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CORVALLIS - Terrified and alone on a stormy night nearly 500 years ago, Martin Luther stood in the middle of a road and pledged his life to God, believing he had been spared during the violent storm. Yet as he goes down his spiritual path, Luther discovers corruption in the church and rebels, inciting uprisings among the common people, and risking ex-communication and death.

Not exactly the standard script for a cinematic blockbuster.

That was the challenge facing the producers of "Luther," a new film about the 16th-century monk whose writings and criticism rocked the world and ushered in an era of reformation.

Christian Stehr, an Oregon State University professor, served as U.S. producer for the film - part of an international cast and crew. For Stehr, who teaches German language, literature and culture at OSU, it was a "wonderful experience," working with such actors as Joseph Fiennes, Alfred Molina and Sir Peter Ustinov, the latter whom he knew from past projects.

What struck him, Stehr said, was everyone's dedication to the film, which has been described as an historical epic in the same vein as "A Man for All Seasons."

"The thunderstorm scene was shot on a very chilly day in upper Bavaria, and they were using 100,000-gallon tanker trucks to create the effect of a violent storm," Stehr said. "Joseph Fiennes refused to use a stand-in. He stood, soaking wet, through eight takes. That kind of commitment was everywhere."

Following his revelation, Luther joins the Augustinian Order to devote his life to his calling, but his ideals are shattered in part by the widespread depravity he witnesses on a trip to Rome. Reacting to, among other things, "indulgences," church-sponsored certificates offering salvations for a fee, he writes the "95 Theses," which he nails to the local church's door.

His writings are reproduced on Gutenberg's recently invented printing presses and, within weeks, his criticisms of the church are being read throughout Europe.

The consequences Luther faces, and the schism created in the church, make for powerful drama, said Stehr's wife, Tammy, who was a project consultant for "Luther."

"We hope this will introduce Martin Luther to a whole new generation of people," she said. "It was important to make sure the film didn't put him on a pedestal, yet maintain the values that were so important to him and, ultimately, to the church."