Luther

[Son of a Preacher Man]

Official Site: http://www.lutherthemovie.com/

Openned this weekend.   I think it's a national release, just not to my part of the nation.   :(

Look for it in major markets.  Rated PG-13.

[charlie]

I saw the preview for this on TV. It looks really neat. My wife thought so too, so hopefully we'll make some time to go see it this week.

[charlie]

I saw Luther this weekend.

Sound the trumpets and fly the banners, folks. This is a MUST SEE MOVIE. Oh my goodness!!!!

It starts out with his thunderstorm experience where he vows to St. Anne to become a monk and it just gets better and better from there. It finally ends with the Augsburg Confession of 1530, but what a ride!!!

I'll try not to spoil the details, but I just have to share some of it. This movie covers the events with amazing accuracy. I know the characters in real life weren't that handsome, and some of the dialogue was made up, but the various councils and diets went right along with history. \"Here I stand. I can do no more.\" It's in there! \"Whenever the coin in the coffer rings, a soul from purgatory springs.\" It's in there!

It was inspiring! It was heart-wrenching! It made me want to be Catholic and Protestant all at the same time. It made me want to rush home to my bible and just hug it for a while, and then read the whole thing in one night.

I'm going to see it again, and when it comes out on DVD, I'm buying it on day one. And if it's not in stores because they're afraid it won't make money, I'm going on ebay, baby. This movie rocks! It truly is the first movie that was honestly worth my time and made me a better person since I don't know when.

[Lee Freeman]

Thanks for sharing that Charlie; I was a little worried (like I always am with a historical film) over historical accuracy. I take it from your comment about wanting to be Catholic and Protestant at the same time that they didn't just totally trash the Catholic Church, like most films do. Good! Usually the Catholic Church is so caricatured and distorted that it bears little resemblence to the real Catholic Church at all.

There's a biography of Luther out which has stills taken from the film as pictures; its a very handsome book.

Pax vobiscum.

[Son of a Preacher Man]

Please Lord, forgive my jealousy.  I am envious, coveting my brother who lives in a much more enlightened land than I (or in the very least, a bigger metropolitan area.)  I ask only that you allow the distributer a sense of direction that might send the film our way.  But if this is not your will, please grant us the DVD according to your fullness of time.  Give me the patience to wait, dear Lord.  

AMEN.


:D

Thanks for updating us, Charlie!

[charlie]

[!--QuoteBegin--][/span][table border=\"0\" align=\"center\" width=\"95%\" cellpadding=\"3\" cellspacing=\"1\"][tr][td]Quote [/td][/tr][tr][td id=\"QUOTE\"][!--QuoteEBegin--]I take it from your comment about wanting to be Catholic and Protestant at the same time that they didn't just totally trash the Catholic Church, like most films do. [/quote]

Not at all. In fact, I thought it very effectively separated the simple catholic faith from the abuses of the powerful. There was one little crippled girl who ran like a thread through the film (kind of like the girl in red in 'Schindler's List'). To me, she represented the innocence of the simple faith of Christians of all stripes. You know, neither Catholic nor protestant, but simply a child of God. You could see how the Reformation was both inevitable and unneccessary (that is, it could/should have been handled differently, but it just wasn't in the cards). And you see very clearly the reform and revolt aspects of the Reformation. Some were after an improvement while others simply wanted to tear down the church and build a better one.

Since accounts of Luther vary depending on who's doing the telling, I'd say that the movie definitely favors the Protestant reckoning of the man, rather than the Catholic one. If I were Catholic, I might be ticked off, but not surprised by the film. Since I'm not, I'll say that the film treated the RC Church very fairly.

SoaPMan, Gainesville, FL is hardly enlightened! But yes, metropolitan areas sometimes have their advantages.

[Lee Freeman]

Charlie, methinks I must needs with all due haste hie me to the theater in order that I may view yon film. Sorry. It's Renaissance Faire Month down here.  :D  Really, it sounds good. Thanks again for your very moving review.

Pax vobiscum.

[charlie]

Think not on it.  Yea, hie thou thither. Merry, declare unto us all how thou reckonest yon picture show. Anon, we shall verily compare notes.

[Lee Freeman]

Of a surety, an I shall do as thou bidd'st. I shall with keenest anticipation await the viewing of't.

I really gotta stop doin' that.

[boringoldguy]

It won't be shown here, even though we are a pretty big metropolitan area.  Luther is as big a villain among many here as any Pope ever was to a protestant.  

The word \"luterano\" used to be a Spanish slang word for \"traitor\", at least in Mexico.   It's not that common any more.   Have you ever heard that Booty?

[charlie]

Has anybody else gotten to see this movie, and if so, what did you think about it?

[Son of a Preacher Man]

Yep.  Watched it Halloween night.  Very spooky! :eek:

I haven't had time to sort out all my thoughts on the movie. Overall I enjoyed the film.  I found the movie hitting closer to home than I would like to think because so much of the adversity Luther faced... well, that's another post altogether now isn't it?

Regardless, the film finally made its way here, which is an amazing feet in itself.  It was a bad print, but I just felt lucky to get to watch it because it was only on 177 screens last week.

There was one part of the movie where I couldn't figure out exactly what was going on.  (This is highly unusual for me--I mean, I understand most stuff people scoff at)  However, I do feel the reason for the confusion was probably due to the low budget.  I'm betting there were scenes missing there that they couldn't afford to film.

Other than that, I was very moved, touched, and inspired.

Maybe I'll write a proper review soon...

SoaPMan

[charlie]

[!--QuoteBegin--][/span][table border=\"0\" align=\"center\" width=\"95%\" cellpadding=\"3\" cellspacing=\"1\"][tr][td]Quote [/td][/tr][tr][td id=\"QUOTE\"][!--QuoteEBegin--]There was one part of the movie where I couldn't figure out exactly what was going on. [/quote]
Which part was that. Maybe I could shed some light.

[Son of a Preacher Man]

Between the scene where Martin Luther is called from his \"safe-house\" and when he sees all the dead peasants.  Who killed them?  Historically, it is easy to figure out but in the movie it is never made clear who is responsible for the death of \"thousands.\"  Of course, Luther takes all responsibility in the film... but we are never told who is responsible.

I know there were a few scenes cut in that part of the movie for budgetary concerns.  

If we were told (in the film) then I missed it.  As I said, it was a BAAAAAAAAAAAD Print and the sound was worse.  Wife and I had a \"private screening\" and she went and told them to turn it up at one point.

Sir Peter Ustinov was brilliant.  His character was well written and it was a strong performance.  Perhaps the highlight of the film.

[charlie]

The 'revolt' was started by some of Luther's early supporters in Wittenburg. By that point in the story, they had expanded their tongue-in-cheek criticism of the Roman Church to murderous levels. One of the leaders (can't remember his name) had taken to speaking in riddles ('you too shall be cut down', that kind of talk) similar to what we might call fundamentalist rhetoric. Anyway, it was these people who went around burning all the Catholic churches in the name of Luther's reform. Luther, meanwhile, was in hiding from the Holy Roman Emperor, spending his days translating the NT and completely unaware of the atrocities being committed in his name.

[nerdneh]

Charlie, your review has made me want to see this, I hope it is playing in Nashville now. That's not too far from Florence, so should be able to get it done soon. Do you know if this is based on the John Osborne play? I saw that in New York many years ago.

[charlie]

Sorry, Bob. I'm not familiar with the John Osborne play, nor have I seen any other Luther films from years ago. My only exposure to Luther was from reading a few textbooks, and the usual occasional denouncing of \"faith-only theology\" as if that were all he was about. What started changing my attitude was reading his preface to the letter to the Romans back when I was about 21.

I was blessed to have stumbled upon it. It changed me. Read it if you haven't.

[nerdneh]

Wasn't John Wesley also deeply affected by reading one of Luther's prefaces? Perhaps it was to the Galatians, or perhaps the one you mentioned, to the Romans?

[charlie]

I think I'd read that somewhere too. Romans, I think.

[Barb1957]

Thinking of seeing this one tomorrow afternoon. Have also heard good word-of-mouth about it from one of our elders/Bible class teachers at church who's also a prof at Lipscomb. What's the running time? Just in case I need to have an idea of when I'll get out if I do go ... and usually, if possible, I like to stay and sit through the credits. Not only a matter of respect for the folks who worked on the film, gives the ladies' room more time to thin out. ha ha Checked fandango.com, which usually gives running times, but for some reason, it doesn't for Luther.

[nerdneh]

Ann and I were able to go to Huntsville to see Luther, and we were not disappointed. One of the best films I have seen in a long time. I particularly enjoyed the way the sermons were presented, as that usually has a way of being pretentious in most films I have seen (except in the old classic A Man Called Peter (is that title correct?, it was about Peter Marshall, and I thought was well done.)

Ann loved it, said it moved her deeply and gave her a good introduction to the events leading up to the Reformation. Obviously, the printing press made a huge difference to the outcome, and I thought the movie caught that rather well.

[parson6]

I just returned to my office following a special showing of \"Luther\" for the ministers here in Cedar Rapids.  As has already been stated on this thread, \"this is a must see movie\".  I will be recommending it to my congregation and will be taking my family.

Luther's conviction to stand on the Scripture almost screams at you.  His devotion to truth is undeniable.  If only those of us in the restoration movement who also make such claims would live with the kind of intensity that marked Luther's life.

Earlier this week I previewed \"The Passion of the Christ\".  If I could only see one of these two movies I would pick \"Luther\", it is that good.

[fishfry]

I totally agree with Charlie.  Luther is an incredible movie - and very historically accurate.  It amazes me that this movie hasn't garnered more critical acclaim...

Joseph Fiennes is immaculate as the soul-wrestling, semi-psychotic monk turned prophet/ iconoclast.

and what's her name?  the women who plays his wife, Katherine von Bora?  she's really hot in this movie!!!!

all in all, this film exposes Luther as he really was - a precious soul; funnier than Seinfeld and no less spiritual than any of the twelve disciples

[Bon Voyage]

I finally saw this movie.  I recommend it.

[Jimbob]

Me, too.  I saw this last year some time and have been wanting to watch it a second time.

[Lee Freeman]

Me, too.  I saw this last year some time and have been wanting to watch it a second time.

Me, too.  I saw this last year some time and have been wanting to watch it a second time.

One Sunday night last year we showed it at church.

Pax.