This was almost unfair. The Python's presented themselves as thoughtful, considerate, highly intelligent and, when pressed, wry and satirical, whereas the opposition appeared exactly like their stereotypes might suggest: stubborn, boring, tedious, colorless and myopic. The Python's deserved better criticism than this. (I say that as a fan of both Life of Brian and Monty Python.) Thank you for putting these clips together!
I saw the film years ago when I was 14, it was clearly a film about some guy named Brian. Jesus was the guy who showed up in one scene to deliver a speach and that was it, the film was about some guy named Brian, even my 14 year old brain understood that. Also everything John Cleese said he wanted to have as a message in the film got to me, years later I feel confident in asking questions and figuring stuff out for myself, great work Python for making one of the greatest films of our time, even though Python films have started to age, the theme and message hold on strong.
Does anyone else find the Bishop's hand movements and waffling completely hilarious? Just watched the whole thing for the first time on BBC4 and I loved it when Cleese implied that this was like a Python sketch in itself, because I've always thought this.
I think it's bemusing that if they're remembered at all by the generation born in the 90s Muggeridge and whatsisface the Bishop of Southwark are remembered only for this 'debate'. And yet Monty Python lives on. We sang 'Always look on the Bright Side of Life' at my father's funeral; no priest was in attendance.
Seeing how shallow those two old gits (Malcome and Mervyn) is priceless. Life of Brian dared to say 'Lighten up people' and look the Pythons are legends for it. The Bishop's beliefs have constantly ended up with egg on their face since.
@MattDominicCullen Quite agree. How many crusades, purges and slaughters have been carried out over the centuries? I did laugh though when you said 'inquisitions' in your post and I half expected Michael Palin to run in with a red costume on! Cheers.
What's most disturbing about this is that not only did the story of Jesus (whoever or whatever he was) inspire great art again (the movie, which is arguably one of the watersheds moments in satire) but that this "10th rate" work was only UNBANNED in the UK in 1995. That's only 16 years ago!! God help us.
Holy Flying Circus did a brilliant job reenacting the interview~ Like many other people I have just watched it on the TV, and flown to TH-cam to see the original.
In the full interview one of them says “This film will never have influence in the long-term.” Wow, that aged terribly since their most religiously charged films have been classics.
To me, the bishop just liked the sound of his own voice, went on and on about nothing in particular. Best point made by Michael Palin in that people of the Christian faith can still laugh at the Life Of Brian, while it not affecting their faith whatsoever.
I Must Say That I am A Proud Christian, and I LOVE The Life Of Brian!!! It's one of the Greatest Comedy Films Ever made, and certainly My Favorite Piece of Monty Python Work! I find it not at all offensive, and Find every moment absolutely Hilarious! :D
Muggeridge and the bishop bring nothing but uninformed prejudice to the encounter (it is not even a proper discussion - let alone debate) and show themselves up for what they are. I was in Germany at the time that this was broadcast in the UK. Thank-you for giving me a chance to see it.
Having watched the film and the interview, I can only say that Muggeridge and the bishop are completely blinded by their faith. To the end they refused to believe that Brian was anything but a representation of Jesus. Throughout the interview they try and make cheap jabs rather than informed argument, and insist that only Christians have made great art. They just come across as pompous, stupid, arrogant and wrong.
Ummmmmmmmm, this movie is about a guy called Brian who gets mistaken for the messiah, not Jesus himself. They never disrespect him, infact they pay quite a bit of respect to him after the titles.
@Crochetify I have no idea who Muggeridge is and have no desire to find out, but Palin, Cleese, Jones, Idle and Chapman are supreme British trademarks of humour, cleverness and the unexpected, and will stay engraved in popular memory long after the other two nameless gentlemen in this spot. So I hope at least.
@Crochetify Indeed. Now let's worship the Python for a bit : ) I can't seem to post a link, but there is a great counter-sketch, "Not the Nine O'Clock News - Monty Pythons worshipers"
The accusations are ridiculous! I'm a Christian and I LOVED this film. It wasn't making fun of Christian teachings at all, or Jesus, or anything like that. It was saying don't just believe everything you're told at face value. Question things, think for yourself. And I absolutely hate how they put down the final scene. I think that is the most beautiful scene in cinema history, saying even in the darkest situations, keep smiling, stay happy, look on the bright side!
In the end though, how many people remember Malcolm Muggeridge and the Bishop (who I seriously can't even remember the name of after 10 minutes)? Very few at best. Where as Python are still remembered and worshipped as legends amongst the film writing and comedy writing community. Check and mate.
The whole debate I kept waiting for some one to say 'cut'. I find it quite depressing to know this occasion of narrow mindedness and malice actually occurred. On another note, the Pythons got some funny remarks in, at least.
@rubbishrider861 Noo, the BBC showed the real show as well on the same night ! If you're in the UK go on iPlayer and look through the BBC4 shows until you find it, it's just called "Friday Night, Saturday Morning" and it's this episode in full ! (:
This is by no means the "most complete" version of the debate. You cut everything together, so that it would ridicule the bishops (although I bet they laughed at some scenes, because noone could resist xD)
A hypothesis is a theory that hasn't been fully proven yet. Theories come together to form laws, which explain everyday occurrences, etc. For example, Newton's Laws can be supported by several theories, most relating to gravity.
I read somewhere that that the Bishop afterwards said to John Cleese "Well that went well"... And Cleese was astounded in realizing that it was just "a show they put on"... The Bishop "had to play the offended" so... he played the offended... even though he was not!
if you dont understand that it was intended as a mocking of Christ from the get go then either you are being disingenuous or are a bit slow. Why did they choose chapman whose lifestyle they all knew about to parody Christ?
The fact that the audience was laughing at the clips shown on the show at the time shows how ridiculous the censorship thing was. People hand minds of their own to make up and seeing how utterly closed minded, bullish and prejudiced the 'opposition' were would sway them even more! What annoyed me the most is that they did not 'watch' the film with an open mind. No matter what Muggeridge said, he clearly had not got an open mind to it, otherwise, he would have let the Pythons actually explain.
what got me was that muggeridge and the bishop didn't see the first 15 mins of the film before commencing their ill-informed diatribe. it did them no favours
@mutley26 Well to be completely honest I didn't really realize I was doing it :L I see now that you are right, and I think it is just something I do when using sites such as this and Facebook. Clearly I'm not really doing it now, as you've flagged up the topic, but still you are right. Sorry I have no useful or meaningful answers for you :)
Yup the geezer in the frock was truly ghastly. However John cleese and palin are both not paragons of morality either. Graham Chapman was openly perverted and this was well known and championed by all the monty python team so was it by chance that they chose him to portray Jesus Christ , God? Cleese and Palin and all the rest are not laughing along with us they are laughing at us.
@@ricdavid7476 aw fuck off with your bullshit, none of them are without their flaws of course no one is. But calling someones lifestyle perverted for no reason is very uncalled for. god is dead, thank you very much, have a nice day. :)
@@stulvus you remind me of the monthy python character which Palin played who has rolled up trousers and a knotted handkerchief on his head saying " my brain hurts".
@@ricdavid7476 Thank you very much I'll take that as an compliment. By the way did you fucking watch the movie or not, because Chapman did definetly not portray jesus. P.S: Gay does not equal perverted if you tried to imply that btw. you're just damn ignorant. Again, Have a nice day :)
Theories have been demonstrated to be correct... Laws are just, well laws.Theories combine laws, and you'll be able to make predictions using theories. Hypothesis are the unproven version.
"a lot more funnier".. nice. When I was watching the movie as a young teenager I knew very little about the story of Christ only the faint outlines described to me in churches. It was still a very funny movie but I knew was not about Jesus. It made me look closer at my ideologies. I thought that if I was going to believe in a god then I should look at what the bible actually says. I have since been disturbed by what the bible says and the people that follow it blindly.
@hbunnyo: Sure, but if you do not know why Jesus had been crucified and how much his sufferings at the cross are felt by Christians, read medieval mystics for example, you will not fully comprehend the statement of Monty Python that crucifixion is in fact a doddle; or the way Brian performs miracles and is revered as the Messiah. Or the birds and lilies speech of Brian, which mocks central sermons of Jesus, as Brian tells the crowed too not to pass judgement on others.
Still, not a shred of evidence for religion, and yet people still insist on proselytizing about something they admit they are taking on faith. By definition, taking something on faith means you have no evidence for it. The day humanity evolves beyond religion will be an enlightened day indeed.
@ind0ctr1n3 Oh, sorry, I meant the "why lampoon death?" bit. I personally don't have a problem with the fact that the movie makes jokes to do with crucifixion, but I can see that it's a delicate subject. Not because it was Jesus, because I don't feel Jesus was any more important than anyone else, but simply because it was really barbaric and horrible.
The life of Brian is about the people who decided to worship Jesus but due to misinterpretation, allowed them selves to suffer even further and there are three examples of this. 1st was when the rich Jew said blessed are the Greek can we know his name? the 2nd Is when Jesus cures a man of leperacy but has destroyed his income because he doesn't have an illness to beg money from.Third was when the Judean's peoples front were fighting the peoples front of Judea.
sorry, meant to write: It's not a satire of religion, it's taking the piss out of the people that follow religion and how they follow it. Such lines as "i should recognise a messiah, I've followed a few!" by a character of Eric Idle.
The host shouldn't have let the bishop rant like that at the start. He starts by talking about how you can't get rid of Christianity, and goes onto say you shouldn't mock Auschwitz. When asked what he thinks about the film. Moron, no wonder the membership of his church has halved in recent decades, while Pythons remain as popular as ever.
@hbunnyo: Nope, as the Pythons did put in Jesus and called their mockery of his Brian in order to avoid censorship and religious outrages; just remember that the movie had even in this watered-down form quite a lot of problems; while Brian does of course resemble Jesus far too much to not believe him to be a parody of his; alone that he is crucified by Pilate, who asks the folk which criminal he should enlarge, is suffice; but the Pythons did take some pains to make all this seen less obvious.
Religious nuts always believe they have the right to preach their beliefs to you - But you are not aloud to offer an alternative (even in Humour). The Life Of Brian is the funniest film I have ever seen. Religion is all about who has the best imaginary friend.
Malcom is known for his brilliant expositions. But he seemed super dull in this debate, missing the point that a crowd tried to make Brian the Messiah. He belabored his point of how Jesus inspired art when the real miracle is how many hearts Jesus has changed. I'm an unashamed follower of Jesus and this film did zero to slander Christ or His work on the cross. Too many religious people.are uptight and have jokes fly right over their heads
Oh really - have you read Straw's "Religious hatred" legislation? You can be imprisoned for attacking religion in 2013. In 1979 we were far more free, merely having a cobwebbed old blasphemy law which was rarely used and only covered Christianity. The ghastly EU is now looking carefully at new laws across the region to punish those who are critical of religion - among other things.
And it is bollocks that all the arts and crafts were inspired by christianity, the church was the great oppressor, had all the wealth (stolen and extorted) and consequently was the strongest and largest employer. Many of those great artist chose not to bite the hand that fed them.
I think you missed the point of the crucifixion scene in the life of Brian that it is not Jesus' crucifixion. Reasons to support this: 1. He is not nailed to the cross 2. No crown of thorns. It is a hint toward religion not that Brian is Jesus. Derren Brown wonderfully showed how easy it is to invoke emotions people believe to be supernatural and are not but, that is opening a can of worms conversation. I don't often see death ever taken too seriously in many comedies do you? It's a joke.
I'm glad Life of Brian was made, it points out how broken the religious system is. Just watch the news and all the hate that is connected to religion. I'm spiritual but will NEVER follow any religion. It's all a scam anyhow.
This was almost unfair. The Python's presented themselves as thoughtful, considerate, highly intelligent and, when pressed, wry and satirical, whereas the opposition appeared exactly like their stereotypes might suggest: stubborn, boring, tedious, colorless and myopic. The Python's deserved better criticism than this. (I say that as a fan of both Life of Brian and Monty Python.) Thank you for putting these clips together!
I saw the film years ago when I was 14, it was clearly a film about some guy named Brian. Jesus was the guy who showed up in one scene to deliver a speach and that was it, the film was about some guy named Brian, even my 14 year old brain understood that. Also everything John Cleese said he wanted to have as a message in the film got to me, years later I feel confident in asking questions and figuring stuff out for myself, great work Python for making one of the greatest films of our time, even though Python films have started to age, the theme and message hold on strong.
Does anyone else find the Bishop's hand movements and waffling completely hilarious? Just watched the whole thing for the first time on BBC4 and I loved it when Cleese implied that this was like a Python sketch in itself, because I've always thought this.
Thank you so much for uploading this. I've been looking forever for this and until now only found bits and pieces of it.
i love how cleese goes
every great builder.
cleese - the 30 year war, germany, the inqusition its realy sort of
I think it's bemusing that if they're remembered at all by the generation born in the 90s Muggeridge and whatsisface the Bishop of Southwark are remembered only for this 'debate'. And yet Monty Python lives on. We sang 'Always look on the Bright Side of Life' at my father's funeral; no priest was in attendance.
Seeing how shallow those two old gits (Malcome and Mervyn) is priceless.
Life of Brian dared to say 'Lighten up people' and look the Pythons are legends for it. The Bishop's beliefs have constantly ended up with egg on their face since.
@MattDominicCullen Quite agree. How many crusades, purges and slaughters have been carried out over the centuries? I did laugh though when you said 'inquisitions' in your post and I half expected Michael Palin to run in with a red costume on! Cheers.
Thank you so much for sharing this, wanted to see this again for years
What's most disturbing about this is that not only did the story of Jesus (whoever or whatever he was) inspire great art again (the movie, which is arguably one of the watersheds moments in satire) but that this "10th rate" work was only UNBANNED in the UK in 1995. That's only 16 years ago!!
God help us.
Holy Flying Circus did a brilliant job reenacting the interview~
Like many other people I have just watched it on the TV, and flown to TH-cam to see the original.
Thank you for this video, I've been trying to find pieces of this debate for a long time. I hope BBC airs it full at some point.
It was on BBC4 last night, and is up on iPlayer now
In the full interview one of them says “This film will never have influence in the long-term.” Wow, that aged terribly since their most religiously charged films have been classics.
thanks for posting this !
@mickeyboosh87 In a way, the Pythons won the debate, mainly because they were the only ones who took it seriously
@christianalexlea Thnaks for that. I didnt know BBC had shown the whole thing. Just watched it. Brilliant stuff.
To me, the bishop just liked the sound of his own voice, went on and on about nothing in particular. Best point made by Michael Palin in that people of the Christian faith can still laugh at the Life Of Brian, while it not affecting their faith whatsoever.
@RThyrring I agree. The Bishops were dismissive and unjustifiably arrogant.
I Must Say That I am A Proud Christian, and I LOVE The Life Of Brian!!! It's one of the Greatest Comedy Films Ever made, and certainly My Favorite Piece of Monty Python Work! I find it not at all offensive, and Find every moment absolutely Hilarious! :D
Muggeridge and the bishop bring nothing but uninformed prejudice to the encounter (it is not even a proper discussion - let alone debate) and show themselves up for what they are. I was in Germany at the time that this was broadcast in the UK. Thank-you for giving me a chance to see it.
Lol. The parody of this interview is genius
@cunninm1874 That is gone now... any other place to get it?
the bishop seems to have quite a lot of flare...just saying..
I love how everyone in the crowd is laughing
Having watched the film and the interview, I can only say that Muggeridge and the bishop are completely blinded by their faith. To the end they refused to believe that Brian was anything but a representation of Jesus. Throughout the interview they try and make cheap jabs rather than informed argument, and insist that only Christians have made great art. They just come across as pompous, stupid, arrogant and wrong.
On the first question the bishop rambled on without actually answering it. He should've been a politician.
Ummmmmmmmm, this movie is about a guy called Brian who gets mistaken for the messiah, not Jesus himself.
They never disrespect him, infact they pay quite a bit of respect to him after the titles.
It's as if the Bishop and Malcolm didn't watch the film
Malcolm Muggeridge and the Bishop should see the bright side of life.
@Crochetify I have no idea who Muggeridge is and have no desire to find out, but Palin, Cleese, Jones, Idle and Chapman are supreme British trademarks of humour, cleverness and the unexpected, and will stay engraved in popular memory long after the other two nameless gentlemen in this spot. So I hope at least.
@Crochetify Indeed. Now let's worship the Python for a bit : )
I can't seem to post a link, but there is a great counter-sketch, "Not the Nine O'Clock News - Monty Pythons worshipers"
I just love the Phytons. Life of Brian is one of the greatest comedy films ever made.
The accusations are ridiculous! I'm a Christian and I LOVED this film. It wasn't making fun of Christian teachings at all, or Jesus, or anything like that. It was saying don't just believe everything you're told at face value. Question things, think for yourself. And I absolutely hate how they put down the final scene. I think that is the most beautiful scene in cinema history, saying even in the darkest situations, keep smiling, stay happy, look on the bright side!
'I was blind and now I can see.' - Funniest line!
@TheWatsonater7 What's with the strange and random capitalisation within the text of your comment?
Just asking.
Are there any full length, un-edited clips of this anywhere? I can't seem to find any ...
Does anyone know where I can see the whole interview?
In the end though, how many people remember Malcolm Muggeridge and the Bishop (who I seriously can't even remember the name of after 10 minutes)? Very few at best.
Where as Python are still remembered and worshipped as legends amongst the film writing and comedy writing community.
Check and mate.
The whole debate I kept waiting for some one to say 'cut'. I find it quite depressing to know this occasion of narrow mindedness and malice actually occurred.
On another note, the Pythons got some funny remarks in, at least.
Muggeridge and the bishop could not have acquitted them worse with a one eyed salute.
@rubbishrider861 Noo, the BBC showed the real show as well on the same night ! If you're in the UK go on iPlayer and look through the BBC4 shows until you find it, it's just called "Friday Night, Saturday Morning" and it's this episode in full ! (:
the opinion of the public of the time was that the python crew won the debate
08:29 Kenneth Collie was also in Star Wars.
This is by no means the "most complete" version of the debate. You cut everything together, so that it would ridicule the bishops (although I bet they laughed at some scenes, because noone could resist xD)
A hypothesis is a theory that hasn't been fully proven yet. Theories come together to form laws, which explain everyday occurrences, etc. For example, Newton's Laws can be supported by several theories, most relating to gravity.
@Stereovaccine Nobody expects the spanish inquisition! hahaha :)
I read somewhere that that the Bishop afterwards said to John Cleese "Well that went well"... And Cleese was astounded in realizing that it was just "a show they put on"... The Bishop "had to play the offended" so... he played the offended... even though he was not!
The worst thing was, neither he or muggeridge had even seen the movie in its entirety apart from a few clips.
Actually even laws are theories, but we are fairly certain about them.
INSPIRED THE SHITEST ART THE WORST TASTE IN EVERYTHING UNTIL THE PYTHON BOYS CREATED THE BEST PEICE OF ART INSPIRED BY THE PERIOD!
Both Muggeridge and the Bishop never even watched the first 10 minutes, where it clearly portrays the fact that Brian was NOT Christ.
if you dont understand that it was intended as a mocking of Christ from the get go then either you are being disingenuous or are a bit slow. Why did they choose chapman whose lifestyle they all knew about to parody Christ?
@hbunnyo: But always remember that the original title of the Life of Brian was in fact Jesus Christ: Lust for Glory!
Holy Flying Circus played this off very well
The fact that the audience was laughing at the clips shown on the show at the time shows how ridiculous the censorship thing was. People hand minds of their own to make up and seeing how utterly closed minded, bullish and prejudiced the 'opposition' were would sway them even more!
What annoyed me the most is that they did not 'watch' the film with an open mind. No matter what Muggeridge said, he clearly had not got an open mind to it, otherwise, he would have let the Pythons actually explain.
what got me was that muggeridge and the bishop didn't see the first 15 mins of the film before commencing their ill-informed diatribe. it did them no favours
4:52 - what does he say before "when i was a schoolmaster"?
The lower fourth
Angry Michael Palin = sexy Michael Palin
Anyone who aligns morality with religion is a damn fool.
@mutley26 Well to be completely honest I didn't really realize I was doing it :L I see now that you are right, and I think it is just something I do when using sites such as this and Facebook. Clearly I'm not really doing it now, as you've flagged up the topic, but still you are right. Sorry I have no useful or meaningful answers for you :)
Bishop Stockwood: Heavy drinker and homosexual
Muggeridge: Ladies man and heavy drinker. There you have it.
Yup the geezer in the frock was truly ghastly. However John cleese and palin are both not paragons of morality either. Graham Chapman was openly perverted and this was well known and championed by all the monty python team so was it by chance that they chose him to portray Jesus Christ , God? Cleese and Palin and all the rest are not laughing along with us they are laughing at us.
@@ricdavid7476 aw fuck off with your bullshit, none of them are without their flaws of course no one is. But calling someones lifestyle perverted for no reason is very uncalled for. god is dead, thank you very much, have a nice day. :)
@@stulvus you remind me of the monthy python character which Palin played who has rolled up trousers and a knotted handkerchief on his head saying " my brain hurts".
@@ricdavid7476 Thank you very much I'll take that as an compliment. By the way did you fucking watch the movie or not, because Chapman did definetly not portray jesus. P.S: Gay does not equal perverted if you tried to imply that btw. you're just damn ignorant. Again, Have a nice day :)
It's somewhat pythonesque that Michael Palin and John Cleese are the serious ones here, and Muggeridge and the Bishop are the ones acting ridiculous.
I've Just realised from the flash of light at 6:32 ... John Cleese is God ;D
@acasouk Yes, me too. She's a funny lady.
Theories have been demonstrated to be correct... Laws are just, well laws.Theories combine laws, and you'll be able to make predictions using theories.
Hypothesis are the unproven version.
Theories explain laws. Bind them all together.
Well a Bishop's job is not to be a comedian.
i can't understand what the bishop guy says....he's just drawling....
"a lot more funnier".. nice. When I was watching the movie as a young teenager I knew very little about the story of Christ only the faint outlines described to me in churches. It was still a very funny movie but I knew was not about Jesus. It made me look closer at my ideologies. I thought that if I was going to believe in a god then I should look at what the bible actually says. I have since been disturbed by what the bible says and the people that follow it blindly.
Yes that is the problem you just looked at the bible you did not read and study it.
3:46 - 3:49 he shows his true colours as a bigot. I guess it was ok in those days.
@vixiki Also, I write like an idiot : ) ('I can't seem to be able to post...)
@hbunnyo: Sure, but if you do not know why Jesus had been crucified and how much his sufferings at the cross are felt by Christians, read medieval mystics for example, you will not fully comprehend the statement of Monty Python that crucifixion is in fact a doddle; or the way Brian performs miracles and is revered as the Messiah. Or the birds and lilies speech of Brian, which mocks central sermons of Jesus, as Brian tells the crowed too not to pass judgement on others.
at around 5:30 min the bishops necklace looks like a very naughty thing...
Still, not a shred of evidence for religion, and yet people still insist on proselytizing about something they admit they are taking on faith. By definition, taking something on faith means you have no evidence for it.
The day humanity evolves beyond religion will be an enlightened day indeed.
@Bananadickification What is that a yes to?
Actually it was Cleese who said that.
i love monty python...all the stuff they had to put up with...
That lady in a purple dress is actually trying to be funny. In the company of Monty Python. Talk about bringing a knife to a gunfight.
Comedy overpowers the cross.
@ind0ctr1n3 Oh, sorry, I meant the "why lampoon death?" bit. I personally don't have a problem with the fact that the movie makes jokes to do with crucifixion, but I can see that it's a delicate subject. Not because it was Jesus, because I don't feel Jesus was any more important than anyone else, but simply because it was really barbaric and horrible.
The life of Brian is about the people who decided to worship Jesus but due to misinterpretation, allowed them selves to suffer even further and there are three examples of this. 1st was when the rich Jew said blessed are the Greek can we know his name? the 2nd Is when Jesus cures a man of leperacy but has destroyed his income because he doesn't have an illness to beg money from.Third was when the Judean's peoples front were fighting the peoples front of Judea.
sorry, meant to write: It's not a satire of religion, it's taking the piss out of the people that follow religion and how they follow it. Such lines as "i should recognise a messiah, I've followed a few!" by a character of Eric Idle.
The host shouldn't have let the bishop rant like that at the start. He starts by talking about how you can't get rid of Christianity, and goes onto say you shouldn't mock Auschwitz. When asked what he thinks about the film. Moron, no wonder the membership of his church has halved in recent decades, while Pythons remain as popular as ever.
@acasouk I read this comment a week ago and I'm still laughing.
05:35 Even as a great admirer of the film, and as a completely unreligious person, I can sort of sympathise with the Bishop on this one point.
I rewatched that time and didn’t see him make any point
Wtf is the bishop trying to say
5:56 - "deal with it girlfrieeend!"
5:56
good fucking god he can talk his arse off
@hbunnyo: Nope, as the Pythons did put in Jesus and called their mockery of his Brian in order to avoid censorship and religious outrages; just remember that the movie had even in this watered-down form quite a lot of problems; while Brian does of course resemble Jesus far too much to not believe him to be a parody of his; alone that he is crucified by Pilate, who asks the folk which criminal he should enlarge, is suffice; but the Pythons did take some pains to make all this seen less obvious.
Religious nuts always believe they have the right to preach their beliefs to you - But you are not aloud to offer an alternative (even in Humour). The Life Of Brian is the funniest film I have ever seen. Religion is all about who has the best imaginary friend.
It's not a satire of religion, it's taking the piss out of the it is followed.
Malcom is known for his brilliant expositions. But he seemed super dull in this debate, missing the point that a crowd tried to make Brian the Messiah. He belabored his point of how Jesus inspired art when the real miracle is how many hearts Jesus has changed. I'm an unashamed follower of Jesus and this film did zero to slander Christ or His work on the cross. Too many religious people.are uptight and have jokes fly right over their heads
Anyone named Cohen could not be the Messiah anyway. Cohen is a Levite name and not a Jewish one.
@rolatrad Lol, I just watched that too~
Oh really - have you read Straw's "Religious hatred" legislation? You can be imprisoned for attacking religion in 2013. In 1979 we were far more free, merely having a cobwebbed old blasphemy law which was rarely used and only covered Christianity. The ghastly EU is now looking carefully at new laws across the region to punish those who are critical of religion - among other things.
@PubliusTarvos thats just the theory of falsification...
And it is bollocks that all the arts and crafts were inspired by christianity, the church was the great oppressor, had all the wealth (stolen and extorted) and consequently was the strongest and largest employer. Many of those great artist chose not to bite the hand that fed them.
I think you missed the point of the crucifixion scene in the life of Brian that it is not Jesus' crucifixion. Reasons to support this: 1. He is not nailed to the cross 2. No crown of thorns. It is a hint toward religion not that Brian is Jesus. Derren Brown wonderfully showed how easy it is to invoke emotions people believe to be supernatural and are not but, that is opening a can of worms conversation. I don't often see death ever taken too seriously in many comedies do you? It's a joke.
@tlm19670 Yes they do have to be like that.
I'm glad Life of Brian was made, it points out how broken the religious system is. Just watch the news and all the hate that is connected to religion. I'm spiritual but will NEVER follow any religion. It's all a scam anyhow.
"...religion...is going to hang around with us for quite some time". The bishop was actually a bit funny. Could it have been intentional?
I... honestly thought this was a Python setup the first time I watched it. Then I realised that the Bishop wasn't funny enough. Just grating.