The Trial of Joan of Arc (1962) Procès de Jeanne d'Arc (original title)

Director:

Robert Bresson

Writer:

Robert Bresson
(more)

Release Date:

18 October 1974 (Finland)

Genre:

Drama | War

Plot:

A reconstruction of the trial of Joan of Arc (based entirely on the transcripts of the real-life trial)...

Plot Keywords:

Trial | Interrogation | Martyrdom | Religious Conviction | French Court

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Florence Delay	...	Jeanne d'Arc (as Florence Carrez)
Jean-Claude Fourneau	...	Bishop Cauchon
Roger Honorat	...	Jean Beaupere
Marc Jacquier	...	Jean Lemaitre
Jean Gillibert	...	Jean de Chatillon
Michel Herubel	...	Isambert de la Pierre - French Monk
André Régnier	...	D'Estivet
Arthur Le Bau	...	Jean Massieu
Marcel Darbaud	...	Nicolas de Houppeville
Philippe Dreux	...	Martin Ladvenu - French Monk
Paul-Robert Mimet	...	Guillaume Erard
Gérard Zingg	...	Jean-Lohier
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Yves Le Prince	...	Pierre Morice (uncredited)
André Maurice	...	Tiphaine (uncredited)
Donald O'Brien	...	English Priest (uncredited)
E.R. Pratt	...	Warwick (uncredited)
Harry Sommers	...	Bishop of Winchester (uncredited)
Michael Williams	...	Englishman (uncredited)

Directed by
Robert Bresson

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Robert Bresson
Pierre Champion		dialogue (uncredited)

Produced by
Agnès Delahaie	....	producer

Original Music by
Francis Seyrig

Cinematography by
Léonce-Henri Burel

Film Editing by
Germaine Artus

Art Direction by
Pierre Charbonnier

Costume Design by
Lucilla Mussini

Makeup Department
Guillaume	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Léon Sanz	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Alain Ferrari	....	second second assistant director
Serge Roullet	....	first assistant director
Hugo Santiago	....	second second assistant director
Marcel Ugols	....	second assistant director

Art Department
Pierre Guffroy	....	assistant art director
Claude Reytinas	....	property master

Sound Department
Antoine Archimbaud	....	sound
Gaston Demède	....	boom operator
Georges Girard	....	sound recordist

Camera and Electrical Department
Robert Caristan	....	camera operator
Jean-Marie Maillols	....	assistant camera
Roland Paillais	....	camera operator

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Huguette Pincebourde	....	wardrobe
Renée Rouzot	....	wardrobe

Editorial Department
Colette Lambert	....	assistant editor

Other crew
Françoise Collin	....	script supervisor

Production Companies

• Agnes Delahaie Productions

Distributors

• Al!ve AG (2007) (Germany) (DVD)
• Pathé Contemporary Films (1965) (USA) (subtitled)
• Umbrella Entertainment (2009) (Australia) (DVD)
• Versátil Home Vídeo (2005) (Brazil) (DVD)

Also Known As:

"Procès de Jeanne d'Arc" - France (original title)

Runtime:

65 min

Country:

France

Language:

French | English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:G (TV rating) | Portugal:M/12 | Finland:K-8 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M

Company:

Agnes Delahaie Productions

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: Although the story takes place in 1431, Jeanne's hairstyle is strictly a popular mode of the early 1960s. This is not a "goof" but an intention on the director's part to help young people identify with the character.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Suicide Club (2001)

This is far from Bresson's best work.

The director's signature style adds pretty much nothing to the story, the subject of one of the greatest works of cinema, Dreyer's The Passion of Joan of Arc. If you don't like Dreyer's melodramatics – and that famous silent is indeed enormously melodramatic – then maybe Bresson's toned down version will work for you. But, really, most of the film consists of long, dry scenes of question and answer sessions between Joan and her judges. It only runs just over an hour, but a lot of it feels like a chore. It's not a worthless film, of course. Once in a while Bresson captures a powerful image. I loved the shots of Joan through the peephole, as well as the reverse shots of the Englishmen staring through it. And the final sequence, Joan's ascension to the stake, is as powerful as anything in the Dreyer film (although I usually list The Passion of Joan of Arc among my ten favorite films, I will admit that he missteps during the final sequence with that historically inaccurate riot and the Eisensteinian moments that ensue), and as good as anything else Bresson has made. Also, Florence Delay, who plays Joan, could be mentioned next to Falconetti without embarrassment. She is exceptional.