Product Description

Graham Chapman, Terence Bayler, Charles McKeown, John Cleese, Terry GilliamDirector: Terry Jones

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2355 in DVD
• Brand: Blu-ray Comedy
• Released on: 2007-12-03
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .26 pounds
• Running time: 89 minutes

Synopsis
Monty Python delivers a scathing, anarchic satire of both religion and Hollywood's depiction of all things biblical with their second--and tightest--full-length film. The setting is the Holy Land in 33 A.D., a time of poverty and chaos, with no shortage of messiahs, followers willing to believe in them, and exasperated Romans trying to impose some order. At the center of it all is Brian Cohen (Graham Chapman), a reluctant would-be messiah who rises to prominence as a result of a series of absurd and truly hilarious circumstances that parallel the life of Christ--providing ample opportunity for the entire ensemble (John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones, Michael Palin, and Chapman) to shine in multiple roles as they blaspheme and mock everyone and everything from ex-lepers, Pontius Pilate, and the art of haggling to crazy prophets, Roman centurions, and crucifixion.
Directed by Python Terry Jones, MONTY PYTHON'S LIFE OF BRIAN is an uproarious biblical parody that does to ancient Rome what THE HOLY GRAIL did to the Middle Ages. Rome is run by pathetic wimps, liberation fronts fight with each other over acronyms, and gladiators put on bloody children's matinees as the people search desperately for someone to lead them out of their life of misery and poverty. And Brian is that man. Sort of. Well, not really. Chapman excels as Brian, a simple, quiet man suddenly thrust in the role of leading the revolution--while constantly being yelled at by his shrew of a mother.

Customer Reviews

Classic movie just got better
I have to say that many of my friends thought this would be a waste of money..... a 30 year old film wouldn't be worth buying on Blu-Ray if you had the DVD. WRONG! This was so much better than I expected, the grafitti scene alone was stunning, you could see every instance! If you are a fan..... invest or be a very naughty boy!

Stunning quality
If you own the DVD version and are worried you are wasting money, dont. The transfer on this is perfect and worth the investment.

The Masters re-mastered.
Although the source film is 30 years old and the standard dvd has been available for aeons, I was very pleasantly surprised to find that the producers have made some effort in the presentation of the feature as a whole in this format, rather than simply make the film itself high-def.
I expected to load the disc, wait the statutory five minutes for it to start, then see a simple 'play' button taking me straight to the action. But no, there before me was a reasonable choice of buttons leading to various settings and film features. Just like a modern day blu-ray feature.
What's more, the links have been given a Pythonesque feel and you could think that Terry Gilliam (the arty American Python who produced all of their excellent animations) had been directly involved in the dvd production.
The quality of the picture is very good and has truly benefited from the high def process. Some older films don't seem to benefit a great deal from the transfer process, but as all of the outdoor shots were done in Africa, with the richness and tonality of light that was available, this one certainly does. This is highlighted even more by the stark contrast of the dungeon scenes where the only light is that suggested by sunlight filtering through the walls and the odd flame torch or two.
Referring back to Terry Gilliam, the scene when Brian falls off the top of the tower and is saved by the alien spaceship which is being pursued by an enemy alien spaceship and is taken for a quick spin of the earths atmosphere, before crashing right back at the base of the same tower-cue Gilliams twisted inventiveness- I can definitely see things in this sequence that I never could on the standard dvd.
Again, when Brian writes the graffiti on the walls of the fort, which takes him all night, when you see the finished article (no pun intended) the writing is so vivid it almost gives the effect of being in 3D -it jumps out of the screen.
My only criticism, and it is a slight one, is that I didn't really notice a great leap forward in the sound quality and there is no uncompressed audio option, but then it is a 30 year old film!
In conclusion I'm not trying to say that this is the best blu-ray dvd ever produced -Iron Man, Dark Night are far more technically accomplished- but it is a noticeable upgrade from the standard dvd, and one that can be appreciated by anyone with access to a decent size, good quality, flat screen tv and blu-ray player. And with that in mind I would recommend it as a good value purchase