During the early sixteenth century, idealistic German monk Martin Luther, disgusted by the materialism in the Catholic Church, begins the dialogue that will lead to the Protestant Reformatio... Read allDuring the early sixteenth century, idealistic German monk Martin Luther, disgusted by the materialism in the Catholic Church, begins the dialogue that will lead to the Protestant Reformation.During the early sixteenth century, idealistic German monk Martin Luther, disgusted by the materialism in the Catholic Church, begins the dialogue that will lead to the Protestant Reformation.
- Awards
- 4 wins & 1 nomination
- Frederick the Wise
- (as Sir Peter Ustinov)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThis was Peter Ustinov's final theatrical film before his death on March 28, 2004 at the age of 82.
- GoofsIn 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.
- Quotes
Martin Luther: Unless I am convinced by Scripture and by plain reason and not by Popes and councils who have so often contradicted themselves, my conscience is captive to the word of God. To go against conscience is neither right nor safe. I cannot and I will not recant. Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me.
- ConnectionsVersion of Martin Luther (1953)
"Luther" is a very rich movie to say the least. The costumes, scenery, music, acting, and characters all compliment the film nicely. Joseph Fiennes turns in a fine performance portraying Luther and making the audience both admire and feel pity for him throughout the film (the sticklers to realism just have to forgive the fact that Fiennes and Luther do not look very much alike). All the supporting roles were well done as well, especially Peter Ustinov as Prince Friedrich and Uwe Ochsenknecht (say that name three times fast!) as Pope Leo.
Personally as a Lutheran, I was very pleased to see the movie focus mainly on Luther's scriptural interpretations and 95 Theses rather than solely on the secular politics of the time. Thankfully, the creators of "Luther" do not tip-toe around including and expressing Christian messages as to "not offend" non-Christian viewers. If anything, all the direct references to the Bible and doctrine may win people over by showing just how much Martin Luther was a model of Christianity through his love of God and strict belief in only the scriptures (and not unjust rules of men). All that he used to battle the ridiculous man made ordinances and general corruption of the 16th century Catholic Church.
The only things I can really pick apart in "Luther" is the ending - I just wish the ending was slightly more rounded than it is, it seemed that things were sped up in the last 1/4 of the film and then it kind of ended abruptly. Nonetheless, the ending was still very emotional and made me want to stand up and applaud. I highly recommend this film to those wishing to learn more about Luther, the Reformation, or even just basic Christianity. But keep in mind, at times this film is violent. But the violence is used sparingly and only to drive home some important points in the film (such as Luther's despair over feeling responsible for so many gruesome deaths). All in all, this is a very emotional film which works on so many levels and it was a great pleasure to watch.
- solar_son
- Oct 29, 2003
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Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Luter
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $30,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $5,791,328
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $908,446
- Sep 28, 2003
- Gross worldwide
- $29,632,684
- Runtime2 hours 3 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1