This review was updated on September 21, 2024
It’s hard to imagine a world without Life of Brian. Would modern-day leftism be viewed with quite such disdain if it wasn’t for the Judean People’s Front? Would we be able to look at the herdlike followers of so-called free thinkers like Trump and Musk without hearing a gaggle of voices cry out: ‘Yes! We’re all individuals!’? Would the petty divisions within every religion seem a little less absurd, the trappings of organised faith a little less gaudy, the blatant hypocrisy of it all a little less obvious? Would we be able to hear the Sermon on the Mount without thinking about Greeks, fistfights and the manufacturers of dairy products?
Right from the start, the Church of England recognised the threat posed by the film. Life of Brian may not have lampooned Christ directly – in fact, as the Pythons have taken pains to point out, it treats the Messiah himself with the utmost respect. What it does instead is far more dangerous, attacking the dogmas, the demagogues, and the petty rules and regulations that came in Christ’s wake. No wonder the Bishop of Southwark took to the television in a petulant, laughably misguided attempt to upbraid Michael Palin and John Cleese for their efforts – he may have claimed not to have seen the film, but he must have felt personally attacked nonetheless. And with good reason.
It’s as quotable as ever – and just as searingly, eye-openingly intelligent
Decades on, Life of Brian hasn’t lost an ounce of its relevance: religious mania is still the world’s most pressing challenge, at least until climate change kicks in (indeed, the only bit that feels awkward in a modern context is the mildly transphobic Loretta scene). What’s more surprising, however, is that it’s still extremely funny, as quotable now as it ever was, and as searingly, eye-openingly intelligent.
What to watch next:
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975); The Last Temptation of Christ (1988); South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut (1999)