A Return to Grace: Luther's Life and Legacy (2017 Video) User Reviews

Amazingly good...and I was a bit surprised to see it on PBS.

[planktonrules · 10/10 · 13 September 2017]

It is strange that perhaps the most influential figure of the last thousand years (certainly THE most influential of his era) has only seldom been discussed on television and in films. Yet, somehow apart from a few movies on the life of Martin Luther, he's rarely talked about in the media. I don't think this is any conspiracy...far from it. It's probably a case of omission due to our tendency to focus on recent history. Fortunately, this documentary has come along to help cast a new look at this incredibly influential man.

Originally, this film was shown in private showings across the country--in churches and movie theaters here and there. Somehow it made it to PBS and it surprised me a bit as the film certainly is very religious in nature. I applaud their decision to air it, as you cannot separate the strong religious message from the historical figure...and the film does an excellent job in discussing his impact, the man's deficiencies and his strengths...all with great balance and respect. Rarely do you see any documentary that takes on the entirety of a historical figure. Often they either laud the person excessively or attack them...but here you see Luther, warts and all...and in a way that conveys who he is, shows respect to his followers and puts it all into wonderful context. I also appreciate how in addition to the many, many experts who discuss the man, they also recreate Luther and his life--using an excellent actor, wonderful costumes and on location shooting throughout Europe. A quality production all around and I really wish all historical documentaries were made with this much care.

The great Protestant reformer in all his glory and shame

[Wuchakk · 9/10 · 8 December 2017]

RELEASED IN 2017 and directed by David Batty, "Martin Luther: An Idea That Changed the World" (aka "A Return to Grace: Luther's Life and Legacy") is a documentary/biography about the influential Protestant reformer of early 16th century Europe.

The most important points of Luther's life are reenacted with Padraic Delany in the title role. Any words ascribed to Luther are those of which he actually said or wrote. In between and during these segments are the insightful commentaries of roughly two dozen scholars of varied theologies (including a Catholic Cardinal). The producers picked a nicely diversified group of theologians and historians, each interesting in his/her unique manner.

It's all here: The absurdity of the Roman Church selling indulgences in Germany & elsewhere to fund St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City; Luther's Ninety-five Theses (debate points) that he (probably) nailed to the door of All Saints' Church in Wittenberg on October 31, 1517; his taking advantage of the printing press, a new technology; His excommunication by Pope Leo X and subsequent condemnation by Emperor Charles V in 1520-21 after refusing to renounce his writings; his emphasis on sola Scriptura ("by Scripture alone"); his exile to the security of the Wartburg Castle at Eisenach; his simple revelation about God's grace of salvation coming through faith in Christ alone so that no one may boast; his German translation of the New Testament in a mere eleven weeks in 1522 so that the common people could read God's Word; The tragic Peasant's War where approximately 100,000 "commoners" lost their lives; his marriage to ex-Nun Katharina von Bora in 1525 and subsequent family; his attempts to organize the Protestants; his manual in 1529 for pastors & teachers, the Large Catechism, as well as the abridged Small Catechism for general believers; his initial kindness toward Jews in 1523 contrasted by his teachings two decades later; how the wicked (Hitler) and the righteous (Martin Luther King Sr. and Jr.) used Luther's iconic status and words to fuel their ideologies.

Too often biographies either overly applaud the individual or attack him/her. Yet this documentary does an admirable job addressing Luther's impact, his strengths, his weaknesses and failings, all with honesty, balance and deference.

THE MOVIE RUNS 2 hours. WRITER: Mike Trinklein.

GRADE: A

A Well Done Documentary - Small Spoilers

[VintageSoul56 · 10/10 · 14 February 2018]

I just finished watching this remarkable documentary on Netflix. I never had much interest in Martin Luther. I knew the general history and that was it. I knew the effect Martin Luther's theories had on Henry VIII and as a result England became a Protestant country. However, I didn't know about the trials and tribulations that Martin Luther went through. His feelings of unworthiness, depression, anxiety. I had always pictured him as a very strong individual who had a lot of self confidence. I was wrong. Mr. Delaney, who strongly resembles Martin Luther (very good casting) portrays him as a vulnerable and full of self doubts. I felt that I was actually observing this progressive thinker first hand. Mr. Delaney is very good at his craft. I was also surprised to find out that Martin Luther did marry in middle age to a younger woman. You'll need to either watch this documentary or read more on Martin Luther and his very independent wife, Katrina von Bora. She was a force, especially for the early part of the 16th century. The locales were sparse, but that's what I would have expected 16th century Germany to be like, especially in the poorer regions. The acting for the larger roles were good. The general casting of the extras looked as if you were in that period of time. They looked like the poor and down and out.

There were also several theologians interviewed. Their views were very interesting and informative. They weren't stuffy and academic as some can be. There were some that were quite entertaining.

I was very impressed with this documentary. I would like to see more documentaries of this caliber.

A Mighty Fortress is our God...

[AlsExGal · 10/10 · 17 September 2017]

... and a fortress that certainly protected the life of Martin Luther, according to this documentary.

I've seen a couple of other documentaries on Luther this week, with the 500th anniversary of his nailing of the 95 theses to the Wittenberg castle church door fast approaching, and I'd say I like this one the best.

Why? For one, from the beginning, the documentary says that no words will be ascribed to Luther that he did not actually say or write. Thus the documentary takes the form of one particular actor playing Luther as an adult throughout the documentary in the dramatic reenactment portion, with a group of scholars explaining the circumstances in between scenes. The documentary is in chronological order, starting in Luther's youth.

What differentiated Luther from others of the time? For one a superior intellect that served him well in his writing and speaking. Also, the motivating factor was that Luther was obsessed with the question - "How good must a person be to be good enough for God?". The Roman Catholic church, the only Christian church at that time, said that you must follow a plethora of rules in order to get into heaven, and even then you would probably spend time in purgatory. But exactly how many good works must you perform? How many times must you confess? What if you omit something from confession because you forgot? This plagued Luther even as he dropped studying law as a profession, became a monk, drove his individual priest crazy from non-stop confession and even physically punished himself for any sins he may have forgotten. Eventually he comes to the truth that frees him from his torment. He reads in the scripture that forgiveness is a gift from God, undeserved by the penitent, and only need be accepted by the individual. A weight was lifted and he began to preach the good news that it was faith, not any works you might perform, that would redeem you. This left you free to take your eyes off of yourself and put your eyes on your neighbors and help others.

So why did Luther live to die in his own bed after starting what became the Protestant Reformation? Why was he left unmolested to basically become the best selling author in Europe at the time and have his works exist today to be sold on Amazon to anybody who wants a copy? After all, a century before there had been a monk who had done and said the same thing as Luther and he was pretty promptly burned at the stake as a heretic.

A number of events in Europe converged at the time of Luther to make this possible. Most of these were political. You must remember in the 16th century the pope was more a head of state - a head of heads of state - more than anything else. Pope Leo did not want to upset Luther's protector so he could influence the Holy Roman Empire, the Holy Roman emperor was besieged by foreign armies and did not want to start an internal rebellion if he touched Luther, and the recent invention of the printing press made it possible for Luther's written works to be propagated throughout Germany. When Luther DID have to go into hiding for awhile this merely gave him the opportunity to translate the New Testament from Latin into German so every plow boy in the empire could read the Bible for himself in his native tongue.

The documentary further goes into Luther's family life, and how educating his own children himself made him a proponent for public education for both boys and girls, and about Luther's anti-Semitic works calling for the burning of synagogues, this last thing being a black mark on his legacy, disavowed by the Lutheran Church.

The documentary talks about how Luther's life influenced two very diametrically opposed important figures of the 20th century. Luther's anti-Semitic works were used by Hitler to justify his persecution of the Jews, however the concept of eugenics, even accepted in the USA until the 1970s, was more the cause of this than anything. At the opposite spectrum of humanity, a man named Michael King was so impressed by how an idea, spread by Martin Luther by the spoken and written word not by the sword, so changed the world that he changed his own name from Michael King to Martin Luther King and his son's to Martin Luther King Jr. The parallels are obvious. Both men when they were starting out on the road to right a long standing and entrenched wrong had no idea if they would live to make a difference or even be remembered, but both changed the world.

This documentary does not have beautiful cinematography, but it tells a beautiful story well, and I now feel much more acquainted with this simple monk who changed the world with just two words, as the documentary says - "God forgives". Highly recommended as one of the more perfect and complete documentaries I have seen, currently making the rounds on PBS stations.

Timothy Dolan? Really?

[fitforfaith-ministries · 2/10 · 17 June 2023]

Explicit promotion of Timothy Dolan, directly involved in the earlier sexual abuse scandal. It is hard to grasp why a Catholic even appears in a documentary on the Reformation, but it is even harder to grasp why specifically one had been chosen who had been involved in covering up such a scandal.

The documentary also does not even mention once Luther's connections to the Augustian order, that he famously wanted Hebrews, James, Jude and the book of Revelation removed from the Christian Canon, that he gave his blessing to have Anabaptists executed simply based on their correct opposition of infant baptism and emphasis on adult baptism, his ruthless rejection of biblical inerrancy in his commentary on Chronicles, his anti-Judaistic views that contributed significantly to the development of antisemitism in Germany and of the Nazi Party, and his entire rejection of the biblical concept of 'Free Will'.

surprising

[Kirpianuscus · 22 July 2022]

In many senses, surprising. Obvious, in very good way. Because the portrait of Martin Luther is complex, nuanced and fair crafted. Because the docu-drama is not a pledge, homage and demonstration but a fascinating exploration of traits defining his life, his message, his legacy.

For many reasons, it is just brilliant because it creates a large mage, objective in high measure, proposing the honest light on his attitudes and reasons of them, his profound humanity and vulnerabilities, stubborn and loyalty to the Scripture.

Result - a film clearing the contribution of a significant pre-modern personality to the radical transformations defining our world.

So, surprising good.