Life of Brian

Rating: Null/10 (18 June 2011)

The film Life of Brian was released in 1979 and was one of the best comedies of its time. The director of the film was Terry Jones. Actor Graham Chapman plays the main character Brian Cohen, as well as two other characters, and was also one of the writers of the film. While this film may be considered controversial to some, the movie is a comical story about man named Brian who was born next door to Jesus Christ. The film tales a tale about religious stories and history and is a hilariously funny at times. Most actors portray several roles, using costumes and props to add to the overall humor.
The theme of the film seems to be to poke fun of some of the aspects of religion and history, while also showing how life would be if one were mistaken as the messiah. Brian Cohen was mistaken as the messiah both as an infant and an adult. This places him is several overly amusing situation. For instance as a newborn, Brian is located right next door to baby Jesus and is visited by actors John Cleese, Michael Palin and Brian Cohen (Three Wise Men). The three wise men mistakenly visits Brian and give him gifts; however the characters immediately return to retrieve their gifts, once they realize their mistakes. A recent movie that has a similar theme to Life of Brian is Year One, featuring actors Jack Black and Michael Cera. The movie is a witty comedy that is based on the cave man era. The movie uses overly funny hysterics which is similar to Life of Brian to tale a story of two cave men, who run into biblical characters while overcoming several obstacles.
The angles and lighting of the Life of Brian play an important role to the theme. During the film many of the actors play several roles, this means that they are typically in some form of a costume. It is important for the camera catch them at the right angles, so that the costume alters their identity. The lighting also adds to the theme. While it is also important for the actors it is also a factor when it comes to the time period of the plot. The story is set in the A.D era which means there was no electricity and all the light stemmed from natural light and fire. This sets the tone of the theme.
The overall theme to the film is simply comedy. The movie is not meant to tell the tale of Jesus Christ or the Romans; it is simply a comedy that uses history and biblical characters as its setting. As long as one can be open minded, the film will achieve its comical goal, which seems to be an influence on comedy's today.