1979 Hit Film Ranked Among ‘Best Movies of All Time'
There are probably hundreds of thousands of movies out there, but these cinema classics will always hold a special place in our hearts.
Rotten Tomatoes, a popular film and television review website, calculates the percentage of professional critic reviews that are positive (60% or higher) to create a "Tomatometer" score. A "Fresh" score (red tomato) means a movie is generally well-received, while a "Rotten" score (green splat) indicates a negative reception. Over the past few years, the site's editorial team has compiled a list of the "300 Best Movies of All Time," which has reviews from critics and film lovers.
Movies on this list are ranked by their Tomatometer, then they apply their special formula, which considers a movie's rating, votes on the Popcornmeter (which fans and users contribute to), the number of critics' reviews and the year of its release. In addition, an editor reviews the final list, which includes minimum thresholds for each of the data categories.
With a 96% rating and ranked at #254, the 1979 film Life of Brian has been called one of the "best movies of all time." With its full title being Monty Python's Life of Brian, the comedy drama tells the story of Brian Cohen (Graham Chapman), a young Judaean man who is born on the same day as - and next door to - Jesus, and is subsequently mistaken for the Messiah. It stars and was written by the comedy group Monty Python, which consists of Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin.
The movie was actually financed by former Beatle George Harrison and his business partner, Denis O'Brien, who arranged financing for Life of Brian through the formation of their HandMade Films company, after EMI Films withdrew days before production.
Though Life of Brian was considered controversial at the time of its release because of its interpretation of religion, it was a box office success and was the fourth highest-grossing film in the United Kingdom in 1979 and the highest-grossing of any British film in the United States.
Following the release, members of Monty Python heavily defended the film, notably during a televised debate on the BBC's Friday Night, Saturday Morning in 1979, where Cleese and Palin went against the Bishop of Southwark, Mervyn Stockwood, and Malcolm Muggeridge, who accused the film of being blasphemous. In 2013, Cleese and Jones contributed to a collection of essays, where they discussed their motivations and the film's impact on public perception of Jesus.
Despite the controversy, Life of Brian is still relevant and brings up topics of discussion, even almost 50 years later. The comedy film can be watched for free on Xumo Play, Pluto TV, Sling TV, The Roku Channel, Philo, The CW, PLEX, as well as streamed on Peacock, Amazon Prime Video and fuboTV.
Related: '90s Actor, Who Appeared in One of the Greatest Movies of All Time, Turns 76
Copyright 2026 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved
This story was originally published April 17, 2026 at 4:03 PM.