Product: Luther [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - Germany ]
Rating: 4.0
Very Good.
Between this Luther and the one played by Niall MacGinnis ca.1953 I like this one with Joseph Fiennes better. Fiennes simply pulls off the heavier scenes more successfully for me. Even so, and believe it or not, my favorite rendition of Martin Luther is still the one with Stacy Keach [sp?]. I haven't seen the one with Stacy K. for quite awhile now, and I've got to watch it again to be sure I still really feel this way, but its simple - The character done by Stacy K. includes a clear sense of humor, a quality missing from the MacGinnis/Fiennes portrails. Fiennes of course has the theologically satirical moment when he's teaching at university, and its good, but its just not the simple humor that I believe would be a real part of the real character in spite of his demons and earthly persecutions. Keach has that element in a way that is important and satisfying in the telling of Luther's life. Still Fiennes does the heavy stuff best of the three and with one hand tied behind his back. Very well done.