If you ever get a chance to see it, **Spam-a-Lot ** was great. I had to wait 6 months for the tickets and I would be happy to see it again.
It is probably just a wild internet rumor but I heard Idle is thinking about a collaberative effort to Stage Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy as a Broadway and London Play next.
Jim
The Holy Grail was just a flesh wound. Life of Brian is better all round. Oh yeah, how much? A lot!
regarding the last supper…
Paul - So, you’re going to sit over there are you?
Peter - Well I thought I might.
Paul - You thought you might?!
Peter - Well, we can’t all sit next to Jeezy Chreezy.
Jesus - Don’t call me Jeezy Chreezy!
Paul - So you’re just going to take up an opposite position, are you?
Peter - I would never–!
Paul - Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Peter - No, no, no…
Um, if you grew up in rural northwest Ohio, then you know exactly the types of places where the movie was unlikely to be shown. You know, the places where official bible study classes still exist in the high schools.
The main trouble was in the Bible Belt, of course; I’ll take a day soon and look up some old 1979 or 1980 newspapers to pinpoint exactly where it had the most troubles. 
DSYoungEsq writes:
> Um, if you grew up in rural northwest Ohio, then you know exactly the types of
> places where the movie was unlikely to be shown. You know, the places where
> official bible study classes still exist in the high schools.
Once again, I have no idea what you’re talking about. That doesn’t match with my observations at all. Have you actually been to any of these places, or are you trying to extrapolate the attitude in these places without having ever spoken to the people there.
is or was? it was banned in certain cities in the UK when it was first released. i’m not sure where it would stand now if it were re-released at the flicks.
I’m going with the Holy Grail over Life of Brian. Holy Grail was more Python-esque, a bunch of zany sketches in a loose plot structure made for far bigger laughs, IMO. Life of Brian was great as well, but Holy Grail was just better, if just for the Knights Who Say “NI!”, alone ("…cut down the tallest tree in the forest wiiiiiith a HERRING!") :D.
Um, check where I live. And teach. And visit. And know people. :rolleyes: :smack:
“Life of Brian” had a limited 25th anniversary re-release in the U.S. that more or less coincided with the release of “The Passion of The Christ” a couple of years ago. It was really only in a few art houses, none of which were near me, unfortunately.
Nothing specifically about Ohio, but this site talks about protests in the US and UK over Life of Brian’s release. In particular:
See, the stuff that Miller cites is what leads me to pronounce Life of Brian to be superior to Holy Grail.
I mean, pissing off Jews, Catholics, and Protestants is some kind of a Triple Crown, isn’t it?
Seriously, I think that those of you who vote for Grail on the basis of it being a superior collection of sketches are missing the point.
Grail, due to its sketch-like structure, was essentially And now for Something Completely Different tied together by a medieval theme. It basically felt like–and seemed to only aspire to be–another episode of the TV show, up until the very end when Gilliam directed the scene with the dragon boat coming out of the fog. Only then do you realize how uncinematic the movie has been to that point.
Brian, OTOH, was a fully-fledged movie, which skillfully balanced a serious message with massive amounts of silliness. It has both cinematic and thematic gravitas that Grail lacks.
I freely admit that the differences between the two movies can largely be attributed to budget. Nonetheless, nobody can deny that Brian has a higher ambition that is missing in Grail, as if the Pythons were starting to figure out that they wanted their movies to be something more than extensions of their TV show.
It’s kind of sad that they couldn’t continue in this vein and instead made the muddled, messy Meaning of Life. (Although I have to say I haven’t seen that one in several years; I remember that Gilliam’s Crimson Assurance segment is badly misplaced and really spoiled the entire movie. From what I’ve read I should watch it again and skip that part, perhaps my opinion of the movie will improve.)
Let’s just say this:
Life of Brian is the more important and socially significant film.
Holy Grail is the sillier of the two.
Which one you regard as “the better Python film” then depends on your point of view as to whether silliness or importance is what ultimately constitutes Python cinematic quality.
My vote’s for silliness.
But then, you’re talking to someone who Netflixed “Jackass” and watched all the extras. Twice.
You’ll be missing out if you do. It’s a brilliant short film, especially if you’re a fan of Gilliam’s directorial efforts.
I think Brian stands up quite well in the silliness department. And the Judean People’s Front agrees with me. I just think it has an added dimension to it that Grail lacks.
But I love 'em both.
Oh, I agree it’s brilliant. I’m saying it is completely out of place at the front of that movie. It works fine as a short, and I suspect that if I skip that chapter of the Meaning of Life DVD then the rest of the movie will make more sense.
speaking of budget, from the extras on the meaning of life dvd, gilliam admitted that nobody knew just how much over budget he was going with his ‘little’ film. the other pythons would pop on to his sound stage and marvel at how much he was achieving with the small amont of money they thought he was spending!
imho, i think The Meaning of Life is more episodic than The Holy Grail; this feeling isn’t helped by the gilliam short, however on it’s own it’s great fun.
i do however think the films, when viewed as a bunch of sketches, were much more consistent than the tv shows, which were very hit and miss. still going with brian for cinematic enjoyment.
DSYoungEsq writes:
> Um, check where I live. And teach. And visit. And know people.
Yes, I know that you live in northwest Ohio. The question is if you live in rural northwest Ohio. I grew up on a farm there, outside of a town of 300 people. Findlay was the big city for us. I want to know if you live in Toledo and never visit anything outside of it. I presume from your screen name that you’re a lawyer.
Do you want to have the full argument, or were you thinking of taking a course?
Sorry, no. Just because you don’t agree with some people’s criteria for which is the better movie doesn’t mean they are “missing the point.” That’s a pretty condescending statement to make.
Personally, I’d give the nod to Life of Brian. Both movies have some brilliantly funny scenes, both have a very literate basis underlying their silliness, but Grail just fizzles out and wanders out of the theater instead of actually having a decent ending.
Not sure I follow you. How does the short make the rest of the movie less sensical?
Splitter!
I’m not condescending if you just accept that my opinion is and always will be correct. The correct word would then be ‘enlightening’.
Seriously, it’s just my opinion. Lighten up.
The short throws off the entire movie. Take it out and what’s left may be more coherent. (I haven’t seen the whole thing in several years; I’m irked that it was recently on HDNet and I didn’t record it.)