A Book about the Film Monty Python's Life of Brian: All the References from Assyrians to Zeffirelli - Hardcover

Larsen, Darl

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1538103656 ISBN 13: 9781538103654

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2018

Synopsis

As a follow-up to their first true feature film, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, the comic troupe next decided to tackle a “shadow” version of the Christ story. Shot in the Middle East and produced during Margaret Thatcher’s ascendant years, the film satirized—among other matters—authoritarianism and religious zealotry. Upon its release, Monty Python’s Life of Brian was both a critical and commercial success, and has been since hailed as one of the greatest comedies of all time. But the film also faced backlash from religious groups for its blasphemy, perceived or otherwise.

In A Book about the Film Monty Python's Life of Brian: All of the References from Assyrians to Zeffirelli, Darl Larsen identifies and examines the plethora of cultural, historical, and topical allusions in the film. In this resource, Larsen delineates virtually every allusion and reference that appears in the film—from first-century Jerusalem through 1970s Great Britain. Organized chronologically by scene, the entries in this cultural history cover literary and metaphoric allusions, symbolisms, names, peoples, and places, as well as the many social, cultural, and historical elements that populate this film.

By closely examining each scene, this book explores the Pythons’ comparisons of the Roman and British Empires and of Pilate and Margaret Thatcher. In addition, Larsen helps to situate Life of Brian in the “Jesus” re-examination of the postwar period, while also taking a close look at the terror groups of first-century Judea and the modern world. A Book about the Film Monty Python's Life of Brian will appeal to scholars of history, film, British culture, and pop culture, as well as to the many fans of this iconic group.

About this title

About the Author

Darl Larsen is professor in the media arts department and the Center for Animation at Brigham Young University, where he teaches film, animation, screenwriting, and popular culture studies. He is the author of Monty Python, Shakespeare, and English Renaissance Drama (2003), Monty Python’s Flying Circus: An Utterly Complete, Thoroughly Unillustrated, Absolutely Unauthorized Guide to Possibly All the References (Taylor, 2013), and A Book about Monty Python and the Holy Grail: All the References from African Swallows to Zoot (Rowman & Littlefield, 2019).

Review

Larsen...explicates allusions to the 1979 film Monty Python's Life of Brian with the same exhaustive, erudite attention and unstuffy style as in his similar A Book About the Film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Proceeding sequentially through the film's 31 scenes, and bolstered by copious endnotes and a lengthy bibliography, the author's detailed analysis unearths abundant connections to literature, art, history, religion, economics, sociology, sports, politics, and entertainment and pop culture. Wry comments keep the scholarly text from becoming dry. In the introduction he discusses the comedy troupe's influences and draws parallels between late-1970s Britain and the Pythons' version of the holy land some 2,000 years before: religious and political zealotry, terrorism, protest, and cultural change. The introduction also notes the film's relative lack of historicity (compared to The Holy Grail), emphasizing its reflection of contemporary events and culture. VERDICT The organization (by scene rather than by theme) can make it challenging to mine the gems here, but film students, social and cultural historians, and, naturally, fans, will find riches to pore over.-- Patricia D. Lothrop, Library Journal

Edition details

• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 1538103656
• ISBN 13: 9781538103654
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 496