The film's writing and some of the performances aren't great, but they managed to get together a pretty good cast, and the production values are quite impressive considering what must have been a limited budget. The story centers on two boys who were split up when they were young. One, “Georg” (Peter McDonald), is training to become a priest, while the other, “Martin” (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), joins the emperor's military. A long time goes by, and circumstances now require the first man to serve as prior in a small town where the second one is stationed—as its executioner. John Shrapnel has a part, but his role as the bishop feels conventional and not fully developed, giving the impression that he was only on set for a couple of days. Steven Berkoff appears too, though he doesn’t deliver the kind of intense performance he's known for as the “inquisitor.” Running close to two hours, it drags on before reaching the central conflict. Visually, however, the film is appealing and conveys a sense of what life was like—a gritty existence lived under the shadow of a church that practiced what it preached selectively. If you enjoy this type of story, think “Cadfael” but with more violence; I didn’t dislike it.

Source on TMDB