of this, is it has absolutely nothing to do with Jesus. Those who took the most offence at the time didn't even watch it - dangerous people with dogmatic ideas will always try to keep humanity from evolving.
Holy Grail is one I plan to react to soon!
Did you ever watch the 4th movie Jabberwocky,people never mention that one
No I haven't. Haven't heard of it honestly which is kinda weird. I'm curious why it's not as popular.
Great film
Love the stoning scene men pretending to be women pretending to be men
Mondee pythaaan😂😂😂😂
🤔
First of all they never make fun of Jesus or his teachings. They get there humor from lampooning people who get things wrong.
Not Jesus exactly, but it's mocking religion as a whole and is a satire on how mundane or misinterpreted stories can be turned into an entire belief system.
So the two guys who couldn't talk, the joke was that they actually speak normally, it does show them having a conversation shortly after that last scene with them in it!;) Oh and the random spaceship scene was just that, i like to think it was an extra gesture to show how ridiculous religion is, I always wished they threw in a dinosaur as well!
I get the characters could talk and they were putting it on, I just wasn't a fan. The joke was too long winded for the punchline of them being normal. Totally see the alien thing now. 😂 Brilliant. That's a joke that I think you almost have to sit and think about afterwards to realize the intent. Good stuff. 😂
@@JayBondReacts Lol yeah not all jokes or characters are always enjoyable!
First Time Watching is up my alley,
I love watching people reactions in real life to movies I've already seen! I just pretend I have never seen it either and go for the ride! Thanks for doing this!
The spaceship scene was likely a funny reference to Star Wars which had been huge.
Life of Brian drags on a bit for me and ends up low in my Python rankings 😅 Some of the bits are great, but overall I would rather watch Meaning of Life or Holy Grail given the chance.
The Pythons are mostly scattered after this 😞, but occasionally do projects together. Top pick in Python-adjacent films - A Fish Called Wanda, with Cleese and Palin.
And be sure not to miss Terry Gilliam's loose thematic trilogy - Time Bandits, Brazil, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
Totally agree with you on some of the slower bits. I haven't seen Holy Grail in it's entirety (to my knowledge), so my ranking is Meaning of Life then this. 😂 A few people have recommended Time Bandits and Brazil. I haven't seen A Fish Called Wanda either but John Cleese is great, so I'd be down for that.
You didn't say anything about the woman and her massive 70's bush. That is what guys had to look at back then. Thank Jehovah for the nineties.
Most of the Bickus Dickus scene was improvised. Guards were college students and such. They were told they don't get paid if they laugh. Michael Palin just went completely bonker's there and... we got comedy classic.
Easily one of the most memorable scenes from this. The idea to improvise for genuine reactions is genius! That one guy twisting his mouth up trying not to laugh. 😂
Bullshit. Stop perpetuating this myth.
I am not a fan of any Monty Python comedy....it's just not my thing. Great review though, as always!
Thank you. That's fair. Comedy is almost always hit or miss with little middle ground. I'll have to watch Holy Grail and then see if I dig em. I prefer Mel Brooks delivery out of these older movies so far.