DVD Review: Luther (2003)

Luther gives us a wonderful rendering of the life and trials of Martin Luther. This film is well-written and directed in addition to well-acted. This movie was filmed in Germany with the cooperation of the Catholic and Lutheran churches of that country.

Joseph Fiennes is outstanding as Luther, but this is an ensemble cast where everyone gets their moment to shine--Sir Peter Ustinov as Prince Frederick the Wise, Alfred Molina (Raiders of the Lost Ark, SpiderMan 2, The Da Vinci Code) as Tetzel and Claire Cox as Katharina Von Bora. Uwe Oechsenknect (Frank Herbert's Dune) plays Pope Leo X. Claire Thomasson and Bart Gavigan did an excellent job writing the screenplay, treating the story of Martin Luther with dignity and respect without coming off as anti-Catholic.

The movie follows Luther's spiritual journey as a man who, at first, is angry with God and is certain that God is angry with him to becoming a man who discovers a loving God through Christ in the Scriptures of the New Testament. We see the Luther who stands up to the Catholic leaders of the day and declares to the people that salvation lies not in indulgences or in the Church itself, but in Christ and Christ alone.

If there's anything to complain about on this DVD, it's the lack of bonus features. The film's theatrical trailer is included, but it would have been nice to have had one or two featurettes plus a commentary track with director Eric Till and members of his cast and crew. On a five star scale, I'd give Luther four and a half stars for the movie itself, but one for the DVD's lack of bonus features, for an overall rating of three. A movie like this deserves better in terms of DVD treatment, so hopefully MGM will rectify this with another DVD edition containing such features. Luther is a very good movie, not only for Christians, but also for individuals who like good historical films or just good movies, period.

If you enjoyed Luther, you might also be interested in Visual Bible International's The Gospel of John, which I have also reviewed.