Monty Python's Life of Brian December 1976, with a first draft completed by mid-1977. The final pre-production draft was ready in January 1978, following "a concentrated two-week writing and water-skiing period in Barbados". The film would not have been made without Python fan former Beatle George Harrison, who set up HandMade Films to help fund it at a cost of £3 million. Harrison put up the money for it as he "wanted to see the movie" — later described by Terry Jones as the "world's most expensive cinema ticket." The original backers, EMI Films, had been scared off at the last minute by the subject
Monty Python and the Holy Grail dangerously contagious." Penelope Gilliatt of "The New Yorker" called the film "often recklessly funny and sometimes a matter of comic genius." Other reviews were less enthusiastic. "Variety" wrote that the storyline was "basically an excuse for set pieces, some amusing, others overdone." Gene Siskel of the "Chicago Tribune" gave the film two-and-a-half stars, writing that he felt "it contained about 10 very funny moments and 70 minutes of silence. Too many of the jokes took too long to set up, a trait shared by both 'Blazing Saddles' and 'Young Frankenstein.' I guess I prefer Monty Python in chunks, in its