Monty Python's Life of Brian

Monty Python's Life of Brian (also known as Life of Brian) is a 1979 British <a href="/facts/Black_comedy_film/uKRYTRP3">black comedy film</a> starring and written by the comedy group <a href="/facts/Monty_Python/tNPcRLty">Monty Python</a> (<a href="/facts/Graham_Chapman/bchpDSuv">Graham Chapman</a>, <a href="/facts/John_Cleese/ULkFcKVC">John Cleese</a>, <a href="/facts/Terry_Gilliam/oHY9a7FS">Terry Gilliam</a>, <a href="/facts/Eric_Idle/8zfXrh4j">Eric Idle</a>, <a href="/facts/Terry_Jones/WzUj6Gyu">Terry Jones</a> and <a href="/facts/Michael_Palin/fWgDKcc0">Michael Palin</a>). It was directed by Jones. The film tells the story of Brian Cohen (played by Chapman), a young <a href="/facts/Judaea_(Roman_province)/QPVlNrrv">Judaean</a> man who is born on the same day as—and next door to—<a href="/facts/Jesus/Hcd9hEzI">Jesus</a>, and is subsequently mistaken for the <a href="/facts/Messiah/KfWyxrNK">Messiah</a>.
Following the withdrawal of funding by <a href="/facts/EMI_Films/rQp4oFxG">EMI Films</a> just days before production was scheduled to begin, musician and former <a href="/facts/The_Beatles/2syHWLcM">Beatle</a> <a href="/facts/George_Harrison/akznD2lX">George Harrison</a> and his business partner <a href="/facts/Denis_O%27Brien_(producer)/MfCTRJ9N">Denis O'Brien</a> arranged financing for Life of Brian through the formation of their <a href="/facts/HandMade_Films/s5GkJNnp">HandMade Films</a> company.
The film's themes of religious satire were controversial at the time of its release, drawing accusations of <a href="/facts/Blasphemy/yXq1tVQ9">blasphemy</a> and protests from some religious groups. In the United Kingdom, the film was given a AA (14) rating by the <a href="/facts/British_Board_of_Film_Classification/yu88BdwE">British Board of Film Classification</a> (BBFC) in August 1978. The BBFC (based in England) classify films on behalf of local councils (across the UK), though each local council ultimately has the power over the classification of any film screened in their jurisdiction. As a result of this, 11 councils outright banned the film, while a further 28 raised the rating from AA to X across their jurisdictions. (The certificate issued by the BBFC would later be amended, from AA to 15 in 1988, and from 15 to 12A in 2019). Some countries, including <a href="/facts/Republic_of_Ireland/k8JzXVze">Ireland</a> and <a href="/facts/Norway/wlDRKRTR">Norway</a>, banned its showing, and in a few of these, such as Italy, bans lasted over a decade. The filmmakers used the notoriety to promote the film, with posters in Sweden reading, "So funny it was banned in Norway!"
The film was a box office success, the fourth highest-grossing film in the United Kingdom in 1979, and highest-grossing of any British film in the United States that year. It has remained popular and has been named as the <a href="/facts/List_of_films_considered_the_best/pGV2gfUG">greatest comedy film of all time</a> by several magazines and television networks, and it later received a 96% rating on <a href="/facts/Rotten_Tomatoes/rLs7ktSY">Rotten Tomatoes</a> with the consensus reading, "One of the more cutting-edge films of the 1970s, this religious farce from the classic comedy troupe is as poignant as it is funny and satirical." In a 2006 <a href="/facts/Channel_4/qosXcrpc">Channel 4</a> poll, Life of Brian was ranked first on their list of the <a href="/facts/100_Greatest_(TV_series)/mj22hCsb">50 Greatest Comedy Films</a>.

Monty Python's Life of Brian open-in-new

Monty Python's Life of Brian