Brian Cohen

Lore & Background

Brian's life is defined by immediate confusion; he is born in a stable next door to Jesus, causing three wise men to initially visit the wrong location. Growing up resentful of Roman occupation, he joins the People's Front of Judea (PFJ) after hearing their leader Reg ask, "What have the Romans ever done for us?"—only for his comrades to list sanitation, medicine, education, and public order as positive contributions. Brian attempts to paint slogans on Governor Pontius Pilate's palace but is caught by a Roman officer obsessed with correcting his Latin grammar to "Romani ite domum." Later, while hiding from guards after escaping the PFJ's botched kidnapping plan for Pilate's wife, Brian is accidentally scooped up by an extraterrestrial spaceship. He tries to blend in as a prophet, repeating fragments of Jesus' sermons until he stops mid-sentence, prompting his small audience to demand more. Chased into the mountains, he is declared the Messiah against his will. Despite his frantic insistence that "you've got to think for yourselves! You're all individuals!", the crowd ironically parrots his words as doctrine.

In Their Own Story

Brian's celebrity status grows when an enormous crowd gathers outside his mother Mandy Cohen's house. The PFJ attempts to exploit this by having him minister to followers demanding miracle cures, but Brian sneaks out and is subsequently captured by Romans. He is sentenced to crucifixion just as the crowd assembles for Passover to choose a prisoner for release. Pilate, suffering from a speech impediment, struggles with the crowd's mockery of his friend Biggus Dickus's name until Judith Iscariot appears and frantically calls for Brian's release. The crowd parrots her demand, leading Pilate to agree to "welease Bwian." However, by the time guards catch up, Brian is already on the cross. In a parody of Spartacus, various crucified men claim to be Brian, resulting in the wrong man being freed. As his supporters abandon him one by one—the PFJ praising his martyrdom and others committing mass suicide—Brian sinks into despair until a convict beside him begins singing "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life," which he and the other convicts join.

Reader's Guide

To understand Brian Cohen, one must recognize him as a vehicle for satire rather than a traditional hero. His journey involves specific turning points: birth next to Jesus, the Latin grammar lesson with the Centurion of the Yard (Biggus Dickus), the accidental alien abduction, and the mistaken identity as Messiah. Brian's relationship with his mother Mandy is pivotal; she reveals he is half-Roman, exacerbating his internal conflict. His final moments are marked by a desperate attempt to reclaim his identity, telling the crowd they are all individuals, only to be ignored. The film concludes not with redemption or divine intervention, but with a cheerful song amidst crucifixion, underscoring the absurdity of the situation. Brian remains a symbol of the common man crushed by the machinery of fanaticism, where even the most sincere call for individuality is absorbed into the collective delusion.

Did You Know?

• George Harrison arranged financing for the film through his HandMade Films company after EMI Films withdrew funding just days before production.
• The character Biggus Dickus and his wife Incontinentia Buttocks cause Roman guards to laugh uncontrollably due to their names, cutting short Pontius Pilate's questioning of Brian.
• Spike Milligan appeared as a prophet in the film; he was included by coincidence while visiting World War II battlefields in Tunisia where the movie was being made.
• In Sweden, promotional posters read, "So funny it was banned in Norway!" to leverage the film's notoriety from bans in several countries including Ireland and Italy.
• Brian is sentenced to crucifixion after sneaking out of his home, but the wrong man is freed when various crucified people claim to be him, parodying the climax of Spartacus.