History Trivia / MontyPythonsLifeOfBrian

* BreakawayPopHit: Not a pop hit, per se[[note]]although it did get to No. 3 in the UK chart in 1991[[/note]], but the popularity of "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" has long surpassed that of the film is was from. [[note]]This arguably takes away from the original joke of such a cheery sing-along song being sung [[SoundtrackDissonance while the singers literally are being crucified]], though there does exist a minority of devout Christians who have a direct hatred of the song because they know it's from that scene (not that the film was made for them anyway).[[/note]]

%% * AccidentallyCorrectWriting: The whole shtick about the different anti-Roman groups and their infighting is clearly intended as a TakeThat against then current leftist groups in the UK, but incidentally the real life anti-Roman groups at the time did more infighting than fighting against the Romans. Ultimately this meant that all three Jewish uprisings against the Romans failed precisely because of that WeAreStrugglingTogether, though the immense military strength of the Roman Empire didn't help either.

* DeniedParody: The Pythons have always denied that the film was a parody of the UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}} story - instead it's just a story about a guy called Brian living around the same time who is mistaken for the Messiah. The parody is about the various trappings of the religion - things like emphasis on symbols and extreme sectarianism and interpretations of Jesus's teachings that [[DramaticallyMissingThePoint completely miss the point]], while the teachings themselves are left intact. They never said they weren't making fun of religion, they just said they weren't making fun of Jesus. And they weren't. At least, not more than a couple of times. ("Bloody do-gooder.") They rejected their initial concept of Brian as a forgotten disciple of Jesus because the laughs stopped dead whenever Jesus was around, not because they felt it was in poor taste but because they literally couldn't think of anything funny to say about someone who preached [[SincerityMode sincere kindness and empathy]].
-->'''Creator/EricIdle:''' "We realized we couldn't really write about J.C. because there's nothing you can complain about, [[JesusWasWayCool the man saying "Blessed are the poor, feed and help people..."]] There was something more interesting about exploring what followers of a religion do."
** Many pundits criticized the film for being blasphemous, which the Pythons always denied; they were criticizing the church, not Jesus, [[ExactWords so technically the film was heretical]].

* MagnumOpusDissonance: The Creator/MontyPython crew consider this to be their masterpiece, but most other people say that the less controversial ''Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail'' is the best thing they've made. Cleese once stated that most of Great Britain are fans of ''Life of Brian'', while Americans like ''Holy Grail'' better.
* OrphanedReference: There was originally a whole subplot about King Otto, who was to have been ANaziByAnyOtherName. The only mention of Otto in the finished film is when his crack suicide squad show up in the final scene.

** In another draft, the movie ''was'' about Jesus, who, being an experienced carpenter, nitpicked the construction of his crucifix.

* QuoteSource:
** BlackComedy

* ReferencedBy: Nam Nguyen and Keegan Messing performed to "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" for their [[https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x7rcc3x exhibition number]] at the 2020 Canadian Figure Skating Championships. They were the heavy favourites coming into this competition, but they both lost the national title to Roman Sadovsky by a large margin, so Nguyen and Messing worked together on this program to try to cheer themselves up.
* ThrowItIn

** The extras playing the guards in the Biggus Dickus scene were told that if they laughed during filming, they would not get paid for their work. Thus their desperate attempts to keep a straight face are genuine. One can even be seen trying not to cry.

* UsefulNotes/BFITop100BritishFilms: #28

** Kind of. Creator/JohnCleese used to be a Latin instructor, so when the centurion gives Brian an impromptu Latin lesson during the 'Romanes Eunt Domus' scene, his grammar is spot on.

* CastTheExpert: Kind of. Creator/JohnCleese used to be a Latin instructor, so when the centurion gives Brian an impromptu Latin lesson during the 'Romanes Eunt Domus' scene, his grammar is spot on.

** The extras playing the guards in the Biggus Dickus scene were told that if they laughed once during filming, they'd be fired immediately. Thus their desperate attempts to keep a straight face are genuine. One can even be seen trying not to cry.

* CastTheRunnerUp: Creator/JohnCleese originally campaigned for the part of Brian, eager to expand his range with his first sustained film role. The rest of the group favored Creator/GrahamChapman, and felt that Cleese would be missed if he didn't play several of the ensemble roles. Cleese soon agreed that Chapman was better suited, and stepped aside. Creator/MichaelPalin was considered for Brian as well.

* WorkingTitle: According to Creator/MichaelPalin's diaries, he, Chapman and Idle strongly favored the title ''Brian of Nazareth''. It was never used, perhaps to avoid comparisons with ''Series/JesusOfNazareth'', whose leftover sets were used for parts of this film. When the film was released in Italy in the early 1990s, it was titled ''Brian di Nazareth'', with no mention that it was made in 1979.

* CastTheExpert: Kind of. John Cleese used to be a Latin instructor, so when the centurion gives Brian an impromptu Latin lesson during the 'Romanes Eunt Domus' scene, his grammar is spot on.
** A behind-the-scenes example; Graham Chapman was training to be a doctor before branching off into comedy, and was still licensed to practice when filming began. So on top of playing the lead, he also served as the on-set doctor for the cast and crew.
* CastTheRunnerUp: Cleese originally campaigned for the part of Brian, eager to expand his range with his first sustained film role. The rest of the group favored Graham Chapman, and felt that Cleese would be missed if he didn't play several of the ensemble roles. Cleese soon agreed that Chapman was better suited, and stepped aside.

* CreatorRecovery: Chapman's alcoholism was so bad he'd suffered from DT's filming out in the countryside for ''Holy Grail''. He knew playing the lead as Brian would be more demanding, so he quit drinking for good before filming began.

* TheForeignSubtitle:
** Denmark: ''Life of Brian: A Life of the Lord''

* MagnumOpusDissonance: The Monty Python crew consider this to be their masterpiece, but most other people say that the less controversial ''Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail'' is the best thing they've made. Cleese once stated that most of Great Britain are fans of ''Life of Brian'', while Americans like ''Holy Grail'' better.

** Cleese wanted Creator/GeorgeLazenby to play Jesus. He said it would be absolutely hilarious, and he wanted the film's tagline to be "George Lazenby IS Jesus Christ". When the film's producers contacted Lazenby's agent they found out Lazenby was overseas working on another film project.

* AwesomeDearBoy: Music/GeorgeHarrison didn't just make a cameo — he provided the finances to complete it when the Pythons ran out during filming. Both he and they liked to joke that it was "the most expensive movie ticket in history". He was that big a fan.
* BannedInChina: The film still remains banned in nations including but not limited to: Bhutan, Oman, Singapore, and South Africa. It used to be banned in Ireland, Chile and Norway. Swedish theatres advertised it as "The film so funny they banned it in Norway."

* BreakawayPopHit: Not a pop hit, per se[[note]]although it did get to No. 3 in the UK chart in 1991[[/note]], but the popularity of "Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life" has long surpassed that of the film is was from. [[note]]This arguably takes away from the original joke of such a cheery sing-along song being sung [[SoundtrackDissonance while the singers literally are being crucified]], though there does exist a minority of devout Christians who have a direct hatred of the song because they know it's from that scene (not that this movie was made for them anyway).[[/note]]
* CastTheExpert: Kind of. John Cleese used to be a Latin teacher, so when the centurion gives Brian an impromptu Latin lesson during the 'Romanes Eunt Domus' scene, his grammar is spot on.

* CastTheRunnerUp: Cleese originally campaigned for the part of Brian, eager to expand his range with his first sustained film role. The rest of the group favored Creator/GrahamChapman, and felt that Cleese would be missed if he didn't play several of the ensemble roles. Cleese soon agreed that Chapman was better suited, and stepped aside.

* CreatorRecovery: Graham Chapman's alcoholism was so bad he'd suffered from DT's filming out in the countryside for ''Holy Grail''. He knew playing the lead as Brian would be more demanding, so he quit drinking for good before filming began.

** Music/GeorgeHarrison originally had a larger role, but it got cut to him just being introduced as the manager of the Mount and saying "Hello." Pilate's wife, only mentioned in the final cut, was to have been played by Burt Case, a very tall actor who had another bit part that remained in the film.

** A scene introducing hardline Zionist Otto, leader of the Judean People's Front and his men who practice a suicide run in the courtyard.

-->'''Eric Idle''': "We realized we couldn't really write about J.C. because there's nothing you can complain about, [[JesusWasWayCool the man saying "Blessed are the poor, feed and help people..."]] There was something more interesting about exploring what followers of a religion do."

** A small one, but in the scene where the crosses are being carried up the hill, the guard (apparently named Parvus) hits Creator/EricIdle's annoying character. It was supposed to be only a tap and not meant to hurt, but the actor was annoyed with him that day and whacked him instead. Eric's brief look of surprise is genuine.
* ExecutiveMeddling: A rare positive example. The original production company canned this movie at the last minute, fearful that the religious subject matter would offend people. So [[Music/TheBeatles ex-Beatle]] Music/GeorgeHarrison [[BigDamnHeroes stepped in]], paid a few million pounds, and more or less let the Pythons do whatever they wanted... for the sole reason that he was a huge Python fan and wanted to see their next movie. Creator/EricIdle later described it as "the most expensive movie ticket ever purchased."

* InspirationForTheWork: The concept of the film came when Creator/EricIdle, frustrated by paparazzi badgering them about what their next project would be, said in a post-''Holy Grail'' interview that their next film would be ''Jesus Christ: Lust for Glory''. He only said it to shut them up, but John Cleese was intrigued and suggested developing it.
* MagnumOpusDissonance: The Monty Python crew consider this to be their masterpiece, but most other people say that the less controversial ''Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail'' is the best thing they've made. Creator/JohnCleese once stated that most people in Great Britain are a fan of ''Life of Brian'', while Americans like ''Holy Grail'' better.

* RecycledSet: The film reused the sets from ''Series/JesusOfNazareth''. A lot of the extras were locals who had worked on that film too. They'd frequently tease Terry Jones by saying, "That's now how Mr. Zeffirelli did it..."

** The scene of all the people trudging uphill to listen to the Sermon on the Mount. It was getting late in the day and the extras all started to leave during a lull in filming and had to be herded back, and it was Creator/EricIdle who noticed that it looked really good and said to turn the cameras on.

** In another version, the movie ''was'' about Jesus, who, being an experienced carpenter, nitpicked the construction of his crucifix.
** Originally, Brian was the unknown 13th Apostle, who was always slightly late to important moments of Jesus' life.
** A proposed ending for the film saw [[http://www.montypython.com/news_palinarchive2/466 Brian inadvertently become the founder of the Roman Catholic Church.]]
** Creator/JohnCleese wanted Creator/GeorgeLazenby to play Jesus. He said it would be absolutely hilarious, and he wanted the film's tagline to be "George Lazenby IS Jesus Christ". When the film's producers contacted Lazenby's agent they found out Lazenby was overseas working on another film project.

* WorkingTitle: According to Creator/MichaelPalin's diaries, he, Creator/GrahamChapman and Creator/EricIdle strongly favored the title ''Brian of Nazareth''. It was never used, perhaps to avoid comparisons with ''Series/JesusOfNazareth'', whose leftover sets were used for parts of this film. When the film was released in Italy in the early 1990s, it was titled ''Brian di Nazareth'', with no mention that it was made in 1979.

* BreakawayPopHit: Not a pop hit, per se, but the popularity of "Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life" has long surpassed that of the film is was from. [[note]]This arguably takes away from the original joke of such a cheery sing-along song being sung [[SoundtrackDissonance while the singers literally are being crucified]], though there does exist a minority of devout Christians who have a direct hatred of the song because they know it's from that scene (not that this movie was made for them anyway).[[/note]]

* OrphanedReference: There was originally had a whole subplot about King Otto, who was to have been ANaziByAnyOtherName. The only mention of Otto in the finished film is when his crack suicide squad show up in the final scene.

* RecycledSet: The film reused the sets from ''Series/JesusOfNazareth''.

** The lone man in the "We are all individuals" scene, who plaintively comments "I'm not!"? That was improvised. He ended up getting a pay raise to speaking actor for his improv.

** Noway: ''The Life and History of the Prophet Brian''

* InspirationForTheWork: The concept of the film came when Creator/EricIdle said in a post-''Holy Grail'' interview that their next film would be ''Jesus Christ: Lust for Glory''. Needless to say, the concept went through numerous revisions, including one where Brian was the unknown 13th Apostle, who was always slightly late to important moments of Jesus' life.

* DeniedParody: The Pythons have always denied that the film was a parody of the UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}} story - instead it's just a story about a guy called Brian living around the same time who is mistaken for the Messiah. The parody is about the various trappings of the religion - things like emphasis on symbols and extreme sectarianism and interpretations of Jesus's teachings that [[DramaticallyMissingThePoint completely miss the point]], while the teachings themselves are left intact. They never said they weren't making fun of religion, they just said they weren't making fun of Jesus. And they weren't. At least, not more than a couple of times. ("Bloody do-gooder.") They rejected their initial concept of Brian as a forgotten disciple of Jesus because the laughs stopped dead whenever Jesus was around — none of them felt comfortable directly making jokes about him because [[JesusWasWayCool there's nothing to really mock about the man himself]].

* AccidentallyCorrectWriting: The whole shtick about the different anti-Roman groups and their infighting is clearly intended as a TakeThat against then current leftist groups in the UK, but incidentally the real life anti-Roman groups at the time did more infighting than fighting against the Romans. Ultimately this meant that all three Jewish uprisings against the Romans failed precisely because of that WeAreStrugglingTogether, though the immense military strength of the Roman Empire didn't help either.

** The concept of the film came when Creator/EricIdle said in a post-''Holy Grail'' interview that their next film would be ''Jesus Christ: Lust for Glory''. Needless to say, the concept went through numerous revisions, including one where Brian was the unknown 13th Apostle, who was always slightly late to important moments of Jesus' life.

* ShoutOut: The title song is very similar to the title song from ''Film/{{Goldfinger}}''.