BB
(out of 5)
Martin Luther was a sixteenth century monk who did some deep soul-searching in his Biblical studies and realized that the Catholic church was promoting practices that went against scripture. His 95 Theses, in which he promoted the sovereignty of Christ and his sacrifice and not the power of the Vatican, brought him to trial before the Pope, but his steadfast nature kept him strong and eventually led to the forming of the Protestant religion. This extremely sober drama is intelligent, respectful and completely supportive of Luther’s rebellion; unfortunately, it’s so devoted to the idea that he was a saint that it paints his portrait without a single shred of colour, and as such the film is incredibly boring. Niall MacGinnis seems stifled in the lead role, while the rest of the cast just comes off stuffy.
USA/West Germany, 1953
Directed by Irving Pichel
Screenplay by Theodore G. Tappert, Jaroslav Pelikan, researched and prepared for the screen by Allan Sloane, Lothar Wolff
Cinematography by Joseph C. Brun
Produced by Lothar Wolff
Music by Mark Lothar
Production Design by Paul Markwitz, Fritz Maurischat
Costume Design by Herbert Ploberger
Film Editing by Fritz Stapenhorst
Film Festivals: Venice 1954
Cast Tags: Alastair Hunter, Alexander Gauge, Annette Carell, David Horne, Egon Strohm, Fred Johnson, Guy Verney,Hans Lefebre, Heinz Piper, Henry Oscar, John Ruddock, John Wiggin, Joss Ambler, Leonard White, Michael Maick, Niall MacGinnis, Philip Leaver, Pierre Lefevre, Ronald Adam, William Abney, Wolfgang Oelze
Academy Award Nominations
Best Art Direction (Black-and-White) (art direction: Fritz Maurischat, Paul Markwitz)
Best Cinematography (Black-and-White) (Joseph C. Brun)
National Board Of Review Award
Top Ten Films
Writers Guild Award Nomination
Best Written American Drama
