Well, they done it again! Four years after their hilarious trammeling of King Arthur and his poor knights (Monty Python And The Holy Grail, 1974), the Brits John Cleese, Eric Idle, Graham Chapman, Michael Palin, Terry Jones and their expatriate American friend Terry Gilliam have a go at Biblical conventions. Widely condemned at the time of it's release (Indeed, banned in Ireland altogether-guess thats one thing the Catholics and Protestants were able to agree on!) as being sacriligious, it is apparent, after viewing the film, that such outcries came from people who never bothered to watch it first. This is nothing new now, and it was nothing new then. Anything that even hints at irreverence brings 'em out of the woodwork! The film concerns itself with Brian Cohen, a self-described Red Sea pedestrian , and his adventures in Roman occupied Judea circa 33 AD. Brian becomes involved with an anti-Roman resistance movement. When he is caught painting Romans Go Home in the forum one night by a soldier, who proceeds to punish him for his bad grammar (He is made to paint the phrase 100 times!), he is forced to flee into the marketplace. There, to blend in, he joins the many Messiahs vying for an audience, and gains a following, very much against his will. This proves to be his undoing, and he is undone as only the Pythons can undo it! Whereas Holy Grail was really a series of skits built around a central theme, Life Of Brian has a linear storyline. As always, there are flights of fancy and nonsequitur. It would not be a true Python film without these. But they are fewer, more controlled and integral here. The two movies are equally funny, but in different ways. This is a more polished, somewhat more restrained effort. All the familiar Python hallmarks are here: most of the women's parts are played by men in hilariously bad drag. Almost all of the roles are played by the six Pythons themselves, with support for some secondary roles and some crowd scenes. There are memorable (to say the least) interpretations of historical and biblical figures (Though those expecting mockery of Jesus will be disappointed: He appears once, in a long-shot, at the film's opening, delivering the Sermon On The Mount, and he is not the object of the scene's humor. The crowd, bickering amongst themselves is.). Michael Palin's Pontius Pilate, sounding for all the world like Elmer Fudd, is worth watching the film for, all by itself! You'll be cracking up over those scenes for days! ( What is funny about the name Biggus Dickus? I have a vewy gweat fwiend in Wome by the name of Biggus Dickus! ). The film climaxes with, to my knowledge, the only musical crucifixion on film, other than the one in Jesus Christ Superstar (1973), and this one is, I promise you, much funnier! 