Silverscreen Beats: Life of Brian

The fourth programme in the 5 part Silverscreen Beats series about music from Jesus films aired yesterday, and it was the turn of Monty Python's Life of Brian. When I first heard about this particular instalment I hoped it might be the most significant episode, but also worried it would just be 15 minutes discussion about "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life". Thankfully, it was the former and not the latter.

There were a few things that I thought were particularly worth of note. Firstly, composer Geoffrey Burgon, who was quoted extensively, expressed his disappointment that no-one ever picks up on the musical quotes he puts in citing, Mozart, Wagner and Monte Verdi in particular. I know that James Monaco in "How to Read a Film" suggests that our lack of appreciation for comedy film demonstrates that we don't really understand the medium of film enough. The fact that the music for Life of Brian has been so overlooked, even when it is actually a key part of the humour, gives some support to his theory.

The other thing that particularly stood out was when Terry Jones admitted he hadn't really liked "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" when he first heard it. The musical analysis of the song reveals how it has the same underlying sequence as the famous do-wop progression (you'll know it when you hear it).

One thing they didn't mention is how the film's score not only parodies 60s biblical epics, particularly King of Kings and Spartacus, but also how the song over the opening credits parodies the Shirley Bassey-esque opening songs of the James Bond franchise.

There's plenty of discussion around about this film, but in particular I'd recommend the chapter on the film in Stern, Jefford and Debona's "Savior on the Silver Screen".

The programme can still heard listened to on the BBC Website. The final programme airs this afternoon and investigates Peter Gabriel's score for Last Temptation of Christ.