Not the Messiah Out on DVD

Out on DVD this week is the new oratorio based on The Life of Brian and entitled (of course), Not the Messiah (He's a Very Naughty Boy).  I've blogged on this before -- it's delightful and amusing, and it is great now that they have also released a DVD of the live performance at the Royal Albert Hall. Here's the official page:

Not the Messiah on Blu-Ray and DVD

These days, Monty Python has its own Youtube channel with tons of clips (and apparently all this free stuff has massively increased their sales. Others: "go figure"!). This is the original trailer (for the one day cinema release):



Here's a sing-along for "Always look on the bright side of life":



Here is a some behind-the-scenes stuff:



And here Eric Idle "responds to your fatuous comments":

Not the Messiah -- listen while you can!

As Matt Page mentions on Bible Films Blog, the new oratorio based on Monty Python's Life of Brian was broadcast on Radio 3 on New Year's Day. Of course there was a lot to think about that day, not least with the regeneration of the tenth doctor into the eleventh in "The End of Time (Part 2)" (still buzzing about that one), and so it is quite likely that a lot of people will have missed the live broadcast. No need to worry! It's available on BBC's iPlayer, details here:

Not the Messiah

A comic oratorio inspired by Life of Brian, celebrating 40 years of Monty Python's Flying Circus. Eric Idle, Michael Palin and fellow Pythons join the BBC Symphony Chorus and Orchestra. Every musical style and genre is included, from Handel to Gilbert and Sullivan to Mariachi band.

Eric Idle and John du Prez: Not the Messiah (He's a Very Naughty Boy)

Eric Idle (bariton-ish)
Judith ...... Shannon Mercer (soprano)
Mandy ...... Rosalind Plowright (mezzo)
Brian ...... William Ferguson (tenor)
Reg ...... Christopher Purves (bass)
BBC Symphony Chorus
BBC Symphony Orchestra
John du Prez (conductor)
With guest appearances by fellow Pythons Michael Palin, Terry Jones and Terry Gilliam.

It's wonderful and hilarious and I strongly recommend it. And the good news is that it is not locked-down to UK listeners only, so you don't even need to perform the usual hocus-pocus to listen to it. I must admit that I've grabbed a copy while I can, pending, of course, the release of the CD in due course.

Previous posts on Not the Messiah here.

Not the Messiah Reviews in

Over on Filmchat, Peter Chattaway has a round up of reviews for the Premiere of Not the Messiah, the oratorio based on Monty Python's Life of Brian (last Friday). See Not the Messiah -- the premiere reviewed. Sounds pretty promising to me, e.g. see especially the comments by Robert Cushman of the National Post:

As well as being a filleted adaptation of the movie, the new piece functions as an homage to, or more frankly, an exploitation of, all things Python. For example: As is well known, Brian was born in a stable to the Non-Virgin Mary while a more momentous birth was taking place just next door. ("Is it A.D. yet?" "It's about a quarter to.") And There Were Shepherds -- that's the title of one of the numbers, if an oratorio has numbers. In it, the shepherds sing about how happy they are in their jobs because, simply, "we like sheep." They don't, they make it clear, have much time for any other variety of livestock. They are as enhusiastic about sheep as others have been known to be about Spam . . . .

. . . . But much of the evening's appeal undoubtedly depends on its sense of lesemajeste. I don't mean by that irreverence towards the Bible. The show begins with a rather heavy-handed anti-hymn, O God You Are So Big ("and we are garbage in your sight") and it retains the exhortations of Brian, the reluctant messiah, that his flock should learn to think for themselves. But this element is muted, and the music actually dilutes it.

Life of Brian: The Musical Latest

Variety has the latest on Not the Messiah:

'Messiah' in Idle hands
'Spamalot' creator announces next project
By RICHARD OUZOUNIAN

. . . . Idle was unwilling to disclose details about the work other than to say, "I promise it will be funnier than Handel, although probably not as good."

One question, though, is whether it will include "Brian's" best-known tune: "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life," already part of "Spamalot." . . . .

H.T.: Peter Chattaway on Filmchat. Cf. also my previous post on it.

Life of Brian: The Musical

It sounds pretty implausible, I know, but it's true -- they are turning The Life of Brian into an oratorio called Not the Messiah. On FilmChat, Peter Chattaway draws attention to this article in Playbill:

Spamalot Creators Handle "Not the Messiah" Take on "Life of Brian" for 2007 Debut
By Ernio Hernandez
16 Oct 2006

Spamalot creators Eric Idle and John Du Prez are mining the Monty Python catalog for more as the duo will present "Not the Messiah," a 50-minute oratorio based on the 1979 film "Life of Brian."

The commissioned work will be a part of 2007's Luminato, the Toronto Festival of Arts Culture and Creativity, at the Toronto Symphony Orchestra on June 1, 2, and 4 (all at 7:30 PM) in 2007, according to a TSO spokesperson.

The world premiere of "Not the Messiah" will be conducted by TSO Music Director Peter Oundjian (who happens to be Idle's cousin). The work — which Idle states "will be funnier than Handel, though not as good" — is to be performed by a narrator, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, with guest soloists and choir . . .

Well, I for one am looking forward to this, on the assumption that it eventually makes it to record and future performances.