Volume CXXXIII, Number 13 January 25, 2002 f

The knights who say "Ni!"
JIM FLANAGAN
COLUMNIST

Welcome back everyone! Film society has lined up a fun semester of exciting films for you all, and we're starting off with a bang. As a new policy, we will only be showing three films each weekend, but we're hoping to make up for the fewer titles with higher quality films and events. This weekend, we have three classics from one of the funniest groups of people around: the Monty Python troupe. As always, the films will be shown in Smith Auditorium in Sills Hall and are completely free.

Life of Brian
Friday at 7:00 p.m.
In this biblical send-up, we follow the life of a simple boy named Brian whose mistaken identity with Christ causes him numerous problems. We begin in the stable where Brian is born (located next door to one with much great religious significance), and the three wise men accidentally identify this abode as their holy destination. From birth, Brian is mistaken as a leader for the Jewish people during the times of Roman occupation. Unfortunately for Brian, it is a role he doesn't desire in the least. Sacrilegious? Perhaps. Hilarious? Definitely.

Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Friday at 9:00 p.m.
This is possibly the most famous of all the Python films, and we have it for you in its remastered, expanded special edition. And though the amount of new footage in this film totals to just a handful of seconds, there are enough die-hard fans who know it inside and out that make those new seconds extremely special. But even if you aren't a huge fan of this film, you should make an effort to see a picture that truly is one of the funniest ever made.

Monty Python's Meaning of Life
Saturday at 7:00 p.m.
In this film, the Python group returns to the format of the television show that made them famous. The film is comprised of a series of inter-related sketches about all the stages of life, from conception and birth, through childhood and adulthood, to death, and even a glimpse of the after-life. Like their other films, Monty Python is at their vulgar and offensive best, and manages to produce an extremely funny movie. Though it was made years after they first got together, this group of comedians still hasn't lost its spark.