Timothy West stars in this dramatised account of the life of Martin Luther, the German monk and theologian whose teachings were instrumental in triggering the Protestant Reformation, the schism that split the Christian church in the sixteenth century. Narrated by Liam Neeson, the film is shown in two parts on Thursday and Friday.

Born into a world dominated by the Catholic Church, the deeply spiritual Luther became a monk in 1505 at the age of 21. After entering the monastery, however, Luther became increasingly doubtful that the Church could actually offer him salvation. After visiting Rome and finding the capital of Catholicism swamped in corruption, Luther’s despair deepened. In his famous 95 Theses, he attacked the practice of selling Indulgences, putting himself on an irreversible path to conflict with the most powerful institution of the day.

The Catholic Church used all of its power and influence to try to silence him, including accusations of heresy and threats of excommunication, but he continued to write radical critiques, developing a new system of faith that places the freedom of the individual believer above the rituals of the Church. He soon found himself an unwitting revolutionary, inspiring reformation across Europe.

As the movement expanded into a campaign for social freedom, however, Luther found himself overwhelmed by the pace of change and was left vainly protesting that his followers should be concerning themselves with God.