Luther (2003)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Eric Till

Writers (WGA):

Camille Thomasson (written by) and
Bart Gavigan (written by)

Release Date:

30 lokakuu 2003 (Germany)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | History

Tagline:

Rebel. Genius. Liberator.

Plot:

During the early 16th Century idealistic German monk Martin Luther, disgusted by the materialism in the church, begins the dialogue that will lead to the Protestant Reformation.

Plot Keywords:

Prince | Monk | Priest | Rome | Martin Luther

Awards:

4 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Joseph Fiennes	...	Martin Luther
Jonathan Firth	...	Girolamo Aleander
Alfred Molina	...	Johann Tetzel
Claire Cox	...	Katharina von Bora
Peter Ustinov	...	Frederick the Wise (as Sir Peter Ustinov)
Bruno Ganz	...	Johann von Staupitz
Uwe Ochsenknecht	...	Pope Leo X
Mathieu Carrière	...	Cardinal Jacob Cajetan
Benjamin Sadler	...	Georg Spalatin
Jochen Horst	...	Professor Andreas Karlstadt
Torben Liebrecht	...	Emperor Charles V
Maria Simon	...	Hanna
Lars Rudolph	...	Philip Melanchthon
Marco Hofschneider	...	Ulrich
Christopher Buchholz	...	Von der Eck

Also Known As:

Luther (Finland) [fi]

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for disturbing images of violence.

Runtime:

123 min

Country:

Germany

Language:

English | Latin

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Philippines:PG-13 | Sweden:11 | South Korea:12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Brazil:14 | Finland:K-11 | Germany:12 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:11 | Singapore:PG | Switzerland:12 (canton of the Grisons) | UK:12A | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Bavaria Studios, Munich, Bavaria, Germany

Company:

Eikon Film

Trivia:

'Stephan Schwartz' is the German Voice of Luther.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Tetzel and others are burning Luther's work, you can hear a radio probably coming from the crew.

Quotes:

Professor Andreas Karlstadt: Feed the fire with every lie ever written in Rome!

Movie Connections:

Version of Martin Luther (1953)

Surprisingly Faithful Account

Wow, here's an oddity: a modern-day film faithful to theological history, an uncompromising biography of Martin Luther.

Knowing the film world, I doubt this film was made to glorify God. It probably was made more to make the Roman Catholic church look bad, or to glorify a rebel and a man of the people: "the peoples' liberation" as the back cover of the DVD states.

Whatever the motive, it stays true to history and it's nice to see that for a change. To those unfamiliar with Luther, he was the founder of the Protestant denomination. Luther was monk who saw and heard things he thought were unscriptural and broke off from the Catholic Church in "protest." Hence, the "Protestant" church was formed.

Anyway, not only was the story done well, so was the cinematography. This is one gorgeous movie to ogle, well-filmed with high production values. The scenery, sets and costumes are all first-rate.

Joseph Fiennes (Luther) is a bit wimpy-looking but his character certainly isn't. As the subject of indulgences and other practices begin to transform Luther's ideas of what Jesus' church should be, the story grows in intensity as Luther gets pressured by the Catholic hierarchy as his protest issues become public.

What happens to him and to the masses because of his actions are revealed in pretty dramatic form. Obviously the story is far more complex than two hours can give it but the filmmakers did a pretty good job condensing it to make the time constriction.

Notes: This was Peter Ustinov's last movie. On the DVD, being that is was a fairly expensive one, I am surprised there were no "extras." In all, however, a solid film but it will definitely offend Roman Catholics.