Martin Luther (1953/VCI DVD)
Picture:
C+ Sound: C+ Extras: C+ Film:
B+
It is
incredible how many films have yet to be released on DVD, even after 10-plus
years and now VCI has issued 1953’s film Martin
Luther to the format, which is a film based on the life of 16-Century monk
who began the Protestant Reformation and defied excommunication in order to
bring about religious reform. Its
credibility lies in its exceptional cinematography and its production, which is
evident by the fact that the film was approved for location shooting by the
Lutheran church and this only helps give the richness of the films
backdrop.
Luther’s
life was extraordinary as he fought to bring about a reform in the church and
restore it’s ideals through purity and authority by ridding the sliding scale
that the secular world was placing upon the church and Christianity as a
whole. He nailed a 95-point document to
the churches door, which this letter alone split the Roman Catholic Church and
the Holy Roman Empire, he was labeled as a heretic and was banished by the
Pope, but Luther’s legacy lives on and his “95 Theses” is even included in this
DVD set as part of the supplements.
The film
was shot in glorious Black and White and transferred in its original full-frame
1.33 X 1 aspect ratio for this DVD presentation. The film has been moderately restored and
appears to be well preserved over time only displaying minor moments of
softness and grain that is evident of its source and the condition of the
film. The Dolby Digital Mono soundtrack
is fair and about on par with what we could or should expect from a film of
this age and condition. We are just glad
to have this film finally on DVD and fans will be happy as well as new viewers
who are either using the film for educational purposes or even entertainment,
it’s a gem.
- Nate Goss
