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Holy Flying Circus

  • TV Movie
  • 2011
  • Not Rated
  • 1h 29m
IMDb RATING
7.0/10
1.7K
YOUR RATING
Holy Flying Circus (2011)
ParodySatireComedyDrama

Tells the story of the outraged, and sometimes violent, response to 'The Life of Brian' the Monty Python movie that satirized the life of Jesus.Tells the story of the outraged, and sometimes violent, response to 'The Life of Brian' the Monty Python movie that satirized the life of Jesus.Tells the story of the outraged, and sometimes violent, response to 'The Life of Brian' the Monty Python movie that satirized the life of Jesus.

  • Director
    • Owen Harris
  • Writer
    • Tony Roche
  • Stars
    • Ben Crispin
    • Steve Punt
    • Charles Edwards
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.0/10
    1.7K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Owen Harris
    • Writer
      • Tony Roche
    • Stars
      • Ben Crispin
      • Steve Punt
      • Charles Edwards
    • 18User reviews
    • 13Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award
      • 1 win & 3 nominations total

    Photos5

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    Top cast31

    Edit
    Ben Crispin
    • Jesus
    Steve Punt
    • Eric Idle…
    Charles Edwards
    Charles Edwards
    • Michael Palin…
    Rufus Jones
    Rufus Jones
    • Terry Jones…
    Tom Fisher
    Tom Fisher
    • Graham Chapman…
    Darren Boyd
    Darren Boyd
    • John Cleese…
    Phil Nichol
    • Terry Gilliam
    Simon Greenall
    • Barry Atkins…
    Robin Sebastian
    Robin Sebastian
    • US News Reporter…
    Belinda Stewart-Wilson
    Belinda Stewart-Wilson
    • Nun…
    Micah Balfour
    • Black Panther…
    Paul Chahidi
    Paul Chahidi
    • Harry Balls…
    Ian Bonar
    Ian Bonar
    • Production Person 1…
    Selina Griffiths
    • Production Person 2…
    Jason Thorpe
    Jason Thorpe
    • Alan Dick…
    Geoffrey McGivern
    Geoffrey McGivern
    • Dog Walker
    • (as Geoff McGivern)
    • …
    Mark Heap
    Mark Heap
    • Andrew Thorogood
    Alex Macqueen
    Alex Macqueen
    • BBC Head of Rude Words
    • Director
      • Owen Harris
    • Writer
      • Tony Roche
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews18

    7.01.6K
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    Featured reviews

    10castaway666

    Must watch for Python, comedy fans and those with common sense!!

    I'll keep this relatively short.

    Probably one of the best written comic scripts I've seen for many years.

    The acting was absolutely superb especially Darren Boyd's turn as John Cleese. It perfectly shows the absurdity of the censorship battles comedy had to endure thanks to groups including Mary Whitehouse and shows how far we've come in a short period of time.

    Most fans of MP know the outcome of this film and the problems with local council's bans with a recent lift of a ban only recently occurring.

    Recommend this to anyone who's a fan of well written comedy.
    9backflipboy

    A treat of Pythonic proportions

    I was too young to know about the controversy surrounding "The Life Of Brian" when it was first released, but in my adult years I discovered that not everyone felt the same way I did about the film - their loss.

    Casting of the actors playing Monty Python cast was just about perfect from a visual point of view. The only issue I had was with the actor portraying Terry Gilliam not being able to fake an American accent effectively.

    There are so many shout outs to the way the Flying Circus series was made in this film to make it almost seem like the original cast had made it in the early '80's and it had gotten lost somewhere and recently found and broadcast.

    The irony of Stephen Fry portraying his particular character is outstanding.

    I laughed out loud a lot while watching this "mockudramedy" and I would have given it a 10 star rating if not for the aforementioned bad American accent.
    10geordiejohn12

    Absolutely Hilarious

    Very, very funny film. The first one that's had me in fits of laughter for years. The film mixes fact with homages to the jokes in the original film and also brings in various references from other characters that the original cast have played. The characters look very much like their real life counterparts too, so when I first started watching it I thought I was seeing a documentary. The film never takes itself too seriously, as it slips in references to the present day, despite being set in the past, and the humour is something that would sit very happily at the top of the Monty Python league. Very clever film.
    9ctailby

    Funniest thing I've seen this year!

    I have just seen this television play, which I recorded some time ago. I haven't laughed so much in ages. The subject is the events in 1979 when the Monty Python team launched "The Life of Brian", and came under attack from Christians on both sides of the Atlantic. The whole thing is done in the spirit of MP, with fantasy sequences and lots of silliness. The actors, particularly those portraying John Cleese and Michael Palin, are so realistic, that I had trouble remembering that I was not watching the originals. Steve Punt also makes a very convincing Eric Idle. The highlight of the play is the well-known confrontation on the chat show, Saturday Night, Sunday Morning between Cleese and Palin on the one side, and Malcolm Muggeridge, former Communist and then born-again Christian journalist, and Mervyn Stockwood, the closetly homosexual Church of England bishop, on the other. A straightforward representation of the facts would not have been worthwhile, but the hilarious way in which events and characters are represented is like watching MP in their prime. Utterly recommended!
    8intelearts

    489th Review: More swear words that a titmouse can launch a moose at......

    The BBC has outdone themselves in this wonderful piece about the reception of Life of Brian. Having been taken along with 20 other pupils to see Life by my school chaplain while taking a Religious Studies A level it always has had a special place in my heart. This wonderful reconstruction captures something of the Pythons complete silliness, and the even more complete silliness of those who found Brian offensive.

    This is seriously the best tribute film to the Pythons out there, the effort in casting to get it right has paid off, to say they look and act like how and who they're meant to is a gross understatement - they really do capture something of each of the Flying Circus with marvelous alacrity.

    All in all, this is rude, crude, very, very silly in places, and, above all, fall on the floor funny. Quite simply, one of the funnier films I've seen recently and for those who like Python in any form this is smart and just what the doctor ordered.

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      All the dialogue of the four debaters on the TV show (excluding the obvious dream sequences) is lifted verbatim from the actual show.
    • Crazy credits
      Bishop Wrangler - Ricardo Svelte
    • Connections
      References Casablanca (1942)

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • October 19, 2011 (United Kingdom)
    • Country of origin
      • United Kingdom
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Священный летучий цирк
    • Production companies
      • Hillbilly Television
      • Talkback Thames
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 29m(89 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2:1

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