Monty Python’s Life of Brian

Monty Python’s Life of Brian

One of the funniest creations to have come from the collective comedy brain that is Monty Python, The Life of Brian is incredibly tame by modern standards, but that didn’t stop it from coming under massive scrutiny from religious groups following its release in 1979. The light-hearted take on one man’s comedic capers after being mistaken for the Messiah rubbed certain religious spoilsports up the wrong way, leading to numerous protests outside movie theaters in the UK and the US on grounds of the movie’s perceived blasphemy. On top of the film’s comments on religious infighting and fanaticism, the scene in which Brian is crucified proved particularly controversial, with some claiming it made a mockery of Jesus’ suffering. The movie was banned in numerous constituencies in Britain, as well as a handful of countries (it was famously sold in Sweden as “The film so funny that it was banned in Norway”), with some of those bans continuing on into the 21st century. So this is why they say religion lacks a sense of humor…