This adaptation of John Osborne's LUTHER was part of the American Film Theater series, conceived in the 1970s by producer Ely Landau and meant to be shown theatrically just like a play, with tickets sold in advance. Stacy Keach stars as Martin Luther, the German priest who, during the 16th century, challenged the Roman Catholic Church and, during a movement known as the Reformation, created a new form of Christianity. The film begins with Luther as a young novice and follows him as he becomes an expert theologian who is moved to write the 95 Theses, a series of protestations against a church he saw as corrupt. Soon, Luther is taking his message to the people, which in turn forces him to go before the very church he is denouncing and face their judgment.