'Monty Python's Life of Brian' – High-Def Digest Review

[Attebery]

Just posted Kenneth's review of 'Monty Python's Life of Brian.' He considers the film one of the greatest comedies of all time, and says this blu-ray release boasts an above average video transfer and a thorough collection of supplements. While sound is disappointing, he says this is still a good remaster of a problematic source. Fans looking for an upgrade are sure to be pleased with what Sony has accomplished with this release.

Full review here:
http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/1100...feofbrian.html

[shawnmos]

Why did they include both uncompressed PCM and TrueHD? If they are going to include PCM, then why bother with TrueHD?

[Arkadin]

different players have different abilities regarding decoding, bitstreaming etc. etc.

[HKMOVIESAREBEST]

That just sealed the deal, I will be picking this up on Tuesday.

[underoath]

honestly, i've never seen this movie, but i was always intrigued by the box art when i pass by the dvd in the video store...

how does it hold up against recent comedies...worthy of blind buy?

[mgillespie]

Strange, I have owned this on Blu-ray since December. I bought it new for £14 from Gamestation in the UK...

Another curious thing, is the bookmark feature seems to be non-working on my PS3 with latest firmware. Anyone else confirm this???

[MrE]

Did you think they offered enough subtitle options???

[Nick Lavigne]

OMG look at all those subtitles.

[jiggawhat]

Originally Posted by Nick Lavigne

OMG look at all those subtitles.

It's a mistake. They listed some of them more than 3 times.

[MNTWISTER]

Thanks for the review Kenneth. You said: "Unfortunately, the film's lackluster and troublesome source seems to have prevented the studio from turning out a perfect visual experience. "

I expect that will be the norm with alot of classic movies. I think it is all going to depend on the condition of the source material, how popular the classic is, and how much is the studio willing to spend on each title to get the best transfer, and it's going to be a crap-shoot certainly with anything before the 70's. I have however seen many classic films in hd on channels like HDnetmovies and Cinemax and I am surprised at how great some of them look, so we are in for a few treats when they get to high def disc. Dish Network's hd is great but there's no comparing it to 1080p with uncompressed sound. I am glad to read that the disc looks great, this is a definite buy for me. I also agree with you that this will make up for the awful Meaning of Life transfer. That was a huge disappointment and my dvd looks about the same as the hd-dvd (which I saw at my friend's home). He felt ripped off on that one.

As for the sound, I havn't heard many films from the late 70's that sound spectacular, and I am sure the sound budjet on this one was not all that high. It's too bad that for these high def releases, more studios aren't going back to original master tapes and re-doing the soundtracks. I am sure the stereo music masters exist (hopefully). Paramount has done a decent job on some of those remasters of mono films from the late 60's and early 70's, I wish other studios would follow suit.

[jcc]

One of my favorite movies! Got the Blu-ray from Blockbuster yesterday, and watched it and the extras.

Apparently it had a budget of like $4 million, underwritten by ex-Beatle George Harrison when EMI refused to touch it. Not surprising that the sound isn't too impressive since they probably didn't have a lot of equipment to record it at the time.

Still, it looks great in HD!

[LembasBread]

- "Are you the Judean People's Front?"
- "Fuck off!... We're the People's Front of Judea!"

[Ken Brown]

Originally Posted by MNTWISTER

Thanks for the review Kenneth. You said: "Unfortunately, the film's lackluster and troublesome source seems to have prevented the studio from turning out a perfect visual experience. "

I expect that will be the norm with alot of classic movies. I think it is all going to depend on the condition of the source material, how popular the classic is, and how much is the studio willing to spend on each title to get the best transfer, and it's going to be a crap-shoot certainly with anything before the 70's. I have however seen many classic films in hd on channels like HDnetmovies and Cinemax and I am surprised at how great some of them look, so we are in for a few treats when they get to high def disc. Dish Network's hd is great but there's no comparing it to 1080p with uncompressed sound. I am glad to read that the disc looks great, this is a definite buy for me. I also agree with you that this will make up for the awful Meaning of Life transfer. That was a huge disappointment and my dvd looks about the same as the hd-dvd (which I saw at my friend's home). He felt ripped off on that one.

As for the sound, I havn't heard many films from the late 70's that sound spectacular, and I am sure the sound budjet on this one was not all that high. It's too bad that for these high def releases, more studios aren't going back to original master tapes and re-doing the soundtracks. I am sure the stereo music masters exist (hopefully). Paramount has done a decent job on some of those remasters of mono films from the late 60's and early 70's, I wish other studios would follow suit.

No problem. And I agree with your assessment.

In the end (and as a rabid Python fan), I didn't expect much more with the sound and was fairly pleased with the results all things considered. The biggest disappointment was the use of two highly touted PCM and TrueHD tracks which, in my estimation, both sound the same on this release as a lower bitrate DD mix would have. Ultimately, I wanted to make sure and note it in the review so everyone was aware they shouldn't expect a miracle.

Thanks as always for posting! I really enjoy reading posts from readers who offer a compelling analysis of the current wave of high definition releases.

[Sarge in PA]

I'm leery to make my first post a negative one, but was that a review of the film, or of the film's critics?

[Ken Brown]

Originally Posted by Sarge in PA

I'm leery to make my first post a negative one, but was that a review of the film, or of the film's critics?

No problem! I took a full series of paragraphs to discuss the merits of the film itself, then an additional two paragraphs to address the unneccesary (IMO) controversy that still surrounds the film so many years later. Since the controversy could keep people away from the film itself, I felt the entire review was centered on the merits of the film. I also felt it was a legitimate addition since 'Life of Brian' is a classic that still manages to stir up a bad reputation among people who are unwilling to give it a chance.

Still, I understand your concern. Don't worry though, most films don't pose the need such duality in our work. I'll certainly read my review again with your comment in mind and decide on how to proceed in similar reviews in the future.

Thanks for posting!