Luther (2003)

Introduction

The 2003 made-for-TV 2 hour drama charting Martin Luther`s fight for a less corrupt Christianity, starring Joseph Fiennes, Peter Ustinov and Alfred Molina. This is most definitely not the John Osbourne play, but rather a simplified and rather preachy screenplay from Camille Thomasson and Bart Gavigan (a sometime director of `Songs of Praise`). The opening titles tell us that the production was jointly sponsored by `Thrivent Financial for Lutherans` which made me suspect that I was not going to be in for a `warts and all` biography, and in some respects this was the case. The worst we see of the man is when Luther fights against his personal demons but these scenes make him appear mad, rather than the thoughtful, caring man the film would like to to portray.

Video

The film is set up as anamorphic widescreen (unsure of this as the review disk turned up in a single transparent cover) and all scenes are nice and clear (apart from one of the trailers for another `Chronicle` production which looks as if it comes from a chewed-up video). The sets are fantastic, whether in the Munich studios or out on location in Germany and the Czech Republic, and any additional CGI to create the town/city scapes never gets in the way (the arrival at Rome is particularly well done).

Audio

The sound is very good throughout, and there appears to be a nice DD 2.0 setup (although again, I`m not able to confirm this). The score is by Richard Harvey, who produces passable pastiches of early 16th century music mixed with 21st century harmonies, and I`m sure some of the full-throttle orchestral passages would have been quite stirring but they are often played at such a low level in the background, that all the impact is lost.

We only unfortunately have a brief glimpse into Luther`s hymn-writing (a style of music which influenced J.S. Bach) when one is sung in the background by a group of peasants, who fortunately sound like a professional 4-part choir. However, a particularly annoying song towards the end sung by a rescued nun (the instrumental backing being mimed rather badly) spoils everything.

I was also intrigued by some of the dubbing. It may have been to do with the accents of some of the non-English actors (Emperor Charles V being particularly amusing), but there were several times when what was actually being said bore no relation to what came out through the speakers.

Features

The features on the disk include cast, crew and production team `interviews` - which are all well and good, but appallingly edited. Every soundbite is followed by a black screen that lasts for a few seconds before another from the same person, and Alfred Molina is cut off in his prime halfway through a sentence!. Always good to see Peter Ustinov talk though, and his charm and humour shine through despite the editing. Also, it would be a good idea if DVD producers checked the spelling of the actors` names beforehand.although this doesn`t detract from anything `Joseph Feinnes` actually has to say.

A fairly simple text history on `Luther - The Man and his Legacy` is added, but I find it hard to read this sort of stuff on screen and would definitely recommend something we used to call `a book` for further investigation.

Trailers for two further `Chronicle` productions; Napoleon and Julius Caesar, the latter being of such bad quality it`s not worth watching.

Subtitles are in English only (quite entertaining to see a couple of caps-lock accidents, but having seen first hand how these subtitles get on screen this is an easy mistake to make).

Conclusion

So then, a 2 hour potted history of one of the most influential religious and political figures in history, and it`s all quite enjoyable if you take it `as-seen`. All the main actors play their parts with great energy, although Joseph Fiennes doesn`t appear to age one bit through the years. Fiennes plays Luther as someone who spoke to his students and congregation as if he were some form of stand-up comedian, yet this grates with his self-righteous soul-searching in other scenes.
Alfred Molina could have been more manacing as the Inquisitor, but his role isn`t one of danger, rather than as a man who so blindly believes he is right, that when things go against him he just falls apart.
Peter Ustinov is, as always, very reliable and despite the fact that he plays many old men in exactly the same way, there`s always something new to each character.

But…a potted history nonetheless. Luther`s life and works cannot in any sense be explained fully within the confines of a 2 hour drama. Quite rightly, the importance of his fight against the corruption of the Catholic Church in Rome and his translation of the Bible into German (which really got the Pope`s back up!) is the main focus of this production, but overall (and perhaps because of the sponsors), Luther is shown as a little too saintly.
He was only one of the creators of Protestantism (a slower development than this film appears to show) and despite that fact that we are told of all his writings which fed the brains of the ordinary German person, only those which show him in the best light are focussed upon. Nothing of his virulent anti-semitism is hinted at, for example - something that may well have been just par for the course at that time, but then "why", as someone said, "let the truth get in the way of a good story."