Review of Life of Brian (1979) by Jameson K — 04 Jan 2015

The funniest movie ever made? Well, it's up there (even though I prefer a couple of Zucker-Abrahams-Zucker flicks). Some bits drag, or get pushed a tad too far, but very few of them. Glorious satire of SO many things, religion being just one of them.

Too many glorious sequences (the stoning, the bartering, the grammar class, the shoe) and quotes to list. "All right, but apart from the sanitation, the medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, the fresh-water system, and public health, what have the Romans ever done for us?" is a famous one.

But my favourites - "You lucky, lucky bastard" and "Crucifixion? Good. One cross each, line of the left, out the door." - are as much about the genius delivery as the words themselves.

And the film gets my vote for the best closing song in film history. So great (although granted, very British humour - many won't get it - like my wife, who was baffled throughout).