La passion de Jeanne d'Arc (1928)

User Rating:

8.1/10   

Director:

Carl Theodor Dreyer

Writers:

Joseph Delteil (writer)
Carl Theodor Dreyer (writer)

Release Date:

21 April 1928 (Denmark)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | History

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Judge | Trial | Torture Chamber | Suffering | Heresy

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)

Also Known As:

The Passion of Joan of Arc (USA)

Runtime:

110 min | France:88 min (1952 re-release) | USA:114 min | 82 min (restored DVD version) (24 fps) | Denmark:96 min

Country:

France

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

Finland:K-12 (1988) | Spain:13 | South Korea:12 | Finland:K-16 (1954) | Norway:16 (1928) | Sweden:15 | UK:PG (2003 re-rating) | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Boulogne-Billancourt, Hauts-de-Seine, France

Company:

Société générale des films

Trivia:

Real blood from a real puncture wound was used in the scene in which Joan's arm is cut, but it was that of a stand-in and not Maria Falconetti.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: The soldiers wear helmets with modern chin strap fasteners (likely WW1 British infantry helmets). Those helmets could be a deliberate anachronism though.

Quotes:

Juge: What is your name?
Jeanne d'Arc: In France, I am called Joan... in my village, I am called Jeanneton.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Vivre sa vie: Film en douze tableaux (1962)

Soundtrack:

Voices of Light

Dreyer's masterpiece one of cinema's greatest artistic triumphs

One of the last great silent films made during the advent of sound, Carl-Theodor Dreyer's The Passion of Joan of Arc is a haunting, riveting portrait of the historical martyr based on documentation from the original trial. Focusing primarily on the series of courtroom examinations that doomed the young warrior, the film gloriously employs vivid close-ups to accentuate the ordinariness (while at the same time exaggerating the most grotesque qualities) of Joan's inquisitors. Maria Falconetti is unforgettable as Joan, perfectly distilling the pain, terror, and saintliness required by what is probably one of the most demanding roles an actor could attempt. The consequence of Joan's conviction -- her burning at the stake -- allows Dreyer to hammer home his exquisite visual motif balancing erotic corporeality with transcendent spirituality.