Martin Luther (1953 film)
- Niall MacGinnis: Martin Luther
- John Ruddock: Vicar Staupitz
- Pierre Lefevre: Georg Spalatin
- Guy Verney: Philipp Melanchthon
- Alastair Hunter: Andreas Karlstadt
- David Horne: Elector Frederick
- Fred Johnson: Prior
- Philip Leaver: Pope Leo X.
- Heinz Piper: Dr. Johannes Eck
- Leonard White: envoy
- Egon Strohm: Cardinal Girolamo Aleandro
- Annette Carell: Katharina von Bora
- Alexander Gauge: Johann Tetzel
- Irving Pichel: Gregor Brück
- Hans Lefebre: Emperor Charles V.
- Jaspar of Oertzen: Knight
- More Starring: Henry Oscar, Ronald Adam, Joss Ambler, William Abney, Michael Maick, Wolfgang Oelze, Hans Lefebre, John Wiggin
Martin Luther is a feature film about the life of Martin Luther from 1953 in which Irving Pichel directed and the next also played a role in the film. The main and title role was played by Niall MacGinnis.
Action
The film begins with the entry of Martin Luther in Erfurt Augustinian monastery in 1505 and ending in 1530, the year in which the Lutheran confession, the Augsburg Confession was presented to the Emperor Charles V. presented. In between are the main events of the life and work of Martin Luther: his doubts and his struggle with himself, his subsequent study of the Bible in which he discovered the grace of God in the New Testament in Romans 1:17 LUT, his theses and the subsequent confrontations with the papacy, his speech at the Diet of Worms and the climax of the film, its there spoken words, "Here I stand, I can do no other, God help me, Amen. " his abduction that took him to the Wartburg, his translation of the Bible, his intervention during the violent radicalized citizens at Wittenberg, and finally his efforts to strengthen the fledgling evangelical movement permanently. The finale of the film is the singing of Luther's congregation, the singing of the Luther hymn " A Mighty Fortress is Our God."
Background
Financed by U.S. Lutherans movie, was founded by Louis de Rochemont and RD -DR Corporation in cooperation with the Lutheran Church Productions and Luther- Film Gesellschaft MBH produced and made it the first American- German co-production after the War I. The film will be directed by Hollywood director Irving Pichel, who had his name made by horror movies and B- Western. A written comment at the beginning of the film is: ". This film adaptation of a critical time period of the story is the result of careful research on events and conditions in the 16th century, as they provide us with the historical sources " These researches were of the church historians Theodore G. Tappert been and Jaroslav Pelikan, who supported so Allan Sloane and Lothar Wolff made.
The film was made in West Germany in the Afifa film studios in Wiesbaden, Hesse. Other locations were: Eltville in Hesse, where among other things, the Eberbach Monastery and the Monastery Maulbronn Maulbronn, Baden- Württemberg. Furthermore, it was also in Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Bavaria rotated. The music was composed by Mark Lothar and played by the Philharmonic Orchestra of Munich.
On 8 May 1953, the film in the U.S. premiere. The Germany premiere took place on March 4, 1954. In October 1954, the first in Sweden was followed by the premieres in Denmark and Finland.
Awards
The film was nominated for two Academy Awards. On the one for Best Cinematography ( black / white) (Cinematography ( Black-and -White ) ) and the other for the buildings or the Production Designer ( Art Direction / Set Decoration) (Fritz Maurischat, Paul Markwitz ). In addition, the film at the Writers Guild of America, USA, was nominated for the best written American drama ( Allan Sloane, Lothar Wolff). The National Board of Review drew Martin Luther as the " fourth best film of the year 1953" from.
Reviews
In a Catholic film criticism was to read: " idealized drawing of Luther, one-sided presentation of the Reformation, insufficient account of the Catholic Church by oversubscription of abuses and unclear, therefore incomprehensible playback of Catholic teachings and church life. "