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Luther (1973 film)
Encyclopedia
Luther is the 1973
film of John Osborne
's biographical play
, presenting the life of Martin Luther
. It was one of eight in the first season of the American Film Theater's series of plays
made into films. It was produced by Ely Landau
, directed by British director Guy Green, and filmed at Shepperton Studios
, England. Martin Luther with all of his historical significance is presented for the world to challenge and assess.
to a time just after the birth of his first son Hans (b. June 7, 1526). It is narrated by Julian Glover
, who portrays a young knight in the tradition of Ulrich von Hutten
and Franz von Sickingen
. He takes Luther to task for failing to complete his "revolution" by supporting the peasants in their uprising: "You could have done it, Martin." Luther is confronted in the course of the film six other times, giving him the opportunity to defend himself in his own words. The metaphor of constipation and flatulence is employed to indicate Luther's progression from insecurity to confidence in life.
. He looks out facing the camera and sees a wounded knight wheeling in a hand cart that holds the body of a fallen comrade. The knight sardonically regales Luther with some of his accomplishments but then accuses him of abandoning those who got his reformation for him. Luther denies this, and the knight dips his right hand into his comrade's blood and wipes it across Luther's white surplice, telling him he now looks like a butcher. Luther stares silently. The film will return to this scene at this very point after the presentation of all the events of the story that precede it (1506-1525).
The scene shifts to the Augustinian cloister in Erfurt in 1506, when Luther becomes a full-fledged monk of the Order of Eremites of St. Augustine at the completion of his novitiate. Following the vesting of the new monk the young knight takes on the role of narrator and commentator for the rest of the film, explaining that Luther had become a monk to protect his soul from demonic attack and that he sought to outdo his brothers in the "counsels of perfection
" in order to suppress internal murmurings of doubt. Luther is shown serving his brothers in the refectory, cleaning the cloister's latrines, washing the dishes, shivering in cold as he tries to sleep in his cell, and pacing back and forth in prayer. An important line of Luther's at this point is, "I am afraid of the darkness and the hole in it ... and there's no bottom to it!" He is so overwhelmed by his own sinfulness that he all but bursts open when he is making his confession. In a daily office he leaves the stalls where his brother monks are chanting a psalm, and he collapses in a fit before the altar. The knight reports that he suffered in that way for months but that he was able to cope with his doubts by "dropping them" from out of his head and into his bowels, i.e., becoming constipated.
Luther is then shown in his cell just before his first mass. His friend Brother Weinand comes in to tell him that his father has come to attend. In the course of vesting Luther, Weinand has him confess the Apostles' Creed
, repeating twice the article, "the forgiveness of sins" to bring home to Luther that he is expected to believe that his sins are forgiven if he confesses this creed. This is the first time in the film that Luther is confronted. In this confrontation Weinand ends by telling Luther, "God isn't angry with you. It is you that are angry with him."
When Weinand leaves, Luther imagines he sees Jesus Christ as a fearful judge seated on a rainbow with a sword poised to punish him. This image takes him into the saying of his first mass, which he does poorly by seeming to forget the words of the liturgy. He then faces his father at the reception in the refectory. When father and son are left alone, Hans Luther scolds his son for failing to keep the commandment to honor father and mother when he left the study of law to enter the convent. He also tells him that he believes that Luther is murdering himself in the convent. This is the second confrontation. Luther defends himself by affirming that he did see a vision in the thunderstorm that moved him to make a promise to St. Anne to become a monk. He also shares how he felt closest to his father.
The knight begins the next segment with the statement: "So the praising ended, and the blasphemy began." Johann Tetzel
is portrayed preaching indulgences with great pomp and circumstance. He makes the bold claim that his indulgences would even provide forgiveness for one who offered violence to the Virgin Mary
. In the next scene Luther comes upon his mentor Vicar General Johann von Staupitz as he dozes under a pear tree. Staupitz confronts Luther for a third time with the accusation that he resents authority and makes it look ridiculous by his meticulous observance of his monastic rule. Staupitz urges Luther to articulate his position among his peers in Latin rather than in the vernacular German that would encourage the peasants and young knights to revolt.
Luther then is shown preaching a sermon on the eve of All Saints' Day, 1517, in which he graphically tells how he discovered the gospel of justification by faith alone while sitting on the latrine. He declares that someone has to "bell the cat," and with that he goes out to post his Ninety-five Theses. Luther is then confronted for the fourth time by Tetzel and Thomas Cardinal Cajetan
de Vio at Augsburg in the fall of 1518. Cajetan warns Luther that if he does not retract his "errors and sermons" that the unity of Christendom would be sundered. Luther refuses, and Cajetan concludes, "That man hates himself, and if he goes to the stake, Tetzel, you can inscribe it: 'he could only love others.'"
The next scene shows Luther burning the bull Exsurge Domine
in defiance of the pope. He then falls to the ground in a fit for a second time in the film. In a prayer he reminds God that the cause he is fighting is God's not his. He wonders if God is dead, concluding that God cannot die but only hide himself.
The famous session of the Diet of Worms
is portrayed when Luther appears for the second time. The inquisitor is portrayed as Johann Eck
. Luther is now confronted for the fifth time by Eck, who interrupts his "Here I Stand" speech with the warning that the common man is so greedy as to be incited to revolt if he does not recant. Luther refuses, and the momentousness of that action is emphasized in the film. The young knight exults in the moment: if Luther wanted to he could have led a successful revolt against established authority. The knight breaks off his ardor by disgustedly stating that Luther issued a plea for the extermination of the rebels, his Against the Murderous, Thieving Hordes of Peasants
. Luther is portrayed as standing before the emperor and the princes declaiming a portion of his notorious tract. The emperor and the princes walk past Luther with their swords drawn to put down the peasants.
Luther is then shown wandering through a devastated marketplace where peasants had been slaughtered. He is brought once again to where he had been confronted by the young knight, who wipes blood across his surplice: Luther is confronted for the fifth time. Luther defends himself with the assertion: "God is the butcher. Address your abuse to him." Luther then tells the story of the Sacrifice of Issac
by Abraham
, concluding that God gives life when nothing seems imminent but death.
Luther is confronted for the seventh and final time by old Staupitz who has come to visit Martin and his wife Katie. Luther admits that the peasants had just cause but that as a mob they were against Christ. Staupitz is relieved to hear that Luther was not sure when he took his stand at Worms. Luther prays, "Help my unbelief." Katie comes in with their infant son Hans, who cannot get to sleep. Luther repeats his superstition that passing air in the devil's face wards him off: going from being anal retentive to being anal expulsive shows one has overcome one's doubts and fears. In the final scene Luther takes the baby into his pulpit and assures him that "the dark isn't quite as thick as all that," that they should hope that Christ will be true to his word, "A little while and you'll not see me, and then again a little and you shall see me" (John 16:16).
1973 in film
The year 1973 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*The Marx Brothers' Zeppo Marx divorces his second wife, Barbara Blakely. Blakely would later marry actor/singer Frank Sinatra....
film of John Osborne
John Osborne
John James Osborne was an English playwright, screenwriter, actor and critic of the Establishment. The success of his 1956 play Look Back in Anger transformed English theatre....
's biographical play
Luther (play)
Luther is a 1961 play by John Osborne that explored the forces that were involved in the life of Martin Luther, one of the instigators of the Protestant Reformation. Osborne was influenced by Erik Erikson's book, Young Man Luther, which had been published three years prior in 1958. In the play,...
, presenting the life of Martin Luther
Martin Luther
Martin Luther was a German priest, professor of theology and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money. He confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517...
. It was one of eight in the first season of the American Film Theater's series of plays
Play (theatre)
A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...
made into films. It was produced by Ely Landau
Ely Landau
Ely Abraham Landau was an American producer and production executive best remembered for films of plays in the American Film Theatre series....
, directed by British director Guy Green, and filmed at Shepperton Studios
Shepperton Studios
Shepperton Studios is a film studio in Shepperton, Surrey, England with a history dating back to 1931 since when many notable films have been made there...
, England. Martin Luther with all of his historical significance is presented for the world to challenge and assess.
Synopsis
The time span covered by the film is 1506-1526: from Luther's completion of his novitiate in the Order of Eremites of St. Augustine in ErfurtErfurt
Erfurt is the capital city of Thuringia and the main city nearest to the geographical centre of Germany, located 100 km SW of Leipzig, 150 km N of Nuremberg and 180 km SE of Hannover. Erfurt Airport can be reached by plane via Munich. It lies in the southern part of the Thuringian...
to a time just after the birth of his first son Hans (b. June 7, 1526). It is narrated by Julian Glover
Julian Glover
Julian Wyatt Glover is a British actor best known for such roles as General Maximilian Veers in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, the Bond villain Aristotle Kristatos in For Your Eyes Only, and Walter Donovan in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.-Personal life:Glover was born in...
, who portrays a young knight in the tradition of Ulrich von Hutten
Ulrich von Hutten
Ulrich von Hutten was a German scholar, poet and reformer. He was an outspoken critic of the Roman Catholic Church and a bridge between the humanists and the Lutheran Reformation...
and Franz von Sickingen
Franz von Sickingen
Franz von Sickingen was a German knight, one of the most notable figures of the first period of the Reformation.-Biography:He was born at Ebernburg near Bad Kreuznach...
. He takes Luther to task for failing to complete his "revolution" by supporting the peasants in their uprising: "You could have done it, Martin." Luther is confronted in the course of the film six other times, giving him the opportunity to defend himself in his own words. The metaphor of constipation and flatulence is employed to indicate Luther's progression from insecurity to confidence in life.
Plot
To the pealing of church bells Luther begins to ascend into his pulpit to preach, but he is hindered by stomach cramps. It is 1525 at the time of the Peasant's Revolt. He looks out facing the camera and sees a wounded knight wheeling in a hand cart that holds the body of a fallen comrade. The knight sardonically regales Luther with some of his accomplishments but then accuses him of abandoning those who got his reformation for him. Luther denies this, and the knight dips his right hand into his comrade's blood and wipes it across Luther's white surplice, telling him he now looks like a butcher. Luther stares silently. The film will return to this scene at this very point after the presentation of all the events of the story that precede it (1506-1525).
The scene shifts to the Augustinian cloister in Erfurt in 1506, when Luther becomes a full-fledged monk of the Order of Eremites of St. Augustine at the completion of his novitiate. Following the vesting of the new monk the young knight takes on the role of narrator and commentator for the rest of the film, explaining that Luther had become a monk to protect his soul from demonic attack and that he sought to outdo his brothers in the "counsels of perfection
Evangelical counsels
The three evangelical counsels or counsels of perfection in Christianity are chastity, poverty , and obedience . As Jesus of Nazareth stated in the Canonical gospels , they are counsels for those who desire to become "perfect"...
" in order to suppress internal murmurings of doubt. Luther is shown serving his brothers in the refectory, cleaning the cloister's latrines, washing the dishes, shivering in cold as he tries to sleep in his cell, and pacing back and forth in prayer. An important line of Luther's at this point is, "I am afraid of the darkness and the hole in it ... and there's no bottom to it!" He is so overwhelmed by his own sinfulness that he all but bursts open when he is making his confession. In a daily office he leaves the stalls where his brother monks are chanting a psalm, and he collapses in a fit before the altar. The knight reports that he suffered in that way for months but that he was able to cope with his doubts by "dropping them" from out of his head and into his bowels, i.e., becoming constipated.
Luther is then shown in his cell just before his first mass. His friend Brother Weinand comes in to tell him that his father has come to attend. In the course of vesting Luther, Weinand has him confess the Apostles' Creed
Apostles' Creed
The Apostles' Creed , sometimes titled Symbol of the Apostles, is an early statement of Christian belief, a creed or "symbol"...
, repeating twice the article, "the forgiveness of sins" to bring home to Luther that he is expected to believe that his sins are forgiven if he confesses this creed. This is the first time in the film that Luther is confronted. In this confrontation Weinand ends by telling Luther, "God isn't angry with you. It is you that are angry with him."
When Weinand leaves, Luther imagines he sees Jesus Christ as a fearful judge seated on a rainbow with a sword poised to punish him. This image takes him into the saying of his first mass, which he does poorly by seeming to forget the words of the liturgy. He then faces his father at the reception in the refectory. When father and son are left alone, Hans Luther scolds his son for failing to keep the commandment to honor father and mother when he left the study of law to enter the convent. He also tells him that he believes that Luther is murdering himself in the convent. This is the second confrontation. Luther defends himself by affirming that he did see a vision in the thunderstorm that moved him to make a promise to St. Anne to become a monk. He also shares how he felt closest to his father.
The knight begins the next segment with the statement: "So the praising ended, and the blasphemy began." Johann Tetzel
Johann Tetzel
Johann Tetzel was a German Dominican preacher known for selling indulgences.-Life:Tetzel was born in Pirna, Saxony, and studied theology and philosophy at the university of his native city...
is portrayed preaching indulgences with great pomp and circumstance. He makes the bold claim that his indulgences would even provide forgiveness for one who offered violence to the Virgin Mary
Mary (mother of Jesus)
Mary , commonly referred to as "Saint Mary", "Mother Mary", the "Virgin Mary", the "Blessed Virgin Mary", or "Mary, Mother of God", was a Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee...
. In the next scene Luther comes upon his mentor Vicar General Johann von Staupitz as he dozes under a pear tree. Staupitz confronts Luther for a third time with the accusation that he resents authority and makes it look ridiculous by his meticulous observance of his monastic rule. Staupitz urges Luther to articulate his position among his peers in Latin rather than in the vernacular German that would encourage the peasants and young knights to revolt.
Luther then is shown preaching a sermon on the eve of All Saints' Day, 1517, in which he graphically tells how he discovered the gospel of justification by faith alone while sitting on the latrine. He declares that someone has to "bell the cat," and with that he goes out to post his Ninety-five Theses. Luther is then confronted for the fourth time by Tetzel and Thomas Cardinal Cajetan
Thomas Cajetan
Thomas Cajetan , also known as Gaetanus, commonly Tommaso de Vio , was an Italian cardinal. He is perhaps best known among Protestants for his opposition to the teachings of Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation while he was the Pope's Legate in Wittenberg, and perhaps best known among...
de Vio at Augsburg in the fall of 1518. Cajetan warns Luther that if he does not retract his "errors and sermons" that the unity of Christendom would be sundered. Luther refuses, and Cajetan concludes, "That man hates himself, and if he goes to the stake, Tetzel, you can inscribe it: 'he could only love others.'"
The next scene shows Luther burning the bull Exsurge Domine
Exsurge Domine
220px|thumb|Title page of first printed edition of Exsurge DomineExsurge Domine is a papal bull issued on 15 June 1520 by Pope Leo X in response to the teachings of Martin Luther in his 95 theses and subsequent writings which opposed the views of the papacy...
in defiance of the pope. He then falls to the ground in a fit for a second time in the film. In a prayer he reminds God that the cause he is fighting is God's not his. He wonders if God is dead, concluding that God cannot die but only hide himself.
The famous session of the Diet of Worms
Diet of Worms
The Diet of Worms 1521 was a diet that took place in Worms, Germany, and is most memorable for the Edict of Worms , which addressed Martin Luther and the effects of the Protestant Reformation.It was conducted from 28 January to 25 May 1521, with Emperor Charles V presiding.Other Imperial diets at...
is portrayed when Luther appears for the second time. The inquisitor is portrayed as Johann Eck
Johann Eck
Dr. Johann Maier von Eck was a German Scholastic theologian and defender of Catholicism during the Protestant Reformation. It was Eck who argued that the beliefs of Martin Luther and Jan Hus were similar.-Life:...
. Luther is now confronted for the fifth time by Eck, who interrupts his "Here I Stand" speech with the warning that the common man is so greedy as to be incited to revolt if he does not recant. Luther refuses, and the momentousness of that action is emphasized in the film. The young knight exults in the moment: if Luther wanted to he could have led a successful revolt against established authority. The knight breaks off his ardor by disgustedly stating that Luther issued a plea for the extermination of the rebels, his Against the Murderous, Thieving Hordes of Peasants
Against the Murderous, Thieving Hordes of Peasants
Against the Murderous, Thieving Hordes of Peasants is a piece written by Martin Luther, related to The German Peasants' War. The Peasants' War took place between 1524 and 1526, as a result of a tumultuous collection of grievances in many different spheres: political, economic, social, and...
. Luther is portrayed as standing before the emperor and the princes declaiming a portion of his notorious tract. The emperor and the princes walk past Luther with their swords drawn to put down the peasants.
Luther is then shown wandering through a devastated marketplace where peasants had been slaughtered. He is brought once again to where he had been confronted by the young knight, who wipes blood across his surplice: Luther is confronted for the fifth time. Luther defends himself with the assertion: "God is the butcher. Address your abuse to him." Luther then tells the story of the Sacrifice of Issac
Binding of Isaac
The Binding of Isaac Akedah or Akeidat Yitzchak in Hebrew and Dhabih in Arabic, is a story from the Hebrew Bible in which God asks Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac, on Mount Moriah...
by Abraham
Abraham
Abraham , whose birth name was Abram, is the eponym of the Abrahamic religions, among which are Judaism, Christianity and Islam...
, concluding that God gives life when nothing seems imminent but death.
Luther is confronted for the seventh and final time by old Staupitz who has come to visit Martin and his wife Katie. Luther admits that the peasants had just cause but that as a mob they were against Christ. Staupitz is relieved to hear that Luther was not sure when he took his stand at Worms. Luther prays, "Help my unbelief." Katie comes in with their infant son Hans, who cannot get to sleep. Luther repeats his superstition that passing air in the devil's face wards him off: going from being anal retentive to being anal expulsive shows one has overcome one's doubts and fears. In the final scene Luther takes the baby into his pulpit and assures him that "the dark isn't quite as thick as all that," that they should hope that Christ will be true to his word, "A little while and you'll not see me, and then again a little and you shall see me" (John 16:16).
Historical inconsistencies
- Johann TetzelJohann TetzelJohann Tetzel was a German Dominican preacher known for selling indulgences.-Life:Tetzel was born in Pirna, Saxony, and studied theology and philosophy at the university of his native city...
is wrongly represented as being present at Luther's meeting in 1518 with Cardinal Cajetan (de Vio) at Augsburg. He was never present at this meeting. - Johann von StaupitzJohann von StaupitzJohann von Staupitz was a theologian, university preacher, Vicar-General of the Augustinian Order in Germany who supervised Martin Luther during a critical period in that man's spiritual life. Martin Luther himself remarked, "If it had not been for Dr...
is represented as alive in 1526 when, in reality, he had died in 1524.
Cast
(in order of appearance)- Peter CellierPeter CellierPeter Cellier is an English actor who has appeared in film, stage and television. He is perhaps best known for his role as Sir Frank Gordon in Yes Minister and then Yes, Prime Minister in the 1980s.-Biography:...
as Prior - Leonard RossiterLeonard RossiterLeonard Rossiter was an English actor known for his roles as Rupert Rigsby, in the British comedy television series Rising Damp , and Reginald Iolanthe Perrin, in The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin...
as Brother Weinand - Stacy KeachStacy KeachStacy Keach is an American actor and narrator. He is most famous for his dramatic roles; however, he has done narration work in educational programming on PBS and the Discovery Channel, as well as some comedy and musical...
as Martin Luther - Patrick MageePatrick Magee (actor)Patrick Magee was a Northern Irish actor best known for his collaborations with Samuel Beckett and Harold Pinter, as well as his appearances in horror films and in Stanley Kubrick's films A Clockwork Orange and Barry Lyndon.-Early life:He was born Patrick McGee in Armagh, County Armagh, Northern...
as Luther's father - Thomas HeathcoteThomas HeathcoteThomas Heathcote was a British character actor.He was educated at Bradfield College, near Reading in Berkshire, England. His films included A Night to Remember , Village of the Damned , Billy Budd , A Man for All Seasons , Night of the Big Heat and Quatermass and the Pit...
as [Lucas, a] friend [of Luther's father] - Julian GloverJulian GloverJulian Wyatt Glover is a British actor best known for such roles as General Maximilian Veers in Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, the Bond villain Aristotle Kristatos in For Your Eyes Only, and Walter Donovan in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.-Personal life:Glover was born in...
as Knight - Matthew GuinnessMatthew GuinnessMatthew Guinness is an English actor. He plays The Farmer in the 1976 film Nuts in May, appears in Ridley Scott's The Duellists and had a small role in 1987's Lady Jane. He has also worked extensively in theatre....
as reading monk - Hugh GriffithHugh GriffithHugh Emrys Griffith was a Welsh film, stage and television actor.-Early life:Griffith was born in Marianglas, Anglesey, Wales, the son of Mary and William Griffith. He was educated at Llangefni County School and attempted to gain entrance to university, but failed the English examination...
as John Tetzel - Maurice DenhamMaurice DenhamMaurice Denham OBE was an English character actor who appeared in over 100 television programmes and films throughout his long career.-Life and career:...
as Johann von Staupitz, Vicar General - Alan BadelAlan BadelAlan Fernand Badel was a distinguished English stage actor who also appeared frequently in the cinema, radio and television and was noted for his richly textured voice which was once described as "the sound of tears".-Early life:...
as Cardinal Cajetan de Vio - Robert StephensRobert StephensSir Robert Stephens was a leading English actor in the early years of England's Royal National Theatre.-Early life and career:...
as Johann von Eck - Bruce Carstairs as Duke Frederick, Elector of Saxony
- Malcolm StoddardMalcolm StoddardMalcolm Stoddard is a British actor who has appeared on television.His credits include: The Voyage of Charles Darwin, Colditz, The Brothers, The New Avengers, Blake's 7, Squadron, By the Sword Divided, Juliet Bravo, Boon, The Bill, Families, Emmerdale, The Campbells, Heartbeat and The...
as Emperor Charles the Fifth - Judi DenchJudi DenchDame Judith Olivia "Judi" Dench, CH, DBE, FRSA is an English film, stage and television actress.Dench made her professional debut in 1957 with the Old Vic Company. Over the following few years she played in several of William Shakespeare's plays in such roles as Ophelia in Hamlet, Juliet in Romeo...
as Luther's wife