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11 comments
19 comments
Rank This Matchup or Comment/Reply Below
on 7/17/2009
Oh geez, finally a worthy matchup! Even as an American, I gotta go with Life of Brian. As great as Holy Grail is, it's just a mockery of medieval times, whereas the other pokes fun at Bible stories. And no one did that better than the Monty Python troupe!
on 7/26/2009
Wow. Well, I'd probably give it to The Holy Grail, not because it's the better film (it isn't) but it definitely holds a much higher place in my memories. The Holy Grail brings back the total chaos and sheer randomness of the T.V. show that nobody can deliver as well as Monty Python themselves
on 7/31/2009
This is a cool match up. Both are nose-snort funny. Both are highly intelligent. But since I HAVE to choose...I relate more to Brian having grown up Catholic. The alternative Jesus story is just to clever.
on 8/26/2009
Holy Grail is sophomoric compared compared to Brian
on 8/28/2009
I've always found the funniest PYTHON to be the one I saw last. Or am watching. While I'm watching a PYTHON film, I just can't imagine anything being funnier. So the funniest one is THE HOLY GRAIL. And THE LIFE OF BRIAN. And THE MEANING OF LIFE. AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT...
on 11/6/2009
I've always been of the opinion that the laughs come faster and harder in Holy Grail. It's the one I saw first, and certainly my favorite. I'm the sort of person who goes to see Spamalot (a fantastic musical) but can never forgive it for its slightest transgression from the movie. Still I have to go with Life of Brian, mostly because of the flawless parody of the life of Jesus. Also because it tells a solid story, unsegmented by the adventures of separate knights, which has never been, in my opinion, as effective a storytelling technique.
on 11/7/2009
Life of Brian has More To Say, to be sure, and as such is probably the better film, but I'll always *like* Holy Grail more for it's straight-out farce and easy rewatchability.
on 11/11/2009
Brian's mom pretty much pushes The Life of Brian ahead of Holy Grail for me. "he's not the messiah, he's a very naughty boy."
on 11/13/2009
The Life of Brian, The Meaning of Life. These may not have come before The Holy Grail, but they felt like Monty Python going through the trials and tribulations of comedic upstarts before everything came together with The Holy Grail. The Life of Brian is in the same realm as The Holy Grail, but it still feels a little like a kid tagging along by holding onto his parent's leg with a death grip. The Holy Grail is a classic, and The Life of Brian a brilliantly blasphemous film.
on 11/14/2009
Even the Pythons themselves have acknowledged Life of Brian as the better film, but considering this isn't a battle of better films, but which one I like more, I have to go with Holy Grail. I was exposed to it earlier than Life of Brian, and I find it funnier. They're both wonderfully joyous to watch, but every year I sit down around Christmastime and watch Holy Grail, and to me that's the sign of which one will win.
on 12/1/2009
They both are hilarious, but Holy Grail gets the nod because I can walk into a crowded area just about anywhere and begin a line and have at least 5 people finish it (at least in their heads). There's an instant connection there with people who have seen the film and enjoyed it. Even 20 years later, anytime I get together with my childhood friends at weddings or what not, we inevitably start quoting from this movie and laugh ourselves till it hurts. Also, I'm not sure I would classify The Life of Brian as a "blasphemous" film. If either of them are blasphemous, technically it would be The Holy Grail with its cartoon depiction of God. Just saying.... :)
on 12/28/2009
I grew up on Holy Grail and it wasn't until later that I finally got around to seeing Brian. It's tough to argue with my childhood nostalgia, but the satire in Brian is so sharp I think I have to go with it instead. Hell, even the criterion collection thought it was good, and that's a pretty damn high compliment.
on 12/30/2009
Holy Grail introduced me to Monty Python somewhere around age 9, so it will always be my favorite.
on 3/16/2010
Just because Brian is the more *conventional* film doesn't necessarily make it a better one. Python really didn't need to be doing things conventionally; it wasn't their strong suit. Brian is more directly satirical, but that doesn't make it funnier. I find some of the satire a little on the nose, and more bits fall flat in Brian than Grail for me. Which is funnier; which one will I be more inclined to watch again and laugh at no matter how many times I hear the same material? Easy call for me: Grail.
on 4/15/2010
They're both funny as hell, but Life Of Brian is the all-around better movie.
on 4/25/2010
Life of Brian has some golden moments, but Holy Grail is more consistently funny.
Holy Grail by a landslide.
on 5/28/2010
They're making me choose? I've seen both in 24 hours, and in the end, I think Life Of Brian wins because I can relate more to the religious humour.
on 7/6/2010
The Life of Brian is a better move with a better story, but I will never forget the first time I saw Holy Grail and it is so much more quotable.
on 10/25/2010
Holy Grail, hands down. Nonstop laughs. Brian is hit and miss.
on 1/27/2011
They are both really funny and definitely capture the essence of Monty Python, but The Holy Grail has made me want to watch it again and again, even after I've memorized every line.
on 4/28/2011
I strongly recomend http://www.shamusyoung.com/twentysidedtale/?cat=14 for those of you who can't decide. I'm going with the Grail all the way. Why? Every time I get around with my friends to play some RPG's (no matter the system - DnD, Warhammer, Legend of Five Rings, Neuroshima [we also did Call of Cthulu, but strangely, it was not affected :P]) the game get owned by Grail quotes. No castle is ever scary (It's only a model), no wizard is good enough to talk to unless he's throwing fireball's around, no bridge is being crossed without questions asked and of course no creature is as scary and bloodthirsty as a lisste white bunny (I had my player rush on to certain death on trolls, dragons, demons, unspoken horrors, mechanical monstrosity's, lich's, ghosts and there own mother only to have them run away from a bunny). So yes, Grail because of the huge impact on my life it had :)
on 5/8/2011
How do you choose? They are both brilliant in their own ways.
Holy Grail. No contest. Perhaps the easiest VS I've seen...
on 10/7/2011
I really like the opinions on this clash. Both of them had a great influence on me and they were really the turning point to start adoring Monty Python. Holy Grail wins by a inch.
on 10/30/2011
How shall we fuck off oh, Lord?
How shall we fuck off, oh Lord?
Wow this is difficult... I think however I am going to have to pick Life of Brian but it's so close.
on 6/4/2012
are you suggesting that swallows migrate?
on 7/7/2012
I didn't know this, but reading through the discussions it appears Life of Brian is overrated. Holy Grail falls apart at the end, but Life of Brian is realistically a mess throughout. Holy Grail is definitely the superior film.
