Cinema
Monty Python's Life of Brian
Terry Jones · 1979
Synopsis
At night, three wise men follow a star, enter a stable, kneel before an infant and offer him gold, frankincense and myrrh, until they realise their mistake. They take back the gifts and go to the stable next door. Thirty-three years later, on a Saturday afternoon around teatime, a crowd listens to a preacher on a hill; those at the back can hear nothing and wonder why he has blessed the cheesemakers.
Context
The first financier, whose boss judged the screenplay blasphemous, withdrew a few days before the planned departure for the shoot, which took place only several months later. George Harrison, a friend of the comedians, mortgaged his house, and his partner his offices, to guarantee a budget of about four million dollars; he founded for the occasion a production company that was to count in English cinema of the eighties. The film was released in the United States in August 1979 and in Britain on 8 November; several town councils banned it, one of them without having seen it, and spectators took the coach to the neighbouring town.
Who it is for
Ninety-four minutes, in English with subtitles or in a French version; the film was shot in Tunisia.
Prizes and reception
The gesture of its financial backer has been called the most expensive cinema ticket in history; eleven British councils banned the film.
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