Editing Monty Python's Life of Brian (section)

==Controversies==

===Initial criticism and blasphemy accusations===
[[Richard Webster (British author)|Richard Webster]] comments in ''[[A Brief History of Blasphemy]]'' (1990) that "internalised censorship played a significant role in the handling" of ''Monty Python's Life of Brian''. In his view, "As a satire on religion, this film might well be considered a rather slight production. As blasphemy it was, even in its original version, extremely mild. Yet the film was surrounded from its inception by intense anxiety, in some quarters of the Establishment, about the offence it might cause. As a result it gained a certificate for general release only after some cuts had been made. Perhaps more importantly still, the film was shunned by the BBC and ITV, who declined to show it for fear of offending Christians in the UK. Once again a blasphemy was restrained – or its circulation effectively curtailed – not by the force of law but by the internalisation of this law."<ref name="Blasphemy">{{cite book |author=Webster, Richard |title=A Brief History of Blasphemy: Liberalism, Censorship and 'The Satanic Verses' |publisher=The Orwell Press |location=Southwold |date=1990 |page=[https://archive.org/details/briefhistoryofbl0000webs/page/27 27] |isbn=0-9515922-0-3 |url=https://archive.org/details/briefhistoryofbl0000webs/page/27 }}</ref> On its initial release in the UK, the film was banned by several [[town council]]s – some of which had no cinemas within their boundaries, or had not even seen the film. A member of [[Harrogate (borough)|Harrogate council]], one of those that banned the film, revealed during a television interview that the council had not seen the film, and had based their opinion on what they had been told by the [[Nationwide Festival of Light]], a grouping with an evangelical Christian base, of which they knew nothing.<ref name="Channel 4" />

In New York (the film's release in the US preceded British distribution), screenings were [[Picketing (protest)|picketed]] by both rabbis and nuns ("Nuns with banners!" observed Michael Palin).<ref name="autobiography" /> It was also banned for eight years in Ireland and for a year in Norway (it was marketed in Sweden as "The film that is so funny that it was banned in Norway").<ref name="Python's Jones Passionate About 'Life Of Brian's' Return">{{cite web |author=Lammers, Tim|date=17 May 2004 |title=Python's Jones Passionate About 'Life Of Brian's' Return|publisher=[[WNBC]]|url=http://www.wnbc.com/entertainment/3316054/detail.html |access-date=6 November 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070327153944/http://www.wnbc.com/entertainment/3316054/detail.html |archive-date=27 March 2007}}</ref> During the film's theatrical run in Finland, a text explaining that the film was a parody of Hollywood historical epics was added to the opening credits.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://elonet.finna.fi/Record/kavi.elonet_elokuva_113451 |website=[[Elonet]] |title=Life of Brian |access-date=April 29, 2020 }}</ref>

In the UK, [[Mary Whitehouse]], and other traditionalist Christians, pamphleteered and picketed locations where the local cinema was screening the film, a campaign that was felt to have [[Streisand effect|boosted publicity]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.dvdivas.net/movies/reviews/l/lifeofbrian-BLUERAY.html |title=Monty Python's Life of Brian – The Immaculate Edition (Blu-Ray) |access-date=6 September 2008 |last=Klein |first=Wayne |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090405062250/http://www.dvdivas.net/movies/reviews/l/lifeofbrian-BLUERAY.html |archive-date=5 April 2009 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> Leaflets arguing against the film's representation of the [[New Testament]] (for example, suggesting that the Wise Men would not have approached the wrong stable as they do in the opening of the film) were documented in [[Robert Hewison]]'s book ''Monty Python: The Case Against''.

===Crucifixion issue===
One of the most controversial scenes was the film's ending: Brian's [[crucifixion]]. Many Christian protesters said that it was mocking Jesus' suffering by turning it into a "Jolly Boys Outing" (such as when Mr Cheeky turns to Brian and says: "See, not so bad once you're up!"), capped by Brian's fellow sufferers suddenly bursting into song. This is reinforced by the fact that several characters throughout the film claim crucifixion is not as bad as it seems. For example, when Brian asks his cellmate in prison what will happen to him, he replies: "Oh, you'll probably get away with crucifixion". In another example, Matthias, an old man who works with the People's Front of Judea, dismisses crucifixion as "a doddle" and says being stabbed would be worse.

The director, Terry Jones, issued the following response to this criticism: "Any religion that makes a form of torture into an icon that they worship seems to me a pretty sick sort of religion quite honestly."<ref name="Channel 4" /> The Pythons also pointed out that crucifixion was a standard form of execution in ancient times and not just one especially reserved for Jesus.<ref>{{cite book |title=Ancient Jewish and Christian Perceptions of Crucifixion |first=David W. |last=Chapman |page=44 |publisher=Mohr Siebeck |date=2008 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EdbdQ-5fMr0C |isbn=978-3-16-149579-3}}</ref>

===Responses from the cast===
Shortly after the film was released, Cleese and Palin engaged in a [[Friday Night, Saturday Morning#Monty Python's Life of Brian|debate]] on the [[BBC Two|BBC2]] discussion programme ''[[Friday Night, Saturday Morning]]'' with [[Malcolm Muggeridge]] and [[Mervyn Stockwood]], the [[Anglican Bishop of Southwark|Bishop of Southwark]], who put forward arguments against the film. Muggeridge and Stockwood, it was later claimed, had arrived 15 minutes late to see a screening of the picture prior to the debate, missing the establishing scenes demonstrating that Brian and Jesus were two different characters, and hence contended that it was a send-up of Christ himself.<ref name="autobiography" /> Both Pythons later felt that there had been a strange role reversal in the manner of the debate, with two young upstart comedians attempting to make serious, well-researched points, while the Establishment figures engaged in cheap jibes and point scoring. They also expressed disappointment in Muggeridge, whom all in Python had previously respected as a satirist (he had recently converted to Christianity after meeting [[Mother Teresa]] and experiencing what he described as a miracle). Cleese stated that his reputation had "plummeted" in his eyes, while Palin commented, "He was just being Muggeridge, preferring to have a very strong contrary opinion as opposed to none at all."<ref name="autobiography" /> Muggeridge's verdict on the film was that it was "Such a tenth-rate film that it couldn't possibly destroy anyone's genuine faith." In a 2013 interview on [[BBC Radio 4]], Cleese stated that having recently watched the discussion again he "was astonished, first of all, at how stupid [the two members of the Church] were, and how boring the debate became". He added: "I think the sad thing was that there was absolutely no attempt at a proper discussion – no attempt to find any common ground."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/av/entertainment-arts-25464820/cleese-and-palin-relive-the-1979-life-of-brian-debate |date=30 December 2013 |title=Cleese and Palin relive the 1979 Life of Brian debate |work=BBC News |access-date=5 September 2019 }}</ref>

{{Quote box|width=29%|align=right|quote="We always stated Brian wasn't blasphemous, but heretical. It wasn't about what Christ was saying, but about the people who followed Him – the ones who for the next 2,000 years would torture and kill each other because they couldn't agree on what He was saying about peace and love."|source=—Terry Jones speaking in 2011.<ref name="Bevan"/>}}
The Pythons unanimously deny that they were ever out to destroy people's faith. On the [[audio commentary (DVD)|DVD audio commentary]], they contend that the film is [[Christian heresy|heretical]] because it [[Parody|lampoons]] the practices of modern organised religion, but that it does not blasphemously lampoon the God that Christians and Jews worship. When Jesus does appear in the film (on the Mount, speaking the [[Beatitudes]]), he is played straight (by actor [[Kenneth Colley]]) and portrayed with respect. The music and lighting make it clear that there is a genuine [[aura (paranormal)|aura]] around him. The comedy begins when members of the crowd mishear his statements of peace, love and tolerance ("I think he said, 'blessed are the cheese makers'").<ref name="theologian">{{cite news |title=Monty Python's Life of Brian 'extraordinary tribute to Jesus', says theologian decorated by Pope Francis |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/religion/10543149/Monty-Pythons-Life-of-Brian-extraordinary-tribute-to-Jesus-says-theologian-decorated-by-Pope-Francis.html |date=31 December 2013 |first=John |last=Bingham |access-date=5 September 2019 |work=The Telegraph}}</ref> Importantly, he is distinct from the character of Brian, which is also evident in the scene where an annoying and ungrateful ex-[[leper]] pesters Brian for money, while moaning that since Jesus cured him, he has lost his source of income in the begging trade (referring to Jesus as a "bloody do-gooder").

James Crossley, however, has argued that the film makes the distinction between Jesus and the character of Brian to make a contrast between the traditional Christ of both faith and cinema and the [[Historical Jesus|historical figure of Jesus]] in critical scholarship and how critical scholars have argued that ideas later got attributed to Jesus by his followers. Crossley points out that the film uses the character of Brian to address a number of potentially controversial scholarly theories about Jesus, such as the [[Messianic Secret]], the Jewishness of Jesus, Jesus the revolutionary, and having a single mother.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Crossley |first=James |date=2011 |title=Life of Brian or Life of Jesus? Uses of Critical Biblical Scholarship and Non-orthodox Views of Jesus in Monty Python's' Life of Brian |journal=Relegere |volume=1 |publisher=Relegere 1 |pages=93–114 |doi=10.11157/rsrr1-1-10 |doi-broken-date=1 November 2024 |issn=1179-7231 |url=https://relegere.org/relegere/article/view/10 |url-access=subscription }}</ref>

In the DVD's audio commentary, Terry Gilliam says, "We were pilloried by religious groups on all sides from Jews to Catholics to Protestants. To me, what's important is that we managed to offend a lot of people. But as you notice, we were very cautious about offending any Muslims. We would say ''nothing'' negative about a Muslim, 'cause we'd get a [[fatwa]] after us. But your Jews, your Christians, they're easy to push around."<ref>Nesteroff, Kliph, "Outrageous: A History of Showbiz and the Culture Wars," 2023, Abrams Press, pg. 169</ref>

Not all the Pythons agree on the definition of the movie's tone. There was a brief exchange that occurred when the surviving members reunited in Aspen, Colorado, in 1998.<ref name="Aspen"/> In the section where ''Life of Brian'' is discussed, the following dialogue ensued:<ref name="Aspen">{{cite episode |title=Monty Python's Flying Circus: Live at Aspen |series=Monty Python Live! |date=21 March 1998 |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0287570/}}</ref>

<blockquote>
{{dialogue
|[[Terry Jones|Jones]]|I think the film is heretical, but it's not blasphemous.
|[[Eric Idle|Idle]]|It's a heresy.
|[[John Cleese|Cleese]]|I don't think it's a heresy. It's making fun of the way that people misunderstand the teaching.
|Jones|Of course it's a heresy, John! It's attacking the Church! And that has to be heretical.
|Cleese|No, it's not attacking the Church, necessarily. It's about people who cannot agree with each other.
}}
</blockquote>

In a later interview, Jones said the film "isn't blasphemous because it doesn't touch on belief at all. It is heretical, because it touches on dogma and the interpretation of belief, rather than belief itself."<ref>{{cite web |first=Kevin |last=Mcgue |url=http://www.alifeatthemovies.com/monty-pythons-life-of-brian/ |title=Monty Python's Life of Brian Movie Review |date=23 October 2010 |work=A Life At The Movies |access-date=2 February 2016 |archive-date=2 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210302010754/http://www.alifeatthemovies.com/monty-pythons-life-of-brian/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===21st century===

{{Quote box|width=29%|align=right|quote="''Life of Brian'' is an extraordinary tribute to the life and work and teaching of Jesus – that they couldn't actually blaspheme or make a joke out of it. It is a wonderful satire on the way that Jesus's own teaching has been used to [[Religious persecution|persecute]] others. They were satirising [[fundamentalism]] and persecution of others and at the same time saying the one person who rises above all this was Jesus."|source=—Theologian [[Richard Burridge (priest)|Richard Burridge]].<ref name="theologian"/>}}
The film continues to cause controversy; in February 2007, the [[Church of St Thomas the Martyr, Newcastle|Church of St Thomas the Martyr]] in [[Newcastle upon Tyne]] held a public screening in the church itself, with song-sheets, organ accompaniment, stewards in costume and false beards for female members of the audience (alluding to an early scene where a group of women disguise themselves as men so that they are able to take part in a [[stoning]]). Although the screening was a sell-out, some Christian groups, notably the conservative [[Christian Voice (UK)|Christian Voice]], were highly critical of the decision to allow the screening to go ahead. [[Stephen Green (Christian Voice)|Stephen Green]], the head of Christian Voice, insisted that "You don't promote Christ to the community by taking the mick out of him." The Reverend Jonathan Adams, one of the church's clergy, defended his taste in comedy, saying that it did not mock Jesus, and that it raised important issues about the hypocrisy and stupidity that can affect religion.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article1343479.ece|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070210063407/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article1343479.ece|url-status=dead|archive-date=10 February 2007|title=Strife of Brian|work=The Times |location=UK |date=7 February 2007 |access-date=5 April 2010}}</ref> Again on the film's DVD commentary, Cleese also spoke up for religious people who have come forward and congratulated him and his colleagues on the film's highlighting of double standards among purported followers of their own faith.<ref name="autobiography" />

Some bans continued into the 21st century. In 2008, [[Torbay]] Council finally permitted the film to be shown after it won an online vote for the English Riviera International Comedy Film Festival.<ref name="TorbayBan">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/7633749.stm|title=Python movie 'ban' finally lifted|date=24 September 2008 |work=BBC News |access-date=24 September 2008}}</ref> In 2009, it was announced that a thirty-year-old ban of the film in the Welsh town of [[Aberystwyth]] had finally been lifted, and the subsequent showing was attended by [[Terry Jones]] and [[Michael Palin]] alongside mayor [[Sue Jones-Davies]] (who portrayed Judith Iscariot in the film).<ref>{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/mid/7915623.stm |title=Town ends Python film 30-year ban |work=BBC News |date=27 February 2009 |first=Carl |last=Yapp}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/mid/7969835.stm |work=BBC News |title=Life of Brian still a huge draw |date=29 March 2009 |access-date=5 April 2010 |first=Carl |last=Yapp}}</ref> However, before the showing, an [[Aberystwyth University]] student discovered that a ban had only been discussed by the council and in fact that it had been shown (or scheduled to be shown) at a cinema in the town in 1981.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/mid/7919116.stm|title=Tickets sold out for Python film|date=2 March 2009|work=BBC News |publisher=BBC |access-date=16 April 2008}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Monty Myth-on |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/mid/sites/aberystwyth/pages/montypython.shtml |publisher=BBC |date=1 April 2009 |access-date=16 April 2009}}</ref> In 2013, a German official in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia considered the film to be possibly offensive to Christians and hence subject to a local regulation prohibiting its public screening on [[Good Friday]], despite protests by local atheists.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-23227452|title=Germany: Life of Brian banned on Good Friday|work=BBC News|date=8 July 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.derwesten.de/staedte/bochum/fuer-auffuehrung-der-jesus-satire-in-bochum-am-karfreitag-droht-strafe-id8152665.html |title=Für Aufführung der Jesus-Satire in Bochum am Karfreitag droht Strafe |date=5 July 2013 |language=de |access-date=5 September 2017 |archive-date=9 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210509051617/https://www.derwesten.de/staedte/bochum/fuer-auffuehrung-der-jesus-satire-in-bochum-am-karfreitag-droht-strafe-id8152665.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>