“ | Not just from us, but our father's fathers, and what have they ever given us in return? | „ |
~ Reg on his famous speech about the Romans. |
The Romans are the main antagonists in the 1979 British religious satire comedy film Monty Python's Life of Brian.
Origins[]
In 63 BC, the Romans invaded Israel and took everything from the Jews, though they did give them an aqueduct, sanitation, roads, irrigation, medicine, education, wine, public baths, night guards, and peace.
In 28 AD, the Romans had been around for hundreds of years in Israel, and had set up a palace for Caesar and visitors from Rome. Many factions had been formed to fight the oppressors, such as the Judean People's Front, the People's Front of Judea, the Judean Popular People's Front, and the Popular Front, it is unfortunate that said groups are more likely to fight each other than the Romans.
Biography[]
The Romans are shown in the film as being the evil rulers of Israel in 28 AD. The Romans are first shown watching the Sermon on the Mount with other residents. During the Sermon, a fight breaks out in the back when Mr. Cheeky calls a stranger "Big Nose" and the Romans angrily come in to break up the riot.
The Romans are seen presiding over their Stonings; Matthais is being sentenced for stoning but, after repeatedly saying "Jehova" he angers the crowd and the Romans, and when the high priest begins to say "Jehova" he is eventually stoned by the mob. The other Romans do nothing.
Brian gets home and finds a Roman in his house, and his mother tells him to be grateful for the Romans because without them, they would be poor. She says Brian's father was a Roman, naming him "Naughtius Maximus". Brian takes this as rape (although his mother asserts that it was only rape at the start) and denounces all ties with the evil Romans.
Brian then joins the People's Front of Judea, and he becomes a freedom fighter. Reg gives him his first assignment to write "Romans go home" across the palace, which Brian mistakes for "Romanes Eunt Domus" which an exasperated Centurion tells Brian is actually "People called Romanes they go to the house" and the Centurion gives Brian a Latin lesson telling him to write the correct wording (Romani Ite Domum) a hundred times and have it done by sunrirse, threatening him with castration if he fails. Brian manages to accomplish his task, with the Roman soldiers observing him, telling him to never do it again. As the soldier leaves, more walk around the corner and see the graffiti; unaware of the circumstances, they chase after Brian to arrest him, but Brian manages to escape.
The Romans then return to Matthais' house, where he is doorman for the People's Front, determined to hunt Brian and arrest him. The Romans fail to find him. Brian and the People's Front of Judea break into Pontius Pilate's palace, planning to kidnap his wife and blackmail him for her release. But the whole plan goes wrong when they encounter the Campaign for Free Galilee, who have the exact same plan as the People's Front. When Brian says they should work against the "common enemy" the groups assume that he is referring to the Judean People's Front, forcing him to clarify that he is referring to the Romans.
Both groups manage to kill each other; and Brian is left to be arrested by two Roman guards. In prison, Brian meets an old fanatic who brags about how the Romans are great and how terrific they are. Then Brian meets Pilate, who intends to punish him, but Brian says he is a Roman and his father was one. He says his name, Naughtius Maximus, but the guard laughs, and says that it is a joke name.
Brian escapes, and Pilate has the Romans chase him, hard for them to do because they've been laughing at his friend Biggus Dickus. Brian is chased through town by the Romans (even getting abducted by aliens briefly) and he meets several Romans who are searching for him when he pretends to be a prophet, but the Romans ignore him, leaving Brian to tail off with "to them only shall be given" and he is staring at the Romans, but the crowd think Brian is about to give them a revelation.
After Brian has been proclaimed to be the Messiah, the Romans arrest him outside his house, and Brian's friend named Judith beats the Roman guard on his helmet, but he just says "Stop that". The Romans sentence Brian for crucifixion, increasing the number of crucifixtions from 139 to 140 for Passover. The Romans march through the town with the crucifixion party, with Brian in them. The Romans are very cruel and yell at the prisoners to walk faster. At Calvary, the Romans say, "it doesn't matter, you're all going to be dead in a day or two."
Judith asks for Brian's release, and Pilate, seeing Brian is a real prisoner and not a fictional one, decides to free him. But the Romans take Mr. Cheeky down instead when he says he is Brian, refusing to listen when he exclaims that he was joking. The Romans guarding the crosses are then scared away by the Judean People's Front, running back into the city.