Revealing mistake: When Brian falls from the tower and knocks the prophet, we can see Graham Chapman (Brian) is actually hanging on a bar. (00:52:15)
Revealing mistake: When the blind man is telling Brian he can see again and falls down in the pit, you can see the white mattress that he lands on. (01:01:10)
Revealing mistake: When the centurion strikes Brian after Pilate confirms he wants him to do it, you can see the filming skip, showing that Brian wasn't actually struck.
Answer: Actually, no, the primary goal of "Life of Brian" was not to parody biblical films. Terry Gilliam has stated that the "important" objective of the movie was "to offend a lot of people," particularly "Jews and Christians, because they're easy to push around." Gilliam further said that, at the same time, they were "very cautious not to offend Muslims, because they're the dangerous ones." Both Gilliam and John Cleese have also said that, while the Pythons took care to avoid blasphemy (not directly mocking Jesus of Nazareth, with whom the Pythons had no quarrel), they fully intended that the film be heretical (in defiance of Catholic Church doctrine and dogma). Make no mistake, "Life of Brian" is not supposed to be a lighthearted parody of biblical films; it's supposed to be a sharp stick in the eye to the Roman Catholic Church.
Charles Austin Miller