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LONDON – The 40th anniversary celebrations of the comedy classic "Brian's Life" in Monty Python are somewhat eclipsed by Terry Jones's health news.
Jones is "very sturdy" although "on the downhill" because of dementia, according to his friend and colleague Michael Palin. Jones was diagnosed in 2015 with a form of dementia that impairs the ability to speak.
"I will see it and the great satisfaction is simply to get a reaction; Unfortunately, he does not speak much. But I read to him texts we had written together a long time ago and Terry really started to laugh about it, and he only laughed at passages he had written, "recalls Palin in a recent interview with The Associated. Press.
"Life of Brian", which Jones directed, is celebrated on Thursday with a worldwide reissue. He is one of 45 television comedy episodes, five films, and a hit Broadway musical.
When "Life of Brian" was released four decades ago, the film was a huge success, but it also sparked controversy because of its intrigue: it was a man named from Brian Cohen, born in the stables next to Jesus and confused with the Messiah. Palin played Pontius Pilate with a speech disorder.
"We did not receive any death threats, we just met people deeply shocked by what we had done," said Palin.
"Yes, the right-wing militias were not so powerful at the time," said Terry Gilliam, a member of the troupe.
Palin recalls that the film was banned in Aberystwyth, a city in Wales, until 2008.
"Then Aberystwyth elected a new mayor, and the mayor he elected was Sue Jones-Davies, who played the role of Brian's girlfriend, arguing naked.He was mayor of Aberystwyth and the first thing what she said was: "We are going to release this film to Aberystwyth," he recalled. "It has only been shown for one night."
In addition to the anniversary of "Life of Brian", Gilliam, 68, and Palin, 65, also appreciate the continued cultural relevance of sketches written in their youth.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte recently compared British Prime Minister Theresa May, bogged down in Brexit, to the Black Knight (played by John Cleese in the movie "Monty Python and the Holy Grail") who refuses to acknowledge his defeat despite the loss of all its members in a fight with King Arthur.
"I mean, Python has had a fairly strong political resurgence recently," said Palin, who added that a "Python situation" is now synonymous with "ridiculous".
Gilliam welcomed the attention, adding that she was now indispensable.
"People seem to be afraid to laugh at things, or especially to make fun of themselves, and that's what really worries me," he said. "If we can not appreciate the total absurdity of us as a species, we are dead."
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