THE PASSION OF THE BRIAN: LIFE OF BRIAN TO BE RE-RELEASED IN THEATERS NEXT MONTH
by Hans ten Cate (special thanks to John Goldstone)
Tuesday, 23 March 2004 (updated 17 April 2004)

Monty PYthon's The Life of Brian will be re-released in theaters on April 30th in the United States

Beware the second coming... of Brian!

Monty Python Producer John Goldstone wrote us over the weekend with some wonderful news. “In view of the furore over Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ we think it important to offer an alternative view from Monty Python and are planning a theatrical re-release (or second coming) of Life of Brian.”

John said that the Pythons are doing this through Rainbow Releasing, the company responsible for distributing Holy Grail theatrically in the US in 2001. Rainbow Releasing will be distributing new prints of Life of Brian to commemorate the film’s 25th Anniversary. “We are aiming for 30th April in Los Angeles and New York and then depending on the response will spread out across the USA.”

Specifically, the film will open in Los Angeles and New York at the Laemmle Sunset 5 and Landmark Sunshine Cinema respectively on April 30th and will expand across the United States throughout the Spring.

“[We] will expand once we have a sense of the initial reaction to the re-release,” said John. “Sharon Lester got a really good feel from The Holy Grail re-release of the best theaters around the country to play Monty Python and has been under pressure ever since from the theater owners to bring Life of Brian back so all this is very fortuitous. So after the first week we will be able to assess which way to go and will keep [PythOnline] fed with dates and theaters as they come up.”

“A lot of people in America have said that they couldn't figure out a way to deal with the public reaction to Mel's movie,” John Goldstone told Daily Variety yesterday. “This is a kind of antidote to Mel.”

So, will it be "Mel or Monty?... The Passion or the Python?" Stay tuned next month...