Discover the story behind the man who sparked the Protestant Reformation. Told through a seamless combination of live-action storytelling and artistic animation, Martin Luther's daring life is presented in extensive detail while still making the film relevant, provocative, and accessible.
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Movie Info
MOVIE INFO
Run Time
1 hour and 53 minutes
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Star Rating
★★★★★5 out of 5
(Original title: A Return to Grace: Luther’s Life and Legacy )
Not Rated. Running time: c. 1 hour 53 min.
Our content ratings (1-10): Violence 3; Language 1; Sex/Nudity 1.
Our star rating (1-5): 5
For in it the righteousness of God is revealed through faith for faith;
as it is written, ‘The one who is righteous will live by faith.’
Romans 1:17
If you have any interest in the 500th anniversary of the launching of the Protestant Reformation, you will be tuning your TV set to PBS on September 12 to watch director David Batty and writer Mike Trinklein’s docudrama centering on the explosive monk who rocked Western Europe in 1517. This blending of well-staged drama with commentary from numerous scholars and writers, all tied together by narrator Hugh Bonneville (best known for Downton Abbey), works very well.
The excellent cast, headed by veteran actor Padraic Delany as Luther, conveys well the human side of the events, and a veritable classroom full of scholars, writers, and clergy—more than two dozen!—provide more historical and theological details that enhance the viewing experience. Most of the interviewees, each of whom appears several times, are Lutheran, but one of them is Timothy Dolan, the Catholic Archbishop of New York. I love it that Dolan points out: Luther’s “A Mighty Fortress” is in the Catholic Hymnal!
The film covers ground that will be familiar to Protestants who are old enough to remember, years ago, when the Reformation was sometimes was wryly referred to from Protestant pulpits as “Whack the Catholics Sunday.” The topics include Luther’s education in law; his sudden decision during a thunderstorm to enter a monastery; his struggle with his faith in a stern God; his journey to Rome where he saw the church at its most corrupt; his assignment by his mentor Staupitz to teach; his eventual break-through in his Scripture study to the idea of faith alone, and not works, as the path to salvation; his anger at Tetzel’s selling of indulgences; his refusal to recant his beliefs during the dramatic confrontations with the Emperor and prelates; his marriage and family life; and so on and on through a dangerous life of strong opposition to corruption and false doctrines.
Luther’s story is so full and complicated that viewers will learn some new facts about the Reformer’s story. I have never heard, for instance, of the noble woman Argula von Grumbach*, neither in seminary, nor in any of the books about the Reformation that I have read, yet we see her in the film visiting Luther in 1530 and conversing with him on an equal footing. We are told that she was one who advised him to marry. Many of her letters and pamphlets defending the Reformation were widely read, so that her enemies defamed her and ordered her husband to use violence to silence her. What a film could be made about the life of the first woman who dared to write on behalf of the Reformation!
Intriguing too, is the segment about Luther himself tending to the sick during the outbreak of a plague. It was during this period that he wrote his great hymn “A Mighty Fortress” to encourage his people. Although it became known as the anthem of the Reformation, its original purpose was pastoral, not polemical.
The film and the interviewees do not flinch from discussing Luther’s calamitous mistakes. Clearly the filmmakers do not intend to whitewash his character. Though he was from a lower class himself, he sided with the nobles when the oppressed peasants rose in revolt. Of course, it was Duke Frederick the Elector who kept him from the murderous hands of his enemies, so it was understandable that Luther would stand by his protectors.
Of more far reaching consequence is Luther’s denunciation of the Jews in his infamous booklet when they refused to accept his version of the gospel. He wrote that their synagogues should be burned and the people expelled from the country. Thus, Hitler was able to use Luther’s writings in his evil propaganda against the Jews in the 1930s. Modern day Lutheran bodies have all denounced this work of Luther’s, including formal apologies and reconciliation efforts with Jewish groups.
Curiously, the above fascinating 5-minute segment segues into a section asserting the Reformer’s influence on America’s Civil Rights Movement. In 1934 a black Baptist minister was in Germany attending a world Baptist Convention, during which he was so inspired by the various sites related to Martin Luther that he decided to change both his and his five-year-old son’s name from Michael to Martin Luther King. The rest, as they say, is history.
Perhaps most endearing to some viewers will be the domestic scenes that begin with Luther’s marrying the former nun Katharina von Bora, who proved to be a good organizer of the household and staunch supporter of her husband. The couple had six children, and from the way they flock to him when he returns home, their relationship must have been warm. He is grief stricken when his daughter Magdalene sickens and dies at the age of 13, but this experience adds depth to his letters that he writes to others mourning the loss of a loved one. No doubt his own children added to his zeal to spread education among all children, a program in which he included girls. The film alludes to comic book illustrations when we are shown that his famous Catechism included pictures to enhance the young readers’ understanding of Christian teaching.
There is so much to explore in this exciting docudrama, so gather a group together on the night of September 12, tune in to PBS, and prepare for a grand time. This is such an excellent production that if you must be away, be sure to set up a recording of the series. You will not want to miss this production! There are many other good films about Luther available, but for overall educational effectiveness, this tops my list.
*See the Wikipedia article on her, and for a longer piece that includes one of her poems, click onto the first of the “External Links” at the bottom of the Wikipedia article. It seems so shameful that she, like other female church leaders, has been overlooked by historians.
This review with a set of questions will be in the October 2017 issue of VP.
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A Return to Grace: Luther life and Legacy
byPadraic Delaney
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52 total ratings, 19 with reviews
From the United States
B
5.0 out of 5 stars Freedom isn’t free - including religion
Reviewed in the United States on November 10, 2021
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Watched at release few years back excited to now own the movie to show history and religion brought to life and how we are always one step away from “freedom”. Quick delivery. Thank you.
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ColoradoGal
5.0 out of 5 stars The Bible is clear that salvation comes through faith alone and cannot be bought.
Reviewed in the United States on December 18, 2017
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At a time in history when the Roman Church was the ONLY church but it was thoroughly corrupt, this video did a fabulous job of explaining how God used Luther to reshape the church and how Luther made it clear that salvation is by grace and cannot be "purchased with indulgences."
4 people found this helpful
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Paul A Doletzky
5.0 out of 5 stars Do you want to understand the Reformation of the Church? Do you want to know where the thoughts of democracy came from?
Reviewed in the United States on January 22, 2018
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A great movie on a man that changed the world and all of history since his day! A movie everyone needs to see and explains so much of the Reformation of the Western Church and what led to democracy in so many parts of the Western World.
2 people found this helpful
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florence
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in the United States on December 17, 2017
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It was factual. It was very informative. It was helpful to learn about the Reformation.
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Frank Dolk
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in the United States on November 15, 2017
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Some good history on the reformation and the man.
One person found this helpful
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MTR
5.0 out of 5 stars It needs to be made clear that this is the same film as "The Idea that Changed the World".
Reviewed in the United States on January 12, 2018
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The Martin Luther character seemed real. The settings were believable. I thought I was attending a sophisticated Sunday school class.
5 people found this helpful
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Chris R
5.0 out of 5 stars Best Martin Luther Movie Ever!
Reviewed in the United States on November 21, 2017
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Great details regarding Luther, his family and background, as well as the general religious and political climate of the time.
4 people found this helpful
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PBS documentary
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https://www.pbs.org/empires/martinluther/about_driv.html
Driven to Defiance | The Reluctant Revolutionary
Young Luther
Young Martin Luther - Driven to Defiance
"I would never have thought that such a storm would rise from Rome over one simple scrap of paper..." (Martin Luther)
Few if any men have changed the course of history like Martin Luther. In less than ten years, this fevered German monk plunged a knife into the heart of an empire that had ruled for a thousand years, and set in motion a train of revolution, war and conflict that would reshape Western civilization, and lift it out of the Dark Ages.
Luther's is a drama that still resonates half a millennium on. It's an epic tale that stretches from the gilded corridors of the Vatican to the weathered church door of a small South German town; from the barbarous pyres of heretics to the technological triumph of printing. It is the story of the birth of the modern age, of the collapse of medieval feudalism, and the first shaping of ideals of freedom and liberty that lie at the heart of the 21st century.
But this is also an intensely human tale, a story that hurtles from the depths of despair to the heights of triumph and back again. This is the story of a man who ultimately found himself a lightning conductor of history, crackling with forces he could not quite comprehend or control.
For Luther, in a life full of irony, would find himself overwhelmed by his own achievements. As his followers sought to build a new and just Europe around him, he could only turn on them in frustration, declaring that his - and their - only goal should be Heaven.
Martin Luther stands as a hero, the man who built the bridge between the two halves of the last millennium, the Medieval and the Modern. His tragedy was that he would never find the courage to cross it himself.
Martin Luther was born into a world dominated by the Catholic Church, which holds spiritual dominion over all the nations of Europe. For the keenly spiritual Luther, the Church's promise of salvation is irresistible - caught in a thunderstorm, terrified by the possibility of imminent death, he vows to become a monk.
Selling indulgences
Selling indulgences
But after entering the monastery, Luther becomes increasingly doubtful that the Church can actually offer him salvation at all. His views crystallize even further with a trip to Rome, where he finds that the capital of Catholicism is swamped in corruption.
Wracked by despair, Luther finally finds release in the pages of the Bible, when he discovers that it is not the Church, but his own individual faith that will guarantee his salvation.
With this revelation, he turns on the Church, attacking its practice of selling Indulgences in the famous 95 Theses. The key points of Luther's theses were simple, but devastating: a criticism of the Pope's purpose in raising the money, "he is richer than Croesus, he would do better to sell St Peters and give the money to the poor people...", and a straightforward concern for his flock, "indulgences are most pernicious because they induce complacency and thereby imperil salvation".
Luther was not only a revolutionary thinker, he would also benefit from a revolutionary technology: the newly invented machinery of printing. A single pamphlet would be carried from one town to another, where it would be duplicated in a further print run of thousands. Within three months, all Europe was awash with copies of Luther's 95 Theses.
Martin Luther had inadvertently chosen unavoidable conflict with what was the most powerful institution of the day, the Catholic Church.
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Go to Program Two - The Reluctant Revolutionary
Find out more about the Characters in Luther's life.
Exclusive Video: See extra interviews
Luther's World | Luther the Villain | Luther the Hero
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From other countries
Gerhard Nehr
5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding life and times of Luther
Reviewed in Canada on 18 February 2023
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Puts Luther and protestant history in perspective.
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Terry chamness
5.0 out of 5 stars Review of DVD
Reviewed in the United States on 22 May 2019
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Another in the PBS Empires series Martin Luther looks at the extraordinary life I'm the man who started the Reformation and destroyed the 1000-year Empire of the Roman Catholic Church born to abusive parents all Luther wanted to do was serve God he was disgusted at the church's corruption which got even worse under the leadership a Pope Leo the 10th he strongly believed that somebody did not have to go through a priest or a church to find their way to God but they could take their own path but he did not expect the unprecedented violence to break out he found the revolution he started he could not control he could be a extraordinary kind individual but he could also be extremely mean there was Martin Luther the hero and the villain he harbored deep anti-semitism which was appalling the documentary is a very balanced well thought-out look and one of the most important individuals in history Liam Neeson does a superb job in narration ,production values are excellent 3 Creations are solid this clearly is a very well produced documentary I was very pleased to purchase this documentary I have purchased other in the Empire series I have loved them all and this is just another one I highly recommended whether your religious or not he was an extraordinary person both for good and for ill and this is a fascinating look into him and the times he lived in special features include interview extras talking about both the good and bad side of Luther a brief behind-the-scenes look at the making of the documentary as well as a brief look at the world that Luther lived in at the time
6 people found this helpful
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Fedoradude
5.0 out of 5 stars Very well-done - thorough, balanced and fairly presented.
Reviewed in the United States on 5 September 2016
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For a PBS-produced documentary, this really does a good job of presenting a thorough and accurate detailing of Luther's life and struggles. Presented in a very fair and balanced way. Once I saw it at a friend's house, I knew I had to own a copy myself.
Contrary to popular myth; Martin Luther never meant to establish his own brand of Christianity (Lutheranism). Rather he was conducting the Catholic mass etc and following doctrine in ways consistent with scripture with the intent of returning Catholicism to that original path.
11 people found this helpful
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Stan57
5.0 out of 5 stars "Inspirational" Leadership
Reviewed in the United States on 8 February 2014
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I am amazed what Luther was able to accomplish. Having grown up in Germany, I think that Luther's initial strict conformity to the rules (which is quite strong there) contributed to his disdain of the hypocrisy of the church. This documentary tries to explain what drove him. I am in awe of someone with the willingness and ability to stand up to the church, especially at that time, given it's power. The re-enactments performed in this video are done well and help take the viewer back to the time. The scholars who explain Luther are quite articulate.
5 people found this helpful
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John Vanvoorhis
4.0 out of 5 stars God's firecracker in a world of corruption seen again!
Reviewed in the United States on 31 July 2013
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Another excellent production about the life of Martin Luther. He was one of the most exciting and pivotal figures in the last 500 years, and I do not think we have yet seen the last movie or DVD about his life. It has been 60 years since I read "The Life and Times of Martin Luther" by J. H. Merle D'Aubigne, and the courage he demonstrated to stand for truth and freedom at Worms still sends chills up my spine!
5 people found this helpful
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Don Carroll
5.0 out of 5 stars Historical Theology at its best.
Reviewed in the United States on 30 May 2010
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Everything that applies to excellent film making such as script, location, actors, historical research and photography, is very well executed in this fine presentation of a true Medieval historical character and event. I can't truly find any faults that are worth criticism. This Martin Luther PBS presentation is also a great primer for understanding the time period and its crisis.
I am Roman Catholic and find Luther's anger with Rome in this presentation as fair and justified historically.
Thanks PBS for your objectivity and excellent film making.
Yours,
Don Carroll
9 people found this helpful
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et94
5.0 out of 5 stars Great documentary, love the history!
Reviewed in the United States on 30 January 2019
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I saw this when I was in high school, and I love history, so this was a good documentary on Martin Luther and what change he brought about.
Thank you PBS for this dvd!
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telmore
5.0 out of 5 stars THIS will get you the facts and the impact. LUTHER (Fiennes & Molina, 2008) tells the story with wit and zest
Reviewed in the United States on 3 January 2016
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PBS on Marin Luther is superb. It's not always recognized now what a cultural-shattering effect he had on Europe, and western civilization. It took 1500 years to get to the priesthood of all believers. From there, 200 years to get to consent of the governed, another 100+ years to outlaw slavery. Now, that's revolution.
2 people found this helpful
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Peggy F.
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in the United States on 27 January 2018
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More informative than some other Luther videos. Used it for Sunday School lesson. Really helpful.
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Joey E. Boyum
5.0 out of 5 stars Top Notch
Reviewed in the United States on 25 April 2014
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The contributions of this ONE MAN reaffirms the power of the individual. Because of his steadfast and stubborn belief, Europe was changed forever and thus the world...and certainly for the better.
Without Luther there would not have been an industrial revolution and the Rennasance would have been strangled in its crib. He stood against the theocracy and we are all the better for it.
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