Life of Brian (1979)

It's been called blasphemous, a travesty, an attack on Jesus Christ and one of the funniest movies ever made. When nobody else wanted to touch it, George Harrison of the Beatles agreed to finance it simply because after reading the script he wanted to see the movie. What we got was a parody of sorts of a man, born about the same time as Jesus Christ, who also amasses a following and winds up crucified at the end. The difference is of course nobody remembers Brian of Nazareth but now his story can be told.The movie is full of hilarious characters, misunderstood comments and the very surreal and zany humor that the Pythons were known for. I will say that this isn't a movie for everybody. I know of several deeply religious people who get offended by this movie and that's their opinion. But if that isn't you and Monty Python is your kind of thing then you really ought to see this. There's really no reason to miss it.

Genius. Watch out for George Harrison as man lending mounts on Palm Sunday!

This is Monty Python at their silliest irreverent best. Some tried and failed to ban this film on release, thank God we're not ruled by Taliban or Shia laws. The stand out moments are the stoning and what have they ever done for us.Add in the man who wants to be a woman and have children, can the liberation front call it oppression if he actually can't. The Judean liberation fighters are excellent satire on political parties divided and ruled by committees. There's so much more all the way through the film, this is a truly must see comedy.

Mistaken for the messiah, a hapless a young man from Nazareth tries to avoid crucifixion in this controversial comedy that was banned in several countries upon initial release due to its religious irreverence. Written by the six members of the Monty Python troupe (who collectively play forty roles), the humour is hit-and-miss as per the troupe's norm. There is nothing especially funny about Terry Jones in drag, the lisping of Michael Palin as Pontius Pilate goes on for far too long and other parts are simply silly (mentally handicapped jailer). The jokes that do work are admittedly excellent though. A lesson on how to haggle is a particular highlight, same goes for a stoning scene in which all participants are actually women in disguise, plus the politics of the various rebel factions in Judea are great. The second half of the movie also works better than the buildup to it as the title character finds himself unable to rid himself of followers mistaking him for their saviour and no matter what he says, he cannot get them to change their view. The film is also topped off with the most memorable ending of all four Monty Python movies with its celebration of optimism in the face of adversity.