Trivia for
Life of Brian (1979) More at IMDbPro »

• Spike Milligan was holidaying in Tunisia while the film was being shot. When the Python team realized he was nearby they offered him a part in the film.
  
  
• Despite persistent rumors, there was never any intention to use the title "Jesus Christ's Lust For Glory". The true story is that during production of Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975), the troupe became increasing irritated by the press, who seemed to always ask the same questions, such as "What will your next project be?" One day, Eric Idle flippantly answered, "Jesus Christ's Lust For Glory". Having discovered that this answer quickly shut up reporters, the group adopted it as their stock answer. After production completed, they did some serious thinking about it, and realized that while satirizing Christ himself was out of the question, they could create a parody of first-century life. An early idea for a scene involved Jesus, a skilled carpenter frustrated by being crucified on a poorly built cross.
  
  
• Eric Idle originally recorded the song "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" in his normal singing voice. After deciding this was not quite right, he re-recorded it with a Cockney accent, singing the new dub in a hotel room with mattresses pushed up against the walls. The line, "Bernie, I said, they'll never make their money back" refers to Lord Bernard Delfont pulling out of financing the movie at the last minute. In the 2000s, the song was reused in the musical "Spamalot," adapted from Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975).
  
  
• Six cast members played 40 various characters
  
  
• Originally financed by EMI, but they backed out when they believed the script to be blasphemous. EMI was sued by the Pythons and settled out of court. Finance was then arranged through George Harrison, who thought it was the last chance to have another Python film, creating Handmade Films for this purpose.
  
  
• Due to Terry Jones' refusal to allow certain cuts, this film was banned for one year in Norway for blasphemy, being released with an '18' rating and a warning from the censors at the beginning. Thus, it has been marketed in Sweden as "The film that is so funny that it was banned in Norway!" Ireland banned the film for blasphemy until 1987. Torbay Council in Devon refused to show the film until September 2008. Aberystwyth in Wales finally lifted its local ban in 2009 after cast member Sue Jones-Davies was elected mayor of the town.
  
  
• Cameo: [George Harrison] Mr. Papadopolous, owner of "The Mount", who shakes hands with Brian and gives a very Liverpudlian "'ullo". However, this is the voice of Michael Palin who had to imitate Harrison in post-dubbing when the original recording proved unusable.
  
  
• Graham Chapman, a qualified doctor, would hold surgeries for the cast and crew after a day's work on the set.
  
  
• The scene where Brian and the others are on their crosses, was recorded early in the morning, and it was very cold outside. That's why we can see that John Cleese is wearing clothes and the others are not - he couldn't stand the cold.
  
  
• John Cleese originally campaigned to play the part of Brian, eager to expand his range with his first proper sustained film role. The remainder of the group favored Graham Chapman, and Cleese soon agreed that Chapman was better suited and stepped aside.
  
  
• When Michael Palin as Pontius Pilate addressed the soldiers daring them to laugh, he was truly daring them. The soldier extras were ordered by the Pythons to stand there and not laugh but not told what Palin was going to do.
  
  
• The script was written in the Caribbean, where the Pythons hobnobbed with (among others) Keith Moon, the drummer from The Who Moon was slated to play a street prophet in the scene where Brian hides among them. Eric Idle saw Moon the night of his death, and remembers him expressing excitement about the role, which eventually went to Terry Jones. The script is dedicated to Moon.
  
  
• Theatrically re-released in the US on 30 April 2004 for its 25th anniversary, two months after the theatrical release of The Passion of the Christ (2004).
  
  
• John Cleese wanted George Lazenby to play the part of Jesus. He said it would be in his opinion absolutely hilarious, and he wanted the tagline of the film to be "George Lazenby IS Jesus Christ". But when the film's producers contacted Lazenby's agent they were informed that Lazenby was overseas working on another film project and was unavailable. Kenneth Colley was then cast as Jesus.
  
  
• The only character to appear in all four Python films (And Now for Something Completely Different (1971), Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975), The Meaning of Life (1983) and this one) is God.
  
  
• According to the diaries of Michael Palin a possible title was "Brian of Nazareth", which was strongly favored by Palin, Graham Chapman and Eric Idle. In the end this was never used, perhaps to avoid title comparisons with "Jesus of Nazareth" (1977), whose leftover sets were used for filming parts of this film. However, when the film was released in Italy in the early 1990s, it was titled "Brian di Nazareth." For some reason, there was no mention that it was made in 1979. The success was such that And Now for Something Completely Different (1971) was also released theatrically.
  
  
• Diana Quick, Maureen Lipman and Judy Loe auditioned for the role of Judith. Quick was offered the role but had to withdraw, owing to contract commitments with the Royal Shakespeare Company.
  
  
• To receive a 'AA' certificate in the UK (allowing an age audience of under 18), the word "cunt" had to be removed from the sequence where John Cleese blames Brian for allowing the Romans to almost discover the secret hideout of the resistance. The word was dubbed to 'klutz' (although it is quite obvious to the audience what Cleese is saying).
  
  
• In the interview section of Monty Python's Flying Circus: Live at Aspen (1998) (TV), John Cleese confides that, since there were massive protests against the movie from all denominations of Christianity, he would joke with Michael Palin: "We've brought them all together for the first time in 2000 years!"
  
  
• Was voted the funniest comedy ever in Channel Four's (UK) "The 50 Greatest Comedy Films", beating American Pie (1999), Groundhog Day (1993), Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999) and The Full Monty (1997) for the top spot.
  
  
• The Pythons all seem to agree that they were at their peak with this film. They wrote in beautiful surroundings by the sea; Graham Chapman had finally dried out and no longer had the DTs, nor did he have to get sloshed to appear focused; there were no last-minute directorial changes as in "Holy Grail"; they filmed in a location with very agreeable weather (unlike "Holy Grail"); and they all feel that this was their best writing effort. (This is ironic, considering the level of controversy surrounding the film's release.)
  
  
• During the Mr.Papadopolous scene (played by George Harrison), Michael Palin's son Tom appears uncredited. (Tom Palin was the only Python child that wanted to be in the film.) Michael Palin later joked that at least his son would be able to tell people he appeared in a scene with both the Pythons and a Beatle.
  
  
• After the first take of the scene where a nude Brian (Graham Chapman) addresses the crowd from his window, Terry Jones pulled Chapman aside and said "I think we can see that you're not Jewish", referring to Chapman being uncircumcised. This was corrected in subsequent takes with the application of a rubber band.
  
  
• Michael Palin dubbed one of his characters 'Lauretta' as a reference to friend Marty Feldman's wife.
  
  
• Some of the snack items that Brian sells at the games: Wolf Nipple Chips, Dromedary Pretzels, Jaguar Ear Lobes, Tuscany Fried Bat and Otter Noses.
  
  
• The shots of all the people walking towards the mount at the beginning of the movie were accidental. It was late afternoon when they were shooting this scene, and suddenly, all the Tunisian extras left, as all the women had to prepare dinner for their families. The sweeping shots at the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount sequence are of all the extras returning to the set.
  
  
• Though the movie has been directed by Terry Jones only, to avoid the frictions and conflicts there were in Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975), Terry Gilliam directed at least two scenes: the very first one, with the arrival of the Wise Men and the Nativity, and the abduction of Brian by the aliens, as explained in the commentary.
  
  
• During the Venice Film Festival, the UAAR (Italian Union of Rationalist Atheists and Agnostics) assigns the Premio Brian (Brian Award) to the most rationalist/atheist movie presented to the Festival. The name of the award is dedicated to this movie.
  
  

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