Editing Monty Python's Life of Brian (section)

==Reception==
Reviews from critics were mostly positive on the film's release. Movie historian [[Leonard Maltin]] reported that "This will probably offend every creed and denomination equally, but it shouldn't. The funniest and most sustained feature from Britain's bad boys."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Maitlin |first1=Leonard |title=Leonard Maltin's 2015 Movie Guide |date=2014 |publisher=Penguin}}</ref> [[Vincent Canby]] of ''[[The New York Times]]'' called the film "the foulest-spoken biblical epic ever made, as well as the best-humored—a nonstop orgy of assaults, not on anyone's virtue, but on the funny bone. It makes no difference that some of the routines fall flat because there are always others coming along immediately after that succeed."<ref>{{cite news|last=Canby |first=Vincent |author-link=Vincent Canby |date=August 17, 1979 |title=Film: 'Monty Python's Life of Brian' |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |page=C15 }}</ref> [[Roger Ebert]] gave the film three stars out of four, writing, "What's endearing about the Pythons is their good cheer, their irreverence, their willingness to allow comic situations to develop through a gradual accumulation of small insanities."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/life-of-brian-1979 |title=Life of Brian |last=Ebert |first=Roger |author-link=Roger Ebert |newspaper=[[Chicago Sun-Times]]|location=Chicago, Illinois|date=January 1, 1979|via=[[RogerEbert.com]] |access-date=August 1, 2018 }}</ref> [[Gene Siskel]] of the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' gave the film three and a half stars, calling it "a gentle but very funny parody of the life of Jesus, as well as of biblical movies."<ref>{{cite news|first=Gene|last=Siskel|author-link=Gene Siskel|date=September 21, 1979|title='Brian' a clever sendup of biblical films|newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]]|location=Chicago, Illinois|page=3}}</ref> [[Kevin Thomas (film critic)|Kevin Thomas]] of the ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'' declared, "Even those of us who find Monty Python too hit-and-miss and gory must admit that its latest effort has numerous moments of hilarity."<ref>{{cite news|first=Kevin|last=Thomas|author-link=Kevin Thomas (film critic)|date=August 17, 1979|title=Python's Spoof of Biblical Spectacle|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|page=30}}</ref> Clyde Jeavons of ''[[The Monthly Film Bulletin]]'' wrote that the script was "occasionally over-raucous and crude", but found the second half of the film "cumulatively hilarious", with "a splendidly tasteless finale, which even [[Mel Brooks]] might envy."<ref>{{cite journal |last=Jeavons |first=Clyde |date=November 1979 |title=Monty Python's Life of Brian |journal=[[The Monthly Film Bulletin]]  |volume=46 |issue=550 |page=229 }}</ref> [[Richard Grenier (newspaper columnist)|Richard Grenier]], writing in the [[Neoconservatism|neoconservative]] magazine ''[[Commentary (magazine)|Commentary]]'', said "''Life of Brian'' contains appreciably more mocking of faddish radicalism and Third World 'national-liberation movements' than it does of religion," citing numerous examples in the film of satire at the expense of "left-wing ideas about imperialism, feminism, and terrorism," reflecting a satirical omnivorousness that Grenier associated with "the tradition of what might be called 'Tory wit,' reaching back to [[William Congreve|Congreve]] and [[Jonathan Swift|Swift]] and all the way forward to [[Evelyn Waugh]] and [[Kingsley Amis]]."<ref name=Grenier>[https://www.commentary.org/articles/richard-grenier/tory-wit/ Grenier, Richard, "Tory Wit," ''Commentary'', December 1979.]</ref> Gary Arnold of ''[[The Washington Post]]'' had a negative opinion of the film, writing that it was "a cruel fiction to foster the delusion that 'Brian' is bristling with blasphemous nifties and throbbing with impious wit. If only it were! One might find it easier to keep from nodding off."<ref>{{cite news |last=Arnold |first=Gary |date=September 21, 1979 |title='Life of Brian': Suicidal Python |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1979/09/21/life-of-brian-suicidal-python/ae7d05e6-0c3e-4761-8b22-d073dbc2f743/ |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |page=C1 }}</ref>

{{Quote box|width=29%|align=right|quote="Despite the numerous Biblical references, the film is not about Christ, but a nearly-messiah named Brian whose misfortune sees him worshipped by three wise but lost men, accrue disciples, and ultimately crucified for his efforts at pursuing a simple life. Funded by ex-[[The Beatles|Beatle]] [[George Harrison]], and fiercely lobbied against on its release, this film has secured a place in cinematic history."|source=—Channel 4 entry for ''Life of Brian'' which ranked first on their list of the 50 Greatest Comedy Films.<ref name="Channel4 Comedy"/>}}
Over time, ''Life of Brian'' has regularly been cited as a significant contender for the title "greatest comedy film of all time", and has been named as such in polls conducted by ''[[Total Film]]'' magazine in 2000,<ref name="autogenerated2">{{cite news|title=Life of Brian tops comedy poll|work=BBC News |date=29 September 2000 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/948331.stm|access-date=3 April 2007}}</ref> the British TV network [[Channel 4]] where it topped the poll in the [[100 Greatest (TV series)|50 Greatest Comedy Films]],<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4573444.stm|title=Life of Brian named best comedy|publisher=BBC |date=1 January 2006 |access-date=5 April 2010}}</ref> and ''[[The Guardian]]'' in 2007.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2007/jul/22/features.review1 |title=The last laugh: your favourite 50|work=The Guardian |location=UK |first=Philip |last=French |date=23 July 2007 |access-date=5 April 2010}}</ref> [[Rotten Tomatoes]] lists it as one of the best reviewed comedies, with a 96% approval rating from 67 published reviews, with an average rating of 8.3/10. Its critical consensus reads, "One of the more cutting-edge films of the 1970s, this religious farce from the classic comedy troupe is as poignant as it is funny and satirical."<ref name="RT"/> {{Metacritic film prose|77|15|access-date=20 November 2024}}<ref>{{Cite web |title=Monty Python's Life of Brian Reviews |url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/monty-pythons-life-of-brian/ |access-date=2024-11-20 |website=www.metacritic.com |language=en}}</ref>

In 1999 the [[British Film Institute|BFI]] declared ''Life of Brian'' to be the [[BFI Top 100 British films|28th best British film]] of all time. It was the seventh highest ranking comedy on this list (four of the better placed efforts were classic [[Ealing Films]]).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.the-happy-hut.com/best-british-films-of-all-time-bfi-list|title=The best British films of all time according to the British Film Institute – 1999|access-date=29 July 2014|archive-date=29 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140729235211/http://www.the-happy-hut.com/best-british-films-of-all-time-bfi-list/|url-status=dead}}</ref> Another Channel 4 poll in 2001 named it the 23rd greatest film of all time (the only comedy that came higher was [[Billy Wilder]]'s ''[[Some Like It Hot]]'', which was ranked 5th).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.channel4.com/film/newsfeatures/microsites/G/greatest/index.jsp |title=Channel 4's 100 Greatest Films |website=[[Channel 4]]|location=London, England |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100107025340/http://www.channel4.com/film/newsfeatures/microsites/G/greatest/index.jsp |archive-date=7 January 2010 }}</ref> A 2011 poll by ''[[Time Out (magazine)|Time Out]]'' magazine ranked it as the third greatest comedy film ever made, behind ''[[Airplane!]]'' and ''[[This is Spinal Tap]]''.<ref>{{cite web|last=Wine |first=Edy |url=http://www.timeout.com/london/feature/1352/100-best-comedy-films-the-list/18#monty-pythons-life-of-brian-1979 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110923195722/https://www.timeout.com/london/feature/1352/100-best-comedy-films-the-list/18 |title=100 Best Comedy Movies |magazine=[[Time Out London]]|access-date=18 December 2011|archive-date=23 September 2011 }}</ref> In 2016, ''[[Empire (film magazine)|Empire]]'' magazine ranked ''Life of Brian'' 2nd in their list of the 100 best British films, with only [[David Lean]]'s ''[[Lawrence of Arabia (film)|Lawrence of Arabia]]'' ranking higher.<ref>{{cite news |title=The 100 best British films |url=https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/100britishfilms/ |access-date=4 September 2019 |work=Empire}}</ref>

Various polls have voted the line, "He's not the Messiah, he's a very naughty boy!" (spoken by Brian's mother Mandy to the crowd assembled outside her house), to be the funniest in film history.<ref name="line poll"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cinema.com/news/item/5763/python-gag-voted-films-best-one-liner.phtml|title=The best movie line ever|website=Chortle Online Comedy Guide}}</ref> Other famous lines from the film have featured in polls, such as, "What have the Romans ever done for us?" and "I'm Brian and so's my wife".<ref name="line poll">{{cite news |first=Sarah|last=Womack|title=Life of Brian wins the vote for film's best laughter line |date=19 February 2002 |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1385293/Life-of-Brian-wins-the-vote-for-films-best-laughter-line.html |access-date=19 August 2019 |newspaper=[[Daily Telegraph]]|location=London, England}}</ref>