Blu-ray Review: Life of Brian

THE MOVIE: 4 1/2 stars out of 5

A classic from Monty Python from 1979, the Life Of Brian, pokes fun at the people and times set forth in the New Testament and religion itself. Set in 33 A.D, Judea, the film centers around Brian Cohen, born on the original Christmas day (and mistaken for Jesus Christ born a few doors down) who is caught up as the center of a new religion and is reluctantly mistaken for the promised messiah. The film stars the many faces of Monty Python in multiple roles each, ranging from ex-lepers, Pontius Pilate, haggling merchants, revolutionaries, prophets, religious fanatics and Roman Centurions, culminating with the hilarious Bright Sign of Life scene. Some may regard this film as blasphemous as it pokes fun at early Christianity and religion in general. Don’t count me as a member of that group as I have always appreciated the humor in this this film and the take on religion and life in general it represents.

THE VIDEO: 4 7/8 stars out of 5

This film is the subject of a new restoration and it shows. Encoded with AVC and presented in its original aspect ratio of 1:85:1, this film has never looked better. The image is bright and sharp with excellent detail, shadow detail and deep blacks. The deep blacks result in a very three dimensional image that was a sight to behold. Color accuracy is excellent as are skin tones which are spot on. Other that a few scenes which are a tad on the soft side, I can’t imagine this film looking any better. Unlike Con Air, which failed to live up to my expectations on the video side, this transfer greatly exceeded my expectations. Well done SPHE.

THE AUDIO: 3 1/2 stars out of 5

Life of Brian is presented with two lossless tracks, namely a 5.1 PCM track as well as a Dolby True HD track. Both sounded the same to me. Given that the film was released in 1979 I did not expect much of an audio feast and was not mistaken. This is to be expected as this is a dialogue driven film. The dialogue is well recorded and presented although tad on the thin side. There is little real use of the surrounds with the exception of a few scenes. In any event, this film does not have an immersive sound filed and none was expected. The sound presented is more than acceptable for a film of this type and in no way detracted from my enjoyment of this film.

IN CONCLUSION

A true comedy classic from the folks at Monty Python, this release boasts an excellent transfer and more than acceptable sound track. Highly recommended for fans of comedy films in general and fans of Monty Python in general.

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