Martin Luther: The Idea That Changed the World

On 31 October 1517, a penniless monk named Martin Luther posted his now-famous diatribe denouncing the corruption of the medieval world's largest and most powerful institution - the Catholic Church. His forerunners had been burned alive for similar statements, but Luther had a new tool at his disposal - the recently invented printing press. Against all odds, a lonely outcast stood up to the world's dominant superpower, and won. It was a battle of ideas that formed Western society as we know it today, sparking the rise of individualism, universal education, religious freedom and new roles for church and state. Narrated by Hugh Bonneville (Downton Abbey) and starring Padraic Delaney (The Tudors), this highly-visual docudrama uses full-scale dramatisations to tell a great adventure story. Part 1 of 2.