Monty Python’s Life of Brian is more than just a mere comedy; it is a Biblical, religious, and political satire. Like all Python films, Life of Brian seems to educate the viewer while at the same time providing entertainment. Unfortunately not all of the elements in Life of Brian occurred in real life, which takes away from the validity of the plot. While not everything is accurate, it seems that a majority of the film could be considered genuine. In order to understand an analysis of the film, one must first have a basic sense of the plot.
Summarizing a movie that is almost an hour and a half into one paragraph is a daunting task, but it can be done! The first scene opens with Brian receiving gifts from the Three Wise Men; however, it is soon found out that he is not Jesus. Brian soon finds out that he is a Roman; but despite his ancestry he wishes to join the People’s Front of Judea (PFJ), not only to prove he is a Jew, but to get close to Judith. After being accepted into the PFJ, Brian is commanded to vandalize the Roman palace and soon after kidnap Pilate’s wife. Brian fails to kidnap Pilate’s wife, is seized by Romans, and then escapes. After escaping, Brian is mistaken as the messiah and soon after is once again captured by the Romans. Brian is to be crucified and unfortunately the PFJ believes he is doing so to stand up for “the cause”. The film closes with a light musical number given by crucified citizens. This summary will better allow you to understand the analysis that follows.
One can come to various conclusions about the story that is being told. On the surface the story is simply the life of Brian; however, behind it are the stories of the Bible, the Romans, and even Jesus. Terry Jones, the di...
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Works Cited
Ebert, Roger. "Life of Brian." Rogerebert.com. Rogerebert.com, 1 Jan. 1979. Web. 20 June 2011. .
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Roffé, Sarina. "Jews Built Roman Coliseum." JewishGen. JewishGen. Web. 20 June 2011. .
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The movie is called "It's a Wonderful Life" because the film's George Bailey learns by the end of the movie what a truly blessed life he has lived. He learns this lesson thanks to the fact that he is given the opportunity by an angel to see what the world would've looked like had he never been born.
Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition Bible. Eds. Dom Bernand Orchard, Rev. R. V. Fuller. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1966. Print.
Brian’s life is already very hard, as he lives with his mother, a single woman, far away from his father. Brian’s parents are going through a very bitter divorce, which pulls Brian between both parents (Saurino). The pilot of the airplane suffers a heart attack, and Brian must make a difficult decision (Sutherland). He must decide whether to land the plane early, to avoid flying too far away from help, or to keep the plane flying and use the pilots radio to call for help. Eventually, Brian decides to land the plane in the Canadian wilderness.
White, Brian. "In The Humble Fashion Of A Scripture Woman": The Bible As Besieging Tool In
To begin with, the dual narratives of the text here present a unique mixture of chronology and perspective. Moreover, noteworthy is also McBride’s usage of the rhetorical strategy of alternate chapters and parallelism. This can be seen when McBride remarkably places related chapters together to juxtapose the life of his mother and that of himself. This allows one to observe the parallelism in the two lives; and perhaps more importantly, understand the significance Ruth’s life has had on McBride. For example, McBride places the chapters “Shul” and “School” next to each other. Here, both Ruth and James are struggling and are trying to fit in but are rejected due to racial and social conflicts. Another example is, “The New Testament” and “The Old Testament.” Both of these chapters revolve around the embarrassment Ruth and James feel for their circumstances. In “The Ne...
Ebert, Roger. "Menace II Society." Roger Ebert. N.p., 26 May 1993. Web. 15 Mar. 2014. .
All biblical stories are dedicated in providing a life lesson. They are God’s ways in teaching His people on how they should behave and how to better their relationships with Him. In addition, the accounts also give insight to characteristics and truths of God. The lives of numerous biblical characters serve as archetypes that affirm the fact that God is the sovereign Creator, the supreme Judge, and the merciful Savior.
Dir. Stanley Kubrick. Prod. Stanley Kubrick, Victor Lyndon, and Ken Adam. By Stanley Kubrick, Terry Southern, Peter George, Gilbert Taylor, Anthony Harvey, and Laurie Johnson. Perf. Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, Sterling Hayden, Keenan Wynn, Slim Pickens, and James Earl Jones. BLC, 1963. DVD.
Kuhns, William. “The Movie Columnists.” Movies in America. London: The Tantivy Press, 1975. 142-73. Print.
Das Leben der Anderen (The Lives of Others) 2006, DVD, Buena Vista Pictures, Burbank, California, United States of America. Written and directed by Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
Moreland, J.P., and Wilkins, Michael, ed. Jesus Under Fire: Modern Scholarship Reinvents the Historical Jesus. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1995.
Concannon, Phil. "Review - Mary and Max." Phil on Film. N.p., 19 Oct. 2009. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.
The movie started with a night-time scene where we saw a hysterical Jesus afraid for his life roaming around in the woods. His apostles couldn't understand what was wrong with him. A figure of Satan was tempting Jesus not to go through with it while at the same time an army of Roman Soldiers was marching towards the woods to capture him.
God reveals himself to the tribe of Judah through Jesus, although they reject him. The movie ultimately shows God’s plan for restoring his relationship with mankind, through the sacrifice of his son Jesus. The greatest personal insight gained from the movie was the political and spiritual battle with the religious establishment and the blindness of the Jewish culture that lead to the rejection of their symbolic spiritual Passover.