1979: The Great LIFE OF BRIAN DEBATE | Friday Night Saturday Morning | BBC Archive

Video Description

Tim Rice is joined by two-thirds of Monty Python - John Cleese and Michael Palin - to discuss their latest feature film, Monty Python's Life of Brian. The film has attracted much controversy - it has been banned by several local councils in the UK, the Republic of Ireland and Norway - and has angered several religious groups who accuse it of blasphemy. Cleese and Palin contend that the film is not blasphemous, that Jesus Christ is treated with the utmost respect, and that the film's intention - beyond making people laugh - is to encourage people to think for themselves. The Pythons are joined for the second part of the interview by "guest reviewers" Malcolm Muggeridge and Mervyn Stockwood, the Bishop of Southwark. Muggeridge and Stockwood are firmly of the opinion that the film ridicules Jesus Christ, and by extension his followers. Let the debate begin... Clip taken from Friday Night, Saturday Morning, originally broadcast on BBC One, Friday 9 November, 1979. You have now entered the BBC Archive, a time machine that will transport you back to the golden age of TV to educate, entertain and enlighten you with classic clips from the BBC vaults. Make sure you subscribe so that you never miss a single stop on our amazing journey through the BBC Archive - https://www.youtube.com/c/BBCArchive?sub_confirmation=1 You can also dive into plenty more BBC Archive on our website - https://www.bbc.co.uk/archive