where was monty python life of brian filmed
Monty Python's Life of Brian
The film was shot on location in Monastir , Tunisia , which allowed the production to reuse sets from Franco Zeffirelli 's Jesus of Nazareth ( 1977 ) . The Tunisian shoot was documented by Iain Johnstone for his BBC film The Pythons . Many locals were employed as extras on Life of Brian . Director Jones noted , `` They were all very knowing because they 'd all worked for Franco Zeffirelli on Jesus of Nazareth , so I had these elderly Tunisians telling me , ' Well , Mr Zeffirelli would n't have done it like that , you know . ' '' Further location shooting took place in Sousse ( Jerusalem outer walls and gateway ) , Carthage ( Roman amphitheatre ) and Matmata , Tunisia ( Sermon on the Mount and Crucifixion ) . Graham Chapman , suffering from alcoholism , was so determined to play the lead role -- at one point coveted by Cleese -- that he dried out in time for filming , so much so that he also acted as the on - set doctor . Following shooting between 16 September and 12 November 1978 , a two - hour rough cut of the film was put together for its first private showing in January 1979 . Over the next few months Life of Brian was re-edited and re-screened a number of times for different preview audiences , losing a number of entire filmed sequences ( see § Lost scenes below ) . 
The film was shot on location in Monastir , Tunisia , which allowed the production to reuse sets from Franco Zeffirelli 's Jesus of Nazareth ( 1977 ) . The Tunisian shoot was documented by Iain Johnstone for his BBC film The Pythons . Many locals were employed as extras on Life of Brian . Director Jones noted , `` They were all very knowing because they 'd all worked for Franco Zeffirelli on Jesus of Nazareth , so I had these elderly Tunisians telling me , ' Well , Mr Zeffirelli would n't have done it like that , you know . ' '' Further location shooting took place in Sousse ( Jerusalem outer walls and gateway ) , Carthage ( Roman amphitheatre ) and Matmata , Tunisia ( Sermon on the Mount and Crucifixion ) . Graham Chapman , suffering from alcoholism , was so determined to play the lead role -- at one point coveted by Cleese -- that he dried out in time for filming , so much so that he also acted as the on - set doctor . Following shooting between 16 September and 12 November 1978 , a two - hour rough cut of the film was put together for its first private showing in January 1979 . Over the next few months Life of Brian was re-edited and re-screened a number of times for different preview audiences , losing a number of entire filmed sequences ( see § Lost scenes below ) .
The film was shot on location in Monastir, Tunisia; in Sousse, Jerusalem outer walls and gateway; Carthage, Roman amphitheatre; and Matmata, Tunisia.
The film was shot on location in Monastir , Tunisia , which allowed the production to reuse sets from Franco Zeffirelli 's Jesus of Nazareth ( 1977 ) . Further location shooting took place in Sousse ( Jerusalem outer walls and gateway ) , Carthage ( Roman amphitheatre ) and Matmata , Tunisia ( Sermon on the Mount and Crucifixion ) .