Life of Brian

Watched: 11th January 2016

Top 250 Position: 172
Rating 8.1/10 from 263,508  IMDb users
Correct at 28th March 2016

Who's in it:
Graham Chapman
John Cleese
Terry Gilliam
Eric Idle
Terry Jones
Michael Palin

Directed By: Terry Jones

Year: 1979

Duration: 1 hour 34 minutes

Accolades: No awards

Plot:

Brian is born on the original Christmas day. In a stable close by Jesus' own birth place. Throughout his life he is mistaken for the messiah and although they take different paths in their lives, through comedic twists and turns, they end up with the same fate.

Interesting Facts About the Film:

• Six cast members played 40 characters.
• One original concept for the film was having Brian be the 13th Apostle, and miss all the critical moments of Jesus' life, like the Last Supper.
• Norway banned the film for one year for blasphemy, then gave it an '18' rating and included a warning from the censors at the beginning. 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, Devon, refused to show the film until September 2008. Aberystwyth, Wales, lifted its local ban in 2009 after cast member Sue Jones-Davies was elected Mayor.

Source IMDb.com

Review

So again here we have an entry from the Monty Python team. I personally wouldn't say it is better than The Holy Grail but it is damned good. I think in comparison to the top 250 position of the Holy Grail, Life of Brian's position of 172 is fair.

Unlike many British comedy movies (I'm thinking of Carry On's etc.) this was filmed in Tunisia which with a budget of $4,000,000 was probably quite an achievement even in the 1970s.

Again we have the team playing multiple roles which adds to the general chaos of the whole thing and adds an element of humour you wouldn't get if each character was played by a different actor. It is as I've said before like a school production. It looks like a lot of fun though.

There are moments of surreal-ness which we have come to know from the Monty Python team, they might not necessarily add to the plot but they are there.

This might not be everyone's cup of tea but, always look on the bright side of life.

In the words of Brian's mum, 'He's not the Messiah. He's a very naughty boy.'

For more information about the film visit the imdb.com page: www.imdb.com/title/tt0079470

Léon: The Professional

Watched: 8th January 2016

Top 250 Position: 27
Rating 8.6/10 from 699,044 IMDb users.
Correct at 28th March 2016

Who's in it:
Jean  Reno
Gary Oldman
Natalie Portman
Danny Aiello
Peter Appel et.al.

Directed and written by: Luc Beeson

Year: 1994

Duration: 1 hour 50 minutes

Accolades: No major film award nominations, but nominated for 7 César Awards (French awards).

Plot:
12 Year Old Mathilda (Portman) witnesses the aftermath of her family being murdered in their apartment. To avoid a similar fate she knocks on the door of her neighbour, Léon (Reno)as shown her mild compassion in the past. Reluctantly Léon takes her in, where she discovers that he is professional assassin and asks him to show her how to be the same. An unlikely friendship emerges as a result.

Interesting Facts About the Film:

• During the filming involving all of the police cars on the street, a man ran from a store he had just robbed. When he encountered the movie set by accident, he saw all of the "police" and gave himself up to a bunch of uniformed extras.
• This is Natalie Portman's motion picture debut. She was 11 when she was cast. She beat out 2,000 other actresses for the role.
• According to Jean Reno, he decided to play Léon as if he were a little mentally slow and emotionally repressed. He felt that this would make audiences relax and realize that he wasn't someone who would take advantage of a vulnerable young girl. Reno claims that for Léon, the possibility of a physical relationship with Mathilda is not even conceivable, and as such, during the scenes when such a relationship is discussed, Reno very much allowed Mathilda to be emotionally in control of the scenes.
• The scene in which Stansfield (Oldman) talks about his appreciation of Ludwig van Beethoven to Mathilda's father was completely improvised. The scene was filmed several times with Gary Oldman giving a different improvised story on each take.
• In a 2014 Playboy interview Gary Oldman said his screaming of the now iconic line 'Bring me everyone!' was improvised to make director  Luc Besson laugh. "In previous takes, I'd just gone, "Bring me everyone," in a regular voice. But then I cued the sound guy to slip off his headphones and I shouted as loud as I could." The yelled take is the one used in the film.
• Both Mathilda and Danny refer to Léon as a "cleaner". The front window of the bodega in Léon's apartment building prominently displays various cleaning products such as Brillo pads, bleach, Ajax, and soap.
• The code that Léon gives Matilda to knock on the door when she returns from getting more milk is two knocks, then one, then two knocks again. 212 is the telephone area code for Manhattan, which is where the story takes place.
• The potted plant Léon nurtures is an Aglaonema, or Chinese evergreen.

Source IMDb.com

Review

I don't know why, but I always thought this movie was French, which had put me off slightly in the past from watching it. How wrong I was. Even if it had been in French it  still would have been a corker of a movie.

The movie is melancholy and not just about ruthless killing. The addition of Mathilda to Léon's life shows his softer side and paternal instincts for the girl who entered his life almost by accident. Even the care he gives to the plant that moves with them wherever they go.

Gary Oldman shines through for his portrayal of a corrupt officer, he plays a very good nutter. (I also found him quite attractive which was slightly scary!)
Don't get me wrong everyone in this plays their parts believably and well. It's hard to believe that Natalie Portman was so young when she played this part, and you can see from this role that she showed great promise as an adult actor.

There are moments when the typical early 90s panpipes are heard, but do you know what, the music is not what this movie is about. You could have had any sort of music and it not matter one jot. The film is brilliant.

Love comes in many different forms which this movie shows and this is just at the right level of appropriateness.

The ending is not what you quite imagine and is a bit of a twist, but when you think about it afterwards you realise how perfect it was. It couldn't really have ended any other way.


For more information about the film visit the imdb.com page: www.imdb.com/title/tt0110413

Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Watched: 7th January 2016

Top 250 Position: 95 (94 when watched)
Rating 8.3/10 from 369,660 users
Correct at 19th March 2016

Who's in it:
Graham Chapman
John Cleese
Eric Idle
Terry Gilliam
Terry Jones
Michael Palin
Connie Booth
Carol Cleveland

Directed By: Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones

Year: 1975

Duration: 1hour 31 minutes

Accolades: No Oscar, Bafta or Golden Globe wins.

Plot: Loosely based around the legend of King Arthur, the Knights of the Round Table and their quest to find the Holy Grail.


Interesting Facts About the Film:

• The famous depiction of galloping horses by using coconut shells (a traditional radio-show sound effect) came about from the purely practical reason that the production simply couldn't afford real horses.
• Michael Palin plays the most characters (12).
• Graham Chapman (as King Arthur) was the only member of the cast to wear real chain mail armor. It weighed about 25 pounds. The rest of the cast wore knitted wool, painted to look like metal.
• The Enchanter's name is Tim because John Cleese forgot the character's original name. He ad-libbed the line, "There are some who call me...Tim".
• Sir-Not-Appearing-In-This-Film is Michael Palin's infant son William.
• Premiere voted this movie as one of "The 50 Greatest Comedies Of All Time" in 2006.
• Patsy only has one line in the movie: "It's only a model."
• Movie was adapted as a Broadway musical in 2006 called "Spamalot".
• Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and Genesis all contributed to the film's budget.

Source IMDb.com

Review

Love them or hate them Monty Python have stood the test of time and here is a fine example of why. So it didn't win any awards, but it is within the top 100 movies, why?
We might not need to know how a sparrow can carry a coconut but I wonder how many people would be able to tell you, if you've never seen the movie you will have no idea what I'm on about.

So you might not understand all of the jokes, but does that matter?

How Monty Python was introduced to me originally was on my 21st Birthday. My dad said that Spamalot (the stage musical based on this movie) was like pantomime for adults and we should go to see it for my birthday. So we did. And I loved it. A perfect portion of silliness, and that's what the movie is too (which I had to watch soon after seeing Spamalot).

You can take many things from Monty Python and apply them to your everyday life, 'tis but a scratch', 'just a flesh wound' and 'I fart in your general direction',  being only a few of many memorable lines.

You see the same actors in multiple roles, which is slightly reminiscent of school plays. It is overacted perfectly and is definitely a spot of light relief in an otherwise drama heavy top 100. If you are expecting a serious film might I suggest you check the synopsis prior to viewing.

So admitedly it isn't heavy on special effects or other things that we expect of our 'modern' blockbusters but that isn't what is required to make this good. It is just a perfect piece of silliness. (obviouxly I'm a little but biased).

Could we possibly say that Monty Python as comic geniuses? You can make your mind up for yourself.

For more information about the film visit the imdb.com page:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0071853/