Films on Jesus and Moses Wikipedia pages

A.D. (miniseries)

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This article is about the 1985 miniseries. For the 2015 miniseries, see A.D.: The Bible Continues.
‹ The template Infobox film is being considered for merging. ›

A.D.

Directed by
Stuart Cooper
Produced by
Tarak Ben Ammar & Vincenzo Labella
Music by
Lalo Schifrin
Edited by
John A. Martinelli, ACE

Running time
 600 min
Country
Britain
 Italy
A.D. (1985) is a British/Italian miniseries in six parts which adapts the narrative in the Acts of the Apostles. Considered as the third and final installment in a TV miniseries trilogy which began with Moses the Lawgiver (1974) and Franco Zeffirelli's Jesus of Nazareth (1977),[1] it was adapted from Anthony Burgess's novel The Kingdom of the Wicked, which was itself a sequel to Burgess's book Man Of Nazareth, on which was based Zeffirelli's movie. The title is the abbreviation for Anno Domini (Medieval Latin, "In the year of the Lord"), as the events occur in the first years of the Christian Era.


Contents  [hide]
1 Plot summary
2 The Cast
3 The Crew
4 See also
5 Notes
6 External links

Plot summary[edit]
The story tells the life histories about Saint Peter and Paul of Tarsus after the crucifixion of Jesus, and their individual fates in old Rome in the time of the persecution of Christians. Events in the New Testament Book of Acts by Luke and in the Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius are dramatized and interwoven with the contrasting histories of political intrigues in the public and private lives of the Caesars from Tiberius through Nero related in The Twelve Caesars by Suetonius, together with the fictional drama of the lives of two Jews and two Romans: Caleb the Zealot and his sister Sarah, and Julius Valerius the Imperial Guard and Corinna the patrician woman who has chosen to be a gladiator.
After Caleb is condemned to be crucified, his mother is murdered when Roman soldiers carry out Pilate's orders to have Caleb's sisters Sarah and Ruth sent to Sejanus in Rome as "gifts". Caleb is rescued on the way to execution, and goes to Rome to find them. He enlists as a gladiator, takes the name "Metellus", meets and falls in love with Corinna, and is trained as a retiarius. Meanwhile, Ruth, grieving, provokes a Roman soldier to kill her during the voyage to Rome, and Sarah is made a slave in Sejanus' household, until he is executed for treason, and she then becomes part of Caligula's household. Tiberius, after ordering the execution of Sejanus, was himself secretly assassinated by Caligula, who has now become Caesar. Julius Valerius, having met Sarah on Sejanus' estate, has fallen in love with her, and when she is put on the slave block to be sold as part of an imperial fund-raising effort he, with the financial help of his parents and additional funds provided by Aquilla and Priscilla, Jewish tent-makers, buys her for himself and frees her to become his wife. Caleb is informed that Sarah is alive, but he is scandalized that she has married a Roman soldier. He meets Valerius and is soon confronted with the fact that he himself loves a Roman woman, now disinherited and disowned by her father.
Valerius and Caleb participate in the plot to assassinate Caligula, and the stammering Claudius (found hiding) is hailed as the new Caesar. He expels the Jews from Rome, but Sarah is exempt as the wife of a Roman. Caleb/Metellus and Corinna also remain. Aquilla and Priscilla return to Jerusalem. Soon afterward Claudius is poisoned by Agrippina after having designated her son Nero as successor over his own son Britannicus, and she herself is then killed by order of Nero.
Caleb later marries Corinna near her parents' estate under the open sky with "only God as the witnessing Rabbi". The missionary Paul is arrested and Julius Valerius is tasked with escorting the prisoner to Rome; then 2 years later he is set free. Valerius and Sarah convert to Christ and soon become parents of a daughter they name Ruth.
The burning of Rome is used by Nero at the urging of Tigellinus as a pretext to deflect the blame from himself to the Christians. The dramatization of the persecution that follows includes the inverted crucifixion of Peter, the beheading of Paul, and the preparation of Christian children for the arena being dressed in fresh lambskins and led out to be torn to pieces by Roman war dogs. Caleb and Corinna armed with sword, shield, net and trident rush into the arena to fight the dogs to save the children, several of them being killed before the dogs are slain. The crowd is thrilled with the dramatic rescue. During public announcements of more entertainment to come, Valerius enters and grieves over the death of his daughter, only to find afterward that she is still alive and was never in the arena. In grief and rage over Rome's corruption and cruelty, he renounces his military career and his Roman citizenship, and he and Sarah leave Rome.
Linus, long-time family friend of Corinna's, having succeeded Peter, and knowing that Corinna cannot have a child of her own, entrusts a child orphaned by Nero's persecution to her and Caleb, charging them to raise the boy in the faith of his parents. They thank him and depart by ship for Jerusalem. They name him "Joshua".
The Cast[edit]
Anthony Andrews - Nero
Colleen Dewhurst - Antonia Minor
Ava Gardner - Agrippina the Younger
David Hedison - Porcius Festus
John Houseman - Gamaliel
Richard Kiley - Claudius
James Mason - Tiberius
John McEnery - Caligula
Ian McShane - Sejanus
Jennifer O'Neill - Messalina
Millie Perkins - Mary, mother of Jesus
Denis Quilley - Saint Peter
Fernando Rey - Seneca the Younger
Richard Roundtree - Serpenius
Susan Sarandon - Livilla
Ben Vereen - The Ethiopian
Tony Vogel - Aquila
Jack Warden - Nerva
Anthony Zerbe - Pontius Pilate
Neil Dickson - Valerius
Chris Humphreys (billed as Cecil Humphreys) - Caleb
Amanda Pays - Sarah
Philip Sayer - Paul of Tarsus
Diane Venora - Corinna
Michael Wilding, Jr. - Jesus
Vincent Riotta - Saint Stephen
Rebecca Saire - Ruth
Tom Durham - Cleophas
Anthony Pedley - Zacchaeus
Harold Kasket - Caiaphas
Ralph Arliss - Samuel
Mike Gwilym - Pallas
Davyd Harris - Thomas
Bruce Winant - Seth
Jonathan Hyde - Tigellinus
 Damien Thomas - Agrippa I
Derek Hoxby - Agrippa II
Angela Morant - Priscilla
Clive Arrindell - Cassius Chaerea
Paul Freeman - Centurion Cornelius
Andrea Prodan - Britannicus
Akosua Busia - Claudia Acte
Vernon Dobtcheff - Titus Flavius Sabinus
Gerrard McArthur - Luke the Evangelist
Jane How - Poppaea Sabina
Jonathan Tafler - Aaron
Richard Kane - Agrippa Postumus
Barrie Houghton - Ananias
Maggie Wickman - Apicata
Alan Downer - Barnabas
Martin Potter - Gaius Calpurnius Piso
Colin Haigh - James the Just
Renato Scarpa - Lucius Marinus
Roderick Horn - Marcellus
John Wheatley - Mark the Evangelist
Joss Buckley - Matthew the Evangelist
David Sumner - Saint Matthias
Stephen Finlay - Nicanor
Katia Thandoulaki - Claudia Octavia
Eddie Grossman - Parmenas
David Haughton - Petronius
John Steiner - Simon Magus
Robert Wentz - Thrasyllus
Philip Anthony - Saint James the Great
Peter Blythe - Procuius
Gary Brown - Philip of Side
Peter Howell - Atticus
David Rintoul - Pope Linus
Ned Vukovic - Triumvir

The Crew[edit]
Teleplay by: Anthony Burgess & Vincenzo Labella
Director of Photography: Ennio Guarnieri, AIC
Film Editor:
Costumes by: Enrico Sabbatini
See also[edit]
A.D.: The Bible Continues
Seven Deacons
Notes[edit]
1.Jump up ^ Erickson, Hal. Plot synopsis for A.D. on Allmovie website.
External links[edit]
A.D. at the Internet Movie Database
  


Categories: 1985 Italian television series debuts
1985 Italian television series endings
1980s British television series
1980s Italian television series
British television miniseries
Italian television miniseries
Television dramas set in ancient Rome
Acts of the Apostles
Television programs based on the Bible
Television programs based on novels
1985 British television programme debuts
1985 British television programme endings


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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A.D._(miniseries)

















A.D. (miniseries)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

This article is about the 1985 miniseries. For the 2015 miniseries, see A.D.: The Bible Continues.
‹ The template Infobox film is being considered for merging. ›

A.D.

Directed by
Stuart Cooper
Produced by
Tarak Ben Ammar & Vincenzo Labella
Music by
Lalo Schifrin
Edited by
John A. Martinelli, ACE

Running time
 600 min
Country
Britain
 Italy
A.D. (1985) is a British/Italian miniseries in six parts which adapts the narrative in the Acts of the Apostles. Considered as the third and final installment in a TV miniseries trilogy which began with Moses the Lawgiver (1974) and Franco Zeffirelli's Jesus of Nazareth (1977),[1] it was adapted from Anthony Burgess's novel The Kingdom of the Wicked, which was itself a sequel to Burgess's book Man Of Nazareth, on which was based Zeffirelli's movie. The title is the abbreviation for Anno Domini (Medieval Latin, "In the year of the Lord"), as the events occur in the first years of the Christian Era.


Contents  [hide]
1 Plot summary
2 The Cast
3 The Crew
4 See also
5 Notes
6 External links

Plot summary[edit]
The story tells the life histories about Saint Peter and Paul of Tarsus after the crucifixion of Jesus, and their individual fates in old Rome in the time of the persecution of Christians. Events in the New Testament Book of Acts by Luke and in the Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius are dramatized and interwoven with the contrasting histories of political intrigues in the public and private lives of the Caesars from Tiberius through Nero related in The Twelve Caesars by Suetonius, together with the fictional drama of the lives of two Jews and two Romans: Caleb the Zealot and his sister Sarah, and Julius Valerius the Imperial Guard and Corinna the patrician woman who has chosen to be a gladiator.
After Caleb is condemned to be crucified, his mother is murdered when Roman soldiers carry out Pilate's orders to have Caleb's sisters Sarah and Ruth sent to Sejanus in Rome as "gifts". Caleb is rescued on the way to execution, and goes to Rome to find them. He enlists as a gladiator, takes the name "Metellus", meets and falls in love with Corinna, and is trained as a retiarius. Meanwhile, Ruth, grieving, provokes a Roman soldier to kill her during the voyage to Rome, and Sarah is made a slave in Sejanus' household, until he is executed for treason, and she then becomes part of Caligula's household. Tiberius, after ordering the execution of Sejanus, was himself secretly assassinated by Caligula, who has now become Caesar. Julius Valerius, having met Sarah on Sejanus' estate, has fallen in love with her, and when she is put on the slave block to be sold as part of an imperial fund-raising effort he, with the financial help of his parents and additional funds provided by Aquilla and Priscilla, Jewish tent-makers, buys her for himself and frees her to become his wife. Caleb is informed that Sarah is alive, but he is scandalized that she has married a Roman soldier. He meets Valerius and is soon confronted with the fact that he himself loves a Roman woman, now disinherited and disowned by her father.
Valerius and Caleb participate in the plot to assassinate Caligula, and the stammering Claudius (found hiding) is hailed as the new Caesar. He expels the Jews from Rome, but Sarah is exempt as the wife of a Roman. Caleb/Metellus and Corinna also remain. Aquilla and Priscilla return to Jerusalem. Soon afterward Claudius is poisoned by Agrippina after having designated her son Nero as successor over his own son Britannicus, and she herself is then killed by order of Nero.
Caleb later marries Corinna near her parents' estate under the open sky with "only God as the witnessing Rabbi". The missionary Paul is arrested and Julius Valerius is tasked with escorting the prisoner to Rome; then 2 years later he is set free. Valerius and Sarah convert to Christ and soon become parents of a daughter they name Ruth.
The burning of Rome is used by Nero at the urging of Tigellinus as a pretext to deflect the blame from himself to the Christians. The dramatization of the persecution that follows includes the inverted crucifixion of Peter, the beheading of Paul, and the preparation of Christian children for the arena being dressed in fresh lambskins and led out to be torn to pieces by Roman war dogs. Caleb and Corinna armed with sword, shield, net and trident rush into the arena to fight the dogs to save the children, several of them being killed before the dogs are slain. The crowd is thrilled with the dramatic rescue. During public announcements of more entertainment to come, Valerius enters and grieves over the death of his daughter, only to find afterward that she is still alive and was never in the arena. In grief and rage over Rome's corruption and cruelty, he renounces his military career and his Roman citizenship, and he and Sarah leave Rome.
Linus, long-time family friend of Corinna's, having succeeded Peter, and knowing that Corinna cannot have a child of her own, entrusts a child orphaned by Nero's persecution to her and Caleb, charging them to raise the boy in the faith of his parents. They thank him and depart by ship for Jerusalem. They name him "Joshua".
The Cast[edit]
Anthony Andrews - Nero
Colleen Dewhurst - Antonia Minor
Ava Gardner - Agrippina the Younger
David Hedison - Porcius Festus
John Houseman - Gamaliel
Richard Kiley - Claudius
James Mason - Tiberius
John McEnery - Caligula
Ian McShane - Sejanus
Jennifer O'Neill - Messalina
Millie Perkins - Mary, mother of Jesus
Denis Quilley - Saint Peter
Fernando Rey - Seneca the Younger
Richard Roundtree - Serpenius
Susan Sarandon - Livilla
Ben Vereen - The Ethiopian
Tony Vogel - Aquila
Jack Warden - Nerva
Anthony Zerbe - Pontius Pilate
Neil Dickson - Valerius
Chris Humphreys (billed as Cecil Humphreys) - Caleb
Amanda Pays - Sarah
Philip Sayer - Paul of Tarsus
Diane Venora - Corinna
Michael Wilding, Jr. - Jesus
Vincent Riotta - Saint Stephen
Rebecca Saire - Ruth
Tom Durham - Cleophas
Anthony Pedley - Zacchaeus
Harold Kasket - Caiaphas
Ralph Arliss - Samuel
Mike Gwilym - Pallas
Davyd Harris - Thomas
Bruce Winant - Seth
Jonathan Hyde - Tigellinus
 Damien Thomas - Agrippa I
Derek Hoxby - Agrippa II
Angela Morant - Priscilla
Clive Arrindell - Cassius Chaerea
Paul Freeman - Centurion Cornelius
Andrea Prodan - Britannicus
Akosua Busia - Claudia Acte
Vernon Dobtcheff - Titus Flavius Sabinus
Gerrard McArthur - Luke the Evangelist
Jane How - Poppaea Sabina
Jonathan Tafler - Aaron
Richard Kane - Agrippa Postumus
Barrie Houghton - Ananias
Maggie Wickman - Apicata
Alan Downer - Barnabas
Martin Potter - Gaius Calpurnius Piso
Colin Haigh - James the Just
Renato Scarpa - Lucius Marinus
Roderick Horn - Marcellus
John Wheatley - Mark the Evangelist
Joss Buckley - Matthew the Evangelist
David Sumner - Saint Matthias
Stephen Finlay - Nicanor
Katia Thandoulaki - Claudia Octavia
Eddie Grossman - Parmenas
David Haughton - Petronius
John Steiner - Simon Magus
Robert Wentz - Thrasyllus
Philip Anthony - Saint James the Great
Peter Blythe - Procuius
Gary Brown - Philip of Side
Peter Howell - Atticus
David Rintoul - Pope Linus
Ned Vukovic - Triumvir

The Crew[edit]
Teleplay by: Anthony Burgess & Vincenzo Labella
Director of Photography: Ennio Guarnieri, AIC
Film Editor:
Costumes by: Enrico Sabbatini
See also[edit]
A.D.: The Bible Continues
Seven Deacons
Notes[edit]
1.Jump up ^ Erickson, Hal. Plot synopsis for A.D. on Allmovie website.
External links[edit]
A.D. at the Internet Movie Database
  


Categories: 1985 Italian television series debuts
1985 Italian television series endings
1980s British television series
1980s Italian television series
British television miniseries
Italian television miniseries
Television dramas set in ancient Rome
Acts of the Apostles
Television programs based on the Bible
Television programs based on novels
1985 British television programme debuts
1985 British television programme endings


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Log in



Article

Talk









Read

Edit

View history

















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Contents
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Recent changes
Contact page

Tools
What links here
Related changes
Upload file
Special pages
Permanent link
Page information
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Cite this page

Print/export
Create a book
Download as PDF
Printable version

Languages
Deutsch
Español
Italiano
Русский
Suomi
Edit links
This page was last modified on 17 April 2015, at 03:49.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
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Powered by MediaWiki
   
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A.D._(miniseries)

























Jesus of Nazareth (miniseries)

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 This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2011)
‹ The template Infobox television film is being considered for merging. ›

Jesus of Nazareth
Jesus of nazareth.jpg
Jesus of Nazareth promotional poster

Format
Biographical
Biblical
Directed by
Franco Zeffirelli
Produced by
Lew Grade
 Vincenzo Labella
Written by
Anthony Burgess
 Suso Cecchi d'Amico
 Franco Zeffirelli
Starring
Robert Powell
Music by
Maurice Jarre
Cinematography
Armando Nannuzzi
David Watkin
Editing by
Reginald Mills
Production company
ITC Entertainment
RAI
Country
United Kingdom
 Italy
Language
English
Original channel
Rai 1 (Italy)
ITV (UK)
Original run
27 March 1977 – 24 April 1977
Running time
Original: 371 minutes
 UK: 360 minutes
 Uncut: 382 minutes
 273 minutes (DVD edition)
Jesus of Nazareth (Italian: Gesù di Nazareth) is a 1977 British-Italian television miniseries directed by Franco Zeffirelli and co-written by Zeffirelli, Anthony Burgess, and Suso Cecchi d'Amico which dramatises the birth, life, ministry, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus. It stars Robert Powell as Jesus. The miniseries features an all-star cast of famous American and European actors, including seven Academy Award winners: Anne Bancroft, Ernest Borgnine, Laurence Olivier, Christopher Plummer (subsequent winner), Anthony Quinn, Rod Steiger, and Peter Ustinov.
Extra-biblical traditions were used in the writing of the screenplay and some characters (such as Zerah) and situations were invented for the film for brevity or dramatic purposes. Notably, Jesus of Nazareth depicts Judas Iscariot as a well-intentioned man initially, but later as a dupe of Zerah who betrays Jesus largely as a result of Zerah's false platitudes and pretexts. However, in accordance with the Gospels, the film depicts Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea as sympathetic members of the Sanhedrin. Many of the miracles of Jesus, such as the changing of water into wine at the wedding at Cana, the transfiguration, and the calming of the storm are not depicted, although Jesus healing the blind man and the crippled woman on Sabbath, the feeding of the multitude, and the raising of Lazarus from the dead are presented here.
Jesus of Nazareth premiered on the Italian channel Rai 1 on 27 March 1977 and was first aired in the United Kingdom on the ITV on 3 April 1977. It is generally well-praised, but was not received without controversy.


Contents  [hide]
1 Plot summary
2 Cast
3 Production 3.1 Powell's portrayal of Jesus
4 Subsequent broadcasts and versions
5 Narrative deviations from the Gospels
6 Reception 6.1 Awards and nominations
6.2 Sequel
7 Controversy
8 Further reading
9 References
10 External links

Plot summary[edit]
The storyline of Jesus of Nazareth is a kind of cinematic Diatessaron, or “Gospel harmony”, blending the narratives of all four New Testament accounts. It takes a fairly naturalistic approach, de-emphasising special effects when miracles are depicted and presenting Jesus as more or less evenly divine and human. The familiar Christian episodes are presented chronologically: the betrothal, and later marriage, of Mary and Joseph; the Annunciation; the Visitation; the circumcision of John the Baptist; the Nativity of Jesus; the visit of the Magi; the circumcision of Jesus; the Census of Quirinius; the flight into Egypt and Slaughter of the Innocents; the Finding in the Temple; the Baptism of Jesus; the woman caught in adultery; Jesus helping Peter catch the fish; the Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15: 11-32); a dialogue between Jesus and Barabbas (non-biblical); Matthew's dinner party; the Sermon on the Mount; debating with Joseph of Arimathea; the curing of the blind man at the pool; the Raising of Lazarus (John 11:43); the Feeding of the Five Thousand; the Entry into Jerusalem; Jesus and the money changers; the Last Supper; the betrayal of Jesus by Judas; Peter denying Christ and repenting of it; the judgment of Jesus by Pilate ("Ecce Homo"); the Johannine Passion Narrative (John 18-19; including the Agony in the Garden); the Carrying of the Cross; the Crucifixion of Christ (Laurence Olivier's Nicodemus recites the “Suffering Servant” passage [Isaiah' 53:3-5] as he looks helplessly on the crucified Messiah); the discovery of the empty tomb; and an appearance of the Risen Christ to his Disciples. The film’s storyline concludes with the non-Biblical character Zerah and his colleagues gazing despairingly into the empty tomb. Zerah's laments: “Now it begins. It all begins”.
Cast[edit]



Robert Powell as Jesus of Nazareth
"Starring"
Robert Powell as Jesus
"Guest Stars"
Anne Bancroft as Mary Magdalene
Ernest Borgnine as the Roman Centurion
Claudia Cardinale as the Adulteress
Valentina Cortese as Herodias
James Farentino as Peter
James Earl Jones as Balthazar
Stacy Keach as Barabbas
Tony Lo Bianco as Quintillius
James Mason as Joseph of Arimathea
Ian McShane as Judas Iscariot
Laurence Olivier as Nicodemus
Donald Pleasence as Melchior
Christopher Plummer as Herod Antipas
Anthony Quinn as Caiaphas
Fernando Rey as Gaspar
Ralph Richardson as Simeon
Rod Steiger as Pontius Pilate
Peter Ustinov as Herod the Great
Michael York as John the Baptist

"and"
Olivia Hussey as Mary, the mother of Jesus
"Also Starring"
Cyril Cusack as Yehuda
Ian Holm as Zerah
Yorgo Voyagis as Joseph
"With"
Ian Bannen as Amos
Marina Berti as Elizabeth
Regina Bianchi as Saint Anne
Maria Carta as Martha
Renato Rascel as The Blind Man
Oliver Tobias as Joel
"Co-Starring"
Norman Bowler as Saturninus
Robert Beatty as Proculus
John Phillips as Naso
Ken Jones as Jotham
Nancy Nevinson as Abigail
Renato Terra as Abel
Roy Holder as Enoch
Jonathan Adams as Adam
Lorenzo Monet as Jesus aged 12 years
Robert Davey as Daniel
Oliver Smith as Saul
George Camiller as Hosias
Murray Salem as Simon the Zealot
Tony Vogel as Saint Andrew
Michael Cronin as Eliphaz
Steve Gardner as Philip the Apostle
Derek Godfrey as Elihu
Renato Montalbano as Jairus
John Duttine as John the Apostle
Michael Haughey as Nahum
Keith Skinner as Possessed Boy
Cyril Shaps as Possessed Boy's Father
Jonathan Muller as James, son of Zebedee
John Tordoff as Malachi
Isabel Mestres as Salome
 Bruce Lidington as Thomas
Keith Washington as Matthew the Evangelist
Mimmo Crao as Saint Jude Thaddeus
John Eastham as Bartholomew
Sergio Nicolai as James, son of Alphaeus
Francis de Wolff as Simon the Pharisee
Antonello Campodifiori as Ircanus
Paul Curran as Samuel
Tim Pearce as Rufus
Mark Eden as Quartus
Bruno Barnabe as Ezra
Simon MacCorkindale as Lucius
Forbes Collins as Jonas
Lionel Guyett as Haggai
Martin Benson as Pharisee
Peter Harlowe as Valerius
Carl Forgione as Plotinus
Donald Sumpter as Aram
Pino Colizzi as Jobab
Robert Brown as Elder
Harold Bennett as Elder
Immad Cohen as Jesus as Toddler
Robert Mallard as Quazra
Andrew Manson as Zealot
Abdelmajid Lakhal as the Farisaeum

Production[edit]
The miniseries was conceived when Lew Grade was received by Pope Paul VI, who congratulated him on the making of Moses the Lawgiver (1974), a television film starring Burt Lancaster and which was produced by Grade's ITC Entertainment and the Italian television network RAI. At the end of the interview, the Pope told him he hoped his next project would be about the life of Jesus. Two weeks later, while dining with a RAI executive, Grade told him he intended their companies to prepare such a film.[1] The role of director was offered to Franco Zeffirelli - a religious Roman Catholic who knew the Pontiff from his days as the Archbishop of Milan, when he often visited Zeffirelli's school - on the Pope's initiative, who insisted that either he would make Jesus of Nazareth 'or no one else'.[2] The director rejected the proposal at first, but Grade finally convinced him to agree;[3] he accepted the job shortly before Christmas 1973.[4]
Scriptwriter Anthony Burgess later recounted the launching of the project in an essay entitled "Telejesus (or Mediachrist)":

The notion of making a six-hour television film on the life of Jesus Christ was proposed by an enobled British Jew, with the golden blessing of an American automobile corporation. The project struck some as blasphemous, others as ecumenical. Lord Grade, who was then merely Sir Lew Grade, presided over a massive press conference in the Holy City, (Rome), and said all that was available to be said — namely, that there would be this film, that Zeffirelli would direct it, and that Burgess would write it. Fired by this announcement, the Romans laid on a great, as it were, First Supper, which the Chief Rabbi of Rome attended, as well as odd cricket-playing British ecclesiastics. Sir Lew Grade was made a Cavaliere of the Republic. The Pope was noticeably absent.[5]
Both Grade and Zeffirelli insisted their adaptation of Jesus's life should be 'ecumenical', coherent, even to non-believers' and 'acceptable to all denominations'.[6] To ensure the film's accuracy, the producers consulted experts from the Vatican, the Leo Baeck Rabbinical College of London, and the Koranic School at Meknes, Morocco.[7] However, when Zeffirelli asked Rabbi Albert Friedlander to help him create Jesus's Bar Mitzvah scene, the latter replied that such ceremonies were practiced only from the 15th Century. Yet the director insisted on having it, and Friedlander tried to teach child actor Lorenzo Monet to read a short portion of the Pentateuch in Hebrew, though he mumbled it and the director was not satisfied (in the film, boy Jesus reads mostly in English).[8]
Principal photography was carried out in Morocco and Tunisia from September 1975 to May 1976. The synagogue scenes were shot with extras from the Jewish community in the island of Djerba.[4] The city of Monastir served as 1st Century Jerusalem.[9] Ernest Borgnine, who portrayed Cornelius the Centurion, recalled that since regulations required hiring local extras—most of whom with poor English—for many of the smaller roles, they had to be dubbed. Zeffirelli decided to avoid recording sound altogether in many parts, and simply send the principal actors to dub their own characters in the studio later.[10] The standing sets of the film were later used by the British comedy troupe Monty Python for their religious satire Life of Brian (1979).[11]
There are various reports regarding the size of the miniseries' budget: Presbyterian Survey stated it was $12 million,[12] The Listener cited the figure of £9 million[13] (roughly $16 million),[14] while Third Way stated it cost £11.5 million[15] (roughly $20 million). Other sources give the sum of $18 million.[4][16] In his autobiography, Lew Grade wrote that "in the final accounting, Jesus of Nazareth took $45 million."[17][18]
Powell's portrayal of Jesus[edit]
The producers at first considered choosing a well-known star, who would draw a large audience, for the role of Christ. The first actor thought of was Dustin Hoffman, and Al Pacino was also a candidate. However, the filmmakers feared that their looks would not match the popular perception of Jesus held by the American public. Eventually, the character's North European appearance in the series was influenced by Warner Sallman's famous Head of Christ: Paul Harvey and Edward J. Blum wrote the show 'put Sallman's imagination in motion'.[19] Virgin Mary, too, was depicted "without regard to historical or ethnographic accuracy" by the "definitely Caucasian Olivia Hussey."[20]
The idea to cast Robert Powell originated with Lew Grade's wife, Kathie Moody, who told her husband the actor had 'wonderful blue eyes' after watching him perform in a BBC television adaptation of Jude the Obscure. Powell came under severe criticism from religious groups for 'living in sin' with his companion, dancer Barbara Lord of 'Pan's People, while intending to portray Jesus. The couple married shortly before production began.[1]
Powell almost never blinks throughout the entire film; he mimics H.B. Warner in 1927's The King of Kings, and Max von Sydow in 1965's The Greatest Story Ever Told. The effect was a deliberate decision by Franco Zeffirelli: James Houlden commented that the result was 'a penetrating, unrelenting eye contact with Jesus'.[21] A dark blue eyeliner was applied on set to accentuate Powell's blue eyes.[19] Powell's portrayal has since become an often-used image in popular devotional art, and 'defined the visual image of Christ in the minds of the audience... Perhaps more than any other Jesus film.'[21]
Subsequent broadcasts and versions[edit]
NBC rebroadcast the series in 1981 and four more times through 1990. It was originally released as a three-tape VHS edition in the early 1980s under the Magnetic Video label. It was released later under the mainstream video label of CBS/FOX in 1986. Another three-tape VHS edition was released by LIVE Home Video in 1992 and once more on 22 February 1995. Artisan Entertainment released the DVD version on two discs on 6 December 1999.
The mini-series is broadcast every Easter and Christmas in many countries, including Greece on ANT1, and in the United States on History Channel and TBN.
Narrative deviations from the Gospels[edit]
Although the film has been received as generally faithful to the Gospel sources, and more comprehensive than previous film versions, Zeffirelli and his screenwriters found it necessary to take some liberties with the scriptures for purposes of brevity and narrative continuity. Some of these deviations have a basis in time-honored, extra-Biblical traditions (e.g., that the infant Jesus was visited by three "kings" [the Bible calls them "magi" or "astrologers", yet does not state how many there were]). Other deviations were invented for the script:
Perhaps the greatest liberties taken in the screenplay are interpretations of the motivation of Judas Iscariot in betraying Jesus to the authorities prior to his arrest and execution. In contrast to the Gospels—which vilify Judas as a thief who stole from the Disciples’ money purse (John 12:6) and betrayed his Master simply for money (Luke 22:5)—the film portrays Judas as a much misunderstood political person who, in several scenes, conspires with the Zealots for the sake of Jewish liberation in a way that could be interpreted as honorable, albeit misguided.
The film introduces a number of fictional characters. Of these, Ian Holm's Zerah has the most screen time. (Zerah is used primarily to supply Judas Iscariot with a motive for his treachery: he persuades him that an appearance before the Sanhedrin will offer Jesus an opportunity to prove himself.) Other invented characters include Quintillius, Yehuda, and Amos.
In the Bible, the only mention of Jesus in childhood is his trip to the temple in Jerusalem as a 12 year old. In the film, the boy Jesus is also portrayed at his bar mitzvah which is interrupted by a raid of Roman soldiers plundering supplies. The boy Jesus is also portrayed as climbing a ladder and looking out over the landscape of Judea after Joseph makes the analogy of a ladder reaching to heaven.
The prostitute and the woman who anoints Jesus's feet with ointment and her hair are combined into one person. The Bible indicates that Mary Magdalene (who is never actually said to be a prostitute) is the woman from whom seven demons were cast out, while the ointment-bearing woman is Mary of Bethany, a sister of Lazarus (John 11:2).
In the film, Nicodemus visits Jesus in the late afternoon, not at night as in John 3:3.
The Apostle Andrew introduces Simon to Jesus as "My brother, Simon Peter." But "Peter" is the name that Jesus later gave to Simon (John 1:42, Matthew 16:18) after he was well acquainted with him, not his original given name. Later in the mini-series, Jesus does give Simon the surname of "Peter".
The Apostle Thomas, prior to his calling, is depicted as a servant of Jairus, the synagogue leader whose 12-year-old daughter Jesus raises from the dead. Nowhere in the three gospel accounts of this resurrection is Thomas described as Jairus's servant. This was done in the movie to conveniently introduce Thomas as the doubter when Jesus said Jairus' dead daughter is "only sleeping."
Barabbas is portrayed in the film as a Zealot (political extremist and agitator). The meeting and dialogue between Jesus and Barabbas are made up.
The Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32) is used as a plot device which simultaneously redeems the disciple Matthew and reconciles him to his bitter enemy, Simon Peter. Although not in the Bible, this has been praised as one of the film’s particularly felicitous innovations. (The Gospels do not record either a conflict or a particular friendship between Matthew and Simon Peter.)
In the film, Pontius Pilate, having convicted Jesus of treason, sentences Him to be crucified. The Gospels record that Pilate acquitted Jesus, but sentenced Him under pressure from the crowd.
The Gospels and the film both relate an account of a Roman centurion who petitions Jesus to heal his sick servant. The film, but not the Gospel, presents the same officer (portrayed by Ernest Borgnine) as one of the soldiers standing at the foot of the Cross, where he sympathetically allows Mary to approach her son.
In the Bible Judas is paid 30 pieces of silver for betraying Jesus. Full of remorse, he later gives the silver back to the priests (Matthew 27:3-5). In the film, Judas is given silver coins as an afterthought by Zerah; he does not return them and they are shown lying on the ground under the tree from which he hangs himself.
The film depicts a scene which shows Joseph dying. The Gospels never mention anything about Joseph after the story of Jesus, as a boy, in the Temple.
The scene of the blind man who was healed in the movie, where Jesus spat on dirt and rubbed mud in the blind beggar's eyes, was set in the temple; but in the bible (John 9: the entire chapter) this healing took place as Jesus had left the temple, and was "walking along."
Reception[edit]
Jesus of Nazareth premiered on the Italian channel RAI 1 on 27 March 1977. It was broadcast in five episodes, one shown every week until 25 April.[22] On Palm Sunday, 3 April 1977—the date of the airing of the second episode—the Pope endorsed the program in his public address for the holiday and recommended the faithful to view it.[4] The series enjoyed high ratings: the German Dominican friar and film critic Ambros Eichenberger reported that according to local surveys, 84% of the television owners in the larger cities watched the series.[23] For example, the number of viewers for the third episode, aired on 10 April, was estimated to have been 28.3 million.[24]
In the United Kingdom and in the United States, it was broadcast in two parts, albeit in different lengths, by the network ITV in the UK and NBC in the US. In both countries, the first was aired on 3 April and the second on Easter, 10 April 1977.[25][26][27] During its original showing in Britain, Jesus of Nazareth had an estimated viewership of 21 million spectators.[28]
When the first episode was broadcast in the United States, it was a major success. The New York Times reported it "swamped all competing programs on Sunday night", with overnight Nielsen ratings of 46% of the total audience in New York and 53% in Los Angeles.[29] The miniseries as a whole received a Nielsen rating of 30.8 points,[30] with each point representing approximately 712,000 television-owning homes,[31] and an audience share of 50% nationwide,[27] on both nights.[32] The company calculated that Jesus attracted about 90 million viewers.[16][27][28][33]
In West Germany, it was broadcast by ZDF in four episodes on the 19th, 21st, 23rd and 24 March 1978;[34] 40% of the audience have viewed it.[23]
Jesus of Nazareth turned into a massive commercial success, and to one of the most widely marketed and best known productions about Christ's life.[4][16][21] Lew Grade stated that it made "a net profit of $30 million."[17]
Awards and nominations[edit]
Jesus of Nazareth received an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Special Drama or Comedy. Additionally, James Farentino, who portrayed St. Peter, received a nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Comedy or Drama Special.[35]
The miniseries was nominated for six British Academy Television Awards: Best Actor, Best Cameraman, Best Single Television Play, Best Editor, Best Costume Design and Best Sound. It won none.[36]
However, Jesus of Nazareth won awards for Best Cinematography to Armando Nannuzzi), Best Costume Design to Lucia Mirisola and Best Production Design, to Mirisola again, from the Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists.[37]
Powell collected the TV Times "Best Actor" award for the same performance.
Sequel[edit]
The success of this miniseries led to a 1985 sequel, A.D., which weaves a fictional story set in first-century Rome into Biblical and extrabiblical material based on the Acts of the Apostles. Although many of the same crew members worked on both series, the only key cast member to return was Ian McShane, playing a different role.
Controversy[edit]
Before its initial broadcast, Jesus of Nazareth came under ideological fire from some American Protestant fundamentalists, led by Bob Jones III, president of Bob Jones University in South Carolina. Zeffirelli had told an interviewer from Modern Screen that the film would portray Jesus as "an ordinary man—gentle, fragile, simple". Jones interpreted this as meaning that the portrayal would deny Christ's divine nature. Having never seen the film, Jones denounced it as "blasphemy." Others picked up the cry and 18,000 letters were sent to General Motors, which had provided $3 million of the film's cost. Sacrificing its investment, GM backed out of its sponsorship.[7] Procter and Gamble eventually took it over, buying the U.S. rights for a relatively low price of some $1 million, and their financial support allowed the miniseries to be screened.[38]
In making his film, Zeffirelli explicitly wished to deemphasise the traditional accusation of deicide against the Jews. Some 26 years later, Zeffirelli criticised The Passion of the Christ (2004), which was produced and directed by Mel Gibson, for its portrayal of who "...was to blame for all the bloodshed".[39] Zeffirelli had previously directed Gibson in Hamlet (1990).
Further reading[edit]
Barclay, William. Jesus of Nazareth (1977, Collins). ISBN 978-0002506533.
Burgess, Antony. Man of Nazareth (1979, McGraw-Hill). ISBN 978-0553133189.
Zeffirelli, Franco. Franco Zeffirelli's Jesus: A Spiritual Diary (1984, Harper & Row). ISBN 978-0060697808.
References[edit]
1.^ Jump up to: a b Falk, Ben; Falk, Quentin (2005). Television's Strangest Moments: Extraordinary But True Tales from the History of Television. Franz Steiner. ISBN 9781861058744. pp. 131-132.
2.Jump up ^ "Zeffirelli Recalls Paul VI's Help With "Jesus of Nazareth"". Zenit News Agency. 5 November 2007. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
3.Jump up ^ Zeffirelli, Franco (1984). Franco Zeffirelli's Jesus : A Spiritual Diary. Harper and Row. ISBN 9780060697808. p. 4.
4.^ Jump up to: a b c d e Reinhartz, Adele (2012). Bible and Cinema: Fifty Key Films. Routledge. ISBN 9781136183997. p. 151.
5.Jump up ^ Burgess, Anthony (1986), But Do Blondes Prefer Gentlemen: Homage to Qwert Yuiop and Other Writings, McGraw-Hill Book Company, pg 35.
6.Jump up ^ Llewellyn, Dawn; Sawyer, Deborah F. (2008). Reading Spiritualities: Constructing and Representing the Sacred. Ashgate. ISBN 9780754663294. p. 214.
7.^ Jump up to: a b Ostling, Richard N. (4 April 1977). "Franco Zeffirelli's Classical Christ for Prime Time". Time magazine. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
8.Jump up ^ Bsteh, Petrus (2012). Wegbereiter des interreligiösen Dialogs. Lit. ISBN 9783643503329. pp. 178-179.
9.Jump up ^ Jacobs‏, Daniel; Morris, Peter (2001). The Rough Guide to Tunisia. Rough Guides. ISBN 9781858287485. p. xiii.
10.Jump up ^ Borgnine, Ernest (2009). Ernie. Citadel Press. ISBN 9780806531502. pp. 195-196.
11.Jump up ^ Denby, David (24 September 1979). "Oh, Bug Off!". New York Magazine: 98. ISSN 0028-7369.
12.Jump up ^ Presbyterian Church in the U.S. (1977). Presbyterian Survey 67: 28. ISSN 0032-759X. Missing or empty |title= (help)
13.Jump up ^ British Broadcasting Corporation (1977). The Listener 97: 518. ISSN 0024-4392. Missing or empty |title= (help)
14.Jump up ^ The exchange rate of the Pound/U.S. Dollar in 1976 was £0.55651 to $1."Pacific Exchange: Foreign Currency Units per 1 U.S. Dollar, 1948-2011" (PDF). ubc.ca. Retrieved 2012-09-11.
15.Jump up ^ Unspecified writer (27 January 1977). "Mastermind on the BC Trail". Third Way 1 (2): 10. ISSN 0309-3492.
16.^ Jump up to: a b c Cyrino, Monica Silveira (2009). Rome Season One: History Makes Television. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 9781444301557. p. 18.
17.^ Jump up to: a b Grade, Lew (1987). Still Dancing: My Story. Collins. ISBN 9780002177801. p. 219.
18.Jump up ^ This figure might be adjusted to inflation by 1987, and also include costs that were not directly invested in production but in marketing, etc.
19.^ Jump up to: a b Blum, Edward J.; Harvey, Paul (2012). The Color of Christ: The Son of God and the Saga of Race in America. University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 9780807835722. pp. 256-257.
20.Jump up ^ O'Brien, Catherine (2011). The Celluloid Madonna: From Scripture to Screen. Columbia University Press. ISBN 9781906660277. p. 4.
21.^ Jump up to: a b c Houlden, James L. (2003). Jesus in History, Thought, and Culture/ 2, Entries K - Z. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9781576078563. pp. 289-290.
22.Jump up ^ Casadio, Gianfranco (2007). I Mitici Eroi : Il Cinema Peplum nel Cinema Italiano dall'avvento del Sonoro a Oggi (1930-1993). Longo. ISBN 9788880635291. p. 198.
23.^ Jump up to: a b Langkau, Thomas (2007). Filmstar Jesus Christus: die neuesten Jesus-Filme als Herausforderung für Theologie und Religionspädagogik. Lit. ISBN 9783825801960. p. 20.
24.Jump up ^ Grasso, Aldo (1992). Storia della Televisione Italiana. Garzanti. ISBN 9788811738190. p. 339.
25.Jump up ^ "Zeffirelli's Jesus of Nazareth... In its international début held unprecedented UK audiences for a total of six hours on Palm Sunday and Easter Day". Quoted from: Independent Broadcasting Authority (1978). Annual Report and Accounts: 1977: 29. OCLC 1789175. Missing or empty |title= (help)
26.Jump up ^ "This six-hour film on ITV shown in two three-hour parts on Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday". Quoted from: Martin, Linnette (21 April 1977). "Lion or Lamb?". Third Way 1 (8): 29. ISSN 0309-3492.
27.^ Jump up to: a b c King, Susan (27 March 1994). "Family Channel's Pilgrimage: Cable Network Airs the '77 Miniseries "Jesus of Nazareth" for Easter Week". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
28.^ Jump up to: a b Angelini, Sergio. "Jesus of Nazareth (1977)". BFI Screenonline. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
29.Jump up ^ Unspecified writer (5 April 1977). "TV 'Jesus of Nazareth' Draws Major Audience". The New York Times. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
30.Jump up ^ Bianco, Robert (11 November 2004). "Catastrophic 'Category 6' is a ratings 1.5". USA Today. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
31.Jump up ^ Gorman, Bill (28 August 2007). "US Television Households by Season". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
32.Jump up ^ Brown, Les (1977). The New York Times Encyclopedia of Television. Times Books. ISBN 9780812907216. p. 217.
33.Jump up ^ Bennet, Albert (1978). Funk and Wagnalls New Encyclopedia: 1978 Yearbook. Funk & Wagnalls. ISBN 9780834300071. p. 327.
34.Jump up ^ "Jesus von Nazareth (1976)". Lexikon des Internationalen Films. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
35.Jump up ^ "Jesus of Nazareth". emmys.com. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
36.Jump up ^ "Jesus of Nazareth". bafta.org. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
37.Jump up ^ Bentley Hammer, Tad (1991). International Film Prizes: An Encyclopedia. Garland. ISBN 9780824070991. p. 705.
38.Jump up ^ Media Decisions 13 (1): 67. 1978. ISSN 0025-6900. Missing or empty |title= (help)
39.Jump up ^ Bates, Stephen (27 February 2004). "Gibson Film Ignores Vow to Remove Blood Libel". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
External links[edit]
Jesus of Nazareth at the Internet Movie Database
Jesus of Nazareth at AllMovie
Jesus of Nazareth at the TCM Movie Database
webpages dedicated to the movie called "Jesus of Nazareth" by Franco Zeffirelli
Jesus of Nazareth at the Arts & Faith Top100 Spiritually Significant Films list


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Categories: English-language films
Italian television films
Portrayals of Jesus on television
British television miniseries
Television series by ITC Entertainment
Films directed by Franco Zeffirelli
1977 British television programme debuts
Depictions of Herod the Great on film
Biographical films about Jesus
Portrayals of the Virgin Mary in film
1977 British television programme endings
Television programs based on the Bible
Depictions of John the Baptist
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Jesus of Nazareth (miniseries)

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Jesus of Nazareth
Jesus of nazareth.jpg
Jesus of Nazareth promotional poster

Format
Biographical
Biblical
Directed by
Franco Zeffirelli
Produced by
Lew Grade
 Vincenzo Labella
Written by
Anthony Burgess
 Suso Cecchi d'Amico
 Franco Zeffirelli
Starring
Robert Powell
Music by
Maurice Jarre
Cinematography
Armando Nannuzzi
David Watkin
Editing by
Reginald Mills
Production company
ITC Entertainment
RAI
Country
United Kingdom
 Italy
Language
English
Original channel
Rai 1 (Italy)
ITV (UK)
Original run
27 March 1977 – 24 April 1977
Running time
Original: 371 minutes
 UK: 360 minutes
 Uncut: 382 minutes
 273 minutes (DVD edition)
Jesus of Nazareth (Italian: Gesù di Nazareth) is a 1977 British-Italian television miniseries directed by Franco Zeffirelli and co-written by Zeffirelli, Anthony Burgess, and Suso Cecchi d'Amico which dramatises the birth, life, ministry, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus. It stars Robert Powell as Jesus. The miniseries features an all-star cast of famous American and European actors, including seven Academy Award winners: Anne Bancroft, Ernest Borgnine, Laurence Olivier, Christopher Plummer (subsequent winner), Anthony Quinn, Rod Steiger, and Peter Ustinov.
Extra-biblical traditions were used in the writing of the screenplay and some characters (such as Zerah) and situations were invented for the film for brevity or dramatic purposes. Notably, Jesus of Nazareth depicts Judas Iscariot as a well-intentioned man initially, but later as a dupe of Zerah who betrays Jesus largely as a result of Zerah's false platitudes and pretexts. However, in accordance with the Gospels, the film depicts Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea as sympathetic members of the Sanhedrin. Many of the miracles of Jesus, such as the changing of water into wine at the wedding at Cana, the transfiguration, and the calming of the storm are not depicted, although Jesus healing the blind man and the crippled woman on Sabbath, the feeding of the multitude, and the raising of Lazarus from the dead are presented here.
Jesus of Nazareth premiered on the Italian channel Rai 1 on 27 March 1977 and was first aired in the United Kingdom on the ITV on 3 April 1977. It is generally well-praised, but was not received without controversy.


Contents  [hide]
1 Plot summary
2 Cast
3 Production 3.1 Powell's portrayal of Jesus
4 Subsequent broadcasts and versions
5 Narrative deviations from the Gospels
6 Reception 6.1 Awards and nominations
6.2 Sequel
7 Controversy
8 Further reading
9 References
10 External links

Plot summary[edit]
The storyline of Jesus of Nazareth is a kind of cinematic Diatessaron, or “Gospel harmony”, blending the narratives of all four New Testament accounts. It takes a fairly naturalistic approach, de-emphasising special effects when miracles are depicted and presenting Jesus as more or less evenly divine and human. The familiar Christian episodes are presented chronologically: the betrothal, and later marriage, of Mary and Joseph; the Annunciation; the Visitation; the circumcision of John the Baptist; the Nativity of Jesus; the visit of the Magi; the circumcision of Jesus; the Census of Quirinius; the flight into Egypt and Slaughter of the Innocents; the Finding in the Temple; the Baptism of Jesus; the woman caught in adultery; Jesus helping Peter catch the fish; the Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15: 11-32); a dialogue between Jesus and Barabbas (non-biblical); Matthew's dinner party; the Sermon on the Mount; debating with Joseph of Arimathea; the curing of the blind man at the pool; the Raising of Lazarus (John 11:43); the Feeding of the Five Thousand; the Entry into Jerusalem; Jesus and the money changers; the Last Supper; the betrayal of Jesus by Judas; Peter denying Christ and repenting of it; the judgment of Jesus by Pilate ("Ecce Homo"); the Johannine Passion Narrative (John 18-19; including the Agony in the Garden); the Carrying of the Cross; the Crucifixion of Christ (Laurence Olivier's Nicodemus recites the “Suffering Servant” passage [Isaiah' 53:3-5] as he looks helplessly on the crucified Messiah); the discovery of the empty tomb; and an appearance of the Risen Christ to his Disciples. The film’s storyline concludes with the non-Biblical character Zerah and his colleagues gazing despairingly into the empty tomb. Zerah's laments: “Now it begins. It all begins”.
Cast[edit]



Robert Powell as Jesus of Nazareth
"Starring"
Robert Powell as Jesus
"Guest Stars"
Anne Bancroft as Mary Magdalene
Ernest Borgnine as the Roman Centurion
Claudia Cardinale as the Adulteress
Valentina Cortese as Herodias
James Farentino as Peter
James Earl Jones as Balthazar
Stacy Keach as Barabbas
Tony Lo Bianco as Quintillius
James Mason as Joseph of Arimathea
Ian McShane as Judas Iscariot
Laurence Olivier as Nicodemus
Donald Pleasence as Melchior
Christopher Plummer as Herod Antipas
Anthony Quinn as Caiaphas
Fernando Rey as Gaspar
Ralph Richardson as Simeon
Rod Steiger as Pontius Pilate
Peter Ustinov as Herod the Great
Michael York as John the Baptist

"and"
Olivia Hussey as Mary, the mother of Jesus
"Also Starring"
Cyril Cusack as Yehuda
Ian Holm as Zerah
Yorgo Voyagis as Joseph
"With"
Ian Bannen as Amos
Marina Berti as Elizabeth
Regina Bianchi as Saint Anne
Maria Carta as Martha
Renato Rascel as The Blind Man
Oliver Tobias as Joel
"Co-Starring"
Norman Bowler as Saturninus
Robert Beatty as Proculus
John Phillips as Naso
Ken Jones as Jotham
Nancy Nevinson as Abigail
Renato Terra as Abel
Roy Holder as Enoch
Jonathan Adams as Adam
Lorenzo Monet as Jesus aged 12 years
Robert Davey as Daniel
Oliver Smith as Saul
George Camiller as Hosias
Murray Salem as Simon the Zealot
Tony Vogel as Saint Andrew
Michael Cronin as Eliphaz
Steve Gardner as Philip the Apostle
Derek Godfrey as Elihu
Renato Montalbano as Jairus
John Duttine as John the Apostle
Michael Haughey as Nahum
Keith Skinner as Possessed Boy
Cyril Shaps as Possessed Boy's Father
Jonathan Muller as James, son of Zebedee
John Tordoff as Malachi
Isabel Mestres as Salome
 Bruce Lidington as Thomas
Keith Washington as Matthew the Evangelist
Mimmo Crao as Saint Jude Thaddeus
John Eastham as Bartholomew
Sergio Nicolai as James, son of Alphaeus
Francis de Wolff as Simon the Pharisee
Antonello Campodifiori as Ircanus
Paul Curran as Samuel
Tim Pearce as Rufus
Mark Eden as Quartus
Bruno Barnabe as Ezra
Simon MacCorkindale as Lucius
Forbes Collins as Jonas
Lionel Guyett as Haggai
Martin Benson as Pharisee
Peter Harlowe as Valerius
Carl Forgione as Plotinus
Donald Sumpter as Aram
Pino Colizzi as Jobab
Robert Brown as Elder
Harold Bennett as Elder
Immad Cohen as Jesus as Toddler
Robert Mallard as Quazra
Andrew Manson as Zealot
Abdelmajid Lakhal as the Farisaeum

Production[edit]
The miniseries was conceived when Lew Grade was received by Pope Paul VI, who congratulated him on the making of Moses the Lawgiver (1974), a television film starring Burt Lancaster and which was produced by Grade's ITC Entertainment and the Italian television network RAI. At the end of the interview, the Pope told him he hoped his next project would be about the life of Jesus. Two weeks later, while dining with a RAI executive, Grade told him he intended their companies to prepare such a film.[1] The role of director was offered to Franco Zeffirelli - a religious Roman Catholic who knew the Pontiff from his days as the Archbishop of Milan, when he often visited Zeffirelli's school - on the Pope's initiative, who insisted that either he would make Jesus of Nazareth 'or no one else'.[2] The director rejected the proposal at first, but Grade finally convinced him to agree;[3] he accepted the job shortly before Christmas 1973.[4]
Scriptwriter Anthony Burgess later recounted the launching of the project in an essay entitled "Telejesus (or Mediachrist)":

The notion of making a six-hour television film on the life of Jesus Christ was proposed by an enobled British Jew, with the golden blessing of an American automobile corporation. The project struck some as blasphemous, others as ecumenical. Lord Grade, who was then merely Sir Lew Grade, presided over a massive press conference in the Holy City, (Rome), and said all that was available to be said — namely, that there would be this film, that Zeffirelli would direct it, and that Burgess would write it. Fired by this announcement, the Romans laid on a great, as it were, First Supper, which the Chief Rabbi of Rome attended, as well as odd cricket-playing British ecclesiastics. Sir Lew Grade was made a Cavaliere of the Republic. The Pope was noticeably absent.[5]
Both Grade and Zeffirelli insisted their adaptation of Jesus's life should be 'ecumenical', coherent, even to non-believers' and 'acceptable to all denominations'.[6] To ensure the film's accuracy, the producers consulted experts from the Vatican, the Leo Baeck Rabbinical College of London, and the Koranic School at Meknes, Morocco.[7] However, when Zeffirelli asked Rabbi Albert Friedlander to help him create Jesus's Bar Mitzvah scene, the latter replied that such ceremonies were practiced only from the 15th Century. Yet the director insisted on having it, and Friedlander tried to teach child actor Lorenzo Monet to read a short portion of the Pentateuch in Hebrew, though he mumbled it and the director was not satisfied (in the film, boy Jesus reads mostly in English).[8]
Principal photography was carried out in Morocco and Tunisia from September 1975 to May 1976. The synagogue scenes were shot with extras from the Jewish community in the island of Djerba.[4] The city of Monastir served as 1st Century Jerusalem.[9] Ernest Borgnine, who portrayed Cornelius the Centurion, recalled that since regulations required hiring local extras—most of whom with poor English—for many of the smaller roles, they had to be dubbed. Zeffirelli decided to avoid recording sound altogether in many parts, and simply send the principal actors to dub their own characters in the studio later.[10] The standing sets of the film were later used by the British comedy troupe Monty Python for their religious satire Life of Brian (1979).[11]
There are various reports regarding the size of the miniseries' budget: Presbyterian Survey stated it was $12 million,[12] The Listener cited the figure of £9 million[13] (roughly $16 million),[14] while Third Way stated it cost £11.5 million[15] (roughly $20 million). Other sources give the sum of $18 million.[4][16] In his autobiography, Lew Grade wrote that "in the final accounting, Jesus of Nazareth took $45 million."[17][18]
Powell's portrayal of Jesus[edit]
The producers at first considered choosing a well-known star, who would draw a large audience, for the role of Christ. The first actor thought of was Dustin Hoffman, and Al Pacino was also a candidate. However, the filmmakers feared that their looks would not match the popular perception of Jesus held by the American public. Eventually, the character's North European appearance in the series was influenced by Warner Sallman's famous Head of Christ: Paul Harvey and Edward J. Blum wrote the show 'put Sallman's imagination in motion'.[19] Virgin Mary, too, was depicted "without regard to historical or ethnographic accuracy" by the "definitely Caucasian Olivia Hussey."[20]
The idea to cast Robert Powell originated with Lew Grade's wife, Kathie Moody, who told her husband the actor had 'wonderful blue eyes' after watching him perform in a BBC television adaptation of Jude the Obscure. Powell came under severe criticism from religious groups for 'living in sin' with his companion, dancer Barbara Lord of 'Pan's People, while intending to portray Jesus. The couple married shortly before production began.[1]
Powell almost never blinks throughout the entire film; he mimics H.B. Warner in 1927's The King of Kings, and Max von Sydow in 1965's The Greatest Story Ever Told. The effect was a deliberate decision by Franco Zeffirelli: James Houlden commented that the result was 'a penetrating, unrelenting eye contact with Jesus'.[21] A dark blue eyeliner was applied on set to accentuate Powell's blue eyes.[19] Powell's portrayal has since become an often-used image in popular devotional art, and 'defined the visual image of Christ in the minds of the audience... Perhaps more than any other Jesus film.'[21]
Subsequent broadcasts and versions[edit]
NBC rebroadcast the series in 1981 and four more times through 1990. It was originally released as a three-tape VHS edition in the early 1980s under the Magnetic Video label. It was released later under the mainstream video label of CBS/FOX in 1986. Another three-tape VHS edition was released by LIVE Home Video in 1992 and once more on 22 February 1995. Artisan Entertainment released the DVD version on two discs on 6 December 1999.
The mini-series is broadcast every Easter and Christmas in many countries, including Greece on ANT1, and in the United States on History Channel and TBN.
Narrative deviations from the Gospels[edit]
Although the film has been received as generally faithful to the Gospel sources, and more comprehensive than previous film versions, Zeffirelli and his screenwriters found it necessary to take some liberties with the scriptures for purposes of brevity and narrative continuity. Some of these deviations have a basis in time-honored, extra-Biblical traditions (e.g., that the infant Jesus was visited by three "kings" [the Bible calls them "magi" or "astrologers", yet does not state how many there were]). Other deviations were invented for the script:
Perhaps the greatest liberties taken in the screenplay are interpretations of the motivation of Judas Iscariot in betraying Jesus to the authorities prior to his arrest and execution. In contrast to the Gospels—which vilify Judas as a thief who stole from the Disciples’ money purse (John 12:6) and betrayed his Master simply for money (Luke 22:5)—the film portrays Judas as a much misunderstood political person who, in several scenes, conspires with the Zealots for the sake of Jewish liberation in a way that could be interpreted as honorable, albeit misguided.
The film introduces a number of fictional characters. Of these, Ian Holm's Zerah has the most screen time. (Zerah is used primarily to supply Judas Iscariot with a motive for his treachery: he persuades him that an appearance before the Sanhedrin will offer Jesus an opportunity to prove himself.) Other invented characters include Quintillius, Yehuda, and Amos.
In the Bible, the only mention of Jesus in childhood is his trip to the temple in Jerusalem as a 12 year old. In the film, the boy Jesus is also portrayed at his bar mitzvah which is interrupted by a raid of Roman soldiers plundering supplies. The boy Jesus is also portrayed as climbing a ladder and looking out over the landscape of Judea after Joseph makes the analogy of a ladder reaching to heaven.
The prostitute and the woman who anoints Jesus's feet with ointment and her hair are combined into one person. The Bible indicates that Mary Magdalene (who is never actually said to be a prostitute) is the woman from whom seven demons were cast out, while the ointment-bearing woman is Mary of Bethany, a sister of Lazarus (John 11:2).
In the film, Nicodemus visits Jesus in the late afternoon, not at night as in John 3:3.
The Apostle Andrew introduces Simon to Jesus as "My brother, Simon Peter." But "Peter" is the name that Jesus later gave to Simon (John 1:42, Matthew 16:18) after he was well acquainted with him, not his original given name. Later in the mini-series, Jesus does give Simon the surname of "Peter".
The Apostle Thomas, prior to his calling, is depicted as a servant of Jairus, the synagogue leader whose 12-year-old daughter Jesus raises from the dead. Nowhere in the three gospel accounts of this resurrection is Thomas described as Jairus's servant. This was done in the movie to conveniently introduce Thomas as the doubter when Jesus said Jairus' dead daughter is "only sleeping."
Barabbas is portrayed in the film as a Zealot (political extremist and agitator). The meeting and dialogue between Jesus and Barabbas are made up.
The Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32) is used as a plot device which simultaneously redeems the disciple Matthew and reconciles him to his bitter enemy, Simon Peter. Although not in the Bible, this has been praised as one of the film’s particularly felicitous innovations. (The Gospels do not record either a conflict or a particular friendship between Matthew and Simon Peter.)
In the film, Pontius Pilate, having convicted Jesus of treason, sentences Him to be crucified. The Gospels record that Pilate acquitted Jesus, but sentenced Him under pressure from the crowd.
The Gospels and the film both relate an account of a Roman centurion who petitions Jesus to heal his sick servant. The film, but not the Gospel, presents the same officer (portrayed by Ernest Borgnine) as one of the soldiers standing at the foot of the Cross, where he sympathetically allows Mary to approach her son.
In the Bible Judas is paid 30 pieces of silver for betraying Jesus. Full of remorse, he later gives the silver back to the priests (Matthew 27:3-5). In the film, Judas is given silver coins as an afterthought by Zerah; he does not return them and they are shown lying on the ground under the tree from which he hangs himself.
The film depicts a scene which shows Joseph dying. The Gospels never mention anything about Joseph after the story of Jesus, as a boy, in the Temple.
The scene of the blind man who was healed in the movie, where Jesus spat on dirt and rubbed mud in the blind beggar's eyes, was set in the temple; but in the bible (John 9: the entire chapter) this healing took place as Jesus had left the temple, and was "walking along."
Reception[edit]
Jesus of Nazareth premiered on the Italian channel RAI 1 on 27 March 1977. It was broadcast in five episodes, one shown every week until 25 April.[22] On Palm Sunday, 3 April 1977—the date of the airing of the second episode—the Pope endorsed the program in his public address for the holiday and recommended the faithful to view it.[4] The series enjoyed high ratings: the German Dominican friar and film critic Ambros Eichenberger reported that according to local surveys, 84% of the television owners in the larger cities watched the series.[23] For example, the number of viewers for the third episode, aired on 10 April, was estimated to have been 28.3 million.[24]
In the United Kingdom and in the United States, it was broadcast in two parts, albeit in different lengths, by the network ITV in the UK and NBC in the US. In both countries, the first was aired on 3 April and the second on Easter, 10 April 1977.[25][26][27] During its original showing in Britain, Jesus of Nazareth had an estimated viewership of 21 million spectators.[28]
When the first episode was broadcast in the United States, it was a major success. The New York Times reported it "swamped all competing programs on Sunday night", with overnight Nielsen ratings of 46% of the total audience in New York and 53% in Los Angeles.[29] The miniseries as a whole received a Nielsen rating of 30.8 points,[30] with each point representing approximately 712,000 television-owning homes,[31] and an audience share of 50% nationwide,[27] on both nights.[32] The company calculated that Jesus attracted about 90 million viewers.[16][27][28][33]
In West Germany, it was broadcast by ZDF in four episodes on the 19th, 21st, 23rd and 24 March 1978;[34] 40% of the audience have viewed it.[23]
Jesus of Nazareth turned into a massive commercial success, and to one of the most widely marketed and best known productions about Christ's life.[4][16][21] Lew Grade stated that it made "a net profit of $30 million."[17]
Awards and nominations[edit]
Jesus of Nazareth received an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Special Drama or Comedy. Additionally, James Farentino, who portrayed St. Peter, received a nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Comedy or Drama Special.[35]
The miniseries was nominated for six British Academy Television Awards: Best Actor, Best Cameraman, Best Single Television Play, Best Editor, Best Costume Design and Best Sound. It won none.[36]
However, Jesus of Nazareth won awards for Best Cinematography to Armando Nannuzzi), Best Costume Design to Lucia Mirisola and Best Production Design, to Mirisola again, from the Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists.[37]
Powell collected the TV Times "Best Actor" award for the same performance.
Sequel[edit]
The success of this miniseries led to a 1985 sequel, A.D., which weaves a fictional story set in first-century Rome into Biblical and extrabiblical material based on the Acts of the Apostles. Although many of the same crew members worked on both series, the only key cast member to return was Ian McShane, playing a different role.
Controversy[edit]
Before its initial broadcast, Jesus of Nazareth came under ideological fire from some American Protestant fundamentalists, led by Bob Jones III, president of Bob Jones University in South Carolina. Zeffirelli had told an interviewer from Modern Screen that the film would portray Jesus as "an ordinary man—gentle, fragile, simple". Jones interpreted this as meaning that the portrayal would deny Christ's divine nature. Having never seen the film, Jones denounced it as "blasphemy." Others picked up the cry and 18,000 letters were sent to General Motors, which had provided $3 million of the film's cost. Sacrificing its investment, GM backed out of its sponsorship.[7] Procter and Gamble eventually took it over, buying the U.S. rights for a relatively low price of some $1 million, and their financial support allowed the miniseries to be screened.[38]
In making his film, Zeffirelli explicitly wished to deemphasise the traditional accusation of deicide against the Jews. Some 26 years later, Zeffirelli criticised The Passion of the Christ (2004), which was produced and directed by Mel Gibson, for its portrayal of who "...was to blame for all the bloodshed".[39] Zeffirelli had previously directed Gibson in Hamlet (1990).
Further reading[edit]
Barclay, William. Jesus of Nazareth (1977, Collins). ISBN 978-0002506533.
Burgess, Antony. Man of Nazareth (1979, McGraw-Hill). ISBN 978-0553133189.
Zeffirelli, Franco. Franco Zeffirelli's Jesus: A Spiritual Diary (1984, Harper & Row). ISBN 978-0060697808.
References[edit]
1.^ Jump up to: a b Falk, Ben; Falk, Quentin (2005). Television's Strangest Moments: Extraordinary But True Tales from the History of Television. Franz Steiner. ISBN 9781861058744. pp. 131-132.
2.Jump up ^ "Zeffirelli Recalls Paul VI's Help With "Jesus of Nazareth"". Zenit News Agency. 5 November 2007. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
3.Jump up ^ Zeffirelli, Franco (1984). Franco Zeffirelli's Jesus : A Spiritual Diary. Harper and Row. ISBN 9780060697808. p. 4.
4.^ Jump up to: a b c d e Reinhartz, Adele (2012). Bible and Cinema: Fifty Key Films. Routledge. ISBN 9781136183997. p. 151.
5.Jump up ^ Burgess, Anthony (1986), But Do Blondes Prefer Gentlemen: Homage to Qwert Yuiop and Other Writings, McGraw-Hill Book Company, pg 35.
6.Jump up ^ Llewellyn, Dawn; Sawyer, Deborah F. (2008). Reading Spiritualities: Constructing and Representing the Sacred. Ashgate. ISBN 9780754663294. p. 214.
7.^ Jump up to: a b Ostling, Richard N. (4 April 1977). "Franco Zeffirelli's Classical Christ for Prime Time". Time magazine. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
8.Jump up ^ Bsteh, Petrus (2012). Wegbereiter des interreligiösen Dialogs. Lit. ISBN 9783643503329. pp. 178-179.
9.Jump up ^ Jacobs‏, Daniel; Morris, Peter (2001). The Rough Guide to Tunisia. Rough Guides. ISBN 9781858287485. p. xiii.
10.Jump up ^ Borgnine, Ernest (2009). Ernie. Citadel Press. ISBN 9780806531502. pp. 195-196.
11.Jump up ^ Denby, David (24 September 1979). "Oh, Bug Off!". New York Magazine: 98. ISSN 0028-7369.
12.Jump up ^ Presbyterian Church in the U.S. (1977). Presbyterian Survey 67: 28. ISSN 0032-759X. Missing or empty |title= (help)
13.Jump up ^ British Broadcasting Corporation (1977). The Listener 97: 518. ISSN 0024-4392. Missing or empty |title= (help)
14.Jump up ^ The exchange rate of the Pound/U.S. Dollar in 1976 was £0.55651 to $1."Pacific Exchange: Foreign Currency Units per 1 U.S. Dollar, 1948-2011" (PDF). ubc.ca. Retrieved 2012-09-11.
15.Jump up ^ Unspecified writer (27 January 1977). "Mastermind on the BC Trail". Third Way 1 (2): 10. ISSN 0309-3492.
16.^ Jump up to: a b c Cyrino, Monica Silveira (2009). Rome Season One: History Makes Television. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 9781444301557. p. 18.
17.^ Jump up to: a b Grade, Lew (1987). Still Dancing: My Story. Collins. ISBN 9780002177801. p. 219.
18.Jump up ^ This figure might be adjusted to inflation by 1987, and also include costs that were not directly invested in production but in marketing, etc.
19.^ Jump up to: a b Blum, Edward J.; Harvey, Paul (2012). The Color of Christ: The Son of God and the Saga of Race in America. University of North Carolina Press. ISBN 9780807835722. pp. 256-257.
20.Jump up ^ O'Brien, Catherine (2011). The Celluloid Madonna: From Scripture to Screen. Columbia University Press. ISBN 9781906660277. p. 4.
21.^ Jump up to: a b c Houlden, James L. (2003). Jesus in History, Thought, and Culture/ 2, Entries K - Z. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9781576078563. pp. 289-290.
22.Jump up ^ Casadio, Gianfranco (2007). I Mitici Eroi : Il Cinema Peplum nel Cinema Italiano dall'avvento del Sonoro a Oggi (1930-1993). Longo. ISBN 9788880635291. p. 198.
23.^ Jump up to: a b Langkau, Thomas (2007). Filmstar Jesus Christus: die neuesten Jesus-Filme als Herausforderung für Theologie und Religionspädagogik. Lit. ISBN 9783825801960. p. 20.
24.Jump up ^ Grasso, Aldo (1992). Storia della Televisione Italiana. Garzanti. ISBN 9788811738190. p. 339.
25.Jump up ^ "Zeffirelli's Jesus of Nazareth... In its international début held unprecedented UK audiences for a total of six hours on Palm Sunday and Easter Day". Quoted from: Independent Broadcasting Authority (1978). Annual Report and Accounts: 1977: 29. OCLC 1789175. Missing or empty |title= (help)
26.Jump up ^ "This six-hour film on ITV shown in two three-hour parts on Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday". Quoted from: Martin, Linnette (21 April 1977). "Lion or Lamb?". Third Way 1 (8): 29. ISSN 0309-3492.
27.^ Jump up to: a b c King, Susan (27 March 1994). "Family Channel's Pilgrimage: Cable Network Airs the '77 Miniseries "Jesus of Nazareth" for Easter Week". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
28.^ Jump up to: a b Angelini, Sergio. "Jesus of Nazareth (1977)". BFI Screenonline. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
29.Jump up ^ Unspecified writer (5 April 1977). "TV 'Jesus of Nazareth' Draws Major Audience". The New York Times. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
30.Jump up ^ Bianco, Robert (11 November 2004). "Catastrophic 'Category 6' is a ratings 1.5". USA Today. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
31.Jump up ^ Gorman, Bill (28 August 2007). "US Television Households by Season". TV by the Numbers. Retrieved 21 February 2013.
32.Jump up ^ Brown, Les (1977). The New York Times Encyclopedia of Television. Times Books. ISBN 9780812907216. p. 217.
33.Jump up ^ Bennet, Albert (1978). Funk and Wagnalls New Encyclopedia: 1978 Yearbook. Funk & Wagnalls. ISBN 9780834300071. p. 327.
34.Jump up ^ "Jesus von Nazareth (1976)". Lexikon des Internationalen Films. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
35.Jump up ^ "Jesus of Nazareth". emmys.com. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
36.Jump up ^ "Jesus of Nazareth". bafta.org. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
37.Jump up ^ Bentley Hammer, Tad (1991). International Film Prizes: An Encyclopedia. Garland. ISBN 9780824070991. p. 705.
38.Jump up ^ Media Decisions 13 (1): 67. 1978. ISSN 0025-6900. Missing or empty |title= (help)
39.Jump up ^ Bates, Stephen (27 February 2004). "Gibson Film Ignores Vow to Remove Blood Libel". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 February 2013.
External links[edit]
Jesus of Nazareth at the Internet Movie Database
Jesus of Nazareth at AllMovie
Jesus of Nazareth at the TCM Movie Database
webpages dedicated to the movie called "Jesus of Nazareth" by Franco Zeffirelli
Jesus of Nazareth at the Arts & Faith Top100 Spiritually Significant Films list


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Categories: English-language films
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Portrayals of Jesus on television
British television miniseries
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Brian Song

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"Brian Song" is the title song from the 1979 film Monty Python's Life of Brian. [1] The song which charts the growth of the Brian character to manhood was composed by Andre Jacquemin and Dave Howman with lyrics by Michael Palin. It was performed by sixteen year old Sonia Jones[2] with a string and brass accompaniment in the style of a John Barry film theme (the entire brass section was performed via extensive multitracking by John Du Prez). It is included on the Monty Python's Life of Brian Album and on the CD Monty Python Sings.[3] Martin Chilton the Culture Editor for The Telegraph website listed it as one of the five best Monty Python songs in 2013.[1]
References[edit]
1.^ Jump up to: a b Monty Python Reunion - Five Best Monty Python Songs at The Telegraph. Retrieved 15 June 2014
2.Jump up ^ Sonia Jones.com. Retrieved 20 July 2013
3.Jump up ^ Monty Python Sings - Monty Python : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards : AllMusic


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Brian Song

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

"Brian Song" is the title song from the 1979 film Monty Python's Life of Brian. [1] The song which charts the growth of the Brian character to manhood was composed by Andre Jacquemin and Dave Howman with lyrics by Michael Palin. It was performed by sixteen year old Sonia Jones[2] with a string and brass accompaniment in the style of a John Barry film theme (the entire brass section was performed via extensive multitracking by John Du Prez). It is included on the Monty Python's Life of Brian Album and on the CD Monty Python Sings.[3] Martin Chilton the Culture Editor for The Telegraph website listed it as one of the five best Monty Python songs in 2013.[1]
References[edit]
1.^ Jump up to: a b Monty Python Reunion - Five Best Monty Python Songs at The Telegraph. Retrieved 15 June 2014
2.Jump up ^ Sonia Jones.com. Retrieved 20 July 2013
3.Jump up ^ Monty Python Sings - Monty Python : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards : AllMusic


[hide]
v ·
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Monty Python


Graham Chapman ·
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 Carol Cleveland ·
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   ·
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And Now for Something Completely Different ·
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Another Record ·
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Compilation albums
Instant Record Collection ·
 Final Rip Off ·
 Ultimate Rip Off ·
 Instant CD Collection ·
 Sings ·
 Total Rubbish
 

Live albums
Flying Circus ·
 Live at Drury Lane ·
 Live at City Center
 

Specials
Parrot Sketch Not Included ·
 Live at Aspen ·
 Python Night
 

Documentaries
Almost the Truth (Lawyers Cut) ·
 The Seventh Python
 

Stage productions
Spamalot ·
 Not the Messiah (He's a Very Naughty Boy) ·
 An Evening Without Monty Python ·
 Live (Mostly)
 

Literature
Big Red Book ·
 Brand New Bok
 

Video games
Flying Circus ·
 Complete Waste of Time ·
 Quest for the Holy Grail ·
 The Meaning of Life ·
 Monty Python's Cow Tossing
 

Characters
Mr Praline ·
 Gumbys ·
 The Colonel ·
 Mr Creosote ·
 Killer Rabbit ·
 Ron Obvious ·
 Other characters
 

Sketches
Albatross! ·
 Anne Elk's Theory on Brontosauruses ·
 Architects ·
 Argument Clinic ·
 Bishop ·
 Bruces ·
 Cheese Shop ·
 Colin "Bomber" Harris vs Colin "Bomber" Harris ·
 Crunchy Frog ·
 Dead Bishop ·
 Dead Parrot ·
 Dirty Fork ·
 Dirty Hungarian Phrasebook ·
 Election Night Special ·
 Fish Licence ·
 Fish-Slapping Dance ·
 Four Yorkshiremen ·
 The Funniest Joke in the World ·
 How Not to Be Seen ·
 Kilimanjaro Expedition ·
 Lifeboat ·
 Marriage Guidance Counsellor ·
 Ministry of Silly Walks ·
 Mouse Problem ·
 Nudge Nudge ·
 Patient Abuse ·
 Philosophers' Football Match ·
 Piranha Brothers ·
 Ron Obvious ·
 Sam Peckinpah's "Salad Days" ·
 Seduced Milkmen ·
 Self Defence Against Fresh Fruit ·
 Spam ·
 Spanish Inquisition ·
 Undertakers ·
 Upper Class Twit of the Year ·
 Vocational Guidance Counsellor
 

Songs
"Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" ·
 "Brian Song" ·
 "Bruces' Philosophers Song" ·
 "Decomposing Composers" ·
 "Eric the Half-a-Bee" ·
 "Every Sperm Is Sacred" ·
 "Finland" ·
 "Galaxy Song" ·
 "I Bet You They Won't Play This Song on the Radio" ·
 "I Like Chinese" ·
 "I've Got Two Legs" ·
 "The Lumberjack Song" ·
 "Medical Love Song" ·
 "Never Be Rude to an Arab" ·
 "Oliver Cromwell" ·
 "Sit on My Face"
 

Related articles
Filmography ·
 The Hastily Cobbled Together for a Fast Buck Album ·
 Do Not Adjust Your Set ·
 The Complete and Utter History of Britain ·
 At Last the 1948 Show ·
 Ripping Yarns ·
 How to Irritate People ·
 Holy Flying Circus ·
 Rutland Weekend Television ·
 We Have Ways of Making You Laugh ·
 A Liar's Autobiography: The Untrue Story of Monty Python's Graham Chapman
 

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Monty Python's Life of Brian (album)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search


Monty Python's Life of Brian

Soundtrack album by Monty Python

Released
November 1979
Recorded
1978-1979
Genre
Comedy
Length
51:51
Label
Warner Bros.
Monty Python chronology

The Monty Python Instant Record Collection
 (1977) Monty Python's Life of Brian
 (1979) Monty Python's Contractual Obligation Album
 (1980)


Professional ratings

Review scores

Source
Rating
Allmusic 4/5 stars [1]
Monty Python's Life of Brian is an album released by Monty Python in conjunction with the 1979 film Monty Python's Life of Brian. It mostly contains scenes from the movie with only brief linking sections performed by Eric Idle and Graham Chapman. The album opens with a brief rendition of "Hava Nagila" on Scottish bagpipes. In 2006 a special edition CD added six bonus tracks to the end of the album.
Track listing[edit]
1."Introduction"
2."Brian Song"
3."Three Wise Men"
4."Brian Song" (continued)
5."Sermon on the Mount" (Big Nose)
6."Harry the Haggler"
7."Stoning"
8."Ex"-Leper
9."You Mean You Were Raped?" (Naughtius Maximus)
10."Link"
11."In the Amphitheatre" (Loretta)
12."Short Link"
13."Romans Go Home"
14."Missing Link"
15."Revolutionary Meeting"
16."Very Good Link / Ben"
17."Audience with Pilate"
18."Meanwhile"
19."The Prophets"
20."Beard Salesman"
21."Lobster Link"
22."Brian's Prophecy"
23."Lobster Link II"
24."The Hermit" (Simon the Holy Man)
25."He's Not the Messiah"
26."Sex Link"
27."He's a Very Naughty Boy"
28."Lighter Link"
29."Pilate Sentences Brian"
30."Nisus Wettus"
31."Pilate with the Crowd" (Welease Woger)
32."Nisus Wettus with the Jailers"
33."Release Brian"
34."Not So Bad Once You're Up"
35."Reg Salutes Brian"
36."Cheeky is Released"
37."Look on the Bright Side of Life (All Things Dull and Ugly)"
38."Closing"
2006 Bonus Tracks[edit]
1."Otto Sketch"
2."Otto Song"
3."Otto Song Demo" (Python Sings)
4."Brian Song" [Alternate Version]
5."Radio Ad - Record Shop"
6."Radio Ad - Twice As Good"
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ Mills, Ted. Monty Python's Life of Brian (album) at AllMusic


[hide]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Monty Python


Graham Chapman ·
 John Cleese ·
 Terry Gilliam ·
 Eric Idle ·
 Terry Jones ·
 Michael Palin
 Carol Cleveland ·
 Neil Innes
 

Television series
Flying Circus  (episodes)
   ·
 Fliegender Zirkus ·
 Personal Best
 

Filmography
And Now for Something Completely Different ·
 Holy Grail ·
 Life of Brian ·
 Live at the Hollywood Bowl ·
 The Meaning of Life
 

Studio albums
Another Record ·
 Previous Record ·
 Matching Tie and Handkerchief ·
 Holy Grail ·
 Life of Brian ·
 Contractual Obligation ·
 The Meaning of Life
 

Compilation albums
Instant Record Collection ·
 Final Rip Off ·
 Ultimate Rip Off ·
 Instant CD Collection ·
 Sings ·
 Total Rubbish
 

Live albums
Flying Circus ·
 Live at Drury Lane ·
 Live at City Center
 

Specials
Parrot Sketch Not Included ·
 Live at Aspen ·
 Python Night
 

Documentaries
Almost the Truth (Lawyers Cut) ·
 The Seventh Python
 

Stage productions
Spamalot ·
 Not the Messiah (He's a Very Naughty Boy) ·
 An Evening Without Monty Python ·
 Live (Mostly)
 

Literature
Big Red Book ·
 Brand New Bok
 

Video games
Flying Circus ·
 Complete Waste of Time ·
 Quest for the Holy Grail ·
 The Meaning of Life ·
 Monty Python's Cow Tossing
 

Characters
Mr Praline ·
 Gumbys ·
 The Colonel ·
 Mr Creosote ·
 Killer Rabbit ·
 Ron Obvious ·
 Other characters
 

Sketches
Albatross! ·
 Anne Elk's Theory on Brontosauruses ·
 Architects ·
 Argument Clinic ·
 Bishop ·
 Bruces ·
 Cheese Shop ·
 Colin "Bomber" Harris vs Colin "Bomber" Harris ·
 Crunchy Frog ·
 Dead Bishop ·
 Dead Parrot ·
 Dirty Fork ·
 Dirty Hungarian Phrasebook ·
 Election Night Special ·
 Fish Licence ·
 Fish-Slapping Dance ·
 Four Yorkshiremen ·
 The Funniest Joke in the World ·
 How Not to Be Seen ·
 Kilimanjaro Expedition ·
 Lifeboat ·
 Marriage Guidance Counsellor ·
 Ministry of Silly Walks ·
 Mouse Problem ·
 Nudge Nudge ·
 Patient Abuse ·
 Philosophers' Football Match ·
 Piranha Brothers ·
 Ron Obvious ·
 Sam Peckinpah's "Salad Days" ·
 Seduced Milkmen ·
 Self Defence Against Fresh Fruit ·
 Spam ·
 Spanish Inquisition ·
 Undertakers ·
 Upper Class Twit of the Year ·
 Vocational Guidance Counsellor
 

Songs
"Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" ·
 "Brian Song" ·
 "Bruces' Philosophers Song" ·
 "Decomposing Composers" ·
 "Eric the Half-a-Bee" ·
 "Every Sperm Is Sacred" ·
 "Finland" ·
 "Galaxy Song" ·
 "I Bet You They Won't Play This Song on the Radio" ·
 "I Like Chinese" ·
 "I've Got Two Legs" ·
 "The Lumberjack Song" ·
 "Medical Love Song" ·
 "Never Be Rude to an Arab" ·
 "Oliver Cromwell" ·
 "Sit on My Face"
 

Related articles
Filmography ·
 The Hastily Cobbled Together for a Fast Buck Album ·
 Do Not Adjust Your Set ·
 The Complete and Utter History of Britain ·
 At Last the 1948 Show ·
 Ripping Yarns ·
 How to Irritate People ·
 Holy Flying Circus ·
 Rutland Weekend Television ·
 We Have Ways of Making You Laugh ·
 A Liar's Autobiography: The Untrue Story of Monty Python's Graham Chapman
 

  


Categories: Monty Python albums
1979 soundtracks
Film soundtracks
Warner Bros. Records soundtracks




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Monty Python's Life of Brian (album)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search


Monty Python's Life of Brian

Soundtrack album by Monty Python

Released
November 1979
Recorded
1978-1979
Genre
Comedy
Length
51:51
Label
Warner Bros.
Monty Python chronology

The Monty Python Instant Record Collection
 (1977) Monty Python's Life of Brian
 (1979) Monty Python's Contractual Obligation Album
 (1980)


Professional ratings

Review scores

Source
Rating
Allmusic 4/5 stars [1]
Monty Python's Life of Brian is an album released by Monty Python in conjunction with the 1979 film Monty Python's Life of Brian. It mostly contains scenes from the movie with only brief linking sections performed by Eric Idle and Graham Chapman. The album opens with a brief rendition of "Hava Nagila" on Scottish bagpipes. In 2006 a special edition CD added six bonus tracks to the end of the album.
Track listing[edit]
1."Introduction"
2."Brian Song"
3."Three Wise Men"
4."Brian Song" (continued)
5."Sermon on the Mount" (Big Nose)
6."Harry the Haggler"
7."Stoning"
8."Ex"-Leper
9."You Mean You Were Raped?" (Naughtius Maximus)
10."Link"
11."In the Amphitheatre" (Loretta)
12."Short Link"
13."Romans Go Home"
14."Missing Link"
15."Revolutionary Meeting"
16."Very Good Link / Ben"
17."Audience with Pilate"
18."Meanwhile"
19."The Prophets"
20."Beard Salesman"
21."Lobster Link"
22."Brian's Prophecy"
23."Lobster Link II"
24."The Hermit" (Simon the Holy Man)
25."He's Not the Messiah"
26."Sex Link"
27."He's a Very Naughty Boy"
28."Lighter Link"
29."Pilate Sentences Brian"
30."Nisus Wettus"
31."Pilate with the Crowd" (Welease Woger)
32."Nisus Wettus with the Jailers"
33."Release Brian"
34."Not So Bad Once You're Up"
35."Reg Salutes Brian"
36."Cheeky is Released"
37."Look on the Bright Side of Life (All Things Dull and Ugly)"
38."Closing"
2006 Bonus Tracks[edit]
1."Otto Sketch"
2."Otto Song"
3."Otto Song Demo" (Python Sings)
4."Brian Song" [Alternate Version]
5."Radio Ad - Record Shop"
6."Radio Ad - Twice As Good"
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ Mills, Ted. Monty Python's Life of Brian (album) at AllMusic


[hide]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Monty Python


Graham Chapman ·
 John Cleese ·
 Terry Gilliam ·
 Eric Idle ·
 Terry Jones ·
 Michael Palin
 Carol Cleveland ·
 Neil Innes
 

Television series
Flying Circus  (episodes)
   ·
 Fliegender Zirkus ·
 Personal Best
 

Filmography
And Now for Something Completely Different ·
 Holy Grail ·
 Life of Brian ·
 Live at the Hollywood Bowl ·
 The Meaning of Life
 

Studio albums
Another Record ·
 Previous Record ·
 Matching Tie and Handkerchief ·
 Holy Grail ·
 Life of Brian ·
 Contractual Obligation ·
 The Meaning of Life
 

Compilation albums
Instant Record Collection ·
 Final Rip Off ·
 Ultimate Rip Off ·
 Instant CD Collection ·
 Sings ·
 Total Rubbish
 

Live albums
Flying Circus ·
 Live at Drury Lane ·
 Live at City Center
 

Specials
Parrot Sketch Not Included ·
 Live at Aspen ·
 Python Night
 

Documentaries
Almost the Truth (Lawyers Cut) ·
 The Seventh Python
 

Stage productions
Spamalot ·
 Not the Messiah (He's a Very Naughty Boy) ·
 An Evening Without Monty Python ·
 Live (Mostly)
 

Literature
Big Red Book ·
 Brand New Bok
 

Video games
Flying Circus ·
 Complete Waste of Time ·
 Quest for the Holy Grail ·
 The Meaning of Life ·
 Monty Python's Cow Tossing
 

Characters
Mr Praline ·
 Gumbys ·
 The Colonel ·
 Mr Creosote ·
 Killer Rabbit ·
 Ron Obvious ·
 Other characters
 

Sketches
Albatross! ·
 Anne Elk's Theory on Brontosauruses ·
 Architects ·
 Argument Clinic ·
 Bishop ·
 Bruces ·
 Cheese Shop ·
 Colin "Bomber" Harris vs Colin "Bomber" Harris ·
 Crunchy Frog ·
 Dead Bishop ·
 Dead Parrot ·
 Dirty Fork ·
 Dirty Hungarian Phrasebook ·
 Election Night Special ·
 Fish Licence ·
 Fish-Slapping Dance ·
 Four Yorkshiremen ·
 The Funniest Joke in the World ·
 How Not to Be Seen ·
 Kilimanjaro Expedition ·
 Lifeboat ·
 Marriage Guidance Counsellor ·
 Ministry of Silly Walks ·
 Mouse Problem ·
 Nudge Nudge ·
 Patient Abuse ·
 Philosophers' Football Match ·
 Piranha Brothers ·
 Ron Obvious ·
 Sam Peckinpah's "Salad Days" ·
 Seduced Milkmen ·
 Self Defence Against Fresh Fruit ·
 Spam ·
 Spanish Inquisition ·
 Undertakers ·
 Upper Class Twit of the Year ·
 Vocational Guidance Counsellor
 

Songs
"Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" ·
 "Brian Song" ·
 "Bruces' Philosophers Song" ·
 "Decomposing Composers" ·
 "Eric the Half-a-Bee" ·
 "Every Sperm Is Sacred" ·
 "Finland" ·
 "Galaxy Song" ·
 "I Bet You They Won't Play This Song on the Radio" ·
 "I Like Chinese" ·
 "I've Got Two Legs" ·
 "The Lumberjack Song" ·
 "Medical Love Song" ·
 "Never Be Rude to an Arab" ·
 "Oliver Cromwell" ·
 "Sit on My Face"
 

Related articles
Filmography ·
 The Hastily Cobbled Together for a Fast Buck Album ·
 Do Not Adjust Your Set ·
 The Complete and Utter History of Britain ·
 At Last the 1948 Show ·
 Ripping Yarns ·
 How to Irritate People ·
 Holy Flying Circus ·
 Rutland Weekend Television ·
 We Have Ways of Making You Laugh ·
 A Liar's Autobiography: The Untrue Story of Monty Python's Graham Chapman
 

  


Categories: Monty Python albums
1979 soundtracks
Film soundtracks
Warner Bros. Records soundtracks




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Jesus of Montreal

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Jump to: navigation, search



 This article's lead section may not adequately summarize key points of its contents. Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of all important aspects of the article. (February 2014)
‹ The template Infobox film is being considered for merging. ›

Jesus of Montreal
Jesus of Montreal FilmPoster.jpeg
Movie poster

Directed by
Denys Arcand
Produced by
Monique Létourneau
Written by
Denys Arcand
Starring
Lothaire Bluteau
Catherine Wilkening
Johanne-Marie Tremblay (fr)
Music by
Yves Laferriere
Cinematography
Guy Dufaux
Edited by
Isabelle Dedieu
Distributed by
Koch-Lorber (Region 1 DVD)

Release dates
 17 May 1989 (France)
 25 May 1990 (USA)

Running time
 118 minutes
Country
Canada
 France
Language
French
Jesus of Montreal (French: Jésus de Montréal) is a 1989 Canadian film directed by Denys Arcand.


Contents  [hide]
1 Plot and allegory
2 Locations used for filming
3 Cast
4 Awards
5 See also
6 References
7 External links

Plot and allegory[edit]
The film centres on a group of actors in Montreal, Canada who are gathered by Daniel, an actor hired by a Roman Catholic site of pilgrimage ("le sanctuaire") to present a Passion play in its gardens.
The sanctuary is implied to be Saint Joseph's Oratory (although this organization actually refused permission to film there). In fact, the idea for the film came to its director after an actor apologized for appearing with a beard at an audition. The actor explained that he had the role of Jesus in a passion play at St-Joseph's Oratory. Arcand went to see the play and recalls "I saw actors in a mediocre production which received shouted applause from the tourists. I decided I had to make a film".[1]
The actors' interpretation of the life of Jesus is unconventional (including, for example, the statement that the biological father of Jesus was a Roman soldier, who left Palestine shortly afterwards). Still, it draws on current academic theories and research. The challenging production becomes the toast of the city. The higher authorities of the religious order that controls the sanctuary (or of the Roman Catholic Church, this is left vague) strongly object to this Biblical interpretation, and forcefully stop a performance.
After an ensuing accident, Daniel is first taken by ambulance to a Catholic hospital. He is completely neglected there and leaves. He then collapses on a Montreal Metro platform. The same ambulance takes him to Jewish General Hospital. Despite immediate, skilled, and energetic efforts by the doctors and nurses to revive him, Daniel is pronounced brain-dead. Daniel's doctor asks for the consent of his friends to take Daniel's organs for donation (since Daniel has no known relatives). Daniel's physician states that the staff would have been able to save him, if he had been brought to them half an hour earlier.
The film is structured so that Daniel's story parallels that of Christ. Some of the points of contact are:
Daniel has returned to Montreal after spending a long period travelling in "the East".
Contradictory and uncertain stories are told about Daniel's life story.
In the opening scene, one actor points to Daniel, calling him "a much better actor", which echoes John the Baptist foretelling the arrival of Jesus the Messiah.
The first actor later "sells-out" and lets his head be used in an advertisement, paralleling John the Baptist's beheading.
The actors then gather for the Passion play, some of them leaving safe jobs to do so, recalling Jesus gathering the disciples.
Daniel wrecks an advertising casting session, where the casting director enjoys humiliating participants, and displays deep contempt for them. This is a parallel of when Jesus casts the money-lenders out of the Temple.
Daniel's arrest and court appearance before an indecisive judge, played by the film's director himself, parallels Jesus' appearance before Pontius Pilate.
The smooth elite lawyer, who lays out a grand commercial career for Daniel, looking down from a skyscraper at the city, refers to the temptation of Christ by the devil atop a high pinnacle.
Daniel is disconnected from his life support at the Jewish General Hospital, mirroring the Christian belief that Jews killed Jesus
The Good Samaritan Parable applauds the Samaritan - an outsider of the community to which Jesus preaches - for behaving as a true neighbour should. Daniel is not helped at the Catholic hospital - his own community - but is instead helped at the Anglo-Jewish hospital - a religious and linguistic group very different from Daniel's.
The resurrection of Jesus is depicted as the donation of Daniel's organs, which live on in the lives of others.
Daniel's eyes are used to "heal" the blind.
The founding of the Christian church becomes the plans for an experimental theatre company, which is "incorporated".
Locations used for filming[edit]
There are a few shots in the film of the exterior of Saint Joseph's Oratory, taken from a distance. However, the interior church scenes were filmed in Montreal’s Church of St. Michael and St. Anthony. The exterior scenes of the sanctuary gardens were mainly filmed in areas which had not yet been built upon, around the Université de Montréal’s engineering school, the École Polytechnique de Montréal. The exterior scenes around a statue of Jesus were filmed at what was then the location of Marianopolis College, at 3880 Côte-des-Neiges Road.
Cast[edit]
Lothaire Bluteau (Daniel)
Catherine Wilkening (fr) (Mireille)
Johanne-Marie Tremblay (Constance)
Rémy Girard (Martin)
Robert Lepage (René)
Gilles Pelletier (Fr. Leclerc)
Roy Dupuis (Marcel Brochu)
Awards[edit]
Jesus of Montreal won the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival[2] and the Genie Award for Best Canadian Film of 1989. It has twice been placed second on the TIFF List of Top 10 Canadian Films of All Time, in 1993 and 2004,[3] and was nominated for the 1989 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. In 2010 it was nominated for both Best Picture and Best Foreign Film at the 1st Annual 20/20 Awards.
See also[edit]
Cinema of Quebec
Culture of Quebec
Dramatic portrayals of Jesus
List of Quebec movies
Passion (Christianity)
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ Wah Keung Chan & Lilian I. Liganor "Réflexions Denys Arcand" 16 December 2007, La Scena musicale (Montréal), vol. 5(4), p. 25.(translation into English of Arcand's French)
2.Jump up ^ "Festival de Cannes: Jesus of Montreal". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 2009-08-01.
3.Jump up ^ "Top 10 Canadian Films of All Time," The Canadian Encyclopedia, URL accessed 17 March 2013
External links[edit]
Cannes, Prix du Jury 1989
Film Reference Library
Jésus de Montréal at the Internet Movie Database
Jésus de Montréal at the Arts & Faith: Top 100 Spiritually Significant Film list


[show]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Films directed by Denys Arcand























[show]
v ·
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 e
 
Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television winners for Best Motion Picture





















































































[show]
v ·
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 e
 
Cannes Film Festival Jury Prize

































































































  


Categories: French-language films
1989 films
Canadian films
French films
Canadian drama films
Portrayals of Jesus in film
Genie Award winners for Best Achievement in Costume Design
Best Picture Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners
Films set in Montreal
Films shot in Montreal
Films directed by Denys Arcand








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This page was last modified on 2 March 2015, at 05:13.
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 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_of_Montreal














Jesus of Montreal

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search



 This article's lead section may not adequately summarize key points of its contents. Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of all important aspects of the article. (February 2014)
‹ The template Infobox film is being considered for merging. ›

Jesus of Montreal
Jesus of Montreal FilmPoster.jpeg
Movie poster

Directed by
Denys Arcand
Produced by
Monique Létourneau
Written by
Denys Arcand
Starring
Lothaire Bluteau
Catherine Wilkening
Johanne-Marie Tremblay (fr)
Music by
Yves Laferriere
Cinematography
Guy Dufaux
Edited by
Isabelle Dedieu
Distributed by
Koch-Lorber (Region 1 DVD)

Release dates
 17 May 1989 (France)
 25 May 1990 (USA)

Running time
 118 minutes
Country
Canada
 France
Language
French
Jesus of Montreal (French: Jésus de Montréal) is a 1989 Canadian film directed by Denys Arcand.


Contents  [hide]
1 Plot and allegory
2 Locations used for filming
3 Cast
4 Awards
5 See also
6 References
7 External links

Plot and allegory[edit]
The film centres on a group of actors in Montreal, Canada who are gathered by Daniel, an actor hired by a Roman Catholic site of pilgrimage ("le sanctuaire") to present a Passion play in its gardens.
The sanctuary is implied to be Saint Joseph's Oratory (although this organization actually refused permission to film there). In fact, the idea for the film came to its director after an actor apologized for appearing with a beard at an audition. The actor explained that he had the role of Jesus in a passion play at St-Joseph's Oratory. Arcand went to see the play and recalls "I saw actors in a mediocre production which received shouted applause from the tourists. I decided I had to make a film".[1]
The actors' interpretation of the life of Jesus is unconventional (including, for example, the statement that the biological father of Jesus was a Roman soldier, who left Palestine shortly afterwards). Still, it draws on current academic theories and research. The challenging production becomes the toast of the city. The higher authorities of the religious order that controls the sanctuary (or of the Roman Catholic Church, this is left vague) strongly object to this Biblical interpretation, and forcefully stop a performance.
After an ensuing accident, Daniel is first taken by ambulance to a Catholic hospital. He is completely neglected there and leaves. He then collapses on a Montreal Metro platform. The same ambulance takes him to Jewish General Hospital. Despite immediate, skilled, and energetic efforts by the doctors and nurses to revive him, Daniel is pronounced brain-dead. Daniel's doctor asks for the consent of his friends to take Daniel's organs for donation (since Daniel has no known relatives). Daniel's physician states that the staff would have been able to save him, if he had been brought to them half an hour earlier.
The film is structured so that Daniel's story parallels that of Christ. Some of the points of contact are:
Daniel has returned to Montreal after spending a long period travelling in "the East".
Contradictory and uncertain stories are told about Daniel's life story.
In the opening scene, one actor points to Daniel, calling him "a much better actor", which echoes John the Baptist foretelling the arrival of Jesus the Messiah.
The first actor later "sells-out" and lets his head be used in an advertisement, paralleling John the Baptist's beheading.
The actors then gather for the Passion play, some of them leaving safe jobs to do so, recalling Jesus gathering the disciples.
Daniel wrecks an advertising casting session, where the casting director enjoys humiliating participants, and displays deep contempt for them. This is a parallel of when Jesus casts the money-lenders out of the Temple.
Daniel's arrest and court appearance before an indecisive judge, played by the film's director himself, parallels Jesus' appearance before Pontius Pilate.
The smooth elite lawyer, who lays out a grand commercial career for Daniel, looking down from a skyscraper at the city, refers to the temptation of Christ by the devil atop a high pinnacle.
Daniel is disconnected from his life support at the Jewish General Hospital, mirroring the Christian belief that Jews killed Jesus
The Good Samaritan Parable applauds the Samaritan - an outsider of the community to which Jesus preaches - for behaving as a true neighbour should. Daniel is not helped at the Catholic hospital - his own community - but is instead helped at the Anglo-Jewish hospital - a religious and linguistic group very different from Daniel's.
The resurrection of Jesus is depicted as the donation of Daniel's organs, which live on in the lives of others.
Daniel's eyes are used to "heal" the blind.
The founding of the Christian church becomes the plans for an experimental theatre company, which is "incorporated".
Locations used for filming[edit]
There are a few shots in the film of the exterior of Saint Joseph's Oratory, taken from a distance. However, the interior church scenes were filmed in Montreal’s Church of St. Michael and St. Anthony. The exterior scenes of the sanctuary gardens were mainly filmed in areas which had not yet been built upon, around the Université de Montréal’s engineering school, the École Polytechnique de Montréal. The exterior scenes around a statue of Jesus were filmed at what was then the location of Marianopolis College, at 3880 Côte-des-Neiges Road.
Cast[edit]
Lothaire Bluteau (Daniel)
Catherine Wilkening (fr) (Mireille)
Johanne-Marie Tremblay (Constance)
Rémy Girard (Martin)
Robert Lepage (René)
Gilles Pelletier (Fr. Leclerc)
Roy Dupuis (Marcel Brochu)
Awards[edit]
Jesus of Montreal won the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury at the 1989 Cannes Film Festival[2] and the Genie Award for Best Canadian Film of 1989. It has twice been placed second on the TIFF List of Top 10 Canadian Films of All Time, in 1993 and 2004,[3] and was nominated for the 1989 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. In 2010 it was nominated for both Best Picture and Best Foreign Film at the 1st Annual 20/20 Awards.
See also[edit]
Cinema of Quebec
Culture of Quebec
Dramatic portrayals of Jesus
List of Quebec movies
Passion (Christianity)
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ Wah Keung Chan & Lilian I. Liganor "Réflexions Denys Arcand" 16 December 2007, La Scena musicale (Montréal), vol. 5(4), p. 25.(translation into English of Arcand's French)
2.Jump up ^ "Festival de Cannes: Jesus of Montreal". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 2009-08-01.
3.Jump up ^ "Top 10 Canadian Films of All Time," The Canadian Encyclopedia, URL accessed 17 March 2013
External links[edit]
Cannes, Prix du Jury 1989
Film Reference Library
Jésus de Montréal at the Internet Movie Database
Jésus de Montréal at the Arts & Faith: Top 100 Spiritually Significant Film list


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Categories: French-language films
1989 films
Canadian films
French films
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Genie Award winners for Best Achievement in Costume Design
Best Picture Genie and Canadian Screen Award winners
Films set in Montreal
Films shot in Montreal
Films directed by Denys Arcand








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The Ten Commandments (miniseries)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

‹ The template Infobox television film is being considered for merging. ›

The Ten Commandments
Tencommandments2006.jpg
Format
Action
Distributed by
ABC Television
Directed by
Robert Dornhelm
Produced by
Bernard Dudek
Robert Halmi Sr.
Paul Lowin
Written by
Ron Hutchinson
Starring
Dougray Scott
Naveen Andrews
Omar Sharif
Linus Roache
Paul Rhys
Music by
Randy Edelman
Country
United States
Language
English
Release date
September 5, 2006
Running time
167 minutes
The Ten Commandments is a 2006 miniseries that dramatizes the biblical story of Moses. It ran on the ABC TV network.


Contents  [hide]
1 Plot
2 Reception
3 References
4 External links

Plot[edit]
Moses's mother, Jochebed, saves her baby from the edict of the Pharaoh that all newborn male Hebrew children must die by placing him in a basket on the Nile River. He is found by the Pharaoh's daughter Bithia and adopted into the royal house.
Some time later, Bithia gives birth to a son Menerith, and they are raised as brothers. Moses grows up knowing that he is not the blood brother of Menerith, but is shown his true heritage (something he knows nothing about) at about the age of 10: he is re-introduced to Jochebed, his father Amram, his brother Aaron, and his sister Miriam.
Some years later, Moses saves the honor of a Hebrew woman by killing an Egyptian. When the body is discovered, Pharaoh orders Moses' arrest, but he is able to escape with the aid of Menerith.
After traveling days through the desert, he saves the seven daughters of Jethro from attackers. In gratitude, Moses is given the choice of one of them to take for his wife. After refusing, he is convinced by Zipporah to marry her.
Moses, wanting to know why he allows the Hebrews to be enslaved, climbs Mount Horeb and is confronted by God in the form of a bush that burns but is not consumed. God tells Moses that "I am who I am" and endows Moses with the knowledge to free the Hebrews.
Because Pharaoh Ramesses refuses to free the slaves, Egypt is struck with ten plagues. Only after the final one, during which his beloved son dies, are the slaves freed. However, Pharaoh decides to try to re-capture them.
The former slaves are guided to the Red Sea by a cloud. When the Egyptians' chariots get near, God blocks their path and Moses parts the Red Sea, providing the Hebrews an escape route. When the Hebrews make it to the other side, Moses closes the separated waters, drowning the pursuing Egyptians — including Menerith.
Moses climbs the mountain to receive God's commandments in the form of two stone tablets. However, when he climbs down, he finds that many of the Hebrews have made a golden calf to worship. Moses destroys them and orders the deaths of the lawbreakers. The survivors plead to receive God's commandments and Moses climbs up the mountain again. After Moses reads the commandments, the tablets are placed in an ark.
The film ends with Moses looking at the promised land, but he is not allowed to enter because he disobeyed God.
Reception[edit]
Barry Garron of The Hollywood Reporter gave the mini-series a generally positive review, praising the performances as well as "the stunning cinematography and eye-catching special effects" but also noted that it "fails to take full advantage of the source material".[1] David Bianculli of the New York Daily News reviewed it as "Thou shalt not watch."[2] while Matt Roush of TV Guide wrote the film "violates the primary commandment of epic filmmaking, biblical or otherwise: Thou shalt not bore."[3] and Matthew Gilbert of the Boston Globe called it "an empty inane remake."[4] and The Washington Post's Tom Shales calls it a "dreadful, doleful remake of Cecil B. DeMille's 1956 classic The Ten Commandments."[5]
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ Garron, Barry (2006). "The Ten Commandments". The Hollywood Reporter (online ed.).
2.Jump up ^ "'Ten' Inspires A Quick Exodus". Daily News (New York). April 10, 2006.
3.Jump up ^ The Ten Commandments: Season 1, Metacritic.com
4.Jump up ^ The Ten Commandments: Season 1, Metacritics.com
5.Jump up ^ Shales, Tom (April 10, 2006). "'The Ten Commandments': Exodus Comes to ABC". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
External links[edit]
The Ten Commandments at the Internet Movie Database
Official Site


[hide]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Book of Exodus media


Art
The Crossing of the Red Sea (1482) ·
 Crossing of the Red Sea (1542) ·
 The Crossing of the Red Sea (1634) ·
 The Adoration of the Golden Calf (1634) ·
 Victory O Lord! (1871)
 

Film



Biblical

The Ten Commandments (1923) ·
 The Moon of Israel (1924) ·
 The Ten Commandments (1956) ·
 Moses the Lawgiver (1974) ·
 Moses (1995) ·
 The Prince of Egypt (1998) ·
 The Exodus Decoded (2006) ·
 The Ten Commandments (2006) ·
 The Ten Commandments (2007) ·
 Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014)
 


Modern settings

The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971) ·
 The Reaping (2007) ·
 Exodus (2007)
 


Musical
Les Dix Commandements (2000) ·
 The Ten Commandments: The Musical (2004)
 

Opera
Mosè in Egitto (1818) ·
 Moses und Aron (1951)
 

Music
Plague Songs (2006) ·
 Exodus (2002)
 

Television
"Duke and the Great Pie War" (2005) ·
 "Moe and the Big Exit" (2007)
 

Literature
Exodus ·
 Moon of Israel (1918) ·
 The Tables of the Law (1944)
 

  


Categories: English-language films
American television miniseries
Films based on the Hebrew Bible
Films set in the 13th century BC
Films set in ancient Egypt
Ten Commandments
Films about slavery
Depictions of Moses


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The Ten Commandments (miniseries)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

‹ The template Infobox television film is being considered for merging. ›

The Ten Commandments
Tencommandments2006.jpg
Format
Action
Distributed by
ABC Television
Directed by
Robert Dornhelm
Produced by
Bernard Dudek
Robert Halmi Sr.
Paul Lowin
Written by
Ron Hutchinson
Starring
Dougray Scott
Naveen Andrews
Omar Sharif
Linus Roache
Paul Rhys
Music by
Randy Edelman
Country
United States
Language
English
Release date
September 5, 2006
Running time
167 minutes
The Ten Commandments is a 2006 miniseries that dramatizes the biblical story of Moses. It ran on the ABC TV network.


Contents  [hide]
1 Plot
2 Reception
3 References
4 External links

Plot[edit]
Moses's mother, Jochebed, saves her baby from the edict of the Pharaoh that all newborn male Hebrew children must die by placing him in a basket on the Nile River. He is found by the Pharaoh's daughter Bithia and adopted into the royal house.
Some time later, Bithia gives birth to a son Menerith, and they are raised as brothers. Moses grows up knowing that he is not the blood brother of Menerith, but is shown his true heritage (something he knows nothing about) at about the age of 10: he is re-introduced to Jochebed, his father Amram, his brother Aaron, and his sister Miriam.
Some years later, Moses saves the honor of a Hebrew woman by killing an Egyptian. When the body is discovered, Pharaoh orders Moses' arrest, but he is able to escape with the aid of Menerith.
After traveling days through the desert, he saves the seven daughters of Jethro from attackers. In gratitude, Moses is given the choice of one of them to take for his wife. After refusing, he is convinced by Zipporah to marry her.
Moses, wanting to know why he allows the Hebrews to be enslaved, climbs Mount Horeb and is confronted by God in the form of a bush that burns but is not consumed. God tells Moses that "I am who I am" and endows Moses with the knowledge to free the Hebrews.
Because Pharaoh Ramesses refuses to free the slaves, Egypt is struck with ten plagues. Only after the final one, during which his beloved son dies, are the slaves freed. However, Pharaoh decides to try to re-capture them.
The former slaves are guided to the Red Sea by a cloud. When the Egyptians' chariots get near, God blocks their path and Moses parts the Red Sea, providing the Hebrews an escape route. When the Hebrews make it to the other side, Moses closes the separated waters, drowning the pursuing Egyptians — including Menerith.
Moses climbs the mountain to receive God's commandments in the form of two stone tablets. However, when he climbs down, he finds that many of the Hebrews have made a golden calf to worship. Moses destroys them and orders the deaths of the lawbreakers. The survivors plead to receive God's commandments and Moses climbs up the mountain again. After Moses reads the commandments, the tablets are placed in an ark.
The film ends with Moses looking at the promised land, but he is not allowed to enter because he disobeyed God.
Reception[edit]
Barry Garron of The Hollywood Reporter gave the mini-series a generally positive review, praising the performances as well as "the stunning cinematography and eye-catching special effects" but also noted that it "fails to take full advantage of the source material".[1] David Bianculli of the New York Daily News reviewed it as "Thou shalt not watch."[2] while Matt Roush of TV Guide wrote the film "violates the primary commandment of epic filmmaking, biblical or otherwise: Thou shalt not bore."[3] and Matthew Gilbert of the Boston Globe called it "an empty inane remake."[4] and The Washington Post's Tom Shales calls it a "dreadful, doleful remake of Cecil B. DeMille's 1956 classic The Ten Commandments."[5]
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ Garron, Barry (2006). "The Ten Commandments". The Hollywood Reporter (online ed.).
2.Jump up ^ "'Ten' Inspires A Quick Exodus". Daily News (New York). April 10, 2006.
3.Jump up ^ The Ten Commandments: Season 1, Metacritic.com
4.Jump up ^ The Ten Commandments: Season 1, Metacritics.com
5.Jump up ^ Shales, Tom (April 10, 2006). "'The Ten Commandments': Exodus Comes to ABC". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 25, 2010.
External links[edit]
The Ten Commandments at the Internet Movie Database
Official Site


[hide]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Book of Exodus media


Art
The Crossing of the Red Sea (1482) ·
 Crossing of the Red Sea (1542) ·
 The Crossing of the Red Sea (1634) ·
 The Adoration of the Golden Calf (1634) ·
 Victory O Lord! (1871)
 

Film



Biblical

The Ten Commandments (1923) ·
 The Moon of Israel (1924) ·
 The Ten Commandments (1956) ·
 Moses the Lawgiver (1974) ·
 Moses (1995) ·
 The Prince of Egypt (1998) ·
 The Exodus Decoded (2006) ·
 The Ten Commandments (2006) ·
 The Ten Commandments (2007) ·
 Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014)
 


Modern settings

The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971) ·
 The Reaping (2007) ·
 Exodus (2007)
 


Musical
Les Dix Commandements (2000) ·
 The Ten Commandments: The Musical (2004)
 

Opera
Mosè in Egitto (1818) ·
 Moses und Aron (1951)
 

Music
Plague Songs (2006) ·
 Exodus (2002)
 

Television
"Duke and the Great Pie War" (2005) ·
 "Moe and the Big Exit" (2007)
 

Literature
Exodus ·
 Moon of Israel (1918) ·
 The Tables of the Law (1944)
 

  


Categories: English-language films
American television miniseries
Films based on the Hebrew Bible
Films set in the 13th century BC
Films set in ancient Egypt
Ten Commandments
Films about slavery
Depictions of Moses


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This page was last modified on 23 April 2015, at 11:47.
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The Ten Commandments (2007 film)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

‹ The template Infobox film is being considered for merging. ›

The Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments (2007 film) DVD.jpg
DVD cover

Directed by
John Stronach
 Bill Boyce
Produced by
Cindy Bond
 John Stronach
 Trevor Yaxley
Written by
Ed Naha
Starring
Christian Slater
Alfred Molina
Elliott Gould
Narrated by
Ben Kingsley
Music by
Reg Powell

Production
 company

Huhu Studios,
iVL Animation,
Sparky Animation,
Ten Chimneys Entertainment

Distributed by
Promenade Pictures

Release dates

October 19, 2007

Country
United States
Language
English
Box office
$1,051,907
The Ten Commandments is a 2007 American computer animated film directed by John Stronach and Bill Boyce. The film was released to theaters on October 19, 2007 and on DVD on February 5, 2008.


Contents  [hide]
1 Plot
2 Cast
3 Box office performance
4 Reception
5 References
6 External links

Plot[edit]
A baby set adrift in a basket to be saved from death is discovered by Pharaoh's daughter; she then raises him with the son of Pharaoh Ramses. The child is named Moses and raised as a prince until adulthood, when he is called by God to help free his people.
Cast[edit]
Ben Kingsley as the Narrator
Christian Slater as Moses
Alfred Molina as Ramses
Elliott Gould as God
Scott McNeil as Seti
Christopher Gaze as Aaron
Kathleen Barr as Miriam
Lee Tockar as Dathan
Matt Hill as Joshua
Tabitha St. Germain (credited as "Kitanou St. Germain") as the Princess
Trevor Devall as Amram
Jane Mortifee as Zipporah
Brian Dobson as the Task Master
Garry Chalk as the General
Nico Ghisi as Ramses' Son
Colin Murdock as the Elderly Slave
Box office performance[edit]
The film opened in 830 theaters in the United States and grossed $478,910 on its opening weekend.[1] The film grossed $952,820 in the United States and $99,087 in the foreign market.
Reception[edit]
The Ten Commandments received mostly negative reviews from critics. The film currently holds a 14% approval rating on review-aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 21 reviews. Internet Movie Database provides a score of 2.9 out of 10 from 2,118 user votes.
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ "The Ten Commandments (2007) (2007) - Weekend Box Office". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2007-10-24.
External links[edit]
Official website
The Ten Commandments at the Internet Movie Database
The Ten Commandments at AllMovie
The Ten Commandments at Rotten Tomatoes
The Ten Commandments at Metacritic
The Ten Commandments at Box Office Mojo
Animation Magazine Article


[hide]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Book of Exodus media


Art
The Crossing of the Red Sea (1482) ·
 Crossing of the Red Sea (1542) ·
 The Crossing of the Red Sea (1634) ·
 The Adoration of the Golden Calf (1634) ·
 Victory O Lord! (1871)
 

Film



Biblical

The Ten Commandments (1923) ·
 The Moon of Israel (1924) ·
 The Ten Commandments (1956) ·
 Moses the Lawgiver (1974) ·
 Moses (1995) ·
 The Prince of Egypt (1998) ·
 The Exodus Decoded (2006) ·
 The Ten Commandments (2006) ·
 The Ten Commandments (2007) ·
 Exodus: Gods and Kings (2014)
 


Modern settings

The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971) ·
 The Reaping (2007) ·
 Exodus (2007)
 


Musical
Les Dix Commandements (2000) ·
 The Ten Commandments: The Musical (2004)
 

Opera
Mosè in Egitto (1818) ·
 Moses und Aron (1951)
 

Music
Plague Songs (2006) ·
 Exodus (2002)
 

Television
"Duke and the Great Pie War" (2005) ·
 "Moe and the Big Exit" (2007)
 

Literature
Exodus ·
 Moon of Israel (1918) ·
 The Tables of the Law (1944)
 




Stub icon This Christianity-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.




Stub icon This animated film–related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.




  


Categories: 2007 films
English-language films
American films
Films based on the Hebrew Bible
Films set in ancient Egypt
Films set in the 13th century BC
God portrayed in fiction
2007 computer-animated films
American animated films
Computer-animated films
Ten Commandments
Depictions of Moses
2000s American animated films
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ten_Commandments_(2007_film)















The Ten Commandments (2007 film)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

‹ The template Infobox film is being considered for merging. ›

The Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments (2007 film) DVD.jpg
DVD cover

Directed by
John Stronach
 Bill Boyce
Produced by
Cindy Bond
 John Stronach
 Trevor Yaxley
Written by
Ed Naha
Starring
Christian Slater
Alfred Molina
Elliott Gould
Narrated by
Ben Kingsley
Music by
Reg Powell

Production
 company

Huhu Studios,
iVL Animation,
Sparky Animation,
Ten Chimneys Entertainment

Distributed by
Promenade Pictures

Release dates

October 19, 2007

Country
United States
Language
English
Box office
$1,051,907
The Ten Commandments is a 2007 American computer animated film directed by John Stronach and Bill Boyce. The film was released to theaters on October 19, 2007 and on DVD on February 5, 2008.


Contents  [hide]
1 Plot
2 Cast
3 Box office performance
4 Reception
5 References
6 External links

Plot[edit]
A baby set adrift in a basket to be saved from death is discovered by Pharaoh's daughter; she then raises him with the son of Pharaoh Ramses. The child is named Moses and raised as a prince until adulthood, when he is called by God to help free his people.
Cast[edit]
Ben Kingsley as the Narrator
Christian Slater as Moses
Alfred Molina as Ramses
Elliott Gould as God
Scott McNeil as Seti
Christopher Gaze as Aaron
Kathleen Barr as Miriam
Lee Tockar as Dathan
Matt Hill as Joshua
Tabitha St. Germain (credited as "Kitanou St. Germain") as the Princess
Trevor Devall as Amram
Jane Mortifee as Zipporah
Brian Dobson as the Task Master
Garry Chalk as the General
Nico Ghisi as Ramses' Son
Colin Murdock as the Elderly Slave
Box office performance[edit]
The film opened in 830 theaters in the United States and grossed $478,910 on its opening weekend.[1] The film grossed $952,820 in the United States and $99,087 in the foreign market.
Reception[edit]
The Ten Commandments received mostly negative reviews from critics. The film currently holds a 14% approval rating on review-aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 21 reviews. Internet Movie Database provides a score of 2.9 out of 10 from 2,118 user votes.
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ "The Ten Commandments (2007) (2007) - Weekend Box Office". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2007-10-24.
External links[edit]
Official website
The Ten Commandments at the Internet Movie Database
The Ten Commandments at AllMovie
The Ten Commandments at Rotten Tomatoes
The Ten Commandments at Metacritic
The Ten Commandments at Box Office Mojo
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Moses the Lawgiver

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‹ The template Infobox film is being considered for merging. ›

Moses the Lawgiver
Moses-the-lawgiver-the-complete-series.jpg
Directed by
Gianfranco De Bosio
Produced by
Bernard J. Kingham
Vincenzo Labella

Written by
Vittorio Bonicelli
Anthony Burgess
Gianfranco De Bosio
Bernardino Zapponi

Starring
Burt Lancaster
Anthony Quayle
Ingrid Thulin
Irene Papas

Music by
Ennio Morricone
Cinematography
Marcello Gatti
Edited by
Peter Boita
Alberto Gallitti


Release dates

22 December 1974 (Italy)

Country
United Kingdom
Language
English
Moses the Lawgiver is a British TV series about Moses. An ITC/RAI co-production, shooting took place in Rome and on location in Morocco and Israel in 1973–74. The 360-minute long mini-series was later edited into a 141-minute theatrical version of the same name.[1]


Contents  [hide]
1 Cast
2 See also
3 References
4 External links

Cast[edit]
Juan Selva as Saul
Burt Lancaster as Moses
Anthony Quayle as Aaron
Ingrid Thulin as Miriam
Irene Papas as Zipporah
Aharon Ipale as Joshua
Yosef Shiloach as Dathan
Marina Berti as Eliseba
Shmuel Rodensky as Jethro
Mariangela Melato as The Princess Bithiah
Laurent Terzieff as Pharaoh Merneptah
Michele Placido as Caleb
Antonio Piovanelli as Korah
Jacques Herlin as The Magician
Umberto Raho and José Quaglio as Pharaoh's Minister
Melba Englander as Merneptah's Wife
Marco Steiner as The Young Merneptah
Bill Lancaster as The Young Moses
Galia Kohn as The Young Miriam
Mosko Alkalai as Amram
Dina Doron as Jochebed
Yossi Werzansky as Eleazar
Richard Johnson as The Narrator
See also[edit]
Moses (film)
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ "Moses the Lawgiver". Internet Movie DataBase. Retrieved January 9, 2010.
External links[edit]
Moses the Lawgiver at the Internet Movie Database


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Moses the Lawgiver

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

‹ The template Infobox film is being considered for merging. ›

Moses the Lawgiver
Moses-the-lawgiver-the-complete-series.jpg
Directed by
Gianfranco De Bosio
Produced by
Bernard J. Kingham
Vincenzo Labella

Written by
Vittorio Bonicelli
Anthony Burgess
Gianfranco De Bosio
Bernardino Zapponi

Starring
Burt Lancaster
Anthony Quayle
Ingrid Thulin
Irene Papas

Music by
Ennio Morricone
Cinematography
Marcello Gatti
Edited by
Peter Boita
Alberto Gallitti


Release dates

22 December 1974 (Italy)

Country
United Kingdom
Language
English
Moses the Lawgiver is a British TV series about Moses. An ITC/RAI co-production, shooting took place in Rome and on location in Morocco and Israel in 1973–74. The 360-minute long mini-series was later edited into a 141-minute theatrical version of the same name.[1]


Contents  [hide]
1 Cast
2 See also
3 References
4 External links

Cast[edit]
Juan Selva as Saul
Burt Lancaster as Moses
Anthony Quayle as Aaron
Ingrid Thulin as Miriam
Irene Papas as Zipporah
Aharon Ipale as Joshua
Yosef Shiloach as Dathan
Marina Berti as Eliseba
Shmuel Rodensky as Jethro
Mariangela Melato as The Princess Bithiah
Laurent Terzieff as Pharaoh Merneptah
Michele Placido as Caleb
Antonio Piovanelli as Korah
Jacques Herlin as The Magician
Umberto Raho and José Quaglio as Pharaoh's Minister
Melba Englander as Merneptah's Wife
Marco Steiner as The Young Merneptah
Bill Lancaster as The Young Moses
Galia Kohn as The Young Miriam
Mosko Alkalai as Amram
Dina Doron as Jochebed
Yossi Werzansky as Eleazar
Richard Johnson as The Narrator
See also[edit]
Moses (film)
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ "Moses the Lawgiver". Internet Movie DataBase. Retrieved January 9, 2010.
External links[edit]
Moses the Lawgiver at the Internet Movie Database


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Monty Python's Life of Brian

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"Life of Brian" redirects here. For the Family Guy episode, see Life of Brian (Family Guy).
‹ The template Infobox film is being considered for merging. ›

Monty Python's Life of Brian
Lifeofbrianfilmposter.jpg
Theatrical release poster

Directed by
Terry Jones
Produced by
John Goldstone
Written by
Graham Chapman
John Cleese
Terry Gilliam
Eric Idle
 Terry Jones
Michael Palin
Starring
Graham Chapman
 John Cleese
 Terry Gilliam
 Eric Idle
 Terry Jones
 Michael Palin
Music by
Geoffrey Burgon
Cinematography
Peter Biziou
Edited by
Julian Doyle

Production
 company

HandMade Films

Distributed by
Cinema International Corporation (UK)
Warner Bros. (USA)

Release dates

17 August 1979 (US)
8 November 1979 (UK)


Running time
 93 minutes[1]
Country
United Kingdom
Language
English
Budget
US$4 million[2]
Box office
US$20,045,115[3]
Monty Python's Life of Brian, also known as Life of Brian, is a 1979 British comedy film starring and written by the comedy group Monty Python (Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin), and directed by Jones. It tells the story of Brian Cohen (played by Chapman), a young Jewish man who is born on the same day as, and next door to, Jesus Christ and is subsequently mistaken for the Messiah.
Following the withdrawal of funding by EMI Films, longtime Monty Python fan and former Beatle George Harrison arranged the finance for Life of Brian, through the formation of his company HandMade Films.
The film contains themes of religious satire that were controversial at the time of its release, drawing accusations of blasphemy and protests from some religious groups. Thirty-nine local authorities in the UK either imposed an outright ban, or imposed an X (18 years) certificate, effectively preventing the film from being shown, as the distributors said it could not be shown unless it was unedited and carried the original AA (14) certificate. Some countries, including Ireland and Norway, banned its showing, with a few of these bans lasting decades. The filmmakers used such notoriety to benefit their marketing campaign, with posters in Sweden reading 'So funny, it was banned in Norway!'
The film was a box-office success, grossing fourth-highest of any film in the United Kingdom in 1979 and highest of any British film in the United States that year. It has remained popular since then, receiving positive reviews. The film received a 96% 'Fresh' rating on Rotten Tomatoes with the consensus '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',[4] and it was named "greatest comedy film of all time" by several magazines and television networks.


Contents  [hide]
1 Plot
2 Cast
3 Production
4 Religious satire and blasphemy accusations
5 Political satire
6 Lost scenes
7 Box office
8 Album
9 Legacy 9.1 Spin-offs
9.2 Oratorio
9.3 Appearances in other media
10 See also
11 References
12 External links

Plot[edit]
Brian Cohen is born in a stable next door to the one in which Jesus is born, which initially confuses the three wise men who come to praise the future King of the Jews. Brian grows up an idealistic young man who resents the continuing Roman occupation of Judea. While attending Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, Brian becomes infatuated with an attractive young rebel, Judith. His desire for her and hatred for the Romans lead him to join the People's Front of Judea (PFJ), one of many fractious and bickering independence movements, who spend more time fighting each other than the Romans.
After several misadventures, and escaping from Pontius Pilate, the fugitive winds up in a line-up of would-be mystics and prophets who harangue the passing crowd in a plaza. Forced to come up with something plausible in order to blend in and keep the guards off his back, Brian babbles pseudo-religious truisms, and quickly attracts a small but intrigued audience. Once the guards have left, Brian tries to put the episode behind him, but he has unintentionally inspired a movement. He grows frantic when he finds that some people have started to follow him around, with even the slightest unusual occurrence being hailed as a "miracle". After slipping away from the mob, Brian runs into Judith, and they spend the night together. In the morning, Brian opens the curtains to discover an enormous crowd of people outside his mother's house, all proclaiming him to be the Messiah. Brian's mother protests: "He's not the Messiah, he's a very naughty boy." Brian finds himself unable to change their minds, because his every word and action are immediately seized as points of doctrine.
The hapless Brian finds no solace at the PFJ's headquarters, where people fling their afflicted bodies at him demanding miracle cures. After sneaking out the back, Brian finally is captured and scheduled to be crucified. Meanwhile, a huge crowd has assembled outside the palace. Pilate (together with the visiting Biggus Dickus) tries to quell the feeling of revolution by granting them the decision of who should be pardoned. The crowd, however, simply shouts out names containing the letter "r", in order to mock Pilate's speech impediment. Eventually, Judith appears in the crowd and calls for the release of Brian, which the crowd echoes, since the name contains the letter "r". Pilate then agrees to "welease Bwian".
The order from Pilate is eventually relayed to the guards, but in a moment parodying the climax of the film Spartacus, various crucified people all claim to be "Brian of Nazareth" (one man shouting "I'm Brian and so's my wife") and the wrong man is released. Various other opportunities for a reprieve for Brian are denied as, one by one, his "allies" (including Judith and his mother) step forward to explain why they are leaving the "noble freedom fighter" hanging in the hot sun. Hope is renewed when a crack suicide squad from the Judean People's Front (not to be confused with the PFJ) come charging towards the Romans, but rather than fighting to release Brian or the other prisoners, they commit mass suicide as a political protest. Condemned to a long and painful death, Brian finds his spirits lifted by his fellow sufferers, who break into song with "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life."[5]
Cast[edit]
A list of all the characters given actual names in the script, or with a spoken role. All names and character descriptions are taken from the published script.[6] Each Python (especially Terry Gilliam) also played various bystanders and hangers-on. The Pythons themselves are listed first (in alphabetical order) followed by the rest of the cast in order of appearance.



 Chapman as Brian Cohen in Life of BrianGraham Chapman – Brian, Biggus Dickus, 2nd wise man
John Cleese – Reg, High priest, Centurion of the Yard, Deadly Dirk, Arthur, 1st wise man
Terry Gilliam – Another person further forward (at Mount – "Do you hear that? 'Blessed are the Greek'!"), Blood and Thunder prophet, Geoffrey, Gaoler, Frank
Eric Idle – Mr Cheeky, Stan/Loretta, Harry the Haggler, Culprit woman who casts first stone, Intensely dull youth, Otto, Gaoler's assistant, Mr Frisbee III
Terry Jones – Brian Cohen's mother (Mandy), Colin, Simon the Holy Man, Saintly passer-by
Michael Palin – Mr Big-Nose, Francis, Mrs A, Ex-leper, Ben, Pontius Pilate, Boring Prophet, Eddie, Nisus Wettus, 3rd wise man
Kenneth Colley – Jesus Christ
Neil Innes – A weedy Samaritan
Gwen Taylor – Mrs Big-Nose, Woman with sick donkey, young girl
Terence Bayler – Gregory, Dennis
Carol Cleveland – Mrs Gregory, Elsie
Charles McKeown – Man further forward (at Mount), Stig, Blind Man, False Prophet, Giggling Guard
Chris Langham - Alfonso, Giggling guard
Sue Jones-Davies – Judith Iscariot
John Young – Matthias
Bernard McKenna – Stoner's Helper, Parvus
Spike Milligan – Spike
George Harrison (uncredited) – Mr Papadopoulos
Several characters remained unnamed during the film but do have names that are used in the soundtrack album track listing and elsewhere. There is no mention in the film of the fact that Eric Idle's ever-cheerful joker is called 'Mr Cheeky', or that the Roman guard played by Michael Palin is named 'Nisus Wettus'.
Spike Milligan plays a prophet, ignored because his acolytes are chasing after Brian. By coincidence he was visiting his old World War II battlefields in Tunisia where the film was being made. The Pythons were alerted to this one morning and he was promptly included in the scene that just happened to be being filmed. He disappeared again in the afternoon before he could be included in any of the close-up or publicity shots for the film.[7]
Production[edit]



 A cameo appearance by Executive Producer George Harrison (right)
There are various stories about the origins of Life of Brian. Shortly after the release of Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975), Eric Idle flippantly suggested that the title of the Pythons' forthcoming feature would be Jesus Christ – Lust for Glory (a play on the UK title for the 1970 American film Patton).[8] This was after he had become frustrated at repeatedly being asked what it would be called, despite the troupe not having given the matter of a third film any consideration. However, they shared a distrust of organised religion, and, after witnessing the critically acclaimed Holy Grail's enormous financial turnover, confirming an appetite among the fans for more cinematic endeavours, they soon began to seriously consider a film lampooning the New Testament era in the same way Holy Grail had lampooned Arthurian legend. All they needed was an idea for a plot. Eric Idle and Terry Gilliam, while promoting Holy Grail in Amsterdam, had come up with a sketch in which Jesus' cross was falling apart because of the idiotic carpenters who built it and he angrily tells them how to do it correctly. However, after an early brainstorming stage, and despite being non-believers, they agreed that Jesus was "definitely a good guy" and found nothing to mock in his actual teachings: "He's not particularly funny, what he's saying isn't mockable, it's very decent stuff..." said Idle later.[9] After settling on the name Brian for their new protagonist, one idea considered was that of "the 13th disciple".[8] The focus eventually shifted to a separate individual born at a similar time and location, who would be mistaken for the Messiah, but had no desire to be followed as such.
Writing began in December 1976, with a first draft completed by mid-1977. The final pre-production draft was ready in January 1978, following "a concentrated two-week writing and water-skiing period in Barbados".[10] The film would not have been made without former Beatle and Python fan George Harrison, who set up HandMade Films to help fund it at a cost of £3 million. Harrison put up the money for it as he "wanted to see the movie" (this was later described by Terry Jones as the "world's most expensive cinema ticket"[11]). The original backers, EMI Films, had been scared off at the last minute by the subject matter, particularly Bernard Delfont.[8] As a result, the very last words in the film are: "I said to him, 'Bernie, they'll never make their money back on this one'", teasing Delfont for his lack of faith in the project. Terry Gilliam later said, "They pulled out on the Thursday. The crew was supposed to be leaving on the Saturday. Disastrous. It was because they read the script... finally."[12] As a reward for his help, Harrison appears in a cameo appearance as Mr. Papadopoulos, "owner of the Mount", who briefly shakes hands with Brian in a crowd scene (this happens at 1h09min of the film). His one word of dialogue (a cheery Scouse, but out-of-place-in-Judea, "ullo") had to be dubbed in later by Michael Palin.
Terry Jones was solely responsible for directing, having amicably agreed with Gilliam (who co-directed Holy Grail) that Jones' approach to film-making was better suited for Python's general performing style.[citation needed] Holy Grail's production had often been stilted by their differences behind the camera. Gilliam again contributed two animated sequences (one being the opening credits) and took charge of set design. However, this did not put an absolute end to their feuding. On the DVD commentary, Gilliam expresses great pride in one set in particular, the main hall of Pilate's fortress, which had been designed so that it accurately looked like an old Judean temple that the Romans had converted by dumping their structural artifacts (such as marble floors and columns) on top. He later reveals his consternation at Jones not paying enough attention to it in the cinematography. Gilliam also worked on the matte paintings, useful in particular for the very first shot of the three wise men against a starscape and in giving the illusion of the whole of the outside of the fortress being covered in graffiti. Perhaps the most significant contribution from Gilliam was the scene where Brian accidentally leaps off a high building and inadvertently lands inside a starship about to engage in an interstellar war. This was done "in camera" using a hand-built model starship and miniature pyrotechnics; clearly this was influenced by Star Wars. Afterwards, George Lucas met Terry Gilliam in San Francisco and praised Gilliam for his work.
The film was shot on location in Monastir, Tunisia, which allowed the production to reuse sets from Franco Zeffirelli's Jesus of Nazareth (1977).[13] Many locals were employed as extras on Life of Brian. Director Jones noted, "They were all very knowing because they'd all worked for Franco Zeffirelli on Jesus of Nazareth, so I had these elderly Tunisians telling me, 'Well, Mr Zeffirelli wouldn't have done it like that, you know.'"[12] Further location shooting took place in Sousse (Jerusalem outer walls and gateway), Carthage (Roman amphitheatre) and Matmata, Tunisia (Sermon on the Mount and Crucifixion).[14] Graham Chapman, suffering from alcoholism, was so determined to play the lead role – at one point coveted by Cleese – that he dried out in time for filming, so much so that he was also able to act as the on-set doctor on top of his acting duties.[7] Following shooting between 16 September and 12 November 1978,[10] a two-hour-long rough cut of the film was put together for its first private showing in January 1979. Over the next few months Life of Brian was re-edited and re-screened a number of times for different preview audiences before the final cut was complete, losing a number of entire filmed sequences (see § Lost scenes below).[8]
Religious satire and blasphemy accusations[edit]
Richard Webster comments in his 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."[15] On its initial release in the UK, the film was banned by several town councils – some of which had no cinemas within their boundaries, or had not even seen the film. A member of 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.[7]
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.[16] 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).[17][18] However, before the showing, an Aberystwyth University student discovered that the film had never been banned in Aberystwyth, but had been shown (or scheduled to be shown) at a cinema in the town in 1981.[19][20] 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.[21][22]
In New York (the film's release in the US preceded British distribution), screenings were picketed by both rabbis and nuns ("Nuns with banners!" observed Michael Palin).[9] It was also banned for eight years in Ireland and for a year in Norway (it was marketed in Sweden as "The film so funny that it was banned in Norway").[23] 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.[24]
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 boosted publicity.[25] 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.
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 also reinforced by the fact that several characters throughout the film claim crucifixion is not as bad as it seems, such as when Brian asks his cellmate in prison what will happen to him, and he replies: "Oh, you'll probably get away with crucifixion", and when Matthias, the old man who works with the PFJ, dismisses crucifixion as "a doddle" and says being stabbed would be worse. The director, Terry Jones, issued the following riposte 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".[7] Religious figures later responded by saying that Jones did not seem to understand the meaning of the crucifix symbol or its significance to Christians as a reminder of the suffering and death Christ endured for their sake. The Pythons also argued that crucifixion was a standard form of execution in ancient times and not just one especially reserved for Jesus.[26]
The Pythons often prided themselves on the depths of the historical research they had taken before writing the script. They all believe that, as a consequence, the film portrays 1st century Judea more accurately than actual Biblical epics, with its focus centred more on the average person of the era.
Shortly after the film was released, Cleese and Palin engaged in debate on the BBC2 discussion programme Friday Night, Saturday Morning with Malcolm Muggeridge and Mervyn Stockwood, the Bishop of Southwark, who put forward arguments against the film. Muggeridge and the Bishop, 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.[9] 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. Cleese expressed that his reputation had "plummeted" in his eyes, while Palin commented that, "He was just being Muggeridge, preferring to have a very strong contrary opinion as opposed to none at all".[9] 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".
The Pythons unanimously deny that they were ever out to destroy people's faith. On the DVD audio commentary, they contend that the film is heretical because it 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 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'"). 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 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 a number of potentially controversial scholarly theories about Jesus but now with reference to Brian, such as the Messianic Secret, the Jewishness of Jesus, Jesus the revolutionary, and having a single mother.[27]
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 for a show that was broadcast on HBO and has since become available on video. The appearance was billed as the "U.S. Comedy Arts Festival Tribute to Monty Python", although video releases have gone by varying titles, including "Monty Python Live at Aspen (1998)". The programme mostly consists of an interview, on stage, by U.S. comedian Robert Klein. In the section where Life of Brian is being discussed, Terry Jones says, "I think the film is heretical, but it’s not blasphemous". Eric Idle can be heard to concur, adding, "It’s a heresy". However, John Cleese, disagreeing, counters, "I don’t think it’s a heresy. It's making fun of the way that people misunderstand the teaching". Jones responds, "Of course it's a heresy, John! It's attacking the Church! And that has to be heretical". Cleese replies, "No, it's not attacking the Church, necessarily. It's about people who cannot agree with each other".
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."[28]
The film continues to cause controversy; in February 2007, the 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, were highly critical of the decision to allow the screening to go ahead. 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.[29] 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.[9]
Political satire[edit]
The film pokes fun at revolutionary groups and 1970s British left-wing politics. "What the film does do is place modern stereotypes in a historical setting, which enables it to indulge in a number of sharp digs, particularly at trade unionists and guerilla organisations".[30] The groups in the film all oppose the Roman occupation of Judea, but fall into the familiar pattern of intense competition among factions that appears, to an outsider, to be over ideological distinctions so small as to be invisible; "ideological purity", as Cleese once described it. Michael Palin says that the various separatist movements were modelled on "modern resistance groups, all with obscure acronyms which they can never remember and their conflicting agendas".[31]
The People's Front of Judea, composed of the Pythons' characters, harangue their "rivals" with cries of "splitters" and stand vehemently opposed to the Judean People's Front, the Judean Popular People's Front, the Campaign for a Free Galilee, and the Popular Front of Judea (the last composed of a single old man, mocking the size of real revolutionary Trotskyist factions). The infighting among revolutionary organisations is demonstrated most dramatically when the PFJ attempts to kidnap Pontius Pilate's wife, but encounters agents of the Campaign for a Free Galilee, and the two factions begin a violent brawl over which of them conceived of the plan first. When Brian exhorts them to cease their fighting to struggle "against the common enemy," the revolutionaries stop and cry in unison, "the Judean People's Front!" However, they soon resume their fighting and, with two Roman legionnaires watching bemusedly, continue until Brian is left the only survivor, at which point he is captured.
Other scenes have the freedom fighters wasting time in debate, with one of the debated items being that they should not waste their time debating so much. There is also a famous scene in which Reg gives a revolutionary speech asking, "What have the Romans ever done for us?" at which point the listeners outline all forms of positive aspects of the Roman occupation such as sanitation, medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, a fresh water system, public health and peace, followed by "what have the Romans ever done for us except sanitation, medicine, education...". Python biographer George Perry notes, "The People's Liberation Front of Judea conducts its meetings as though they have been convened by a group of shop stewards".[32]
Lost scenes[edit]
A number of scenes were cut during the editing process. Five deleted scenes, a total of 13 minutes, including the controversial "Otto", were first made available in 1997 on the Criterion Collection Laserdisc.[33] An unknown amount of raw footage was destroyed in 1998 by the company that bought Handmade Films. However, a number of them (of varying quality) were shown the following year on the Paramount Comedy Channel in the UK; it has not been disclosed how these scenes were saved or where they came from; possibly the source was the Criterion laserdisc.[citation needed] The scenes shown included three shepherds discussing sheep and completely missing the arrival of the angel heralding Jesus's birth, which would have been at the very start of the film; a segment showing the attempted kidnap of Pilate's wife (a large woman played by John Case) whose escape results in a fistfight; a scene introducing hardline Zionist Otto, leader of the Judean People's Front (played by Eric Idle) and his men who practice a suicide run in the courtyard; and a brief scene in which Judith releases some birds into the air in an attempt to summon help. The shepherds' scene has badly distorted sound, and the kidnap scene has poor colour quality.[34] The same scenes that were on the Criterion laserdisc can now be found on the Criterion Collection DVD.
The most controversial cuts were the scenes involving Otto, initially a recurring character, who had a thin Adolf Hitler moustache and spoke with a German accent, shouting accusations of "racial impurity" at people whose conceptions were similar to Brian's (Roman centurion rape of native Judean women), and other Nazi phrases. The logo of the Judean People's Front, designed by Terry Gilliam,[35] was a Star of David with a small line added to each point so it resembled a swastika, most familiar in the West as the symbol of the anti-Semitic Nazi movement. The rest of this faction also all had the same thin moustaches, and wore a spike on their helmets, similar to those on Imperial German helmets. The official reason for the cutting was that Otto's dialogue slowed down the narrative. However, Gilliam, writing in The Pythons Autobiography by The Pythons, said he thought it should have stayed, saying "Listen, we've alienated the Christians, let's get the Jews now". Idle himself was said to have been uncomfortable with the character; "It's essentially a pretty savage attack on rabid Zionism, suggesting it's rather akin to Nazism, which is a bit strong to take, but certainly a point of view".[9] Michael Palin's personal journal entries from the period when various edits of Brian were being test-screened consistently reference the Pythons' and filmmakers' concerns that the Otto scenes were slowing the story down and thus were top of the list to be chopped from the final cut of the film.[14] However, Oxford Brookes University historian David Nash says the removal of the scene represented "a form of self-censorship" and the Otto sequence "which involved a character representative of extreme forms of Zionism" was cut "in the interests of smoothing the way for the film's distribution in America."[36]
The only scene with Otto that remains in the film is during the crucifixion sequence. Otto arrives with his "crack suicide squad", sending the Roman soldiers fleeing in terror. Instead of doing anything useful, they "attack" by committing mass suicide in front of the cross ("Zat showed 'em, huh?" says the dying Otto, to which Brian despondently replies "You silly sods!"), ending Brian's hope of rescue (they do however show some signs of life during the famous rendition of "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" when they are seen waving their toes in unison in time to the music). Terry Jones once mentioned that the only reason this excerpt was not cut too was due to continuity reasons, as their dead bodies were very prominently placed throughout the rest of the scene. He acknowledged that some of the humour of this sole remaining contribution was lost through the earlier edits, but felt they were necessary to the overall pacing.
Otto's scenes, and those with Pilate's wife, were cut from the film after the script had gone to the publishers, and so they can be found in the published version of the script. Also present is a scene where, after Brian has led the Fifth Legion to the headquarters of the People's Front of Judea, Reg (John Cleese) says "You cunt!! You stupid, bird-brained, flat-headed..."[37] The profanity was overdubbed to "you klutz" before the film was released. Cleese approved of this editing as he felt the reaction to the four-letter word would "get in the way of the comedy".[9]
An early listing of the sequence of sketches reprinted in Monty Python: The Case Against by Robert Hewison reveals that the film was to have begun with a set of sketches at an English public school. Much of this material was first printed in the "MONTYPYTHONSCRAPBOOK" that accompanied the original script publication of The Life of Brian and then subsequently reused. The song "All Things Dull and Ugly" and the parody scripture reading "Martyrdom of St. Victor" were performed on Monty Python's Contractual Obligation Album (1980). The idea of a violent rugby match between school masters and small boys was filmed in Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (1983). A sketch about a boy who dies at school appeared on the unreleased The Hastily Cobbled Together for a Fast Buck Album (1981).
Box office[edit]
For the original British and Australian releases, a spoof travelogue narrated by John Cleese, Away From It All, was shown before the film itself. It consisted mostly of stock travelogue footage and featured arch comments from Cleese. For instance, a shot of Bulgarian girls in ceremonial dresses was accompanied by the comment "Hard to believe, isn't it, that these simple happy folk are dedicated to the destruction of Western Civilisation as we know it!", Communist Bulgaria being a member of the Warsaw Pact at the time. Not only was this a spoof of travelogues per se, it was a protest against the then common practice in Britain of showing cheaply made banal short features before a main feature.
Life of Brian opened on 17 August 1979 in five North American theatres and grossed US$140,034 ($28,007 per screen) in its opening weekend. Its total gross was $19,398,164. It was the highest grossing British film in North America that year. Released on 8 November 1979 in the UK,[38] the film was the fourth highest grossing film in Britain in 1979.
On 30 April 2004, Life of Brian was re-released on five North American screens to "cash in" (as Terry Jones put it)[23] on the box office success of Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ. It grossed $26,376 ($5,275 per screen) in its opening weekend. It ran until October 2004, playing at 28 screens at its widest point, eventually grossing $646,124 during its re-release. By comparison, a re-release of Monty Python and the Holy Grail had earned $1.8 million three years earlier. A DVD of the film was also released that year.
Album[edit]
Main article: Monty Python's Life of Brian (album)
An album was also released by Monty Python in 1979 in conjunction with the film. In addition to the "Brian Song" and "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life", it contains scenes from the film with brief linking sections performed by Eric Idle and Graham Chapman. The album opens with a brief rendition of "Hava Nagila" on Scottish bagpipes. A CD version was released in 1997.
Legacy[edit]
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,[39] the British TV network Channel 4 in 2006[40] and The Guardian newspaper in 2007.[41] Rotten Tomatoes lists it as one of the best reviewed comedies, with a 96% approval rating from 44 published reviews. A 2011 poll by Time Out magazine ranked it as the third greatest comedy film ever made,[42] behind Airplane! and This is Spinal Tap.
The BFI declared Life of Brian to be the 28th best British film of all time, in their equivalent of the AFI's original 100 Years...100 Movies list. It was the seventh highest ranking comedy on this list (four of the better placed efforts were classic Ealing Films).[43] Another Channel 4 poll in 2001 named it the 23rd greatest film of all time (the only comedy that came higher on this occasion was Billy Wilder's Some Like It Hot, which was ranked 5th).[44]
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, has been voted by readers of BOL.com the funniest line in film history.[45] This poll also featured two of the film's other famous lines ("What have the Romans ever done for us?" and "I'm Brian and so's my wife") in the top 10.
Spin-offs[edit]
Spin-offs include a script-book The Life of Brian of Nazareth, which was printed back-to-back with MONTYPYTHONSCRAPBOOK as a single book. The printing of this book also caused problems, due to rarely used laws in the United Kingdom against blasphemy, dictating what can and cannot be written about religion. The publisher refused to print both halves of the book, and original prints were by two companies.[46]
An album of the songs sung in Monty Python's Life of Brian was released on the Disky label. "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" was later re-released with great success, after being sung by British football fans. Its popularity became truly evident in 1982 during the Falklands War when sailors aboard the destroyer HMS Sheffield, severely damaged in an Argentinean Exocet missile attack on 4 May, started singing it while awaiting rescue.[47][48] Many people have come to see the song as a life-affirming ode to optimism. One of its more famous renditions was by the dignitaries of Manchester's bid to host the 2000 Olympic Games, just after they were awarded to Sydney. Idle later performed the song as part of the 2012 Olympic Games closing ceremony. "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" is also featured in Eric Idle's Spamalot, a Broadway musical based upon Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and was sung by the rest of the Monty Python group at Graham Chapman's memorial service and at the Monty Python Live At Aspen special. The song is a staple at Iron Maiden concerts, where the recording is played after the final encore.
Julian Doyle, the film's editor, wrote The Life of Brian/Jesus, a book which not only describes the filmmaking and editing process but argues that it is the most accurate Biblical film ever made. In October 2008, a memoir by Kim "Howard" Johnson titled Monty Python's Tunisian Holiday: My Life with Brian was released. Johnson became friendly with the Pythons during the filming of Life of Brian and his notes and memories of the behind-the-scenes filming and make-up.[49]
In October 2011, BBC Four premiered the made-for-television comedy film Holy Flying Circus, written by Tony Roche and directed by Owen Harris. The "Pythonesque" film explored the events surrounding the 1979 television debate on talk show Friday Night, Saturday Morning between John Cleese and Michael Palin and Malcolm Muggeridge and Mervyn Stockwood, the then Bishop of Southwark.[50]
Oratorio[edit]
With the success of Eric Idle's musical retelling of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, called Spamalot, Idle announced that he would be giving Life of Brian a similar treatment. The oratorio, called Not the Messiah (He's a Very Naughty Boy), was commissioned to be part of the festival called Luminato in Toronto, Ontario, in June 2007, and was written/scored by Idle and John Du Prez, who also worked with Idle on Spamalot. Not the Messiah is a spoof of Handel's oratorio Messiah. It runs approximately 50 minutes, and was conducted at its World Premiere by Toronto Symphony Orchestra music director Peter Oundjian, who is Idle's cousin.[51]
Not the Messiah received its U.S. premiere at the Caramoor International Music Festival in Katonah, New York. Cousins Peter Oundjian (Caramoor's Artistic Advisor and Principal Conductor) and Eric Idle joined forces once again for a double performance of the oratorio in July 2007.[52]
Appearances in other media[edit]
In a Not the Nine O'Clock News sketch, a bishop who has made a scandalous film called The Life of Christ is hauled over the coals by a representative of the "Church of Python", claiming that the film is an attack on "Our Lord, John Cleese" and on the members of Python, who, in the sketch, are the objects of Britain's true religious faith. This was a parody of the infamous Friday Night, Saturday Morning programme, broadcast a week previously. The director of the film (played by Rowan Atkinson) claims that the reaction to the film has surprised him, as he "didn't expect the Spanish Inquisition."
"Talk Radio" host John Williams, of Chicago's WGN 720 AM, has used "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" from Life of Brian in a segment of his Friday shows. The segment is used to highlight good events from the past week in listeners' lives and to generally celebrate the end of the work week. In the 1997 Oscar winning film As Good as It Gets, the misanthropic character played by Jack Nicholson sings "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" as evidence of the character's change in attitude.[53]
A BBC history series What the Romans Did for Us, written and presented by Adam Hart-Davis and first broadcast in 2000, takes its title from John Cleese's rhetorical question "What have the Romans ever done for us?" in one of the film's scenes. (Cleese himself parodied this line in a 1986 BBC advert defending the Television Licence Fee: "What has the BBC ever given us?")[54]
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair in his Prime Minister's Questions of 3 May 2006 made a shorthand reference to the types of political groups, "Judean People's Front" or "People's Front of Judea", lampooned in Life of Brian.[55][56] This was in response to a question from the MP David Clelland, asking "What has the Labour government ever done for us?" – itself a parody of John Cleese's "What have the Romans ever done for us?"
On New Year's Day 2007, and again on New Year's Eve, UK television station Channel 4 dedicated an entire evening to the Monty Python phenomenon, during which an hour-long documentary was broadcast called The Secret Life of Brian about the making of The Life of Brian and the controversy that was caused by its release. The Pythons featured in the documentary and reflected upon the events that surrounded the film. This was followed by a screening of the film itself.[7] The documentary (in a slightly extended form) was one of the special features on the 2007 DVD re-release – the "Immaculate Edition", also the first Python release on Blu-ray.
See also[edit]
List of films considered the best
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ "MONTY PYTHON'S LIFE OF BRIAN (AA)". British Board of Film Classification. 24 August 1979. Retrieved 21 July 2013.
2.Jump up ^ IMDB Business
3.Jump up ^ "Box Office Mojo". Box Office Mojo. 17 August 1979. Retrieved 18 December 2011.
4.Jump up ^ "Monty Python's Life of Brian Movie Reviews, Pictures - Rotten Tomatoes". Flixster. Archived from the original on 22 July 2010. Retrieved 2 November 2012.
5.Jump up ^ Parker, Alan; O'Shea, Mick (2006). And Now For Something Completely Digital: The Complete Illustrated Guide to Monty Python CDs and DVDs. The Disinformation Company.
6.Jump up ^ Chapman, Graham; Cleese, John; Gilliam, Terry; Idle, Eric et al. (1979). Monty Python's The Life of Brian/MONTYPYTHONSCRAPBOOKOFBRIANOFNAZARETH. London: Eyre Methuen. script p.3. ISBN 0-413-46550-0.
7.^ Jump up to: a b c d e Channel 4 (1 January 2007). The Secret Life of Brian.
8.^ Jump up to: a b c d Wilmut, Roger (1980). From Fringe to Flying Circus. London: Eyre Methuen Ltd. pp. 247–250. ISBN 0-413-46950-6.
9.^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g Chapman, Graham; Cleese, John; Gilliam, Terry; Idle, Eric et al. (2003). The Pythons Autobiography by The Pythons. London: Orion Publishing Group. pp. 349–387. ISBN 0-7528-5293-0.
10.^ Jump up to: a b Chapman, Graham; et al. (1979). Monty Python's The Life of Brian/MONTYPYTHONSCRAPBOOKOFBRIANOFNAZARETH. scrapbook p. 4.
11.Jump up ^ Eunarchy in the UK: George Harrison's first movie | Film | The Guardian
12.^ Jump up to: a b Sellers, Robert (28 March 2003). "Welease Bwian". The Guardian (UK). Retrieved 6 November 2006.
13.Jump up ^ Ebert, Roger (18 June 2004). "Monty Python's Life of Brian". Digital Chicago. Retrieved 6 November 2006.
14.^ Jump up to: a b Palin, Michael. Diaries: The Python Years, 1969–1979.
15.Jump up ^ Webster, Richard (1990). A Brief History of Blasphemy: Liberalism, Censorship and 'The Satanic Verses'. Southwold: The Orwell Press. p. 27. ISBN 0-9515922-0-3.
16.Jump up ^ "Python movie 'ban' finally lifted". BBC News (BBC). 24 September 2008. Retrieved 24 September 2008.
17.Jump up ^ Yapp, Carl (27 February 2009). "Town ends Python film 30-year ban". BBC News.
18.Jump up ^ Yapp, Carl (29 March 2009). "Life of Brian still a huge draw". BBC News. Retrieved 5 April 2010.
19.Jump up ^ "Tickets sold out for Python film". BBC News (BBC). 2 March 2009. Retrieved 16 April 2008.
20.Jump up ^ "Monty Myth-on". BBC. 1 April 2009. Retrieved 16 April 2009.
21.Jump up ^ Germany: Life of Brian banned on Good Friday
22.Jump up ^ "Für Aufführung der Jesus-Satire in Bochum am Karfreitag droht Strafe" (in German).
23.^ Jump up to: a b Lammers, Tim (17 May 2004). "Python's Jones Passionate About 'Life Of Brian's' Return". WNBC. Archived from the original on 27 March 2007. Retrieved 6 November 2006.
24.Jump up ^ ELONET - Life of Brian
25.Jump up ^ Klein, Wayne. "Monty Python's Life of Brian-The Immaculate Edition (Blu-Ray)". Retrieved 6 September 2008.
26.Jump up ^ Chapman, David W. (2008). Ancient Jewish and Christian Perceptions of Crucifixion. Mohr Siebeck. p. 44. ISBN 3-16-149579-9.
27.Jump up ^ Crossley, James (2011). 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. Relegere 1. pp. 93–114. ISSN 1179-7231.
28.Jump up ^ "Monty Python's Life of Brian Movie Review". A Life At The Movies. 23 October 2010.
29.Jump up ^ "Strife of Brian". The Times (UK). 7 February 2007. Retrieved 5 April 2010.
30.Jump up ^ Wilmut, Roger (1980). From Fringe to Flying Circus. London: Eyre Methuen Ltd. p. 250
31.Jump up ^ Palin, Michael in Monty Python Speaks, ed. Morgan, David, Fourth Estate, 1999.
32.Jump up ^ Perry, George. The Life of Python, Pavillion, 1994, p. 161
33.Jump up ^ Laserdisc Database. "Criterion Life of Brian". Retrieved 13 December 2011.
34.Jump up ^ SOTCAA (2004). "Monty Python – Films". UK Online. Archived from the original on 23 March 2007. Retrieved 6 November 2006.
35.Jump up ^ The Story of Brian (Monty Python's Life of Brian: The Immaculate Edition DVD). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. 2007.
36.Jump up ^ Nash, David (2007). Blasphemy in the Christian World: A History. Oxford University Press. p. 214. ISBN 0-19-925516-4. Retrieved 18 May 2010.
37.Jump up ^ Chapman, Graham; et al. (1979). Monty Python's The Life of Brian/MONTYPYTHONSCRAPBOOKOFBRIANOFNAZARETH. script p.34.
38.Jump up ^ Robert Sellers "Welease Bwian", The Guardian, 28 March 2003
39.Jump up ^ "Life of Brian tops comedy poll". BBC News. 29 September 2000. Retrieved 3 April 2007.
40.Jump up ^ "Life of Brian named best comedy". BBC. 1 January 2006. Retrieved 5 April 2010.
41.Jump up ^ French, Philip (23 July 2007). "The last laugh: your favourite 50". The Guardian (UK). Retrieved 5 April 2010.
42.Jump up ^ Wine, Edy. "100 Best Comedy Movies – The Full Feature – Time Out London". Timeout.com. Retrieved 18 December 2011.
43.Jump up ^ "The best British films of all time according to the British Film Institute - 1999".
44.Jump up ^ "Channel 4's 100 Greatest Films". UK: Channel 4.[dead link]
45.Jump up ^ "The best movie line ever". Chortle Online Comedy Guide.
46.Jump up ^ See Hewison.
47.Jump up ^ "Icons of England, "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life"".
48.Jump up ^ MacIntyre, Ben (9 November 2007). "Always look on the bright side of strife: The sardonic humour of war". The Times (UK). Retrieved 5 April 2010.
49.Jump up ^ Monty Python's Tunisian Holiday by Kim "Howard" Johnson at ThomasDunneBooks.com. Retrieved 31 August 2008
50.Jump up ^ The Internet Movie Database
51.Jump up ^ CBC Arts (18 October 2006). "Python gang reunited as Spamalot opens in London". CBC. Retrieved 18 October 2006.[dead link]
52.Jump up ^ Schweitzer, Vivien (10 April 2007). "Not the Messiah, Eric Idle's Comic Oratorio, to have U.S. Premiere at Caramoor Festival". PlaybillArts. Retrieved 8 May 2007.
53.Jump up ^ Cyrino, Monica Silveira (2 December 2005). Big screen Rome. Wiley-Blackwell.
54.Jump up ^ Video on YouTube
55.Jump up ^ TheyWorkForYou (3 May 2006). "House of Commons Debates". mySociety. Retrieved 30 March 2007.
56.Jump up ^ House of Commons (3 May 2006). "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 3 May 2006 (pt 3)". column 963.
Philip R., Davies (14 June 2004). "Life of Brian Research". Whose Bible Is It Anyway? (2nd ed.). London & New York: T&T Clark International. pp. 142–155. ISBN 0-567-08073-0. This book chapter discusses the ancient sources which may have been used in the film and its critical take on theology.
Hewison, Robert. Monty Python: The Case Against. New York: Grove, 1981. ISBN 0-413-48660-5. This book discusses at length the censorship and controversy surrounding the film.
Vintaloro, Giordano. "Non sono il Messia, lo giuro su Dio!" – Messianismo e modernità in Life of Brian dei Monty Python. Trieste: Battello Stampatore, 2008. ISBN 978-88-87208-44-3. [Italian: "I'm not the Messiah, honestly!" – Messianism and modernity in Monty Python's "Life of Brian"]. This book analyses the film structure as an hypertext and Brian the Messiah as a modern leader figure.
External links[edit]
 Wikiquote has quotations related to: Monty Python's Life of Brian
Monty Python's Life of Brian at the Internet Movie Database
Monty Python's Life of Brian at Box Office Mojo
Monty Python's Life of Brian at Rotten Tomatoes
Monty Python's Life of Brian at Metacritic
Monty Python's Life of Brian film script
Graffiti vandal strikes in Gloucester
The Secret Life of Brian at the Internet Movie Database – A 2007 documentary about the controversy surrounding the film.


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Categories: 1979 films
English-language films
1970s comedy films
Alien visitations in fiction
British comedy films
British films
British satirical films
Films about religion
Films critical of religion
Films directed by Terry Jones
Films set in Palestine
Films set in the Roman Empire
Films set in the 1st century BC
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Monty Python's Life of Brian

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"Life of Brian" redirects here. For the Family Guy episode, see Life of Brian (Family Guy).
‹ The template Infobox film is being considered for merging. ›

Monty Python's Life of Brian
Lifeofbrianfilmposter.jpg
Theatrical release poster

Directed by
Terry Jones
Produced by
John Goldstone
Written by
Graham Chapman
John Cleese
Terry Gilliam
Eric Idle
 Terry Jones
Michael Palin
Starring
Graham Chapman
 John Cleese
 Terry Gilliam
 Eric Idle
 Terry Jones
 Michael Palin
Music by
Geoffrey Burgon
Cinematography
Peter Biziou
Edited by
Julian Doyle

Production
 company

HandMade Films

Distributed by
Cinema International Corporation (UK)
Warner Bros. (USA)

Release dates

17 August 1979 (US)
8 November 1979 (UK)


Running time
 93 minutes[1]
Country
United Kingdom
Language
English
Budget
US$4 million[2]
Box office
US$20,045,115[3]
Monty Python's Life of Brian, also known as Life of Brian, is a 1979 British comedy film starring and written by the comedy group Monty Python (Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin), and directed by Jones. It tells the story of Brian Cohen (played by Chapman), a young Jewish man who is born on the same day as, and next door to, Jesus Christ and is subsequently mistaken for the Messiah.
Following the withdrawal of funding by EMI Films, longtime Monty Python fan and former Beatle George Harrison arranged the finance for Life of Brian, through the formation of his company HandMade Films.
The film contains themes of religious satire that were controversial at the time of its release, drawing accusations of blasphemy and protests from some religious groups. Thirty-nine local authorities in the UK either imposed an outright ban, or imposed an X (18 years) certificate, effectively preventing the film from being shown, as the distributors said it could not be shown unless it was unedited and carried the original AA (14) certificate. Some countries, including Ireland and Norway, banned its showing, with a few of these bans lasting decades. The filmmakers used such notoriety to benefit their marketing campaign, with posters in Sweden reading 'So funny, it was banned in Norway!'
The film was a box-office success, grossing fourth-highest of any film in the United Kingdom in 1979 and highest of any British film in the United States that year. It has remained popular since then, receiving positive reviews. The film received a 96% 'Fresh' rating on Rotten Tomatoes with the consensus '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',[4] and it was named "greatest comedy film of all time" by several magazines and television networks.


Contents  [hide]
1 Plot
2 Cast
3 Production
4 Religious satire and blasphemy accusations
5 Political satire
6 Lost scenes
7 Box office
8 Album
9 Legacy 9.1 Spin-offs
9.2 Oratorio
9.3 Appearances in other media
10 See also
11 References
12 External links

Plot[edit]
Brian Cohen is born in a stable next door to the one in which Jesus is born, which initially confuses the three wise men who come to praise the future King of the Jews. Brian grows up an idealistic young man who resents the continuing Roman occupation of Judea. While attending Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, Brian becomes infatuated with an attractive young rebel, Judith. His desire for her and hatred for the Romans lead him to join the People's Front of Judea (PFJ), one of many fractious and bickering independence movements, who spend more time fighting each other than the Romans.
After several misadventures, and escaping from Pontius Pilate, the fugitive winds up in a line-up of would-be mystics and prophets who harangue the passing crowd in a plaza. Forced to come up with something plausible in order to blend in and keep the guards off his back, Brian babbles pseudo-religious truisms, and quickly attracts a small but intrigued audience. Once the guards have left, Brian tries to put the episode behind him, but he has unintentionally inspired a movement. He grows frantic when he finds that some people have started to follow him around, with even the slightest unusual occurrence being hailed as a "miracle". After slipping away from the mob, Brian runs into Judith, and they spend the night together. In the morning, Brian opens the curtains to discover an enormous crowd of people outside his mother's house, all proclaiming him to be the Messiah. Brian's mother protests: "He's not the Messiah, he's a very naughty boy." Brian finds himself unable to change their minds, because his every word and action are immediately seized as points of doctrine.
The hapless Brian finds no solace at the PFJ's headquarters, where people fling their afflicted bodies at him demanding miracle cures. After sneaking out the back, Brian finally is captured and scheduled to be crucified. Meanwhile, a huge crowd has assembled outside the palace. Pilate (together with the visiting Biggus Dickus) tries to quell the feeling of revolution by granting them the decision of who should be pardoned. The crowd, however, simply shouts out names containing the letter "r", in order to mock Pilate's speech impediment. Eventually, Judith appears in the crowd and calls for the release of Brian, which the crowd echoes, since the name contains the letter "r". Pilate then agrees to "welease Bwian".
The order from Pilate is eventually relayed to the guards, but in a moment parodying the climax of the film Spartacus, various crucified people all claim to be "Brian of Nazareth" (one man shouting "I'm Brian and so's my wife") and the wrong man is released. Various other opportunities for a reprieve for Brian are denied as, one by one, his "allies" (including Judith and his mother) step forward to explain why they are leaving the "noble freedom fighter" hanging in the hot sun. Hope is renewed when a crack suicide squad from the Judean People's Front (not to be confused with the PFJ) come charging towards the Romans, but rather than fighting to release Brian or the other prisoners, they commit mass suicide as a political protest. Condemned to a long and painful death, Brian finds his spirits lifted by his fellow sufferers, who break into song with "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life."[5]
Cast[edit]
A list of all the characters given actual names in the script, or with a spoken role. All names and character descriptions are taken from the published script.[6] Each Python (especially Terry Gilliam) also played various bystanders and hangers-on. The Pythons themselves are listed first (in alphabetical order) followed by the rest of the cast in order of appearance.



 Chapman as Brian Cohen in Life of BrianGraham Chapman – Brian, Biggus Dickus, 2nd wise man
John Cleese – Reg, High priest, Centurion of the Yard, Deadly Dirk, Arthur, 1st wise man
Terry Gilliam – Another person further forward (at Mount – "Do you hear that? 'Blessed are the Greek'!"), Blood and Thunder prophet, Geoffrey, Gaoler, Frank
Eric Idle – Mr Cheeky, Stan/Loretta, Harry the Haggler, Culprit woman who casts first stone, Intensely dull youth, Otto, Gaoler's assistant, Mr Frisbee III
Terry Jones – Brian Cohen's mother (Mandy), Colin, Simon the Holy Man, Saintly passer-by
Michael Palin – Mr Big-Nose, Francis, Mrs A, Ex-leper, Ben, Pontius Pilate, Boring Prophet, Eddie, Nisus Wettus, 3rd wise man
Kenneth Colley – Jesus Christ
Neil Innes – A weedy Samaritan
Gwen Taylor – Mrs Big-Nose, Woman with sick donkey, young girl
Terence Bayler – Gregory, Dennis
Carol Cleveland – Mrs Gregory, Elsie
Charles McKeown – Man further forward (at Mount), Stig, Blind Man, False Prophet, Giggling Guard
Chris Langham - Alfonso, Giggling guard
Sue Jones-Davies – Judith Iscariot
John Young – Matthias
Bernard McKenna – Stoner's Helper, Parvus
Spike Milligan – Spike
George Harrison (uncredited) – Mr Papadopoulos
Several characters remained unnamed during the film but do have names that are used in the soundtrack album track listing and elsewhere. There is no mention in the film of the fact that Eric Idle's ever-cheerful joker is called 'Mr Cheeky', or that the Roman guard played by Michael Palin is named 'Nisus Wettus'.
Spike Milligan plays a prophet, ignored because his acolytes are chasing after Brian. By coincidence he was visiting his old World War II battlefields in Tunisia where the film was being made. The Pythons were alerted to this one morning and he was promptly included in the scene that just happened to be being filmed. He disappeared again in the afternoon before he could be included in any of the close-up or publicity shots for the film.[7]
Production[edit]



 A cameo appearance by Executive Producer George Harrison (right)
There are various stories about the origins of Life of Brian. Shortly after the release of Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975), Eric Idle flippantly suggested that the title of the Pythons' forthcoming feature would be Jesus Christ – Lust for Glory (a play on the UK title for the 1970 American film Patton).[8] This was after he had become frustrated at repeatedly being asked what it would be called, despite the troupe not having given the matter of a third film any consideration. However, they shared a distrust of organised religion, and, after witnessing the critically acclaimed Holy Grail's enormous financial turnover, confirming an appetite among the fans for more cinematic endeavours, they soon began to seriously consider a film lampooning the New Testament era in the same way Holy Grail had lampooned Arthurian legend. All they needed was an idea for a plot. Eric Idle and Terry Gilliam, while promoting Holy Grail in Amsterdam, had come up with a sketch in which Jesus' cross was falling apart because of the idiotic carpenters who built it and he angrily tells them how to do it correctly. However, after an early brainstorming stage, and despite being non-believers, they agreed that Jesus was "definitely a good guy" and found nothing to mock in his actual teachings: "He's not particularly funny, what he's saying isn't mockable, it's very decent stuff..." said Idle later.[9] After settling on the name Brian for their new protagonist, one idea considered was that of "the 13th disciple".[8] The focus eventually shifted to a separate individual born at a similar time and location, who would be mistaken for the Messiah, but had no desire to be followed as such.
Writing began in December 1976, with a first draft completed by mid-1977. The final pre-production draft was ready in January 1978, following "a concentrated two-week writing and water-skiing period in Barbados".[10] The film would not have been made without former Beatle and Python fan George Harrison, who set up HandMade Films to help fund it at a cost of £3 million. Harrison put up the money for it as he "wanted to see the movie" (this was later described by Terry Jones as the "world's most expensive cinema ticket"[11]). The original backers, EMI Films, had been scared off at the last minute by the subject matter, particularly Bernard Delfont.[8] As a result, the very last words in the film are: "I said to him, 'Bernie, they'll never make their money back on this one'", teasing Delfont for his lack of faith in the project. Terry Gilliam later said, "They pulled out on the Thursday. The crew was supposed to be leaving on the Saturday. Disastrous. It was because they read the script... finally."[12] As a reward for his help, Harrison appears in a cameo appearance as Mr. Papadopoulos, "owner of the Mount", who briefly shakes hands with Brian in a crowd scene (this happens at 1h09min of the film). His one word of dialogue (a cheery Scouse, but out-of-place-in-Judea, "ullo") had to be dubbed in later by Michael Palin.
Terry Jones was solely responsible for directing, having amicably agreed with Gilliam (who co-directed Holy Grail) that Jones' approach to film-making was better suited for Python's general performing style.[citation needed] Holy Grail's production had often been stilted by their differences behind the camera. Gilliam again contributed two animated sequences (one being the opening credits) and took charge of set design. However, this did not put an absolute end to their feuding. On the DVD commentary, Gilliam expresses great pride in one set in particular, the main hall of Pilate's fortress, which had been designed so that it accurately looked like an old Judean temple that the Romans had converted by dumping their structural artifacts (such as marble floors and columns) on top. He later reveals his consternation at Jones not paying enough attention to it in the cinematography. Gilliam also worked on the matte paintings, useful in particular for the very first shot of the three wise men against a starscape and in giving the illusion of the whole of the outside of the fortress being covered in graffiti. Perhaps the most significant contribution from Gilliam was the scene where Brian accidentally leaps off a high building and inadvertently lands inside a starship about to engage in an interstellar war. This was done "in camera" using a hand-built model starship and miniature pyrotechnics; clearly this was influenced by Star Wars. Afterwards, George Lucas met Terry Gilliam in San Francisco and praised Gilliam for his work.
The film was shot on location in Monastir, Tunisia, which allowed the production to reuse sets from Franco Zeffirelli's Jesus of Nazareth (1977).[13] Many locals were employed as extras on Life of Brian. Director Jones noted, "They were all very knowing because they'd all worked for Franco Zeffirelli on Jesus of Nazareth, so I had these elderly Tunisians telling me, 'Well, Mr Zeffirelli wouldn't have done it like that, you know.'"[12] Further location shooting took place in Sousse (Jerusalem outer walls and gateway), Carthage (Roman amphitheatre) and Matmata, Tunisia (Sermon on the Mount and Crucifixion).[14] Graham Chapman, suffering from alcoholism, was so determined to play the lead role – at one point coveted by Cleese – that he dried out in time for filming, so much so that he was also able to act as the on-set doctor on top of his acting duties.[7] Following shooting between 16 September and 12 November 1978,[10] a two-hour-long rough cut of the film was put together for its first private showing in January 1979. Over the next few months Life of Brian was re-edited and re-screened a number of times for different preview audiences before the final cut was complete, losing a number of entire filmed sequences (see § Lost scenes below).[8]
Religious satire and blasphemy accusations[edit]
Richard Webster comments in his 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."[15] On its initial release in the UK, the film was banned by several town councils – some of which had no cinemas within their boundaries, or had not even seen the film. A member of 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.[7]
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.[16] 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).[17][18] However, before the showing, an Aberystwyth University student discovered that the film had never been banned in Aberystwyth, but had been shown (or scheduled to be shown) at a cinema in the town in 1981.[19][20] 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.[21][22]
In New York (the film's release in the US preceded British distribution), screenings were picketed by both rabbis and nuns ("Nuns with banners!" observed Michael Palin).[9] It was also banned for eight years in Ireland and for a year in Norway (it was marketed in Sweden as "The film so funny that it was banned in Norway").[23] 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.[24]
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 boosted publicity.[25] 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.
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 also reinforced by the fact that several characters throughout the film claim crucifixion is not as bad as it seems, such as when Brian asks his cellmate in prison what will happen to him, and he replies: "Oh, you'll probably get away with crucifixion", and when Matthias, the old man who works with the PFJ, dismisses crucifixion as "a doddle" and says being stabbed would be worse. The director, Terry Jones, issued the following riposte 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".[7] Religious figures later responded by saying that Jones did not seem to understand the meaning of the crucifix symbol or its significance to Christians as a reminder of the suffering and death Christ endured for their sake. The Pythons also argued that crucifixion was a standard form of execution in ancient times and not just one especially reserved for Jesus.[26]
The Pythons often prided themselves on the depths of the historical research they had taken before writing the script. They all believe that, as a consequence, the film portrays 1st century Judea more accurately than actual Biblical epics, with its focus centred more on the average person of the era.
Shortly after the film was released, Cleese and Palin engaged in debate on the BBC2 discussion programme Friday Night, Saturday Morning with Malcolm Muggeridge and Mervyn Stockwood, the Bishop of Southwark, who put forward arguments against the film. Muggeridge and the Bishop, 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.[9] 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. Cleese expressed that his reputation had "plummeted" in his eyes, while Palin commented that, "He was just being Muggeridge, preferring to have a very strong contrary opinion as opposed to none at all".[9] 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".
The Pythons unanimously deny that they were ever out to destroy people's faith. On the DVD audio commentary, they contend that the film is heretical because it 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 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'"). 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 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 a number of potentially controversial scholarly theories about Jesus but now with reference to Brian, such as the Messianic Secret, the Jewishness of Jesus, Jesus the revolutionary, and having a single mother.[27]
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 for a show that was broadcast on HBO and has since become available on video. The appearance was billed as the "U.S. Comedy Arts Festival Tribute to Monty Python", although video releases have gone by varying titles, including "Monty Python Live at Aspen (1998)". The programme mostly consists of an interview, on stage, by U.S. comedian Robert Klein. In the section where Life of Brian is being discussed, Terry Jones says, "I think the film is heretical, but it’s not blasphemous". Eric Idle can be heard to concur, adding, "It’s a heresy". However, John Cleese, disagreeing, counters, "I don’t think it’s a heresy. It's making fun of the way that people misunderstand the teaching". Jones responds, "Of course it's a heresy, John! It's attacking the Church! And that has to be heretical". Cleese replies, "No, it's not attacking the Church, necessarily. It's about people who cannot agree with each other".
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."[28]
The film continues to cause controversy; in February 2007, the 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, were highly critical of the decision to allow the screening to go ahead. 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.[29] 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.[9]
Political satire[edit]
The film pokes fun at revolutionary groups and 1970s British left-wing politics. "What the film does do is place modern stereotypes in a historical setting, which enables it to indulge in a number of sharp digs, particularly at trade unionists and guerilla organisations".[30] The groups in the film all oppose the Roman occupation of Judea, but fall into the familiar pattern of intense competition among factions that appears, to an outsider, to be over ideological distinctions so small as to be invisible; "ideological purity", as Cleese once described it. Michael Palin says that the various separatist movements were modelled on "modern resistance groups, all with obscure acronyms which they can never remember and their conflicting agendas".[31]
The People's Front of Judea, composed of the Pythons' characters, harangue their "rivals" with cries of "splitters" and stand vehemently opposed to the Judean People's Front, the Judean Popular People's Front, the Campaign for a Free Galilee, and the Popular Front of Judea (the last composed of a single old man, mocking the size of real revolutionary Trotskyist factions). The infighting among revolutionary organisations is demonstrated most dramatically when the PFJ attempts to kidnap Pontius Pilate's wife, but encounters agents of the Campaign for a Free Galilee, and the two factions begin a violent brawl over which of them conceived of the plan first. When Brian exhorts them to cease their fighting to struggle "against the common enemy," the revolutionaries stop and cry in unison, "the Judean People's Front!" However, they soon resume their fighting and, with two Roman legionnaires watching bemusedly, continue until Brian is left the only survivor, at which point he is captured.
Other scenes have the freedom fighters wasting time in debate, with one of the debated items being that they should not waste their time debating so much. There is also a famous scene in which Reg gives a revolutionary speech asking, "What have the Romans ever done for us?" at which point the listeners outline all forms of positive aspects of the Roman occupation such as sanitation, medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, a fresh water system, public health and peace, followed by "what have the Romans ever done for us except sanitation, medicine, education...". Python biographer George Perry notes, "The People's Liberation Front of Judea conducts its meetings as though they have been convened by a group of shop stewards".[32]
Lost scenes[edit]
A number of scenes were cut during the editing process. Five deleted scenes, a total of 13 minutes, including the controversial "Otto", were first made available in 1997 on the Criterion Collection Laserdisc.[33] An unknown amount of raw footage was destroyed in 1998 by the company that bought Handmade Films. However, a number of them (of varying quality) were shown the following year on the Paramount Comedy Channel in the UK; it has not been disclosed how these scenes were saved or where they came from; possibly the source was the Criterion laserdisc.[citation needed] The scenes shown included three shepherds discussing sheep and completely missing the arrival of the angel heralding Jesus's birth, which would have been at the very start of the film; a segment showing the attempted kidnap of Pilate's wife (a large woman played by John Case) whose escape results in a fistfight; a scene introducing hardline Zionist Otto, leader of the Judean People's Front (played by Eric Idle) and his men who practice a suicide run in the courtyard; and a brief scene in which Judith releases some birds into the air in an attempt to summon help. The shepherds' scene has badly distorted sound, and the kidnap scene has poor colour quality.[34] The same scenes that were on the Criterion laserdisc can now be found on the Criterion Collection DVD.
The most controversial cuts were the scenes involving Otto, initially a recurring character, who had a thin Adolf Hitler moustache and spoke with a German accent, shouting accusations of "racial impurity" at people whose conceptions were similar to Brian's (Roman centurion rape of native Judean women), and other Nazi phrases. The logo of the Judean People's Front, designed by Terry Gilliam,[35] was a Star of David with a small line added to each point so it resembled a swastika, most familiar in the West as the symbol of the anti-Semitic Nazi movement. The rest of this faction also all had the same thin moustaches, and wore a spike on their helmets, similar to those on Imperial German helmets. The official reason for the cutting was that Otto's dialogue slowed down the narrative. However, Gilliam, writing in The Pythons Autobiography by The Pythons, said he thought it should have stayed, saying "Listen, we've alienated the Christians, let's get the Jews now". Idle himself was said to have been uncomfortable with the character; "It's essentially a pretty savage attack on rabid Zionism, suggesting it's rather akin to Nazism, which is a bit strong to take, but certainly a point of view".[9] Michael Palin's personal journal entries from the period when various edits of Brian were being test-screened consistently reference the Pythons' and filmmakers' concerns that the Otto scenes were slowing the story down and thus were top of the list to be chopped from the final cut of the film.[14] However, Oxford Brookes University historian David Nash says the removal of the scene represented "a form of self-censorship" and the Otto sequence "which involved a character representative of extreme forms of Zionism" was cut "in the interests of smoothing the way for the film's distribution in America."[36]
The only scene with Otto that remains in the film is during the crucifixion sequence. Otto arrives with his "crack suicide squad", sending the Roman soldiers fleeing in terror. Instead of doing anything useful, they "attack" by committing mass suicide in front of the cross ("Zat showed 'em, huh?" says the dying Otto, to which Brian despondently replies "You silly sods!"), ending Brian's hope of rescue (they do however show some signs of life during the famous rendition of "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" when they are seen waving their toes in unison in time to the music). Terry Jones once mentioned that the only reason this excerpt was not cut too was due to continuity reasons, as their dead bodies were very prominently placed throughout the rest of the scene. He acknowledged that some of the humour of this sole remaining contribution was lost through the earlier edits, but felt they were necessary to the overall pacing.
Otto's scenes, and those with Pilate's wife, were cut from the film after the script had gone to the publishers, and so they can be found in the published version of the script. Also present is a scene where, after Brian has led the Fifth Legion to the headquarters of the People's Front of Judea, Reg (John Cleese) says "You cunt!! You stupid, bird-brained, flat-headed..."[37] The profanity was overdubbed to "you klutz" before the film was released. Cleese approved of this editing as he felt the reaction to the four-letter word would "get in the way of the comedy".[9]
An early listing of the sequence of sketches reprinted in Monty Python: The Case Against by Robert Hewison reveals that the film was to have begun with a set of sketches at an English public school. Much of this material was first printed in the "MONTYPYTHONSCRAPBOOK" that accompanied the original script publication of The Life of Brian and then subsequently reused. The song "All Things Dull and Ugly" and the parody scripture reading "Martyrdom of St. Victor" were performed on Monty Python's Contractual Obligation Album (1980). The idea of a violent rugby match between school masters and small boys was filmed in Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (1983). A sketch about a boy who dies at school appeared on the unreleased The Hastily Cobbled Together for a Fast Buck Album (1981).
Box office[edit]
For the original British and Australian releases, a spoof travelogue narrated by John Cleese, Away From It All, was shown before the film itself. It consisted mostly of stock travelogue footage and featured arch comments from Cleese. For instance, a shot of Bulgarian girls in ceremonial dresses was accompanied by the comment "Hard to believe, isn't it, that these simple happy folk are dedicated to the destruction of Western Civilisation as we know it!", Communist Bulgaria being a member of the Warsaw Pact at the time. Not only was this a spoof of travelogues per se, it was a protest against the then common practice in Britain of showing cheaply made banal short features before a main feature.
Life of Brian opened on 17 August 1979 in five North American theatres and grossed US$140,034 ($28,007 per screen) in its opening weekend. Its total gross was $19,398,164. It was the highest grossing British film in North America that year. Released on 8 November 1979 in the UK,[38] the film was the fourth highest grossing film in Britain in 1979.
On 30 April 2004, Life of Brian was re-released on five North American screens to "cash in" (as Terry Jones put it)[23] on the box office success of Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ. It grossed $26,376 ($5,275 per screen) in its opening weekend. It ran until October 2004, playing at 28 screens at its widest point, eventually grossing $646,124 during its re-release. By comparison, a re-release of Monty Python and the Holy Grail had earned $1.8 million three years earlier. A DVD of the film was also released that year.
Album[edit]
Main article: Monty Python's Life of Brian (album)
An album was also released by Monty Python in 1979 in conjunction with the film. In addition to the "Brian Song" and "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life", it contains scenes from the film with brief linking sections performed by Eric Idle and Graham Chapman. The album opens with a brief rendition of "Hava Nagila" on Scottish bagpipes. A CD version was released in 1997.
Legacy[edit]
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,[39] the British TV network Channel 4 in 2006[40] and The Guardian newspaper in 2007.[41] Rotten Tomatoes lists it as one of the best reviewed comedies, with a 96% approval rating from 44 published reviews. A 2011 poll by Time Out magazine ranked it as the third greatest comedy film ever made,[42] behind Airplane! and This is Spinal Tap.
The BFI declared Life of Brian to be the 28th best British film of all time, in their equivalent of the AFI's original 100 Years...100 Movies list. It was the seventh highest ranking comedy on this list (four of the better placed efforts were classic Ealing Films).[43] Another Channel 4 poll in 2001 named it the 23rd greatest film of all time (the only comedy that came higher on this occasion was Billy Wilder's Some Like It Hot, which was ranked 5th).[44]
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, has been voted by readers of BOL.com the funniest line in film history.[45] This poll also featured two of the film's other famous lines ("What have the Romans ever done for us?" and "I'm Brian and so's my wife") in the top 10.
Spin-offs[edit]
Spin-offs include a script-book The Life of Brian of Nazareth, which was printed back-to-back with MONTYPYTHONSCRAPBOOK as a single book. The printing of this book also caused problems, due to rarely used laws in the United Kingdom against blasphemy, dictating what can and cannot be written about religion. The publisher refused to print both halves of the book, and original prints were by two companies.[46]
An album of the songs sung in Monty Python's Life of Brian was released on the Disky label. "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" was later re-released with great success, after being sung by British football fans. Its popularity became truly evident in 1982 during the Falklands War when sailors aboard the destroyer HMS Sheffield, severely damaged in an Argentinean Exocet missile attack on 4 May, started singing it while awaiting rescue.[47][48] Many people have come to see the song as a life-affirming ode to optimism. One of its more famous renditions was by the dignitaries of Manchester's bid to host the 2000 Olympic Games, just after they were awarded to Sydney. Idle later performed the song as part of the 2012 Olympic Games closing ceremony. "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" is also featured in Eric Idle's Spamalot, a Broadway musical based upon Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and was sung by the rest of the Monty Python group at Graham Chapman's memorial service and at the Monty Python Live At Aspen special. The song is a staple at Iron Maiden concerts, where the recording is played after the final encore.
Julian Doyle, the film's editor, wrote The Life of Brian/Jesus, a book which not only describes the filmmaking and editing process but argues that it is the most accurate Biblical film ever made. In October 2008, a memoir by Kim "Howard" Johnson titled Monty Python's Tunisian Holiday: My Life with Brian was released. Johnson became friendly with the Pythons during the filming of Life of Brian and his notes and memories of the behind-the-scenes filming and make-up.[49]
In October 2011, BBC Four premiered the made-for-television comedy film Holy Flying Circus, written by Tony Roche and directed by Owen Harris. The "Pythonesque" film explored the events surrounding the 1979 television debate on talk show Friday Night, Saturday Morning between John Cleese and Michael Palin and Malcolm Muggeridge and Mervyn Stockwood, the then Bishop of Southwark.[50]
Oratorio[edit]
With the success of Eric Idle's musical retelling of Monty Python and the Holy Grail, called Spamalot, Idle announced that he would be giving Life of Brian a similar treatment. The oratorio, called Not the Messiah (He's a Very Naughty Boy), was commissioned to be part of the festival called Luminato in Toronto, Ontario, in June 2007, and was written/scored by Idle and John Du Prez, who also worked with Idle on Spamalot. Not the Messiah is a spoof of Handel's oratorio Messiah. It runs approximately 50 minutes, and was conducted at its World Premiere by Toronto Symphony Orchestra music director Peter Oundjian, who is Idle's cousin.[51]
Not the Messiah received its U.S. premiere at the Caramoor International Music Festival in Katonah, New York. Cousins Peter Oundjian (Caramoor's Artistic Advisor and Principal Conductor) and Eric Idle joined forces once again for a double performance of the oratorio in July 2007.[52]
Appearances in other media[edit]
In a Not the Nine O'Clock News sketch, a bishop who has made a scandalous film called The Life of Christ is hauled over the coals by a representative of the "Church of Python", claiming that the film is an attack on "Our Lord, John Cleese" and on the members of Python, who, in the sketch, are the objects of Britain's true religious faith. This was a parody of the infamous Friday Night, Saturday Morning programme, broadcast a week previously. The director of the film (played by Rowan Atkinson) claims that the reaction to the film has surprised him, as he "didn't expect the Spanish Inquisition."
"Talk Radio" host John Williams, of Chicago's WGN 720 AM, has used "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" from Life of Brian in a segment of his Friday shows. The segment is used to highlight good events from the past week in listeners' lives and to generally celebrate the end of the work week. In the 1997 Oscar winning film As Good as It Gets, the misanthropic character played by Jack Nicholson sings "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" as evidence of the character's change in attitude.[53]
A BBC history series What the Romans Did for Us, written and presented by Adam Hart-Davis and first broadcast in 2000, takes its title from John Cleese's rhetorical question "What have the Romans ever done for us?" in one of the film's scenes. (Cleese himself parodied this line in a 1986 BBC advert defending the Television Licence Fee: "What has the BBC ever given us?")[54]
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair in his Prime Minister's Questions of 3 May 2006 made a shorthand reference to the types of political groups, "Judean People's Front" or "People's Front of Judea", lampooned in Life of Brian.[55][56] This was in response to a question from the MP David Clelland, asking "What has the Labour government ever done for us?" – itself a parody of John Cleese's "What have the Romans ever done for us?"
On New Year's Day 2007, and again on New Year's Eve, UK television station Channel 4 dedicated an entire evening to the Monty Python phenomenon, during which an hour-long documentary was broadcast called The Secret Life of Brian about the making of The Life of Brian and the controversy that was caused by its release. The Pythons featured in the documentary and reflected upon the events that surrounded the film. This was followed by a screening of the film itself.[7] The documentary (in a slightly extended form) was one of the special features on the 2007 DVD re-release – the "Immaculate Edition", also the first Python release on Blu-ray.
See also[edit]
List of films considered the best
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ "MONTY PYTHON'S LIFE OF BRIAN (AA)". British Board of Film Classification. 24 August 1979. Retrieved 21 July 2013.
2.Jump up ^ IMDB Business
3.Jump up ^ "Box Office Mojo". Box Office Mojo. 17 August 1979. Retrieved 18 December 2011.
4.Jump up ^ "Monty Python's Life of Brian Movie Reviews, Pictures - Rotten Tomatoes". Flixster. Archived from the original on 22 July 2010. Retrieved 2 November 2012.
5.Jump up ^ Parker, Alan; O'Shea, Mick (2006). And Now For Something Completely Digital: The Complete Illustrated Guide to Monty Python CDs and DVDs. The Disinformation Company.
6.Jump up ^ Chapman, Graham; Cleese, John; Gilliam, Terry; Idle, Eric et al. (1979). Monty Python's The Life of Brian/MONTYPYTHONSCRAPBOOKOFBRIANOFNAZARETH. London: Eyre Methuen. script p.3. ISBN 0-413-46550-0.
7.^ Jump up to: a b c d e Channel 4 (1 January 2007). The Secret Life of Brian.
8.^ Jump up to: a b c d Wilmut, Roger (1980). From Fringe to Flying Circus. London: Eyre Methuen Ltd. pp. 247–250. ISBN 0-413-46950-6.
9.^ Jump up to: a b c d e f g Chapman, Graham; Cleese, John; Gilliam, Terry; Idle, Eric et al. (2003). The Pythons Autobiography by The Pythons. London: Orion Publishing Group. pp. 349–387. ISBN 0-7528-5293-0.
10.^ Jump up to: a b Chapman, Graham; et al. (1979). Monty Python's The Life of Brian/MONTYPYTHONSCRAPBOOKOFBRIANOFNAZARETH. scrapbook p. 4.
11.Jump up ^ Eunarchy in the UK: George Harrison's first movie | Film | The Guardian
12.^ Jump up to: a b Sellers, Robert (28 March 2003). "Welease Bwian". The Guardian (UK). Retrieved 6 November 2006.
13.Jump up ^ Ebert, Roger (18 June 2004). "Monty Python's Life of Brian". Digital Chicago. Retrieved 6 November 2006.
14.^ Jump up to: a b Palin, Michael. Diaries: The Python Years, 1969–1979.
15.Jump up ^ Webster, Richard (1990). A Brief History of Blasphemy: Liberalism, Censorship and 'The Satanic Verses'. Southwold: The Orwell Press. p. 27. ISBN 0-9515922-0-3.
16.Jump up ^ "Python movie 'ban' finally lifted". BBC News (BBC). 24 September 2008. Retrieved 24 September 2008.
17.Jump up ^ Yapp, Carl (27 February 2009). "Town ends Python film 30-year ban". BBC News.
18.Jump up ^ Yapp, Carl (29 March 2009). "Life of Brian still a huge draw". BBC News. Retrieved 5 April 2010.
19.Jump up ^ "Tickets sold out for Python film". BBC News (BBC). 2 March 2009. Retrieved 16 April 2008.
20.Jump up ^ "Monty Myth-on". BBC. 1 April 2009. Retrieved 16 April 2009.
21.Jump up ^ Germany: Life of Brian banned on Good Friday
22.Jump up ^ "Für Aufführung der Jesus-Satire in Bochum am Karfreitag droht Strafe" (in German).
23.^ Jump up to: a b Lammers, Tim (17 May 2004). "Python's Jones Passionate About 'Life Of Brian's' Return". WNBC. Archived from the original on 27 March 2007. Retrieved 6 November 2006.
24.Jump up ^ ELONET - Life of Brian
25.Jump up ^ Klein, Wayne. "Monty Python's Life of Brian-The Immaculate Edition (Blu-Ray)". Retrieved 6 September 2008.
26.Jump up ^ Chapman, David W. (2008). Ancient Jewish and Christian Perceptions of Crucifixion. Mohr Siebeck. p. 44. ISBN 3-16-149579-9.
27.Jump up ^ Crossley, James (2011). 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. Relegere 1. pp. 93–114. ISSN 1179-7231.
28.Jump up ^ "Monty Python's Life of Brian Movie Review". A Life At The Movies. 23 October 2010.
29.Jump up ^ "Strife of Brian". The Times (UK). 7 February 2007. Retrieved 5 April 2010.
30.Jump up ^ Wilmut, Roger (1980). From Fringe to Flying Circus. London: Eyre Methuen Ltd. p. 250
31.Jump up ^ Palin, Michael in Monty Python Speaks, ed. Morgan, David, Fourth Estate, 1999.
32.Jump up ^ Perry, George. The Life of Python, Pavillion, 1994, p. 161
33.Jump up ^ Laserdisc Database. "Criterion Life of Brian". Retrieved 13 December 2011.
34.Jump up ^ SOTCAA (2004). "Monty Python – Films". UK Online. Archived from the original on 23 March 2007. Retrieved 6 November 2006.
35.Jump up ^ The Story of Brian (Monty Python's Life of Brian: The Immaculate Edition DVD). Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. 2007.
36.Jump up ^ Nash, David (2007). Blasphemy in the Christian World: A History. Oxford University Press. p. 214. ISBN 0-19-925516-4. Retrieved 18 May 2010.
37.Jump up ^ Chapman, Graham; et al. (1979). Monty Python's The Life of Brian/MONTYPYTHONSCRAPBOOKOFBRIANOFNAZARETH. script p.34.
38.Jump up ^ Robert Sellers "Welease Bwian", The Guardian, 28 March 2003
39.Jump up ^ "Life of Brian tops comedy poll". BBC News. 29 September 2000. Retrieved 3 April 2007.
40.Jump up ^ "Life of Brian named best comedy". BBC. 1 January 2006. Retrieved 5 April 2010.
41.Jump up ^ French, Philip (23 July 2007). "The last laugh: your favourite 50". The Guardian (UK). Retrieved 5 April 2010.
42.Jump up ^ Wine, Edy. "100 Best Comedy Movies – The Full Feature – Time Out London". Timeout.com. Retrieved 18 December 2011.
43.Jump up ^ "The best British films of all time according to the British Film Institute - 1999".
44.Jump up ^ "Channel 4's 100 Greatest Films". UK: Channel 4.[dead link]
45.Jump up ^ "The best movie line ever". Chortle Online Comedy Guide.
46.Jump up ^ See Hewison.
47.Jump up ^ "Icons of England, "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life"".
48.Jump up ^ MacIntyre, Ben (9 November 2007). "Always look on the bright side of strife: The sardonic humour of war". The Times (UK). Retrieved 5 April 2010.
49.Jump up ^ Monty Python's Tunisian Holiday by Kim "Howard" Johnson at ThomasDunneBooks.com. Retrieved 31 August 2008
50.Jump up ^ The Internet Movie Database
51.Jump up ^ CBC Arts (18 October 2006). "Python gang reunited as Spamalot opens in London". CBC. Retrieved 18 October 2006.[dead link]
52.Jump up ^ Schweitzer, Vivien (10 April 2007). "Not the Messiah, Eric Idle's Comic Oratorio, to have U.S. Premiere at Caramoor Festival". PlaybillArts. Retrieved 8 May 2007.
53.Jump up ^ Cyrino, Monica Silveira (2 December 2005). Big screen Rome. Wiley-Blackwell.
54.Jump up ^ Video on YouTube
55.Jump up ^ TheyWorkForYou (3 May 2006). "House of Commons Debates". mySociety. Retrieved 30 March 2007.
56.Jump up ^ House of Commons (3 May 2006). "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 3 May 2006 (pt 3)". column 963.
Philip R., Davies (14 June 2004). "Life of Brian Research". Whose Bible Is It Anyway? (2nd ed.). London & New York: T&T Clark International. pp. 142–155. ISBN 0-567-08073-0. This book chapter discusses the ancient sources which may have been used in the film and its critical take on theology.
Hewison, Robert. Monty Python: The Case Against. New York: Grove, 1981. ISBN 0-413-48660-5. This book discusses at length the censorship and controversy surrounding the film.
Vintaloro, Giordano. "Non sono il Messia, lo giuro su Dio!" – Messianismo e modernità in Life of Brian dei Monty Python. Trieste: Battello Stampatore, 2008. ISBN 978-88-87208-44-3. [Italian: "I'm not the Messiah, honestly!" – Messianism and modernity in Monty Python's "Life of Brian"]. This book analyses the film structure as an hypertext and Brian the Messiah as a modern leader figure.
External links[edit]
 Wikiquote has quotations related to: Monty Python's Life of Brian
Monty Python's Life of Brian at the Internet Movie Database
Monty Python's Life of Brian at Box Office Mojo
Monty Python's Life of Brian at Rotten Tomatoes
Monty Python's Life of Brian at Metacritic
Monty Python's Life of Brian film script
Graffiti vandal strikes in Gloucester
The Secret Life of Brian at the Internet Movie Database – A 2007 documentary about the controversy surrounding the film.


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Bruce Almighty

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Bruce Almighty
A man with the world attached to his finger by a piece of rosary
Theatrical release poster

Directed by
Tom Shadyac
Produced by
Tom Shadyac
Jim Carrey
James D. Brubaker
Michael Bostick
Steve Koren
Mark O'Keefe

Screenplay by
Steve Koren
Mark O'Keefe
Steve Oedekerk

Story by
Steve Koren
Mark O'Keefe

Starring
Jim Carrey
Morgan Freeman
Jennifer Aniston
Lisa Ann Walter
Philip Baker Hall
Steve Carell

Music by
John Debney
Cinematography
Dean Semler
Edited by
Scott Hill

Production
 company

Spyglass Entertainment
Shady Acres Entertainment
Pit Bull Productions

Distributed by
Universal Pictures
(North America)
Buena Vista Pictures
(International)

Release dates

May 23, 2003


Running time
 101 minutes[1]
Country
United States
Language
English
Budget
$81 million[2]
Box office
$484.6 million[2]
Bruce Almighty is a 2003 American religious comedy-drama film directed by Tom Shadyac, written by Steve Koren, Mark O'Keefe and Steve Oedekerk and stars Jim Carrey as Bruce Nolan, a down-on-his-luck TV reporter who complains to God (Morgan Freeman) that he is not doing his job correctly, and is offered the chance to try being God himself for one week. This is Shadyac and Carrey's third collaboration after working together on Shadyac's first film, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, in 1994 and Liar Liar in 1997.
When released in American theaters in May 2003, it took the #1 spot at the box office, grossing $85.89 million—higher than the release of Pearl Harbor, making it the highest-rated Memorial Day weekend opening of any film in motion picture history (until the release of X-Men: The Last Stand in 2006).[3] The movie surprised media analysts when it beat The Matrix Reloaded after its first week of release. By the time it left theaters in December 2003, it took in a United States domestic total of over $242 million and $484 million worldwide.[2]


Contents  [hide]
1 Plot
2 Cast
3 Reception and controversy  3.1 Controversy
3.2 Sequels
4 Soundtrack
5 Adaptations
6 References
7 External links

Plot[edit]
Bruce Nolan (Jim Carrey) is a television field reporter for Eyewitness News at WKBW-TV in Buffalo, New York, but desires to be the news anchorman. He is in a healthy relationship with his girlfriend Grace Connelly (Jennifer Aniston), but also has a mild crush on his co-worker, Susan Ortega (Catherine Bell), who barely seems to notice him. Bruce however continues to suffer unfortunate events and it reaches his breaking point when he is passed over for promotion by his rival, Evan Baxter (Steve Carell), who then steals dialogue from Bruce's segment in accepting the promotion on-air. Bruce becomes furious and aggressively and profanely criticizes the station during his first live report, leading to his dismissal from the station. Following a series of other misfortunes, Bruce complains that God (Morgan Freeman) is "the one that should be fired."
Bruce later receives a message on his pager, directing him to an empty warehouse where he meets God. God offers to give Bruce His powers to prove that He is doing the job correctly. God tells Bruce that he cannot tell others he has God's powers, nor can he use the powers to alter free will. Bruce ignores God and is initially jubilant with the powers, using them for personal gain, such as training his dog to use the toilet, chasing away thugs by spewing out a swarm of hornets, and sexually impressing Grace. Bruce also finds ways of using the powers to cause miraculous events to occur at otherwise mundane events that he covers, such as discovering Jimmy Hoffa's body or causing a meteor to harmlessly land near a cook-off, earning him his job back. Bruce then uses his powers to cause Evan to make a fool out of himself on-air, causing Evan to be fired in favor of Bruce as the new anchor.
After taking Grace to a fancy dinner and telling her he made anchor (angering her, as she thought he was going to propose), Bruce begins to hear voices in his head. He re-encounters God, who confronts Bruce on using his powers for personal gain and not helping people. He also explains that the voices are prayers to God that Bruce must deal with. Bruce creates a computerized email-like system to receive the prayers and respond, but finds that the influx is far too great for him to handle—even though God had stated that Bruce is only receiving prayers from the Buffalo area – and sets the program to automatically answer Yes to every prayer.
Bruce attends a party celebrating his promotion. When Grace arrives, she finds Bruce being seduced and kissed by Susan, and quickly leaves. Bruce follows Grace, but she is heartbroken and will not listen to him. He tries to use his powers to convince Grace to stay but cannot influence her free will. As Bruce looks around, he realizes that the city has fallen into chaos due to his actions. Bruce returns to God, who explains that He can't solve all the problems, and that Bruce must figure out a way to solve it himself. Bruce then begins to solve his problems in life practically, such as helping a man whose car broke down across the street, training his dog normally, and allowing Evan to have his job back. Bruce returns to his computer system and goes about answering prayers as best he can. As he reads through them, he finds a prayer from Grace, wishing for Bruce's success and well-being. As he reads it, another prayer from Grace arrives, this one wishing not to be in love with Bruce anymore.
Bruce is stunned and walks alone on a highway, asking God to take back His powers and letting his fate be in His hands. Bruce is suddenly struck by a truck, and regains consciousness in a white void. God appears and asks Bruce what he really wants; Bruce admits that he only wants to make sure Grace finds a man that would make her happy. God agrees and Bruce finds himself in the hospital, shortly after being revived—near miraculously—by the doctors. Grace arrives and the two rekindle their relationship, with Bruce and Grace later becoming engaged. After his recovery, Bruce returns to his field reporting but takes more pleasure in the simple stories. Bruce and Grace announce their engagement on live TV. The film ends with the beggar who Bruce had previously run into on various occasions finally revealing himself to be God.
Cast[edit]
Jim Carrey as Bruce Nolan
Morgan Freeman as God/Street Beggar
Jennifer Aniston as Grace Connelly
Lisa Ann Walter as Debbie Connelly
Philip Baker Hall as Jack Baylor
Steve Carell as Evan Baxter
Catherine Bell as Susan Ortega
Sally Kirkland as Anita Mann
Nora Dunn as Ally Loman
Eddie Jemison as Bobby
Micah Stephen Williams as boy on bike
Tony Bennett as himself
Juan Valdez as himself
John Murphy as himself
Madeline Lovejoy as Zoe
Noel Gugliemi as hood
Reception and controversy [edit]
The film received mixed reviews, with a score of 48% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 184 reviews[4] and a weighted average score of 46/100 on Metacritic.[5] It received a B rating at Box Office Mojo.
Controversy[edit]
The film was banned in Egypt due to pressure from Muslims who objected to the portrayal of God as a visually ordinary man. Bans in both Malaysia and Egypt were eventually lifted after the Censorship Board gave it the "18PL" rating (suitable for adult viewers only for a combination of two or more of the given parental ratings).[6][7][8] Also, since God contacts Bruce using an actual phone number rather than a number in the standard fictional 555 telephone exchange, several people and groups sharing this number subsequently received hundreds of phone calls from people wanting to talk to God. The producers noted that the number (776-2323) was not in use in the area code (716, which was never specified on screen) in the film's story but did not check anywhere else. The home video and television versions changed it to the fictional 555-0123.[9][10][11]
Sequels[edit]
On June 22, 2007, an independent sequel to Bruce Almighty entitled Evan Almighty was released, with Steve Carell reprising his role as Evan Baxter and Morgan Freeman returning to his role as God. Although Shadyac returned to direct the sequel, neither Carrey nor Aniston were involved with the film, though Carrey's character, Bruce, is mentioned in the film's teaser trailer. The sequel was not as well received as the predecessor, with a 23% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a rating of 37/100 on Metacritic.
On January 11, 2012, a direct sequel to Bruce Almighty was announced, with Carrey returning to star.[12]
Soundtrack[edit]

Bruce Almighty: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Soundtrack album by John Debney, Various Artists

Released
June 3, 2003
Genre
Soundtrack
Label
Varèse Sarabande

Professional ratings

Review scores

Source
Rating
AllMusic 3/5 stars [13]
The soundtrack was released on June 3, 2003 by Varèse Sarabande. Tracks 8-13 are from the score composed by John Debney, performed by the Hollywood Studio Symphony (conducted by Pete Anthony) with Brad Dechter and Sandy De Crescent.
Track listing1."One of Us" - Joan Osborne
2."God Shaped Hole" - Plumb
3."You're a God" - Vertical Horizon
4."The Power" - Snap!
5."A Little Less Conversation" - Elvis vs. JXL
6."The Rockafeller Skank" - Fatboy Slim
7."God Gave Me Everything" - Mick Jagger featuring Lenny Kravitz
8."AB Positive"
9."Walking on Water"
10."Bruce Meets God"
11."Bruce's Prayer"
12."Grace's Prayer"
13."Seventh at Seven"
Adaptations[edit]
God Tussi Great Ho
Vaah! Life Ho To Aisi
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ "BRUCE ALMIGHTY (12A)". British Board of Film Classification. 2003-05-22. Retrieved 2012-01-13.
2.^ Jump up to: a b c "Box Office Mojo - Bruce Almighty". Box Office Mojo. Amazon.com.
3.Jump up ^ "Bruce Blesses Memorial Weekend with $85.73 Million".
4.Jump up ^ Rotten Tomatoes on Bruce Almighty
5.Jump up ^ Metacritic on Bruce Almighty
6.Jump up ^ "Middle East Online".
7.Jump up ^ "Bruce Almighty (2003) - Trivia".
8.Jump up ^ "Malaysian Muslims call for ban on movie, AFP, Fri July 13, 2007".
9.Jump up ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/3033576.stm
10.Jump up ^ http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-03-29/entertainment/sc-mov-0330-movie-phone-numbers-20110329_1_number-customer-service-representative-dial
11.Jump up ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0315327/trivia?ref_=tt_trv_trv
12.Jump up ^ Sheridan, Michael (January 11, 2012). "‘Bruce Almighty’ gets a sequel with Jim Carrey". Daily News. Retrieved 2012-01-31.
13.Jump up ^ Phares, Heather. "Review: Bruce Almighty: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack". AllMusic. Retrieved 30 August 2009.
External links[edit]
 Wikiquote has quotations related to: Bruce Almighty
Official website
Bruce Almighty at the Internet Movie Database
Bruce Almighty at AllMovie
Bruce Almighty at Box Office Mojo
Bruce Almighty at Rotten Tomatoes
Bruce Almighty at Metacritic


[hide]
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Films directed by Tom Shadyac


Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994) ·
 The Nutty Professor (1996) ·
 Liar Liar (1997) ·
 Patch Adams (1998) ·
 Dragonfly (2002) ·
 Bruce Almighty (2003) ·
 Evan Almighty (2007) ·
 I Am (2010)
 

  


Categories: 2003 films
English-language films
2000s comedy films
American films
American fantasy-comedy films
Films directed by Tom Shadyac
Buffalo, New York in fiction
God portrayed in fiction
Films about television
Films set in New York
Religious comedy films
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Bruce Almighty

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Bruce Almighty
A man with the world attached to his finger by a piece of rosary
Theatrical release poster

Directed by
Tom Shadyac
Produced by
Tom Shadyac
Jim Carrey
James D. Brubaker
Michael Bostick
Steve Koren
Mark O'Keefe

Screenplay by
Steve Koren
Mark O'Keefe
Steve Oedekerk

Story by
Steve Koren
Mark O'Keefe

Starring
Jim Carrey
Morgan Freeman
Jennifer Aniston
Lisa Ann Walter
Philip Baker Hall
Steve Carell

Music by
John Debney
Cinematography
Dean Semler
Edited by
Scott Hill

Production
 company

Spyglass Entertainment
Shady Acres Entertainment
Pit Bull Productions

Distributed by
Universal Pictures
(North America)
Buena Vista Pictures
(International)

Release dates

May 23, 2003


Running time
 101 minutes[1]
Country
United States
Language
English
Budget
$81 million[2]
Box office
$484.6 million[2]
Bruce Almighty is a 2003 American religious comedy-drama film directed by Tom Shadyac, written by Steve Koren, Mark O'Keefe and Steve Oedekerk and stars Jim Carrey as Bruce Nolan, a down-on-his-luck TV reporter who complains to God (Morgan Freeman) that he is not doing his job correctly, and is offered the chance to try being God himself for one week. This is Shadyac and Carrey's third collaboration after working together on Shadyac's first film, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, in 1994 and Liar Liar in 1997.
When released in American theaters in May 2003, it took the #1 spot at the box office, grossing $85.89 million—higher than the release of Pearl Harbor, making it the highest-rated Memorial Day weekend opening of any film in motion picture history (until the release of X-Men: The Last Stand in 2006).[3] The movie surprised media analysts when it beat The Matrix Reloaded after its first week of release. By the time it left theaters in December 2003, it took in a United States domestic total of over $242 million and $484 million worldwide.[2]


Contents  [hide]
1 Plot
2 Cast
3 Reception and controversy  3.1 Controversy
3.2 Sequels
4 Soundtrack
5 Adaptations
6 References
7 External links

Plot[edit]
Bruce Nolan (Jim Carrey) is a television field reporter for Eyewitness News at WKBW-TV in Buffalo, New York, but desires to be the news anchorman. He is in a healthy relationship with his girlfriend Grace Connelly (Jennifer Aniston), but also has a mild crush on his co-worker, Susan Ortega (Catherine Bell), who barely seems to notice him. Bruce however continues to suffer unfortunate events and it reaches his breaking point when he is passed over for promotion by his rival, Evan Baxter (Steve Carell), who then steals dialogue from Bruce's segment in accepting the promotion on-air. Bruce becomes furious and aggressively and profanely criticizes the station during his first live report, leading to his dismissal from the station. Following a series of other misfortunes, Bruce complains that God (Morgan Freeman) is "the one that should be fired."
Bruce later receives a message on his pager, directing him to an empty warehouse where he meets God. God offers to give Bruce His powers to prove that He is doing the job correctly. God tells Bruce that he cannot tell others he has God's powers, nor can he use the powers to alter free will. Bruce ignores God and is initially jubilant with the powers, using them for personal gain, such as training his dog to use the toilet, chasing away thugs by spewing out a swarm of hornets, and sexually impressing Grace. Bruce also finds ways of using the powers to cause miraculous events to occur at otherwise mundane events that he covers, such as discovering Jimmy Hoffa's body or causing a meteor to harmlessly land near a cook-off, earning him his job back. Bruce then uses his powers to cause Evan to make a fool out of himself on-air, causing Evan to be fired in favor of Bruce as the new anchor.
After taking Grace to a fancy dinner and telling her he made anchor (angering her, as she thought he was going to propose), Bruce begins to hear voices in his head. He re-encounters God, who confronts Bruce on using his powers for personal gain and not helping people. He also explains that the voices are prayers to God that Bruce must deal with. Bruce creates a computerized email-like system to receive the prayers and respond, but finds that the influx is far too great for him to handle—even though God had stated that Bruce is only receiving prayers from the Buffalo area – and sets the program to automatically answer Yes to every prayer.
Bruce attends a party celebrating his promotion. When Grace arrives, she finds Bruce being seduced and kissed by Susan, and quickly leaves. Bruce follows Grace, but she is heartbroken and will not listen to him. He tries to use his powers to convince Grace to stay but cannot influence her free will. As Bruce looks around, he realizes that the city has fallen into chaos due to his actions. Bruce returns to God, who explains that He can't solve all the problems, and that Bruce must figure out a way to solve it himself. Bruce then begins to solve his problems in life practically, such as helping a man whose car broke down across the street, training his dog normally, and allowing Evan to have his job back. Bruce returns to his computer system and goes about answering prayers as best he can. As he reads through them, he finds a prayer from Grace, wishing for Bruce's success and well-being. As he reads it, another prayer from Grace arrives, this one wishing not to be in love with Bruce anymore.
Bruce is stunned and walks alone on a highway, asking God to take back His powers and letting his fate be in His hands. Bruce is suddenly struck by a truck, and regains consciousness in a white void. God appears and asks Bruce what he really wants; Bruce admits that he only wants to make sure Grace finds a man that would make her happy. God agrees and Bruce finds himself in the hospital, shortly after being revived—near miraculously—by the doctors. Grace arrives and the two rekindle their relationship, with Bruce and Grace later becoming engaged. After his recovery, Bruce returns to his field reporting but takes more pleasure in the simple stories. Bruce and Grace announce their engagement on live TV. The film ends with the beggar who Bruce had previously run into on various occasions finally revealing himself to be God.
Cast[edit]
Jim Carrey as Bruce Nolan
Morgan Freeman as God/Street Beggar
Jennifer Aniston as Grace Connelly
Lisa Ann Walter as Debbie Connelly
Philip Baker Hall as Jack Baylor
Steve Carell as Evan Baxter
Catherine Bell as Susan Ortega
Sally Kirkland as Anita Mann
Nora Dunn as Ally Loman
Eddie Jemison as Bobby
Micah Stephen Williams as boy on bike
Tony Bennett as himself
Juan Valdez as himself
John Murphy as himself
Madeline Lovejoy as Zoe
Noel Gugliemi as hood
Reception and controversy [edit]
The film received mixed reviews, with a score of 48% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 184 reviews[4] and a weighted average score of 46/100 on Metacritic.[5] It received a B rating at Box Office Mojo.
Controversy[edit]
The film was banned in Egypt due to pressure from Muslims who objected to the portrayal of God as a visually ordinary man. Bans in both Malaysia and Egypt were eventually lifted after the Censorship Board gave it the "18PL" rating (suitable for adult viewers only for a combination of two or more of the given parental ratings).[6][7][8] Also, since God contacts Bruce using an actual phone number rather than a number in the standard fictional 555 telephone exchange, several people and groups sharing this number subsequently received hundreds of phone calls from people wanting to talk to God. The producers noted that the number (776-2323) was not in use in the area code (716, which was never specified on screen) in the film's story but did not check anywhere else. The home video and television versions changed it to the fictional 555-0123.[9][10][11]
Sequels[edit]
On June 22, 2007, an independent sequel to Bruce Almighty entitled Evan Almighty was released, with Steve Carell reprising his role as Evan Baxter and Morgan Freeman returning to his role as God. Although Shadyac returned to direct the sequel, neither Carrey nor Aniston were involved with the film, though Carrey's character, Bruce, is mentioned in the film's teaser trailer. The sequel was not as well received as the predecessor, with a 23% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a rating of 37/100 on Metacritic.
On January 11, 2012, a direct sequel to Bruce Almighty was announced, with Carrey returning to star.[12]
Soundtrack[edit]

Bruce Almighty: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Soundtrack album by John Debney, Various Artists

Released
June 3, 2003
Genre
Soundtrack
Label
Varèse Sarabande

Professional ratings

Review scores

Source
Rating
AllMusic 3/5 stars [13]
The soundtrack was released on June 3, 2003 by Varèse Sarabande. Tracks 8-13 are from the score composed by John Debney, performed by the Hollywood Studio Symphony (conducted by Pete Anthony) with Brad Dechter and Sandy De Crescent.
Track listing1."One of Us" - Joan Osborne
2."God Shaped Hole" - Plumb
3."You're a God" - Vertical Horizon
4."The Power" - Snap!
5."A Little Less Conversation" - Elvis vs. JXL
6."The Rockafeller Skank" - Fatboy Slim
7."God Gave Me Everything" - Mick Jagger featuring Lenny Kravitz
8."AB Positive"
9."Walking on Water"
10."Bruce Meets God"
11."Bruce's Prayer"
12."Grace's Prayer"
13."Seventh at Seven"
Adaptations[edit]
God Tussi Great Ho
Vaah! Life Ho To Aisi
References[edit]
1.Jump up ^ "BRUCE ALMIGHTY (12A)". British Board of Film Classification. 2003-05-22. Retrieved 2012-01-13.
2.^ Jump up to: a b c "Box Office Mojo - Bruce Almighty". Box Office Mojo. Amazon.com.
3.Jump up ^ "Bruce Blesses Memorial Weekend with $85.73 Million".
4.Jump up ^ Rotten Tomatoes on Bruce Almighty
5.Jump up ^ Metacritic on Bruce Almighty
6.Jump up ^ "Middle East Online".
7.Jump up ^ "Bruce Almighty (2003) - Trivia".
8.Jump up ^ "Malaysian Muslims call for ban on movie, AFP, Fri July 13, 2007".
9.Jump up ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/3033576.stm
10.Jump up ^ http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2011-03-29/entertainment/sc-mov-0330-movie-phone-numbers-20110329_1_number-customer-service-representative-dial
11.Jump up ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0315327/trivia?ref_=tt_trv_trv
12.Jump up ^ Sheridan, Michael (January 11, 2012). "‘Bruce Almighty’ gets a sequel with Jim Carrey". Daily News. Retrieved 2012-01-31.
13.Jump up ^ Phares, Heather. "Review: Bruce Almighty: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack". AllMusic. Retrieved 30 August 2009.
External links[edit]
 Wikiquote has quotations related to: Bruce Almighty
Official website
Bruce Almighty at the Internet Movie Database
Bruce Almighty at AllMovie
Bruce Almighty at Box Office Mojo
Bruce Almighty at Rotten Tomatoes
Bruce Almighty at Metacritic


[hide]
v ·
 t ·
 e
 
Films directed by Tom Shadyac


Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994) ·
 The Nutty Professor (1996) ·
 Liar Liar (1997) ·
 Patch Adams (1998) ·
 Dragonfly (2002) ·
 Bruce Almighty (2003) ·
 Evan Almighty (2007) ·
 I Am (2010)
 

  


Categories: 2003 films
English-language films
2000s comedy films
American films
American fantasy-comedy films
Films directed by Tom Shadyac
Buffalo, New York in fiction
God portrayed in fiction
Films about television
Films set in New York
Religious comedy films
Spyglass Entertainment films
Universal Pictures films
Touchstone Pictures films






Navigation menu



Create account
Log in



Article

Talk









Read

Edit

View history

















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Italiano
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Српски / srpski
Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски
Suomi
Svenska
Türkçe
Українська
中文
Edit links
This page was last modified on 24 April 2015, at 11:17.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
Privacy policy
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Contact Wikipedia
Developers
Mobile view
Wikimedia Foundation
Powered by MediaWiki
   
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Almighty