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LONDON (AP) – The 40th anniversary celebrations of the Monty Python comedy classic "Life of Brian" are a bit overshadowed 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'm going to see him and the great satisfaction is just to have a reaction, unfortunately he does not speak much, but I read to him things we had written together a long time ago and Terry really started to laugh and he laughed only at the passages he wrote, "said 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 episodes of television comedy, 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 had people deeply offended by what we had done," Palin said.
"Yes, the right-wing militias were not that strong 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.Sue Jones-Davies, who played Brian's girlfriend, was elected molt.He was mayor of Aberystwyth and the first thing she said was Summer: "We are going to release this film to Aberystwyth," he recalled. "We only showed it 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, stuck in Brexit, to the Black Knight (played by John Cleese in the movie "Monty Python and the Holy Grail") who refuses to acknowledge his loss despite the loss of all his members fight with King Arthur.
"I want to say that Python has seen a revival of interest because of recent politics," said Palin, adding that a "Python situation" is now synonymous with "ridiculous".
Gilliam welcomed the attention, adding that she was now indispensable.
"People seem to be afraid of laughing, or mostly laughing at themselves, and that's what really worries me," he said. "If we can not appreciate the absolute absurdity of us as a species, we are dead."
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