J Paul Johnson
It’s been more than a few years since Monty Python’s Life of Brian first appeared as a part of The Criterion Collection. Way back in 1999 it was one of their early DVD special editions, a two-disc package with a bevy of supplements, but never given the upgrade treatment; Sony Pictures in 2008 added a making-of documentary and an improved visual presentation on Blu-ray. Now, the biblical epic send-up gets resurrected once more, with a 4K UHD remaster approved by Terry Gilliam in a two-disc special edition from Criterion.
Life of Brian is a film that seldom got made in the first place, much less enjoyed a long afterlife on physical media through VHS, DVD, Blu-ray, and now 4K UHD. The script’s irreverent approach to the film’s biblical subject matter gave the higher-ups at EMI cold feet, and they withdrew their funding just two days before the film was about to shoot. What, one wonders, did they expect from the famously subversive Pythons? Ex-Beatle George Harrison, who had befriended the group, mortgaged his famous Friar Park mansion to finance the film, and his doing so led to the creation of HandMade Films, which went on to produce dozens of essential British films, including The Long Good Friday and Time Bandits, among others, before eventually folding in 2014.
Brian‘s skeletal plot serves primarily to provide a scaffold for a series of inspired sight gags, quirky characters, and even the most inspired crucifixion song you’ve ever seen. In ancient Jerusalem, a child, Brian (Graham Chapman) is born and then visited by three wise men, who quickly enough discern that this is not the child of God they seek. Brian is no Jesus, but he lives an extraordinary life, being entangled in many unlikely events, including plotting to overthrow the Roman Empire and even being mistaken for the Messiah himself. Bawdy puns, cutting double entendres, cheeky non sequitors, and inspired sight gags—including some of Terry Gilliam’s infamous 2D animations—all spark the famous Python humor and make Life of Brian one of the decade’s funniest comedies.
To rewatch Life of Brian is to relive dozens of wild moments and goofy lines, from blessed cheesemakers to Bigus Dickuses. But what sutures all of its wildly disparate moments together is the troupe’s sendup of religious dogmatism. It’s not Christianity, specifically, that is the target of the satire, though it’s the religion from which Life of Brian borrows its iconicity and history; it’s dogmatism, the devout adherence to scripture without regard to physical evidence or alternative perspectives, that gets skewered so pointedly here.
Brian repeatedly and vehemently denies his is the Messiah, but no matter what he says, the devout find in his words only further evidence that he is, indeed, their messiah. Increasingly desperate, he tells the crowd, “You don’t need to follow anybody! You’ve got to think for yourselves!” But that too is misunderstood, and the crowd, no matter what they hear, no matter what they see, simply wants to believe that Brian is the Son of God. In an historical moment where the United States of America is led by a man whose presence his followers deem divinely ordained, despite all evidence to the contrary, Monty Python’s message seems not just historically astute but practically prescient.
Christians complained, some vehemently. “The film held up to deliberate ridicule my faith in Jesus Christ and made fun of His suffering,” said Presbyterian minister William Solomon. “It was cruel and sarcastic, but it was not art.” The Rabbinical Alliance of America (hardly targeted by the film’s humor) called it an “incitement to violence.” Protests got the film banned here and there, but never stalled its box office success, and in the United States, actually led to HandMade films increasing the film’s exhibition from 200 to 600 theaters. As they say, with a smile and a whistle, “Always look on the bright side of life.”
It’s worth revisiting an era when a film comedy could be, as Life of Brian is, laugh-out-loud funny from start to finish, mocking not just its primary target but nearly everyone and everything in sight. No one would stand today for some of its humor, and disability and transgender advocates might take issue with some of its scenes—its extended lampooning of Pontius Pilate’s (Michael Palin) lisp, for instance, or Eric Idle’s “confused revolutionary’s” gender dysphoria—but that doesn’t make Life of Brian one thudden crithith less funny.
Criterion presents Life of Brian in a new 4K digital restoration made from the original 35mm camera negative, and for some sections, a 35mm interpositive, with the process supervised by Monty Python’s Terry Gilliam. Both the original 2.0 stereo surround and an alternate 5.1 surround track are presented in DTS-HD Master Audio, but neither is any better than barely serviceable; Life of Brian has always had one of the worst sound recording qualities of any modern film, with muffled and sometimes inaudible voices. Visually, this is a fine restoration, with excellent clarity, detail, and range, though some scenes remain quite soft, and while Life of Brian does not really seem like the kind of film that necessitates the absolute best picture quality possible, this edition provides it.
Special Features
Criterion’s array of special features is impressive, with dual audio commentaries, a feature-length making of, and plenty of behind-the-scenes and deleted footage.
Audio commentaries. As they did for the DVD edition in 1999, Criterion provides two audio commentaries. The first features Pythons Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, and Terry Jones, and the second features John Cleese and Michael Palin. Both have a quality of hushed randomness, like you are watching with a chatty friend on your living room couch. The first group is more engaged, it seems, than Cleese and Palin. While it’s great to have all five participating, and they’re both worth a listen, it can’t be said that either commentary is especially compelling, and a tighter edit might have allowed space for all five on the same track.
The Story of Brian. This hourlong making-of documentary from 2007 (originally titled as “The Secret Life of Brian,” directed and produced by Will Yapp) is the only featurette new to this Criterion edition. All of the others had been included on its 1999 DVD. And it, it should be said, was included on the 2008 Sony Blu-ray. It’s a wonderfully precise and pithy making-of, with reminiscences from the principals, but also an astute focus on the religious controversies following its release. Unlike with most Criterion releases, subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing are available for this and all of the other featurettes, despite this being an English-language production, which is a welcome change: more typically, Criterion provides English SDH only for foreign-language content.
The Pythons. This 50-minute documentary was produced for the troupe’s tenth anniversary back in 1979 and shot in Tunisia during the making of Life of Brian, featuring a good deal of behind-the-scenes footage from the film as well as interviews with most of the principals and then a look back at the troupe’s inception and Flying Circus television show. It’s a good bit more anodyne than “The Story of Brian,” but well worth a watch. Of all of these featurettes, “The Pythons” is the only one not made available on the Sony Blu-ray.
Michael Palin’s Super 8 Film. Palin narrates 13 minutes of his own behind-the-scenes footage shot on Super 8 during the making of the film. The segment has a distinct home-movie feel with Palin reminiscing about the shoot and its many guests and, in his words, “jolly jape.”
Screenplay Read-through. This audio recording, illustrated with storyboards and script pages, features the Pythons reading through an early draft of the screenplay.
Deleted Scenes. Five deleted scenes—thought lost but unearthed on a cassette tape by Terry Jones—are presented with optional commentaries by Jones, Gilliam, and Idle.
Also included are a set of original British radio ads starring Mrs. Cleese, Mrs. Gilliam, Mrs. Idle, and Palin’s dentist; an animated stills gallery; and a trailer for the film’s U.S. release. The familiar double-disc clear jewel case includes two discs—one with the 4K version of the film and commentary tracks, the second with the film’s special features—and a 12-page color foldout with an insightful introductory essay by film critic Bilge Ebiri. The cover is based on an original theatrical poster by Terry Gilliam.
I could be missing something, but although the disc packaging mentions the feature being presented in SDR on the Blu-ray, here the second (Blu-ray) disc does not contain, as is normally the case with Criterion’s 4K catalog, the film itself, but only the special features. In each case I’ve encountered of Criterion either upgrading or adding new catalog content, they’ve provided the film itself both on a 4K UHD disc and on a second Blu-ray disc.
This resurrection of Monty Python’s Life of Brian is a welcome one, especially in a day and age where, as Ebiri concludes, “We live in a horrible world where no one is coming to save us.” Visually, it’s a necessary upgrade from Criterion’s 1999 DVD, even if it includes only one new-to-Criterion featurette. Those who already own Sony Pictures’ 2008 “Immaculate Edition” Blu-ray will face a more difficult choice whether to upgrade, as Criterion’s 4K UHD offers only a modest visual upgrade and one additional supplement (“The Pythons”).
So, for those of you contemplating whether or not to add this new 4K UHD special edition Spine #61 to your own physical media collection, just ask yourselves, what would Brian of Nazareth say?
“You’ve got to think for yourselves! You’re ALL individuals!”
(Crowd, in unison: “Yes! We’re ALL individuals!”)
