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Luther (2003)
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Overview
User Rating:
Director:
Writers (WGA):
Release Date:
30 October 2003 (Germany)
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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. full summary | add synopsis
Awards:
4 wins
&
1 nomination
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NewsDesk:
(2 articles)
Joseph Fiennes Ready to Go 'Flash Forward'
(From BuddyTV. 3 September 2009, 11:00 PM, PDT)
Oscar Winner Peter Ustinov Dies at 82
(From WENN. 29 March 2004)
(From BuddyTV. 3 September 2009, 11:00 PM, PDT)
Oscar Winner Peter Ustinov Dies at 82
(From WENN. 29 March 2004)
User Comments:
Can't stop this thing we started
more (98 total)
Cast
(Cast overview, first billed only) | Joseph Fiennes | ... | Martin Luther |
 | Alfred Molina | ... | John Tetzel |
 | Jonathan Firth | ... | Girolamo Aleander |
 | 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 Cajetan |
| Benjamin Sadler | ... | Spalatin |
| Jochen Horst | ... | Professor Carlstadt |
 | Torben Liebrecht | ... | Charles V |
| Maria Simon | ... | Hanna |
| Lars Rudolph | ... | Melanchthon |
| Marco Hofschneider | ... | Ulrick |
| Christopher Buchholz | ... | von der Eck |
Additional Details
MPAA:
Rated PG-13 for disturbing images of violence.
Parents Guide:
Runtime:
123 min
Country:
Color:
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
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:
Company:
Fun Stuff
Trivia:
There are many instances when actual quotes are used by the characters. This includes Friar Tetzel's "Coin in the coffer rings a soul from Purgatory springs" as well as Luther's "Here I Stand" speech.
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Goofs:
Anachronisms: In the movie Luther quotes the Bible by chapter, and verse. Versification of the Scriptures was not added until five years after Luther's death in 1546. The French scholar-printer Estienne introduced verse numbering and divisions in his Greek-Latin New Testament in 1551. In 1552 he printed a French-Latin New Testament, also with the verse divisions. And in 1553 he printed a French translation of the Bible with verse divisions throughout. Within the same decade the system of verse divisions spread widely, influenced by the adoption of this system in the Geneva Bibles.
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Quotes:
Martin Luther:
I cannot renounce all of my works because they are not all the same.First are those books in which if I have described Christian faith and life so simply that even my opponents have admitted that these books are useful. To renounce these writings would be unthinkable for that would be to renounce accepted Christian truths...
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Movie Connections:
Version of Martin Luther (1983/II) (TV)
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FAQ
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The title of Bryan Adams' song "Can't Stop This Thing We Started" aptly describes this 2003 retelling of the story of Martin Luther. The film basically depicts Luther as a good Catholic, loyal to the Pope but horrified by the scandals and corruption that plagued the 16th century Church. He is even more horrified when his effort to reform the Church gets out of control, is co-opted for political purposes, and becomes a popular revolution with the attendant carnage and bloodshed. I suspect Luther has been highly romanticized here. For one thing, the film follows him from age 34 to 50, yet (as embodied by the angelically handsome Joseph Fiennes) he never ages a day. His relationship with Katharina von Bora seems astonishingly chaste -- no struggle with the lusts of the flesh for this pious monk! His demons are of a different kind. We see scenes where Luther seems plagued by demons, thrashing about in his cell, hearing unseen voices. (I know Luther was manic-depressive, but I hardly think he was a madman.) The film provides a good summary or outline of the major events of Luther's life and times: the selling of indulgences, the Ninety-Five Theses nailed to the door of Wittenberg Church, the Diet of Worms (a council presided over by Emperor Charles V), the Confession of Augsburg. The costumes accurately reflect historical reality. If I have any quarrel with the film in this regard, it is that it does not adequately mirror a key factor in the struggle between Germany and Rome: the principle of "cuius regio, eius religio". In other words, local princes and kings imposed their own religious beliefs on the peoples they governed. The cast is a constellation of stars, veritable luminaries, including Sir Peter Ustinov in one of his last roles as Frederick of Saxony. The actors are uniformly excellent in their roles, and the dialogue is well written. The photography is somewhat static, leading me to believe this film was made with television in mind -- albeit of the highbrow kind, in the Masterpiece Theatre tradition. Still, if anyone asked me if I recommended "Luther", I would reply as he did at the Diet of Worms: "Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me."