Product Details

• Actors: Peter Howell, Keith Buckley
• Format: Color, DVD, Subtitled, NTSC
• Language: Spanish, Portuguese, German, English
• Subtitles: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Vision Video
• DVD Release Date: September 30, 2004
• Run Time: 75 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00066TBDU
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #22,292 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

"John Wycliffe" is a dramatic biography of the life of the 14th century scholar and cleric who translated the Bible into English for the first time. Wycliffe found himself in the middle of religious, political and social conflicts. An Oxford scholar, one of Europe's most renowned philosophers, he was a defender of English nationalism against the power of the pope and a champion of the poor against the injustices of the rich. John Wycliffe taught that God's forgiveness couldn’t be bought with indulgences. He preached that the only true authority is the Word of God, and the Word could only be understood by all if the people could read it in their native tongue. "John Wycliffe" captures the trials and heroic struggles of this significant man of faith - the "Morning Star" of the Reformation.

Special Features

- English, Spanish, Portuguese, and German language tracks available

- Biography of director Tony Tew

- Study guide from "Reformation Overview" in PDF format

Winner of "Best Film of the Year" Award from the Christian Film Distribution Association.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

68 of 69 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The inspirational story of a truly great man of God, May 31, 2005

By 

Daniel Jolley "darkgenius" (Shelby, North Carolina USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: John Wycliffe - The Morning Star (DVD)

I have to admit that the name of John Wycliffe was no more than vaguely familiar to me before watching this film - this is unfortunate because here is a man who deserves to be honored in the hearts of all English-speaking Christians. Dubbed "the morning star of the Reformation," Wycliffe attacked the corruption of the mother church with great courage and spiritual determination - and he did this in the 14th century, well over a century before Martin Luther and others ushered in the Protestant Reformation. The life of this religious scholar and champion of the common people is a truly inspiring one. Wycliffe, born in 1324, died in 1384 but his guiding spirit still lives and thrives today.

The church feared and despised Wycliffe. From his academic post at Oxford University, Wycliffe penned a number of controversial books criticizing or condemning church doctrines, developed a set of scholars among his students and sent them out to spread the true word of God, and truly brought the word of God to the people. The church put him on trial on three different occasions for heresy (the third taking place while he was on his death bed), but important supporters such as John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, and the Queen Mother helped him maintain his position and continue his work in the critical years of his life and career.

This was a dramatic period in history. The Black Plague was still a fresh memory across the land, the Hundred Years War was exhausting the country's resources (the English peasants saw their suffering increase year after year and staged a failed revolt in 1831 - the church saw the rebellion as a consequence of Wycliffe's dangerous teachings), a child sat on the throne of England, and - during Wycliffe's most productive years - the Catholic Church itself was split along geopolitical lines, with one pope in Rome and a rival pope in Avignon. This film basically starts out with the second of Wycliffe's trials, and the corruption and greed of the church is clearly shown in the words and deeds of Wycliffe's opponents. Wycliffe railed against such corrupt practices as the issuance of indulgences, insisting that salvation could not be bought. He criticized the church for hoarding its great wealth (it owned a third of the land in England) and ignoring the increasingly destitute lives of the people. His greatest heresy came later, however, when he felt God's call to translate the Bible into the English language and thus give the people access to God's Holy word. It seems unbelievable today, but the church regarded the translation of the Bible into the "vulgar" tongue and its presentation to the people as the greatest heresy of all. The Church zealously guarded the Bible as its own property, believing the ecclesiastical order alone capable of understanding the word of God. Despite the persecution he faced, Wycliffe and a number of his former students completed the translation and defied the church by taking it to the people. In short, Wycliffe's work did much to help set the stage for the Reformation of the 16th century, particularly in England.

This is an excellent video, and Peter Howell gives an impassioned yet beautifully subtle performance as John Wycliffe. I am not sure how closely the movie follows the actual timeline of the great man's life, however, as the character in the film looks much older than the historical figure who lived only sixty years and the bulk of Wycliffe's achievements seems to be densely packed into a short period of time. Still, Wycliffe's greatness, commitment to God, and undaunted courage shine throughout the 75 minutes of the film. This is a marvelous, truly inspirational film, and Christians in particular will get something much more worthwhile than entertainment value out of it.

42 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I loved it, and recommend this movie to all Christians, March 5, 2005

By 

Kurt A. Johnson (North-Central Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: John Wycliffe - The Morning Star (DVD)

Though many believe that the Protestant Reformation began with Martin Luther, it actually began some 130 years earlier, when a Doctor of the Church named John Wycliffe (c.1330-1384) took a stand against the abuses in the church. This movie is a look at Wycliffe, his battle with the 14th century church, and his revolutionary action in translating the Bible into the English language. John Wycliffe was the "Morning Star" of the Reformation, its first light. [Color, released in 1984, with a running time of 1:15.]

Overall, I found this to be a wonderful movie. The actors do an excellent job of making their characters come alive, and the use of settings and period clothing is excellent. I found the story to be quite touching, and informative of who John Wycliffe was and what he stood for. If you are interested in the history of the Bible or of the Protestant Reformation, then you really must get this excellent movie. I loved it, and recommend this movie to all Christians.

Also, along with this fine movie, is a 25 minute "abridged version," which is a shortened look at Wycliffe that is perfect for use in a Sunday school setting. Along with this is a study guide and student worksheet in PDF format. I must admit that I could not access these, but the fault might have been with my computer, rather than the disc. I did, however, find them on-line at www.visionvideo.com.

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Historically Faithful Account of Scholar, Preacher, Defender of the Poor, and RADICAL!...., October 26, 2006

By 

Encompassed Runner (Florida, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: John Wycliffe - The Morning Star (DVD)

JOHN WYCLIFFE is the first in Vision Video's Reformation series that includes John Hus, The Radicals: The Anabaptists, Martin Luther, and God's Otlaw: William Tyndale. The movie begins with written paragraphs of contextual background that scroll much too fast to read, but say that it's England in the 14th century, 1/3 of Europe's dead from the Black Death, resources are drained due to the 100 Year War, the suffering peasants are restless, and the powerful Church has departed from the Bible in both doctrine and practice. Then the drama begins (and it is a drama, not a documentary), with Wyclif's bones being dug up for posthumous burning as a boy looks on with his father, John Purvey, through whom the Wyclif story is told in flashback as Purvey recounts Wyclif's life to his son. (Purvey was a former student of Wyclif's at Oxford and later worked with Wyclif on the Bible translation, but under persecution recanted of his involvement.)

Unlike other reformers who had to flee, Wyclif (or Wycliffe) remained in his home country, though exiled from Oxford, so this story doesn't have some of the dramatic adrenaline rush scenes that other Reformation movies have. Rather, the movie's strength is in its historically faithful representation of a compassionate, bold and brilliant pioneer of the Reformation who challenged Church doctrine and practice some 130 years before Luther. His influence spread beyond England as his return-to-the-Bible ideas were taken by followers to Bohemia inspiring John (Jan) Huss, who was martyred upon order of the Council of Constance meeting some 30 years after Wyclif's natural death and which also ordered Wyclif's bones dug up and burned. His advocacy of an English Bible for the average person was foundational in motivating and setting the stage for the English Bible dramas that ensued in the next 2 centuries, with Tyndale's Bible smuggling and martyrdom, the Geneva Bible popularity, the KJV, etc.

The movie's lead actor, Peter Howell, gives a fine, believable performance as Wyclif, and even resembles in appearance the woodcut prints of the reformer. Another important movie character is a fancily-dressed man, John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster who pops up repeatedly and was actually the son of King Edward III, and for this reason was influential in protecting Wyclif somewhat--at least until Wyclif moved from early criticisms of the Church to more specific and extreme calls for reform, such as stating that the doctrine of transubstantiation (that the eucharist is Christ) was a later unbiblical doctrine added by the Church.

The movie emphasizes Wyclif's heart for the poor and his high view of both the authority and power of the Bible that led him and his followers to translate the Bible (from Latin into average man English)during Wyclif's blessing-in-disguise banishment from Oxford. The Word was then disseminated through Wyclif's itinerant poor preachers. The movie, educational and inspiring as it is, probably would be too long and boring for most children's attention spans, although there is a brief summary of Wyclif that is included as a Special Feature of the DVD.