The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)
"La passion de Jeanne d'Arc" (original title)

A chronicle of the trial of Jeanne d'Arc on charges of heresy, and the efforts of her ecclesiastical jurists to force Jeanne to recant her claims of holy visions.

Director:

Carl Theodor Dreyer

Writers:

Joseph Delteil, Carl Theodor Dreyer

Stars:

Maria Falconetti, Eugene Silvain, André Berley

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Maria Falconetti	...	Jeanne d'Arc (as Melle Falconetti)
Eugene Silvain	...	Évêque Pierre Cauchon (Bishop Pierre Cauchon) (as Eugène Silvain)
André Berley	...	Jean d'Estivet
Maurice Schutz	...	Nicolas Loyseleur
Antonin Artaud	...	Jean Massieu
Michel Simon	...	Jean Lemaître
Jean d'Yd	...	Guillaume Evrard
Louis Ravet	...	Jean Beaupère (as Ravet)
Armand Lurville	...	Juge (Judge) (as André Lurville)
Jacques Arnna	...	Juge (Judge)
Alexandre Mihalesco	...	Juge (Judge)
Léon Larive	...	Juge (Judge)

Storyline

The sufferings of a martyr, Jeanne D'Arc (1412-1431). Jeanne appears in court where Cauchon questions her and d'Estivet spits on her. She predicts her rescue, is taken to her cell, and judges forge evidence against her. In her cell, priests interrogate her and judges deny her the Mass. Threatened first in a torture chamber and then offered communion if she will recant, she refuses. At a cemetery, in front of a crowd, a priest and supporters urge her to recant; she does, and Cauchon announces her sentence. In her cell, she explains her change of mind and receives communion. In the courtyard at Rouen castle, she burns at the stake; the soldiers turn on the protesting crowd.

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Plot Keywords:

judge | suffering | heresy | trial | torture chamber | 

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | History

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

25 October 1928 (France)

Also Known As:

The Passion of Joan of Arc

Filming Locations:

Boulogne-Billancourt, Hauts-de-Seine, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

Société générale des films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min 88 min (1952 re-release) 82 min (restored DVD)

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

After completing the original cut of the film, director Carl Theodor Dreyer learned that the entire master print had been accidentally destroyed. With no ability to re-shoot, Dreyer re-edited the entire film from footage he had originally rejected.

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Goofs

Jean's hair is cut with a shiny pair of scissors which appear to be from the 20th century. Pivoted scissors (the kind with finger holes in use today) were not commonly available until the 18th century. Spring-based scissors which you squeeze from the ends of the scissors (kind of like tongs) were the ones used in the middle ages and were usually made out of iron, not steel.

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Quotes

Juge: How old are you?
Jeanne d'Arc: [counts on her fingers] Nineteen... I think.

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Connections

Featured in The Story of Film: An Odyssey: Episode #1.7 (2011)

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Soundtracks

"Voices of Light"
Written by Richard Einhorn
The score used in the 1995 version

User Reviews

When viewing it we look at it as looking in a mirror.

What can one say about this work of art that has not been said many times before by those far better qualified to explain both it's importance and place as cinema and art? I shall not comment on the greatness of the film's technical achievements; the stunning cinematography, the production design, the brilliance of the screenplay based on actual transcripts from the trial, or the perfection of Mr. Dreyer's direction. The performance of Falconetti as Jeanne d' Arc has a profundity and depth far beyond my ability to illuminate. I suppose the best I can hope to do is to share my feelings, however inadequately expressed, of the effect it had on me. To say that it may be the greatest film ever made is to sound both obvious and trite. That a work of such beauty and simplicity, made seventy-six years ago can still have the power to move audiences in an era of multi-million dollar, hi-tech, bombastic over-wrought cinematic drivel is in itself a testament to the vision and genius of Carl Theodor Dreyer, Maria Falconetti and their collaborators. It is nourishment for those that hunger for something more in cinema, a feast for the soul. It is a reminder that film can indeed be art, and this film like all great works of art, lifts and transports us from the routine of our work-a-day lives to enable us, if only for a moment to experience the sublime. When viewing it we look at it as looking in a mirror. That is to say we look into ourselves. We question ourselves as to our own beliefs, or the lack thereof and the strength of spirit that enables an individual to endure the unendurable. Viewing it is a profound experience the nature of which for myself is transcendent rather than religious, because I am not in the least a religious person. Transcendent because it evokes emotions and thoughts that I cannot wholly account for, or adequately explain.

"La Passion of Jeanne d'Arc" is stark, radiant, exalted, simple, (but never simplistic), and ultimately sublime. The rest is silence.