Funniest scene ever
Python rant tops film poll
John Cleese's rant demanding ‘What have the Romans done for us?’ has been named the funniest movie scene ever.
The diatribe in Monty Python's Life of Brian, in which his revolutionary character Reg finally concedes: "All right, but apart from sanitation, medicine, education, wine, public order, irrigation, roads, a fresh water system and public health, what have the Romans ever done for us?" topped a poll from video company Blockbuster.
Second came the flatulent cowboys eating beans around the campfire from Mel Brooks's 1974 comedy Blazing Saddles.
And Meg Ryan's fake orgasm in a restaurant in When Harry Met Sally was third in the poll of 4,000 movie fans.
Steve Foulser, of Blockbuster UK, said: “All these scenes are absolutely hilarious – but it’s good to see a British flick at the top of the charts as we are world famous for our comedy.
“The Monty Python crew deserve this recognition because their humour has stood the test of time."
The full list is:
- ‘What have the Romans done for us?’, Monty Python's Life of Brian, 1979
- Flatulent cowboys, Blazing Saddles, 1974
- Fake orgasm, When Harry Met Sally, 1989
- ‘We want the finest wines available to humanity’, Withnail & I, 1987
- Apple pie sequence, American Pie, 1999
- The laxatives, Dumb and Dumber, 1994
- Hair gel scene, There’s Something About Mary, 1988
- The black knight, Monty Python And The Holy Grail, 1975
- Steve Martin’s ‘Ruprecht’ scene, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, 1988
- Big pants, Bridget Jones’s Diary, 2001
Published: 21 Dec 2004
