Life of Brian · reception & legacy
1979 · Terry Jones
How Life of Brian has been received, argued over, and remembered.
The arc
In 1979 it was denounced as blasphemous, banned in Norway and Ireland, and refused screenings by dozens of UK local councils — some of which hadn't even watched it. Now it routinely tops British polls as the greatest comedy film ever made, and even many clergy have come around to it as satire of dogmatism rather than faith.
What's debated
The eternal Python fan schism: is this or Holy Grail the group's masterpiece — with Brian partisans arguing it's the one with an actual story, and the sharpest thing they ever made.
Its footprint
'Always Look on the Bright Side of Life' escaped the film entirely — sung at football matches, funerals, and the London Olympics closing ceremony — while 'He's not the Messiah, he's a very naughty boy!' and 'What have the Romans ever done for us?' get wheeled out in political arguments to this day.
Where it stands
A stone-cold comedy canon entry and a 'you must have seen this' — the rare 1970s comedy whose reputation has only climbed, widely held up as the best thing Monty Python ever did.