Luther (1974)

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(396 ratings)

Adapted for the screen by Edward Anhalt from the play by John Osborne, Luther stars Stacy Keach as religious leader and "heretic" Martin Luther. In minimalist fashion, the film traces Luther's disillusionment with the Catholic Church, and his eventual spearheading of the Reformation movement. Over… More Adapted for the screen by Edward Anhalt from the play by John Osborne, Luther stars Stacy Keach as religious leader and "heretic" Martin Luther. In minimalist fashion, the film traces Luther's disillusionment with the Catholic Church, and his eventual spearheading of the Reformation movement. Over the course of the film, Keach ages from an ingenuous seminarian to a disgruntled, middle-aged firebrand. Director Guy Green does little to cinematize the material, instead favoring a theatrical approach and thus allowing the rich dialogue to be better appreciated. Luther was a production of the American Film Theatre. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: PG, 1 hr. 52 min.
Directed By: Guy Green
Genres: Drama, Classics

On DVD: Apr 1, 2003

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Walter M

"Luther" is a thoughtful and intelligent look at the life of Martin Luther(Stacy Keach), starting with a knight(Julian Glover) wiping the blood from a dead soldier on his tunic to signify all the blood shed after Luther's attacks on the Church split Christianity wide… More
"Luther" is a thoughtful and intelligent look at the life of Martin Luther(Stacy Keach), starting with a knight(Julian Glover) wiping the blood from a dead soldier on his tunic to signify all the blood shed after Luther's attacks on the Church split Christianity wide open. In 1506, Luther started out as a humble monk before teaching at a university and that's where he got into trouble with his superiors. As the knight points out, Luther was not the first person to notice the Church's handing out indulgences left, right and center for money and parading untold relics as the real thing. What separated him and made him so important was the eloquent way he used cold logic to refute these, to him, impious actions. Where "Luther"(adapted from a play by John Osborne) succeeds is by keeping Luther in doors where he thinks, away from the general population.(It's probably no accident that Keach is cast against a notable British cast.) So, while he is aware of every word he says, Luther is not aware of how they will affect the world around him, much less himself, as he eventually gets married, to a nun(Judi Dench), and becomes a father. Not bad for a man(and he's a man, just as flawed as the rest of us with the same irritable bowels) whose calling is so readily dismissed at one time by his father(Patrick Magee).