Monty Python at their very best

Rating: 9/10 (30 October 1998)

The comic talents of the entire Monty Python team shine in the very clever script which is the foundation upon which the many many sight gags, one liners and witty interplays take place. Developed, one imagines, over countless pizzas and cases of beer by a committee of talented comic writers.
The Life of Brian treads a very fine line between religious satire and comedy but is careful to show very early in the film that Brian is not Christ...or the Messiah (but perhaps a very naughty boy as him Mum calls him in one scene).
Filmed in North Africa with the Monty Python guys playing a range of multiple offbeat character roles, the film follows the fortunes of Brian as he attempts to join an anti-Roman group, escape captivity, evade a fanatical mob that believes him to be the Messiah, and eventually crucifixion.
A movie that needs to be seen again and again to catch all the comic touches on offer, I gave Life of Brian 9 out of 10.