Monty Python's Life of Brian is not only the British comedy troupe's best film—Holy Grail and The Meaning of Life, for all their charm, are neither as cohesive or as targeted in their satire—but also one of the sharpest attacks on religious zealotry and dogma to have been committed to film. Starring Graham Chapman as the hapless Brian Cohen and Terry Jones as his irritable mother Mandy ("He's not the Messiah! He's a very naughty boy!"), the film also features stand-out performances from Michael Palin as the speech-impaired Pontius Pilate ("Stwike him, Centuwion. Stwike him vewy wuffly!") and John Cleese as Reg, the irascible leader of the Peoples' Front of Judea, a revolutionary cell ("All right, but apart from the sanitation, medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, the fresh water system and public health, what have the Romans ever done for us?"). And you'll never look at crucifixion the same way again after the film's final, inspiredly silly scene. Blessed are the cheesemakers, indeed.

The Australian, 7 January 2010

Has ever there been a sillier nativity scene than the one that opens Monty Python's Life of Brian? The appearance of three wise men in the stable of Brian's mother, Mandy Cohen, startles her so badly that she falls backwards off her chair. "Who are you?" she demands. "We are three wise men," one explains. "Well, what are you doing creeping around a cow shed at two o'clock in the morning? That doesn't sound very wise to me." "We were led by a star!" "Led by a bottle, more like…" The Pythons' divine comedy not only remains the group's best film, but also one of the sharpest satires of religious zealotry and dogma ever made. Starring Graham Chapman as the hapless Brian and Terry Jones as his irritable mother ("He's not the Messiah! He's a very naughty boy!"), the film also features a stand-out performance from Michael Palin as the speech-impaired Pontius Pilate ("Stwike him, Centuwion. Stwike him vewy wuffly!"). And what it does for Christmas it does equally well for Easter: you'll never look at crucifixion the same way again after the film's famous final scene. An inspired choice for Moonlight Cinema's Christmas Eve screening. Blessed are the cheesemakers, indeed.

The Australian, 24 December 2009