403:'s ideological predecessor" and that its plot culminated in "a complete confusion." West Germany's Catholic Film Service described it as "an immense production... with a superficial and biased interpretation of history... in spite of the expensive crowd scenes, it is anemic." In 1970, a review of the German Film Studies' Institute noted that for uncertain reasons,
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which he deems to be heretical. The people burn it down. The local baron retaliates by destroying the village. The priest now realizes that he is no longer a follower of Luther, who called to refrain from violence. He flees to southern
Germany, where he and his friend Heinrich Pfeiffer take over the city of
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In 2005, the picture was released on DVD format by the company
Icestorm Entertainment. In a special 13-minutes-long supplement to the new edition, historian Susanne Galley noted several inaccuracies in the plot: Muentzer is shown to have held to his beliefs under torture, while in reality he agreed
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to assume the office of the local pastor. When a local villager is arrested after assaulting an overseer who tried to rape his sister, the priest helps him escape. He also carries a first Mass in German rather than Latin, and preaches his flock to destroy all the saints' icons in the local chapel,
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sweep through the German principalities. They are welcomed by the peasants, who hope that the new doctrines will help to liberate them from the oppressive yoke of the nobility and the magistrates. The young pastor Thomas
Muentzer embraces Lutheranism, but he is more radical in his support for the
343:, leading unavoidably to the consolidation of socialist power in the state. The figure of the preacher Thomas Muentzer held an especially important status in the eyes of the establishment, both because of his radical theology that was regarded as a precursor to communism and his recognition by
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The communist leadership of East
Germany, in its attempts to create a unifying narrative for the citizens of their country, attempted to portray the history of the land as a chain of events which developed according to the rules of
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began working on the scenario in the late 1940s, and director
Hellberg requested the DEFA board to authorize a film about Muentzer in 1952. 200 actors and 2000 extras, the latter mostly servicemen of the
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is attributed to betrayal and sabotage, rather than to the weakness of their army. Galley believed that the plot was affected by the government's ideological tendencies.
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The film had its premiere on 17 May 1956, on the tenth anniversary to DEFA's founding. It was commercially released on the following day. The
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and form a peasant rebel army, intending to liberate the people. But betrayal and the schemes of the nobility bring about their defeat in the
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studio during the 1950s about important historical characters whose legacy was deemed important by the state, like
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film critic wrote that the picture was "intended to depict the 16th-Century
Iconoclast as
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435:. Central European History (2006), Conference Group for Central European History of the
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History, Politics, and East German Film: The Thomas
Muentzer (1956) Socialist Epic
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and apprentices, were involved in the filming, which took place in the town of
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to deny them before his execution; the peasants' defeat in the
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New German
Literature: Life-Writing And Dialogue With the Arts
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The film was one of 13 'heritage films' created by the
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Cultural depictions of
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
555:. Henschel Verlag (1970). ASIN B0040ZY5FW. Page 124.
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646:Films set in 16th-century Holy Roman Empire
452:Julian Preece, Frank Finlay, Ruth J. Owen.
567:The supplement is in the extended package.
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224:Martin Floerchinger as Heinrich Pfeiffer.
553:Spielfilme der DEFA im Urteil der Kritik
164:film about the life of the 16th-century
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221:Margarete Taudte as Ottilie von Gerson.
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528:"The critic, quoted on film-zeit.de"
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475:DEFA, Künstler und SED-Kulturpolitik
306:Henry V, Duke of Brunswick-Lueneburg
292:John Frederick I, Elector of Saxony
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407:was not seen in the film at all.
275:Frederick III, Elector of Saxony
565:The DVD edition on icestorm.de.
551:Institut für Filmwissenschaft.
437:American Historical Association
168:theologian and peasant leader
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517:on DEFA Foundation's website.
381:. The picture was shot using
327:Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
192:In 1523, Muentzer arrives in
313:Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse
268:Ernst II, Count von Mansfeld
631:1950s German-language films
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439:. Volume 39, pages 30-55.
350:The Peasant War in Germany
254:as Field Captain Hoffmann.
184:In 1519, the teachings of
616:German biographical films
375:Barracked People's Police
299:Louis V, Elector Palatine
606:1950s biographical films
621:German historical films
431:Robert Walinski-Kiehl.
413:Battle of Frankenhausen
285:John, Elector of Saxony
203:Battle of Frankenhausen
641:Films set in the 1520s
636:Films set in the 1510s
611:1950s historical films
320:George, Duke of Saxony
240:Gerd Michael Henneberg
456:. Peter Lang (2007).
304:Jan Franz Krueger as
242:as Evangelist priest.
109:17 May 1956
230:as Hannes the Swab.
214:Wolfgang Stumpf as
661:1950s German films
260:as Captain Krumpe.
626:East German films
483:978-3-89158-112-4
477:. Vistas (1994).
462:978-3-03911-384-2
325:Ruediger Renn as
281:Friedrich Richter
273:Edgar Bennert as
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530:. Archived from
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345:Friedrich Engels
341:Marxism-Leninism
318:Paul Paulsen as
311:Peter Herden as
297:Guido Goroll as
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170:Thomas Muentzer
157:Thomas Muentzer
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62:Wolfgang Stumpf
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138:East Germany
125:Running time
102:Release date
86:Ernst Roters
70:Götz Neumann
18:East Germany
500:Der Spiegel
485:. Page 350.
441:See excerpt
396:Der Spiegel
379:Quedlinburg
246:Horst Giese
236:as student.
228:Wolf Kaiser
199:Muehlhausen
162:East German
129:119 minutes
51:Produced by
31:Directed by
601:1956 films
595:Categories
538:2011-05-05
464:. Page 79.
419:References
334:Production
252:Fritz Diez
189:peasants.
166:Protestant
160:is a 1956
113:1956-05-17
41:Written by
389:Reception
383:Agfacolor
368:. Author
248:as miner.
75:Edited by
194:Allstedt
144:Language
83:Music by
59:Starring
584:on the
385:reels.
134:Country
111: (
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148:German
16:1956
586:IMDb
479:ISBN
458:ISBN
364:and
358:DEFA
180:Plot
20:film
283:as
266:as
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