Luther (2003)

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.

Director:

Eric Till

Writers:

Camille Thomasson, Bart Gavigan

Stars:

Joseph Fiennes, Bruno Ganz, Peter Ustinov

4 wins & 1 nomination.

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

Storyline

Biography of Martin Luther, the 16th-century priest who led the Christian Reformation and opened up new possibilities in exploration of faith. The film begins with his vow to become a monk, and continues through his struggles to reconcile his desire for sanctification with his increasing abhorrence of the corruption and hypocrisy pervading the Church's hierarchy. He is ultimately charged with heresy and must confront the ruling cardinals and princes, urging them to make the Scriptures available to the common believer and lead the Church toward faith through justice and righteousness.

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Plot Keywords:

church | priest | monk | 16th century | theology | 

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Taglines:

Rebel. Genius. Liberator.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for disturbing images of violence

Details

Official Sites:

Official Site Official Site [Germany]

Country:

Germany USA

Language:

English Latin

Release Date:

26 September 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

Lutero

Filming Locations:

Germany

Box Office

Budget:

€21,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$908,446, 26 September 2003, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$5,791,328, 18 December 2003

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$23,684,104, 31 December 2004

Company Credits

Production Co:

Eikon Film,NFP Teleart Berlin (I),NFP

Technical Specs

Runtime:

123 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Co-produced by 'Thrivent Financial for Lutherans', an American company affiliated with Lutheran church organizations, primarily the two largest national U.S. Lutheran Church organizations (The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod). Thrivent is a component of the "Fortune 500," the 500 largest companies headquartered in the United States, but it is the only not-for-profit organization/company which is a component of the Fortune 500 because it is a members only company, serving the congregants of Lutheran churches in the U.S., operating much like a members only credit union or mutual (meaning owned by its members) insurance company.

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Goofs

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

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Quotes

Frederick the Wise: The Roman Inquisition does not give hearings. It gives death sentences.

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Connections

Version of Martin Luther (1983)

User Reviews

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.