Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #340 in DVD
• Released on: 2003-04-14
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English, Latin
• Subtitled in: Arabic, Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 89 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
There is not a single joke, sight-gag or one-liner in Monty Python's Life of Brian that will not forever burn itself into the viewer's memory as being just as funny as it is possible to be, but--extraordinarily--almost every indestructibly hilarious scene also serves a dual purpose, making this one of the most consistently sustained film satires ever made. Like all great satire, the Pythons not only attack and vilify their targets (the bigotry and hypocrisy of organised religion and politics) supremely well, they also propose an alternative: be an individual, think for yourself, don't be led by others. "You've all got to work it out for yourselves", cries Brian in a key moment. "Yes, we've all got to work it our for ourselves", the crowd reply en masse. Two thousand years later, in a world still blighted by religious zealots, Brian's is still a lone voice crying in the wilderness. Aside from being a neat spoof on the Hollywood epic, it's also almost incidentally one of the most realistic on-screen depictions of the ancient world--instead of treating their characters as posturing historical stereotypes, the Pythons realised what no sword 'n' sandal epic ever has: that people are all the same, no matter what period of history they live in. People always have and always will bicker, lie, cheat, swear, conceal cowardice with bravado (like Reg, leader of the People's Front of Judea), abuse power (like Pontius Pilate), blindly follow the latest fads and giggle at silly things ("Biggus Dickus"). In the end, Life of Brian teaches us that the only way for a despairing individual to cope in a world of idiocy and hypocrisy is to always look on the bright side of life.

On the DVD: Life of Brian returns to Region 2 DVD in a decent widescreen anamorphic print with Dolby 5.1 sound--neither are exactly revelatory, but at least it's an improvement on the previous release, which was, shockingly, pan & scan. The 50-minute BBC documentary, "The Pythons", was filmed mainly on location in 1979 and isn't especially remarkable or insightful (a new retrospective would have been appreciated). There are trailers for this movie, as well as Holy Grail plus three other non-Python movies. There's no commentary track, sadly. --Mark Walker

DVD Description
Monty Python delivers a scathing, anarchic satire of both religion and Hollywood's depiction of all things biblical with their second film. The setting is Judea 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 centre 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 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 mock everyone and everything from ex-lepers, Pontius Pilate, and the art of haggling to crazy prophets, Roman centurions, and crucifixion.

Special Features
"The Pythons" Documentary
Theatrical Trailer
Anamorphic 1.81:1 widescreen
Dolby Digital 5.1
Languages: English, Hungarian (Dolby 5.0), German (Mono)
Subtitles: Arabic, Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, English (Hard of Hearing), Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Slovene, Swedish, Turkish

Customer Reviews

What have the Romans ever done for us?
John Cleese once said that this film is what he'd most like to be remembered for, which coming from a man who wrote some of the best Python sketches and Fawlty Towers, should tell you something about how good this film is.

Hugely controversial at the time, the subject matter of 'The Life of Brian' was considered strictly taboo in 1979, and even today it can still rattle a few cages, but ultimately the Python team all shared the same conviction that they were not poking fun at religion (or Jesus) per se, but at the people who blindly follow and misunderstand. In this way, 'The Life Of Brian' became not just a comedy classic, but a ground-breaking movie that pushed the barriers of what was previously considered 'off-limits'.

Graham Chapman revels in the lead role of 'Brian of Nazareth', and the rest of the team play multiple rolls, in a very Goon Show-esque type way, with the story always revolving around Brian. The turning point comes when, in an attempt to evade the notice of the Romans, Brian pretends to be a street preacher and gathers the attention of a small crowd. Once the Romans pass by, however, he stops preaching and tries to walk away, only to find that the small crowd want to hear the rest of what he was saying. As more and more people come along to find out what is happening, his followers multiply until they are convinced that he must be some sort of messiah. They follow Brian home only to be told by his mother that "There's a mess alright, but no messiah.." (I'm paraphrasing, by the way!)

Each member of the Python team contributes immensely to the film, with Eric Idle supplying a classic Python tune as Brian is being crucified ("Always Look On The Bright Side of Life"), Terry Gilliam with some great visual gags, Terry Jones as the director of the film, Cleese and Palin turning in multiple brilliant performances (like Cleese's Reg, the leader of the PFJ, and the classic "What have the Roman's ever done for us?" sketch), not to mention Chapman as the unsuspecting hero. There are also a couple of cameo appearances (notably Spike Milligan and George Harrison) which can be spotted by the eagle-eyed viewer, but are all too brief if you ask me.

If you haven't got this film in your collection, then now is your chance to correct the error of your ways!... and as the "Not the Nine O'Clock News" team once pointed out, Britain is still ostensibly a Python-worshipping country, so do your duty and buy a copy of this classic today!

Great film. Terrible DVD.
The film is one of the funniest made, and certainly the best piece of work from the Python Team.

However, the UK edition on DVD is simply the worst DVD I have bought. It is a very poor video transfer in 4:3, complete with pops, lines and flickers. The sound is muffled and dull. There are no extras, despite many documentaries ( made by Monty Python Ltd) relating to the film.

There is nothing to recommend this DVD over the video release.

Always read the small print
I have steadfastly resisted buying previous versions of this DVD, as the 'extras' are virtually non-existent. Where is the spoof travelogue that accompanied the cinema release (with John Cleese getting increasingly frustrated with the number of scenes including gondolas)? Where is the short Christmas card animation, without which the appearance of the cut-out stagecoach in the film itself makes no sense? Both of them together can't take up more than 15 minutes, so space can't be the issue.

But at last - 'a special edition' - surely this will have everything that was missing from the previous releases? And the package IS very nice - script book, postcards, film cell, sturdy box to house them in. But what's the point of good packaging if the DVD is the same? As far as I can make out, there is no difference at all, and for the first time I actually regret buying a DVD - I really should have read the small print.

The film itself, of course, is an absolute classic that everyone should see. Not only is it extremely funny, it has a serious sub-text about not just believing what you're told - with religious fundamentalism on the rise, it feels more relevant today than it did when it was first released. So just buy the cheapest version you can find - you'll enjoy it more without the nasty taste in your mouth.