The Life of Brian is a more realistic portrayal of Jesus than the Bible and should not have been banned, its editor has said.
Julian Doyle says the film, which was released 45 years ago today, is more authentic and accurate portrayal of Jesus Christ than the teachings of the Church and the Bible combined, especially for the controversial crucifixion scene.
Life Of Brian is no more offensive to Christians than Andrew Lloyd Webbers Jesus Christ Superstar, according to Doyle, who said he is amazed the film was ever banned.
He said those behind the prohibition of the cult comedy were as clueless about history as the films hapless main character, Brian Cohen.
In the movie, Brian, a likeable but unlucky man young Judaean man, was born on the same day as Jesus in the stable next door and spends his life being mistaken for the Messiah.
The film, described at the time as the most blasphemous ever made, was banned for a year in Norway, for eight years in Ireland, and for more than a decade in Italy.
The editor of Life of Brian has said that the movie is a more realistic portrayal of Jesus than the Bible and should not have been banned (pictured: Eric Idle and Graham Chapman)
Julian Doyle (pictured) says the film - 45 years old on Friday - is more authentic and accurate portrayal of Jesus Christ than the teachings of the Church and the Bible combined
Behind the scenes photographs from filming on the set of Monty Pythons Life of Brian in 1979
Screenings were also cancelled in cinemas across the US and the UK following protests from religious leaders and nuns.
A ban in Aberystwyth, Wales, lasted three decades and was only lifted in 2009 after one of the stars, Sue Jones-Davies, who played Brians love interest Judith Iscariot, became town mayor.
But Doyle, the films editor, who also worked on Python favourites The Holy Grail and Meaning of Life, said Life of Brian was not a mockery of Jesus or Christianity at all.
He said the film, which hit cinemas on November 8, 1979, was simply intended as a parody of human behaviour and the comedic tendency of people to blindly follow leaders.
If you look at the film from an historical point of view, youll realise that it is a far more authentic and accurate portrayal of Jesus Christ than the teachings of the Church and the Bible combined, Doyle said.
He said the films crucifixion scene, which caused outrage among Christian groups worldwide, was a more historically accurate portrayal of Jesus than other films, since the Bible is full of contradictions on Jesus, like how he did within hours of being nailed to the cross, which Doyle said would actually take days.
Doyle added that the biblical story of Jesus carrying his own cross would have been inaccurate, as his team found out while filming.
The funny thing is that while the Pythons only ever intended to make a comedy film, they intuitively hit on a more realistic portrayal of Jesus and his times because they followed reason rather than faith, Doyle added.
This has obviously made a lot of Christians unhappy, but it stands up to scrutiny and if you are seeking to learn about the life of the real Jesus then Pythons Life of Brian is, in my view, just as valid as any other portrayal of Jesus including the Churchs teachings.
The hordes of placard-waving protesters who misunderstood the films satire and took offence to its storyline - and to its infamous crucifixion scene - were no better than a Gumby, he added.
A Gumby was a recurring Python character with extremely limited intelligence.
Doyle also said he believes song Always Look on the Bright Side of Life from the Monty Python movie should be sung on BBCs Songs Of Praise.
In the movie, Brian (centre), a likeable but unlucky man, was born in the stable next door to Jesus and spends his life being mistaken for the Messiah
Unlike cast members John Cleese, Michael Palin (pictured), Graham Chapman, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Terry Gilliam, Doyle has remained tight-lipped about the backlash before now
Behind the scenes photographs from filming on the set of Monty Pythons Life of Brian in 1979
Unlike cast members John Cleese, Michael Palin, Graham Chapman, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Terry Gilliam, Doyle has remained tight-lipped about the backlash before now.
But he broke his silence at the launch of his new book The After-Life of Brian, which has been released to coincide with the films 45th anniversary and which separates fact from fiction about the life and death of Jesus Christ.
Doyle, 81, who spent four decades researching the book, said Life of Brian is no more disrespectful of the Messiah than any other creative representation of Jesus. But, he joked that the Pythons themselves should be burned at the stake for challenging the biblical account of Jesus life.
He said: The politicians, the censors, and, of course, the placard-waving mobs of protesters completely misunderstood Life of Brian.
Many were as clearly as dim-witted as a Gumby because they simply didnt grasp the fact that we werent mocking Jesus or Christians at all but simply making a film that satirised societys comedic tendency to follow religious, political and business leaders like sheep.
If you look at the film from an historical point of view, youll realise that it is a far more authentic and accurate portrayal of Jesus Christ than the teachings of the Church and the Bible combined.
So describing Life of Brian as blasphemous is as nonsensical and ignorant as calling Jesus Chris Superstar blasphemous, too. And quite clearly, Webbers musical is about as far from as blasphemous as you can get.
If you really want to get upset about the film then it should be over its historical accuracy, which brings the biblical narrative into serious question.
In the past, this would have been considered "heresy" so perhaps the Pythons should have been burned at the stake!
Doyle, whose feature film credits also include Time Bandits and Brazil, added: I was amazed when Life of Brian was banned, and Im still amazed that Always Look on the Bright Side of Life never got a regular slot on Songs of Praise.
I mean, its the most popular choice of song for funerals in the UK, so its being blasted out of churches all the time!
One memorable scene has another of the victims being crucified, Mr Cheeky, played by Eric Idle, tell Brian, Weve got a couple of days up here
One moment which didnt make the cut would have been Jesus’s embarrassed father trying to explain the Virgin Birth to a group of his male friends. Pictured are Michael Palin and Eric Idle
And as the cast discovered, the biblical story of Jesus carrying his own full-size cross would have been impossible
Upon its release the film, and its crucifixion scene in particular-ending with Eric Idle singing Always Look on the Bright Side of Life-caused outrage among Christian groups worldwide.
Screenings were met by protests and the movie - which was given a X adult rating - was subsequently banned in numerous countries.
But Doyle said that Life of Brian presents a more historically accurate portrayal of Jesus and his times than any other movie. Not only that, he reckons it is more accurate than the biblical story of Jesus, which he says is full of contradictions.
In the Bible, for example, Jesus died within hours of being nailed to the cross, but his death would have in fact taken days to occur as other crucifixion scenes did in the movie.
One memorable scene has another of the victims being crucified, Mr Cheeky, played by Eric Idle, tell Brian, Weve got a couple of days up here.
And as the cast discovered, the biblical story of Jesus carrying his own full-size cross would have been impossible.
In the film, Mr Cheekys comment that they have plenty of time on the cross is historically accurate because what is there to kill someone, apart from exposure to the elements and dehydration? Doyle said.
He added: In Life of Brian, we made small crosses for the actors to carry, because anything larger would have been impossible to shift.
Christian artwork often shows the cross that Jesus was raised upon to be a towering thing but he would have needed to be a powerlifter to have any chance of getting that his shoulders, let alone dragging it along.
In fact, Doyle believes from his research that Jesus may not have been crucified at all but rather stoned to death in much the same way as another famous scene in the film.
Confusingly, the Bible contradicts itself on stoning as a means of execution for Jesus crime, blasphemy, which many have taken to mean that Jesus couldnt possibly have been stoned for his crime, he said.
Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam and Michael Palin in Monty Pythons Life Of Brian
Life Of Brian was banned in several countries, including Norway and Ireland, and by councils across Britain when it was released in 1979. Pictured is a scene from the movie
However, the Jewish holy book, the Talmud, states clearly that stoning was the Jewish method of execution, not crucifixion, and thats most likely what actually happened.
In 2014, Doyle, Life of Brian director Terry Jones and fellow Python John Cleese attended an academic conference at Kings College London about the films creative contribution to scholarship on the life of Jesus.
Doyle added: Im very proud of the growing appreciation of the films historical accuracy within the academic world, especially given how vociferously religious critics tried to crucify the Pythons when the film first released.
While it is, and will always remain, a comedy first and foremost, to those who are open minded it does offer a wider insight into the life and times of Jesus, and one that has just as much legitimacy, if not more so from an historical perspective, as the Churchs account.