The movie follows Brian Cohen (Graham Chapman), a peasant who, through a freakish bit of coincidence, happened to be born just a manger or two from Jesus, and while Jesus shows up only a couple of times in the entire film, it seems like the state of Judea and Jesus' teachings have profound and ... unusual consequences for Brian. Most of Brian's life (after the Three Wise Men mistakenly go to his stall) is spent grinding away as a concessions dealer at the local gladiator coliseum, that is, until the day his mother tells him he is half Roman and his father was a centurion named Naughtius Maximus, but Brian won't accept the possibility that he isn't Jewish. He storms out and joins a local resistance led by Reg (John Cleese) called the People's Front of Judea (not to be confused with the Judean People's Front, mind you) and decides to strike back at Rome.
While working with the PFJ, Brian will have to scribe "Romane Ite Domun" (Romans Go Home) on the city walls while a local centurion (John Cleese) looks on to make sure he remembers how to conjugate his verbs, escape from the clutches of Pontius Pilate (Michael Palin), and somehow end up an apparent prophet and messiah (much to his disliking). Unfortunately for Brian, the local Roman government has a habit of crucifying messiahs (even if they themselves don't claim to be one), so Life of Brian ultimately ends with the death of Brian. But like the song says at the end, "Whenever life gives you a piece of gristle, just give a little whistle."
This movie is just chock full of classic Monty Python humor. Besides the already mentioned gags, there is Pilate's friend Biggus Dickus, ex-lepers, a person who has taken a vow of silence for 12 years (which ends when Brian is escaping from his disciples) and a series of running gags that poke fun at Roman, Judean and Christian history.
Needless to say, this is one of those movies that should be avoided if you are easily offended. While the film itself doesn't portray Christianity or Jesus or the Jewish in any kind of ill light, religion is always a touchy subject and ... well, the movie was banned in Norway for quite a while.
This release isn't just about the digitally cleaned up film though. There are quite a few special features offered as well. Besides commentaries from each of the still living Pythonians, this 2 disc set also contains deleted scenes, the original radio ads and a documentary on Life of Brian called "The Story of Brian," all of which any Python-fan would love to have all in one place.
Quite frankly, this version isn't really meant to bring any new fans into the Monty Python fold. It is mainly geared towards the existing fans that either don't have Life of Brian on DVD already, or can't help themselves and want to see the special features that come with it. If you don't really fall into those categories - this release isn't really for you.
