The Movie
To begin, I am Lutheran, and I'm very proud of my beliefs and the man who inspired the religion. So when I found out that a new contemporary motion picture was being made about Martin Luther's life, I was rather excited. I had learned about him through my church and through my own research and reading, as well as through the previous films, but the chance to see a new vivid production of Luther would be great.

Then they cast Joseph Fiennes as Martin Luther. He's a fine actor, but anyone who has seen his movies knows he doesn't have the screen presence to represent a man who took on the Catholic Church, basically by himself. He's said he instilled doubt into his character, which was probably a bad decision. This is a man who refused to back down when face-to-face with the most powerful force on Earth, yet The Other Fiennes wants him to have doubt? Being human, I'm sure he did have questions, but this is a movie. You only get two hours to boil down a man's existence. You're allowed to paint with a broad brush if you want to get the story across.

A quick overview of the story is in order, if I'm to explain this movie in any way. Luther was a Catholic monk who tired of the Church's many indescretions, first and foremost the selling of indulgences. Indulgences were a form of fund-raising for the Church, as you could be freed from any sin simply by paying the required amount. Today it sounds silly, but to people of limited intelligence, who couldn't read the Latin Bible, they had no idea it was not a Biblical concept. In order to change things, Luther took on the Church to attempt to reform it, stating his case in The 95 Theses, which he nailed to the church door. Once distributed through the printing press, it started a bloody revolution, which, after centuries, has resulted in the Catholic Church adopting many of the changes Luther demanded. Luther loved God and the Catholic Church. It was the people he could have done without.

The films weaves the tale of politics and religion quite well, and besides Fiennes performance, the movie is quite good and rather entertaining. It's been said that the comic's religion is Lutheranism, and this movie, surprisingly, has plenty of comedy. Luther is portrayed as something like the George Carlin of his time, cracking jokes about social ills inside the Church, spreading his commentary to any who would listen. In turn, Father Johann Tetzel (Alfred Molina) is the Don West (QVC) of his time, selling indulgences with special effects and jingles, as if he was doing an infomercial. If only the indulgences were Gem Mint 10, the parody would be complete.

Part of the backstory involves the royal forces behind the scenes, which features the last performance by Sir Peter Ustinov, who is excellent in his role as a Prince who is willing to hear what Luther has to say. It's during the scenes in the royal courts of Rome where the drama and melodrama butt heads, and the film comes out the winner, with a nice balance struck. The movie is presented entirely in English, and not the "thee" and "hither" kind of Shakespearean English you might expect. The dialogue is actually quite modern, which makes the entire film a bit more palatable to modern audiences, while not stretching to force Pope Leo to say "dude."

Interestingly, the film does not present Lutherans as the perfect saviors of Christianity that some would expect from a movie entitled Luther. Unlike most religious films made from a religion's point of view, Luther shows the damage that radical believers can cause, when one of Luther's followers takes the Theses to their utmost extreme, and is willing to kill and destroy all those that stand opposite of his dogma. The situation is settled in a laughably pat manner, but at least the topic is broached and actually shown to be a problem with religion. On the other hand, Luther's alleged anti-Semitism (which was likely true considering the time and his place in the Catholic Church) is not mentioned, but, it wasn't an integral part of this portion of his story (at least, I don't believe it was.)

Like the radical Lutherans portion, the final quarter of the film felt a bit rushed, as Luther finds love (an asylum-seeking nun (Claire Cox, in one of the most unnecessarily dramatic performances of the year)) and changes the world, tying up the story in a neat little bow. A scrolling text coda tells the rest of the story, a portion that would have robbed the filmmakers of the Hollywood ending they have. In all, it's a satisfying bio-pic, but you may be left feeling like something was missing. Either way, Lutherans now have a Passion of their own to enjoy, that can be shared with others when trying to explain just what Lutheranism is about, and the rest of you can enjoy Luther as a pretty good period piece about a man and his beliefs.

The DVD
MGM has released Luther on one DVD, with a 1.85:1 widescreen transfer. An atmospheric and lightly animated main menu gives access to scene selections, special features and subtitle options (English and Spanish.) The disc comes packages in a keepcase, but alas, an insert is not to be found. The 95 Theses would have been a nice enclosure.

The Quality
The anamorphic 1.85:1 transfer looks very good, a positive mark for a movie that's loaded with color and detail. Unlike many films about the same time period, which present a dull and drab Europe, Luther opts for a bolder palette, and has a lighting scheme that doesn't obscure the action in darkness and shadow. There was some light grain evident in the brighter scenes, but the majority of the film is sharp and clear, without any obvious problems. The soundtrack, presented in 5.1 Dolby Surround, is good, but not overly active, with the surrounds mainly used during action scenes to create a louder feel or to amplify the score.

The Extras
There are only two extras on this DVD, one being the theatrical trailer, presented in anamorphic widescreen. The other is a rather brief set of interviews with the main cast members, Fiennes, Ustinov, Cox and Molina. Each cast members answers a handful of questions in an EPK-ish setting, giving rather short answers to questions that deserved some thought. Only Ustinov really gives anything approximating a well-thought-out answer, and he's stuck answering silly questions about what it was like working with Fiennes. The bonus features on this disc were a definite disappointment, considering the subject matter invited any number of opportunities to create something of substance.

The Bottom Line
Luther is a bit uneven, though, since it is the story of a man's life, and life rarely flows like good prose, that would seem to be appropriate. But a movie demands better pace than reality, and this film suffers from some questionable writing and editing decisions. Fiennes' portrayal of one of the strongest wills in the planet's history suffers from a lack of certainty, making Martin Luther into a questionable crusader for truth. In the end, Luther is entertaining, and enlightening to the unknowing, but considering the importance of the man in the middle to the religious culture of the world, it's hardly the home run it could have been. Lutherans and those interested in religious history will certainly be interested, but most will have their curiosity sated by a rental, which I recommend.

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*The Reviewer's Bias section is an attempt to help readers use the review to its best effect. By knowing where the reviewer's biases lie on the film's subject matter, one can read the review with the right mindset.