User Reviews

I've read varying inconsistencies about the real Martin Luther and what is presented on screen in this Lutheran church produced drama, directed by veteran character actor Irving Pichel. Rather than cast himself (as he would have been excellent, and does indeed play a supporting role), Pichel instead cast Old Vic legendary actor Niall MacGinnis, not a name to most moviegoers, but certainly with impressive credits, and quite believable in this. Made in a semi documentary form, this elaborate drama is very impressive for an independent film, especially one produced for religious purposes, and quite good in spite of a few historical inaccuracies.

The film is gripping from the start, utilizing old drawings to document the superstitions of the time, a belief in evil spirits influencing the public to walk away from the Catholic church, especially those who wanted to create different religions. The Church of Rome was all powerful, and it took one man to stand up to say I should be allowed to serve God in the way that I feel is right and interpret his word in the way that I feel he wants me to. We can't go back to the 16th century to see how it really is, so all we have are whatever documents survive, biographies where we have to take them for their word, and films like this that hopefully were made with the best intentions. The last of those three is what guides me to find this an interesting drama about a very brave man.

One thing is clear. Based upon other films I've seen set in this era, I felt I was transferred back to the 16th century and truly felt that the writers, director and artistic creators worked very hard to interpret this as realistically as they could. I take all historical dramas with that teeny grain of truth, hoping to learn a little something about what could have been, and understanding that it is the viewpoint of a select few rather than what really could have been. MacGinnis certainly commands the scenery and is surrounded by a great featured cast of the actors I've never seen before. Most importantly, this film asks its audience the same questions that Martin Luther demands answers from as he confronts the church leaders. However it is determined in the viewer's minds is up to them, basically the point that the film is pushing.

Film "Martin Luther" directed by Irving Pichel portrays the storyline of the priest Martin Luther, specifically the impact of his ideas and his contribution to Protestant Reformation. It takes a look at a corrupted Catholic Church service which was that the church was involved in an act of indulgency - a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins. (Catechism of the Catholic Church) In other words, the Church allowed people to donate to the Church for their sins in order to reduce the amount of punishment of a sinner. Contemplating this, Martin Luther did not like the idea that his parishioners were donating money for a pure promise, which he thought to be meaningless and untrue. "Martin Luther" film shows the actions undertaken by Luther to sustain what he thought was right and fight against the beliefs Catholic Church imposed on Christians. The film well depicts that at that time it was exceptional goal for Luther to change the Church's followers' view point at the world and their self, which then lead for governments to grant religious freedom for all.

To begin with, it is important to know the background. Roman Catholicism was the dominant "branch" of Christianity in Europe. Talking about Catholic Church, it was accepted as a caretaker of human soul, which was the most important thing since it was believed to be eternal. Moreover, in a Catholic church there was the priest who played a huge role in every Christian's life: marrying them, providing last rites, baptizing them, etc. as was demonstrated in the film. The Catholic Church also provided all the social services like running orphanages and providing education. And most of the followers of the church only met one person who could read the Bible who was their priest and only. Not to mention, the church had its power in the economic and political arena as it owned a share of the European land. From this it is obvious how much authority the Catholic Church has over almost any aspect in the society. On the religious behalf, the earliest 16th century was the time of deep-rooted superstition and fear - men believed the World was filled with demons and evil spirits. The Church on this regard has offered a protection from the Evil, and people had to deliver a complete obedience to the Church in return. The film opens with Martin Luther announcing his decision to move on from his studies as a law student at university to his friends: "Let's just say I hope I'm doing right" and moving to the monastery. Following Augustinian Order brother Martin fulfilled his practice, however the thoughts of the God as of Angry Judge failed to bring peace to Martin Luther. Martin was obsessed with his own sinfulness and that is when Martin he confessed that "I am men, I am evil. I tried to think of him as a loving father, but confined only as Angry Judge. How can I love such a God? And that is my unpardonable sin."(Martin Luther, 1953) Worried of the authority of the Church the father decides to expel Martin before he infects the whole monastery with his worries and restless ideas. They find him disturbing and questioning, which contradicts to the belief that "The Church is the only answer". So they set him on diplomatic mission in Rome, where Luther discovered what he wanted to hear in epistles of St. Paul which said: "The just shall live by faith." That means that salvations comes from the faith itself and not prayer, fasting or any other "good work"; we cannot reach the salvation by our actions and "deleting" our sins through indulgence, but only through faith. After his return to Augustinian monastery, Martin was already convinced in God's righteousness: "He delivers and does not really judge", as he interpreted in from the scripture himself. Here, the father again points out the power of the Church, saying that there's only one proper interpretation of scripture - the one of the Church. From here, it's seen that the film depicts the history in a cohesive manner, to understand the cause and effect of religious beliefs and Luther's opposition to these Church systems.

In opposition to the famous indulgences Martin Luther wrote 95 Theses and nailed them to the Church door which led to multiple debates, thereafter Martin's position was considered bold and radical. As Martin Luther believed in the grace of God and his benevolence, as well as the power of faith, he argued that Christians were "blessed" through faith only: not any prayer, baptism, and other. Other than that, he made a sharp argument that the Church's services did not have any higher power to connect to one's soul and save them, as well as erase one's sins. He was convinced that the Church made mistakes either unintentionally, or vice versa (in my mind it was vivid that it was done intentionally). The Church made people think that to connect to the God, they had to go through the Church, and the Church was THE answer; nonetheless, Martin denied this strong belief, presenting an argument that Christians did not need the approval or assistance of the Church to receive the grace of God: "There is only one universal Church. It is not necessary for the salvation to be subject to a Roman Pope. It doesn't matter who said it, it is the truth!"(Martin Luther, 1953) Luther's ideas were "broadcasted", like in modern world Twitter, everywhere: from cartoons to his own publications. Alongside with these revolutionary publications, Luther interpreted/translated the Bible into German - this helped common people to discuss the meanings of the holy scripture themselves without the interaction with the priests who apparently interpreted it otherwise. It has its own drawbacks, however. With an accessible source of the "original scripture", people started to discuss and deliver the new "religious truths" to their neighbors; in other words, everyone analyzed the script differently and everyone found the "right way" to worship God. Not only this, he argued that the Church is not the highest powerholder, but the kings - as they were sent by God to take care of these Churches. So Martin Luther chose the princes and kings over popes of the Church, and one of the prices who also followed Luther's ideas against Roman Empire's disapproval of him was Albert of Prussia. But it's highly possible that it was not because he wanted to fight against the corruption and faithless promises of priests, but because he could, in consequence, take the Church's assets within his territory. That is when the monarchs and princes started pondering of whether it could be more profitable for them to have what Church had? The land, the taxes, and wealth the Church owned for a long time could now be in use of kings. And that became possible thanks to Protestant Reformation.

Throughout the film, everything felt as if it was happening right before my eyes. The story was directed in much details, which made it extremely convenient to grasp/comprehend. This film showed both sides of such religious systems: the profits and drawbacks, which eased the analysis of it.

The movie is the version of the story of how Martin Luther, the German scholar of theology, affected the split of the church in the 16th century. It is a great piece if you want to view the history behind the Protestant Reformation. The style is simple, and plot is easy to follow for a viewer. The dialogues are not over-complicated and there are no redundant fragments in the story. The narrator's voice helps to understand the main historical progresses during the movie. It, however, shows the story form the protestants' prospective. Therefore, the plot can be biased, and its accuracy of some details is questionable. Nevertheless, it is still an irreplaceable point on the cause of protestant move and its split from the Roman Catholic Church. It is for sure different from the modern films which have more actions and twists, despite of this, it is a great way to show a historical plot. The movie gives some information on the biography of Martin Luther such as his educational background and marriage as well as his philosophical thoughts. From these, we can see Luther was a knowledgeable man, who had a degree in law and then doctorate in theology. He followed the Catholic church and studied the Bible. The directors illustrate us these facts to show that he was an educated man who was able to influence the public. Unfortunately, we don't get to see the Luther's character in-depth but rather his superficial ideas. The main character's motive was not fully revealed throughout the story. The movie focuses more on the Church's and people's reactions to his revolutionary ideas and changes he brought to beliefs in Christianity and structure of government, as well. The movie supports the idea that during Martin Luther's lifetime religious places held more power and influence in comparison to the rulers and kings. It was the epoch of rise of Christianity and Pope's rulership. Luther was the one who started to oppose Roman Catholic Church's ideas. He questioned the authority and righteousness of the Pope. When he was a follower of Catholic church, he did not like monks' viewpoints on following the Christianity. He believed that their interpretations of the Bible might not be right and needed to change. "If everybody could interpret the Bible in their own way, there would be more Christians" he said to his teacher in church. The idea that he questioned the most was the way to redemption. During that time, similar to the Max Weber's concept, people were supposed to work hard and save money and spend it so that they can get rid off their sins. Monks from the Catholic church abused this idea and made people believe they could buy their indulgences. The Pope and his people gained wealth with the help of the those who wanted clean their souls. The priests claimed they did not have to confess anything but give some silver. Martin Luther argued this idea and thought that redemption can only be achieved by faith. In the movie, he says "You cannot buy God's mercy". He went against the Catholic church and posted his "95 Theses", which was then widespread among common people. As the time passed, he gained his followers and people started the revolt against the Church. As it was mentioned in the film, half of the Germany was on his side short after he started his own teachings. Additionally, he taught small children his interpretation of the Bible. The Christian church was divided into two and new era of Christianity begun with Martin Luther as an initiator. Luther's speech, when the court interrogated him, was very powerful. He proclaimed that layman with scripture was better than a Pope without it. Thus, the lines of characters were very effectively written. As I've mentioned above, the dialogues and speeches are the strongest side of the movie. They give a good clarity to people's believes and Martin Luther's standpoint. Overall, the sets, where the scenes were filmed, were very beautiful and realistic. They quite accurately represent cathedrals, churches, the court and lively Roman streets of that time. Additionally, there are many scenes which include Christian religious rituals and prayers. The directors filmed these parts very carefully with all the details. The actors, in my opinion, did a good job in portraying their characters considering the time the movie was filmed. The black and white colors and low quality, of course, might cause some inconveniences for a viewer, however, again this is quite a good product for the film industry of that time. Moreover, these challenges do not lower the quality of understanding the plot. The movie is worth watching in order to see the protestant's view on the way Martin Luther influenced the big change in Christian religion and weakening the Roman Catholic Church's rulership.

In this movie review, the film biography of Martin Luther that was released in 1953 will be discussed. Overall, the film is about the life of Martin Luther who was enrolled in law in accordance with his father's wishes but left this study due to the motivation to enter monastic life. He had a keen interest in theology and philosophy. On the other hand, he could not find spiritual peace in his new life despite the regimen of ascetic piety. Nowadays, Martin Luther is known as a man who changed the world by making reformations to the Catholic Church. In this essay, the changes that Martin Luther made to the Catholic Church as well as the life of Martin Luther and the decisions he made will be considered. The film begins with an overview of the time and the place of the life of Martin Luther. Storyteller John Wiggin indicated that power was in the side of the Roman Catholic Church and the Emperor of the Holy Roman. He makes emphasis the teachings of the church on that time by specifying: "the church had largely forgotten the mercies of God and, instead, it emphasized God's implacable judgments". At that time, Christianity was mixed with paganism, it represented "the world as it is filled with evil spirits", and the church could give absolute obedience of the people for protection from eternal damnation. Further, this specification told by narrator John Wiggin made clear Luther's conflict with the church of that time. Despite the wishes of his father, Luther left the study of law and decided to enter St. Augustine's Monastery. Even though he entered into monastic life and followed the regimen of ascetic piety very strongly, he could not feel the spiritual peace that he attempted to find. On the way to spiritual peace, he realized that he cannot love God. He thought that it would be easier to find God for laypeople by having the Holy Scriptures in their native language. However, he was scolded by his prior for this opinion. After receiving a degree of Doctor of Theology at Wittenberg, he still had an internal struggle in accepting the religious practice. He did not stop to search for something that he was looking for and came up with a thought that only faith in Jesus Christ is needed for salvation. This "reformatory discovery" was reached via studying the Epistle to the Romans. When he tells his thought to mentor Staupitz, he remained unconvinced. On the other hand, Luther used the word "sola" which means alone in the margin of his Latin Bible. This was written to represent his strong belief in the doctrine of justification by faith to Jesus Christ alone. Martin Luther denied many teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. Particularly, he rejected the indulgence which is a way to diminish punishment due to sins. According to the lecture, indulgence was in the form of money and, in the later Middle Ages, growth of abuses happened. More specifically, professional pardoners did the unlimited sale of indulgences, and the Church gave permission to use indulgences as funding for the projects of that time. In the course of the film, in 1517, Archbishop Albert promulgated a special jubilee indulgence in Germany with the permission of Rome Pope Leo X. During the celebration, Luther met one drunken parishioner who was convinced with the idea that there is no need to go to confession for him anymore since he has bought an indulgence. After that, Martin Luther sermonized against the abuse of indulgences appealing: "Beloved, you cannot buy God's mercy". Then, he posted his the Ninety-Five Theses on the door of the church. Other Luther's publications including the Ninety-Five Theses made the pope furious. In addition to those publications, his refusal and answer, ending with, "Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me. Amen." resulted in ex-communication by the pope and recognition as an outlaw by the Emperor. Despite the difficulties from the Catholic Church and the Emperor, he did not change his way of thinking. Martin Luther believed that salvation and eternal life are not earned by good deeds but those can be attained as the gift from God via the belief in Jesus Christ. He taught that people cannot buy God's grace. He emphasized that scriptures are promises and instructions given by God, and lay people should have access to the scriptures in their native language. The film represents how Luther prays and expresses gratitude to God for his loyalty at the end. Knowing the fact that at that time the body of those who rejected the teachings of Church could be burnt, it is important to mention the bravery of Martin Luther. It is also important to mention that at the time of Martin Luther other people also contributed to the birth of reformation. One of them is Huldrych Zwingli who was the "third man of Reformation" and agreed with the point that only scriptures are the law. However, they could not agree with the justification. Particularly, Zwingli believed that good works are a precondition for justification while Luther taught people are justified by God's grace. Finally, the film represents Martin Luther's contribution to the emergence of the Protestant Reformation. It shows the life of a man who wanted to find spiritual peace in religion and could not do that by practicing in the Catholic Church. However, he did not give up and found the answer by studying many books. I think one of the meanings of the film might be about learning and checking by yourself before believing to someone. He is represented as hardworking man who came up with his thought through studying several scriptures, and wanted everyone could have access to study the religion.

The movie illustrates the life of the well-known German theologist Martin Luther, from serving in Augustinian Church to finally becoming one of the most influential religious people in Europe. The movie was released in 1953, and consequently, it would be inappropriate to describe the cinematography level of the film. However, the film contains significant informative dialogues that fully demonstrates the tension in the world of Christianity in Europe at that time, and the music added by beating drums completed by the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra increases the pressure in atmosphere. Considering about the biasness, the movie was recorded in association with Lutheran Church Productions, which demonstrates that the film cannot be considered as reliable source of information about the Christianity of Europe at that time. In addition to this, the movie determines the entire Roman Catholic Church as greedy and arrogant, illustrating them as those, who completely neglects their true faith of Jesus Christ. On contrary, main character was shown as the Robin Hood of the world of Christian religion, as a hero, an ordinary priest of the Church and a University Professor, who came out against Roman Catholicism, against the Pope and the Emperor himself, as a man who knows what true faith is, putting him on almost the same level with prophets. Although Martin Luther played a major role in the schism from Roman Catholicism, it was not only religion lead to separation, but also money, power and politics stayed behind.

Referring to the film, Martin Luther commences to lose faith in the Catholic Church after a trip to Rome. The story about sacred relics, such as the cross of St. Peter, one of the thirty silver crosses, or Pontius Pilate steps, that give the soul liberation for 17000, 14000 and 9 years in turn from the flames of hell torment lead to confuse in Luther's face. The main action of this part begins with the disorderly sale of indulgences by Pope Leo, granting the right of absolution from sins, in order to gain money for construction of the Saint Peter's Cathedral. Strong emotional pressure was shown from the preacher Johann Tetzel, who assured that only a couple of silver coins cost the salvation of your mother from the fires of hell, and even drunks did not need confession anymore, due to indulgence. "You cannot buy the mercy of God" was claimed by Martin Luthor to ordinary crowd. Luther had written ninety-five theses, criticizing the dogmas of the Catholic Church, while for the rest, it was a problem that concerned more humanism than religion, meaning that with having money, sins are not terrible anymore. Probably, Luthor used the poverty of the main crowd as the weapon against the indulgence of Pope. Buying indulgence lead to the well-known eternal difference between rich and poor: after all, the rich could afford to sin and redeem themselves with money, while the poor do not have such a strong privilege. The poor citizens who have no money are more likely to follow the ideas and doctrines of Luther, who criticizes indulgences given by Pope Leo. Consequently, there is more financial situation and moral contradictions rather than proper aspects of religion stayed behind.

After publishing ninety-five theses, the Pope declares Martin Luther as a heretic and all the supporters of the Catholic Church become a threat to Luther. After the trial, the Emperor also declares that Luthor is under the Emperor's curse and that he is an outlaw: anyone has the right to hunt, capture or even kill him. But thanks to Duke Frederick of Saxony, Luther was "kidnapped" and was placed in a secure castle. Eventually, many other Dukes, princes, noble lords and other high-ranking individuals began to support Martin Luther, which marked a separation in Christianity and in the structure of the Empire itself. However, can religion be considered as a merit in this? Did the lords support Martin Luther due to their strong faith and deep believe in his ideas? The Pope of Rome had an unlimited power and his authority was advanced even than that of the Emperor himself. He decided the political situation in Catholic countries, and all the lords, including the Emperor were his subjects. The renunciation of Roman Catholicism indicated for the lords as a gain of relative freedom. Luther's idea to withdraw the Catholic Church's power in the German territories was ideal for the noble lords who sought to concentrate in their hands not only secular, but also spiritual power, as well as to obtain an appropriate rich monastic possessions since Luther strongly criticized the luxury in religion. As a result, it can be determined that most of the lords possibly supported Martin Luthor due to their own motives more willingly than because of religious believe in his doctrines.

In conclusion, we can express Martin Luther as the main initiator of the Reformation in Europe, who rejected Roman Catholic Church, which departed from the original Christian principles as a result of numerous layers. According to Max Weber, Martin Luthor's Lutheranism was not only the reason of Reformation, but also defined the birth of capitalism in Europe. There is no hesitation that Martin Luther had significantly strong influence from a religious perspective over Europe, nevertheless, separation from Roman Catholicism was caused not only because of religion, but other features in terms of money, gaining political power or moral contradictions.

The most significant figure of the Protestant Reformation was Martin Luther, a German professor of theology and former monk. He questioned all the rituals and relics of the Roman Catholic Church and came to his own understanding of the scripture. The film depicts the part of his life starting from his submission to discipline of Holy Church till he was condemned by Pope and Emperor in the early 16th century. According to the documentary, Martin Luther is considered as a founder of Protestantism and its denomination Lutheran Church. This film is focused on the struggle between doctor Martin and Rome and his role in the reformation of Medieval Christianity. Although it is shown that Martin Luther is the father of the Protestant Reformation, in truth, he is one the key facilitators of it and founder of Lutheranism, branch of Protestantism. Protestantism began to develop in the early 14th century before the birth of Martin Luther. The main two predecessors of the Protestantism were Czech theologian Jan Hus and English philosopher and biblical translator John Wycliff. John Wycliff is considered as a morning star of the Reformation and had the idea of "Sola Scriptura" as well as Luther. The reformers solely believed in the Bible and Gospels, and it was the reason for their revolution. We do not hear Wycliff's name in the film, but Jan Hus was mentioned several times. This implies that Luther's ideas were not first and unique even in the film. The Pope tried to frighten Luther by asking if he is a heretic as Hus and if so, he should be burnt. Jan and Martin believed that salvation is not subject to a Roman Pope and that "sale of indulgences not supported by scriptures". The particular importance of Martin Luther is that his ideas could spread among people and be supported. Whereas, Hus's and Wycliff's could not spread. Being an influential person by people's perception allowed Luther to become a founder of Protestantism among them. Especially, when he was claiming that men cannot buy mercy of God, people of lower and middle class followed him because of the money issue. The proposition of Luther seemed more attractive to them than what was offered by the Catholic Church and what was interpreted by Hus and Wycliff. The one important detail here is that the documentary was filmed in collaboration with the Lutheran church. Since it demonstrates the most decisive steps and dialogues in the formation of Protestantism, it could not be considered a credible source. As it is claimed by Protestants, Martin Luther is their father and the Church will influence the overall picture of his role. They tried to show the superiority of Luther's arguments over Catholic ones. In the beginning, the film stated that people in the 16th century lived by fear and believed in dual authority. Throughout the documentary, it was clearly seen that the Catholic Church depicted as evil, corrupted, demanded absolute obedience of people. Martin Luther believed in the faith alone: "By faith, man lives, not by relics, sing, pilgrimage, purchase of pardons for sins". There were many scenes of corruption, money collection from the citizens who wanted to earn years of indulgence. People were told that they and their loved ones will be forgiven of time in purgatory for almost 2 million years if they contribute to the building of the new Church. This made Martin Luther angry and take action against it. In October 1517 he put forward 95 theses or Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences on the door of the church. Luther always asked for a debate and explain his ideas that the Pope cannot intercede before God according to scripture. Even if the cinematography, quality of sound and visual content were not satisfactory, the overall play of actors, dialogues, symbols and ideas perfectly suited the overall rhythm of the film. It aimed to show Martin Luther as a brave and persistent revolutionist and did it persuasively. During the whole film, professor Luther had self-confidence, provoking speeches and thus had a chance to be an influencer. However, other characters such as Pope, emperor, and priests did not have such an advantage in the documentary. Since it was filmed with the support of the Lutheran Church, the Roman Catholic Church was depicted as weak, unreliable and even disastrous institution. But it was told that the main goal of Luther was not to establish a new church, but rather "to rid of the Catholic Church's man-made errors". This also shows the intentions of the film to present Luther as an innocent man and boost his reputation among followers. In conclusion, the Martin Luther documentary is about the process of development of Protestant reformation in the early 16th century. There is no doubt that Luther was the key facilitator of this development and further prosperity of Protestantism. However, it cannot be claimed that he was the founder of this form of Christianity. He was rather the main influencer of a new religious movement and founded Lutheranism. His confidence in the faith and scripture alone, assurance in the uselessness of money donations for indulgences gave him the opportunity to spread his ideas and get support among masses. In addition, the film was supported by the Lutheran Church which leads to some bias in the content depiction. Since Protestants believe that he is a founder, the film also gets to this idea and tries to show Luther's ideas' superiority over the Catholic Church. Thus, the documentary cannot be a reliable source for assuring that Martin Luther is the founder of Protestantism.

In the beginning of the 16th century, the socio-political situation in Western Europe as well as people's well-being depended on one important apparatus- the church. People, despite being poor or rich, considered the Church and popes as the only place for indulgence and forgiveness. Without any understanding of the Scripture of the Bible, people were unaware about the total obedience to the churches. The movie Martin Luther is a historical mixed with bibliography movie of the Augustinian monk Martin, who could change the history in Religious study in Western Europe. The issue, related to the beginning of the sixteenth century regarding the Roman Catholicism and the true faith, is revealed in the movie and questions the audience about what is a true faith and who we should believe in. As it is said in the movie that the 'accumulated wisdom of our faith will help us to find the peace we are looking for' so that Martin Luther, the founder of Protestant Reformation, is building a new understanding of the true faith and how people should address the name of God. In this review I wish to uncover what religious traditions of Christianity the movie highlights and explain, as well as to what extent that was effective compared to the text of Calvin 'Instruction in Faith'.

First of all the religion in this movie is Christianity, namely Roman Catholicism, and as in Calvin's article it is written, God gives us the Law in order to exercise this knowledge and in the end come to the Lord, so was Martin who sought for the knowledge of the true belief in God but faced different feelings in terms of the Churches in the Western Europe. The main aspects from the movie in terms of the religious tradition is that priests from the beginning are devoted to God and Bible, so they consider the Church as a place where God can meet them. As for example, in the movie we observe that during the journey to Rome, the monk Martin visits all the sacred places where people are worshipping and kisses the Christ to the sign of total devotion; or the process of christening during the childbirth also supports the words of Calvin's article that every new step in life is offered by God as we're His only resemblance (Calvin, 237). The way that Martin refuses from the material things, as it was written in the Rome Bible, shows the true faith in God and the right way it should be in Catholicism practice and any other religion. As in Plekhanov's and Calvin's articles said, the concept of free implies the incompatibility of materialism, the movie likewise supports this concept in Martin's actions. So, from the religious tradition's point of view, the movie replies Calvin's article and Plekhanov's work with the same understanding of rituals, traditions and the same concept of religious practices in general.

However, the movie also reveals the other side of Christian religion in Churches. Martin Luther was one of the overwhelming priests who reinterpreted the Divine will and appeal to God's authority in a new way. He claims that Christ, not the Pop, is the real authority of the Church ('The Protestant Reformation part 1'). Indeed, in Calvin's reading there are also no words of indulgence or Papal authority as well. In Rome, instead of seeing the real power of religious belief, Martin only saw the wealth of the Church and cynicism of priests. When in October 31, 1517 Martin set the 95 theses to clearly state that there is no need of indulgences of pope's authority, together with the support of Gutenberg Printing Press, we see how famous historical figures react and how the movie highlights this moment with a picture of Duke Frederick, Luther and even John Hus showing the importance of the historical event. The idea of the Roman Catholicism Reformation depicted in the movie coincides with the fact in history since it could really change many people's opinion in terms of Church and indulgence and led to a new understanding of Protestant religion. The movie explains that the Church indeed over-exercised its power and as a result lost control over people and kings. Additionally, it compares the work of Hus and dr.Luther as the common idea of the theses. From this part we observe that the movie explains main aspects of Catholilc Reformation and how Martin impacted on this occasion, becoming the main figure in the foundation of Protestant faith.

The birth of Protestant Reformation starts from Martin Luther who with all His truth and faith to the name of God questioned the authority of traditional churches and their way to share God's love and forgiveness. The ideas in the movie Martin Luther (1953) highlight the main events of that historical period that resulted in the successful reformation and explain how the old traditional churches lost their authority and the true faith in God and His indulgence was faced by many other people. The movie effectively showed the audience the real motives of Martin to change the supreme apparatus as it was mentioned in the history of Roman Catholicism reformation, because it supports the main concept written in the Calvin's article and has a likewise representation in the lecture material ('The Protestant Reformation part 1'). The importance of the movie is the distortionless of main events and the whole picture of how the Catholic rituals and traditions were applied. Since the movie and articles do not confront each other, the movie supports the main aspects of religious study and explains important moments in the foundation of the Protestant Christianity. As for the effectiveness, several examples were considered in the review to support the argument and explain the answer. However, in terms of the limitation, the movie did not fully reveal the thoughts of other educated popes of that time and opinion of other theologists in order to conclude an unbiased statement.

"Martin Luther" film was released in 1953 and told biography of Martin Luther, a German priest, and the initiator of Protestant Reformation and about the movement itself. The film shows how Martin Luther based on his understanding of the Bible unintentionally found a new schism of Christianity. Also, it shows how the Protestant Reformation movement grew and explains what Catholic religious traditions were different from Protestantism. In general, this film effectively explains the main aspects of Protestantism, and of Catholicism as well. Firstly, Martin Luther's path from being a usual catholic priest to becoming the leader of the Reformation is depicted. Here we can see what religious practices need to be accomplished by people to become a priest, which included education and dedication to God through self-discipline. In addition, the film depicts how closely religion and education were related, as religious representatives could become teachers and professors, as Martin Luther became the Doctor of Theology in addition to being a priest. Thus, the early years of Martin Luther showed some aspect of Catholicism. From the beginning of the religious path of Martin Luther, he felt like something was missing. Even after becoming a priest and the Doctor of Theology he was still not satisfied with his life and felt like his actions are not meaningful. After a thorough examination of the Bible, he started questioning many aspects of Catholicism, which were not in the Bible. Thus, he started believing in ideas like "Sola Scriptura" and "Sola Fide", which mean believing only in Scripture and Faith. In the film, Martin Luther says that "Man only needs Jesus Christ" to hold onto his faith. From that moment, these ideas became the main concept of Protestantism. Martin Luther started actively opposing major Catholic traditions, like veneration of holy relics, which give forgiveness of sins and time in purgatory. Luther stated that venerating such relics and symbols replaced the true meaning, which is itself lost. Furthermore, Luther's active opposition was seen when Pope Leo 10th bankrupted the Vatican and ordered a wider sell of indulgences to get money and replenish the Vatican's treasury. This indulgence in turn was promised the forgiveness of all sins and no confession necessary. As no indulgences were ever mentioned in Holy Scripture, Martin Luther objected to them by writing his 95 theses. They were widely spread due to the printing press and became very popular. As Luther gained more and more followers, especially in Wittenberg, his ideas became dangerous for Rome. Pope tried to discredit or even kill Martin Luther. Here we can see that unlike other religions, the Catholic church was very powerful and independent of secular leaders. On the contrary, it could influence German nobles. However, Martin Luther was saved and not burned, as his ideas were appealing to influential people of Germany, who wanted to become more independent of Rome and the Church. In the film, this is shown through the help and protection given by Duke Frederick. He let Luther preach, protected him as his subject, and kept safe in exile. However, the full motives of the German nobility were not completely shown, as this film is more about Martin Luther. But in the end, when the movement was quite big, the Dukes of Germany signed a document by stating their beliefs and higher independence from the Catholic Church and the Holy Roman Empire. One more religious tradition of Protestantism depicted in the film is the reduction of 7 sacraments to only 2, which were Baptism and Communion. Other sacraments, as they were not mentioned in the Bible were canceled by Martin Luther. These changes included the celibacy of priests. Besides, many monks and nuns left their monasteries to serve inside the community, as monasteries were useless in the ideology of Protestantism. This is clearly shown in the film when Martin Luther being a priest marries a nun, who left the monastery and needed assistance. Thus, the film shows one of the major differences between Catholic and Protestant Churches. Last but not least, Martin Luther's pacifism is effectively explained in the film. When one of his followers urges people to revolt against the law, Martin Luther criticizes him, saying that only faith and love can help people, not force. This corresponds with the German Peasants' War, to which he responded with horror. This shows that Martin Luther and his movement initially were not against the law and order. He did not want to form a new Church, but rather reform the Catholic Church according to his beliefs and the Scripture, as well as his predecessors and followers of reformation, did. To summarize, the film "Martin Luther" effectively depicts and explains the main aspects and ideas of Protestant Reformation, and what Catholic religious traditions were criticized by this movement. This film is a good source for people who study the history of the Protestant Reformation and the role of Martin Luther in its formation.

"Martin Luther" is a 1953 Protestant church produced film directed by Irving Pichel. The movie illustrates the birth of the Reformation movement and Protestantism, in which Martin Luther was a key figure. The biopic accurately portrays the tensions between Protestant and Catholic churches stirred by the Martin Luther's interpretation of the Scripture and subsequent criticism of the Roman Catholic Church. As the movie was Lutheran Church produced, Martin Luther was presented as a righteous revolutinary and Catholic Church as the antagonist. Martin Luther cannot feel himself a son of God or truly love him due to his disagreement with Roman Catholic Church interpretation and teachings of the Scripture. Firstly, it is depicted in the movie how Martin Luther tries to find assurance in life and connection to God, so he quits the studies of law not wanting to be a "skeleton of his own feast". By comparing himself to a skeleton, Luther acknowledges how unsatisfied he is with what the study of law granted him, and he did not want to live in such conditions no more, bringing sadness to his own life. However, in monastery life as he achieves priesthood, he is still not certain about loving God and reasons it with his mentor that he is sinful. What he later discovers is that the Church emphasizes the implacable judgements and portrays Jesus more as "a relentless avenger", not the one who grants mercy to all who seek repentance. This Church rhetoric based on sins committed by human race and not devotion to God gives reason for Martin Luther to seek for answers in the Scripture, and when he does so is condemned by not agreeing with established interpretations. Luther came to conclusion that the Scripture is the only source of devotion, not the Pope. Thus, 'Sola Fide' established by Luther in the movie becomes the principle of the Reformed branches of Protestantism, where salvation is sought by faith alone, not by good deeds, which are more of just an evidence of good faith. Luther argues with his mentor about interpreting the Scripture in one's own way and translating it to the vernacular language, arguing that there would be more Christians if done so. Interesting remark is added in the movie when Luther nailed his "Ninety-Five Theses" to the doors of the castle church in Whittenburg, where one of the common people brushed over the relevance of the document, saying it is "just something in Latin". This moment shows how important it was for common people to get the translations and educate themselves on the teachings of the Church they followed without speaking or reading Latin. By understanding the Scripture, common people could too interpret it in their own way and oppose to the Roman Catholic Church policies and Pope's abuse of power. The spread of Luther's texts written in vernacular language influenced the way people saw Church, namely when indulgences sale dropped considerably. Abuse of power of clergy in the Roman Catholic Church is clearly shown in the movie and condemned by Martin Luther. The very sales of indulgences, which reduced temporal punishment in the purgatory for oneself or loved ones were the last straw for Martin Luther in the biopic to nail his theses to the door of the Church. As he argued in his theses, salvation cannot be bought, as it gives a dangerous precedent for people not seeking repentance anymore, as they now they could practically bribe their way to heaven. It is important to consider the fact that the movie was produced in collaboration with the Lutheran Church, which was interested in criticizing the Catholic Church and portraying it as corrupt and misguiding for its followers. Pope Leo, depicted as a corrupt self-centered ruler, wanted to only increase the Treasury of the Church, not caring about the consequences of this policy of indulgences. According to Luther, the symbols or relics of the Church that represent the meaning of the sacredness lost its relevance due to their material nature. Although, the relics should not be disrespected, as the protagonists scolded his followers for desecration of churches and sacred relics, they should not be put before faith, which is the only way of truly connecting to God and seeking salvation. The focus on symbols such relics, as well as the Church and the Pope, gives clergy power over people to the point Church controls the fear of judgement from both God and Church. In this sense, putting the fear of judgement of God before faith itself centers the focus on the benefits of the belief that will save them from God's judgement rather than on God himself. Avoiding judgement becomes of too much importance, as people seek ways of reducing their imminent punishments. The consequence of that is the abuse of power by the Church who take up on the role of punishing or, conversely, granting reduced punishments in the afterlife as a reward for donations to the Church. The movie "Martin Luther" displays the events in Martin Luther's life that led to the Reformation movement and does so by criticizing the Roman Catholic Church and placing Martin Luther's views as necessary action towards what he deemed not righteous.

The movie 'Martin Luther' tells a story about Martin Luther who was a 16th-century Christian reformist. The movie shows us the complete story of his path starting from leaving a job as a lawyer to making protestant Christianity spread across Europe. In my movie review, I want to discuss several important topics. First, the image of a Catholic church at the beginning of the 16th century. Second, the ideas of Protestantism, Martin Luther's teachings, and impact on reformation. Third, the implications reformation had on political affairs. Before the movie review, it should be said that Luther's impact on the history of Europe is enormous, his ideas gave start to one of the biggest peasants revolts in history, his writings helped to shape national language and united people around common belonging, his debates with Catholic church established one of the popular branches of Christianity. There are numerous other Luther's merits that are important to history.

First of all, the image of the Catholic Church in the movie. We can clearly see the political power the Pope has in Rome. For example, in the scene where prince Albert's brother comes to Leo 10th Pope to ask for the 3rd province in Germany. We see that the Pope by himself negotiates the price for land, signs the document, and assigns additional pay for St. Peter's Cathedral. In our lecture material, we can see the same idea of the great power of the Church. For example, John Wycliffe stated that Church property should be given to the state, to meet the minimum needs to function. Also, the crusades that were initiated by the Church and the Pope. Additionally, we have similar material about Prince Albert and Friar Tetzel in the lecture, but there is inconsistency in the lecture we have Leo the 2nd who was working on the cathedral. Indeed, it was Leo the 10th, not the 2nd. Another important aspect of the Roman Church was payment for indulgences and the value of relics. The first time, we see the relics in the scene when parishioners gathered to venerate them and earn their place from purgatory and the exact number of years and days earned. The next time we see special indulgence for St. Peter's Cathedral. People can buy forgiveness forever with no confession required. From the lecture, we know that special indulgence initiated Luther's 95 theses. The movie did a great job of highlighting Martin Luther's discontent. The pivotal moment was when Martin had a conversation with a drunk man, that declared that he was forgiven for all his sins and has paper confirming it, while he was lying on the ground completely drunk.

The second, the ideas of Protestantism or Luther's thoughts. We can see that the more time Luther spends in the Church the more he doubts its methods. In the scene where Martin and the priest argue about the meaning of the Church, viewers are presented with the two main ideas of Protestantism. The first one is 'Sola Scriptura' when Martin refers to scripture to explain what is the meaning of faith in Christianity. The second idea presented immediately after when the priest reads a paragraph from the Bible that says 'as it is written shall live by faith'. At the end of this scene, we get a visual sign highlighting these two ideas when Martin Luther writes 'sola' in the Bible. The lecture material focuses on these two ideas as well. We know that Luther thought that scripture has an answer for every situation and salvation is achieved only through faith, not by paying indulgences. Another idea that is highly voiced in the movie is the meaning of Jesus Christ for Martin Luther and Protestantism. The only symbol for prayers is Jesus, the man who paid for humanity's salvation is Jesus these are some of Luther's statements. In Luther's perspective, the central figure was Christ, not the symbols associated with him. Basically, Luther's teachings had the most impact on Protestantism. He stated them clearly at the Leipzig. His speech, to put it simply, democratized Christianity and Scripture, anybody can earn salvation and you do not have to be a monk or pay taxes. This was revolutionary for the Church. In our lecture material, we do not get to know his first debate that shows his devotion to believes.

The third is the political impact reformation had on the Roman Church and Europe. In the beginning, we see how German princes expand their influence and lands with the help of the Pope. However, from the time Luther went against Pope, the nobles who were interested in complete self-governance over lands patronized him. For example duke, Frederick secured safe conduct and Diet of Worms for him where he had a chance to stand before Charles 5th. Besides Luther's teachings resonated among the population and raised the ideas of freedom in their minds which resulted in the revolt. After his teaching spread over Europe, the Church split into two. In the end, we see that the Roman church has no authority over Germans. The same material was given during the lecture, Charles was occupied with the war against the Ottoman empire and was unable to bring under control Germany.

In conclusion, I have positive impressions after the movie, the movie conveyed the main ideas, religious traditions, characters' motivations, and historical facts precisely. The movie does not have scenes that are not accordant with historical context. The movie is really helpful in understating Protestantism's origins and its importance in the history of Europe.