Joan of Arc (TV 1999)

Ten years before her death, Joan hears voices. Six years later, from the village of Domremy, she begins her mission to unite France under King Charles. First she leads a defense of ... See full summary »

Director:

Christian Duguay

Writers:

Michael Alexander Miller, Ronald Parker

Stars:

Leelee Sobieski, Chad Willett, Jacqueline Bisset

Nominated for 4 Golden Globes. Another 6 wins & 19 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Leelee Sobieski	...	Joan D'Arc
Chad Willett	...	Jean de Metz
Jacqueline Bisset	...	Isabelle D'Arc
Powers Boothe	...	Jacques D'Arc
Olympia Dukakis	...	Mother Babette
Neil Patrick Harris	...	The Dauphin, later King Charles VII of France
Robert Loggia	...	Father Monet
Maximilian Schell	...	Brother Jean le Maistre
Peter Strauss	...	La Hire
Jonathan Hyde	...	Duke of Bedford
Maury Chaykin	...	Sir Robert de Baudricourt
Shirley MacLaine	...	Madame de Beaurevoir
Peter O'Toole	...	Bishop Cauchon
Cliff Saunders	...	Bertrand de Poligny
Ron White	...	Dunois

Storyline

Ten years before her death, Joan hears voices. Six years later, from the village of Domremy, she begins her mission to unite France under King Charles. First she leads a defense of Vaucouleurs against the Burgundians, then obtains safe passage to Charles, the Dauphin. He uses her, as the embodiment of the mythical "Maid of Lorraine," to raise an army, and he sends her to the rescue of Orléans. After Charles is crowned, Joan leads a disastrous campaign in Paris, where her brother dies. Then she's the victim of Charles's manipulations: she's captured in Burgundy, sold to the English, examined by Bishop Cauchon, found a heretic by the Inquisition, and burned at the stake.

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Plot Keywords:

burgundy | heretic | stake | orléans | inquisition | 

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Taglines:

She died at 19. 500 years later her legend lives on!

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Genres:

Adventure | Biography | Drama | History

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Official Sites:

Official Website

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

16 May 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

Jeanne d'Arc

Filming Locations:

Krivoklát, Czech Republic

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Alliance Atlantis Communications, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

140 min 60 min (3 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

When Joan is led to the stake, her hands are shackled in front of her. When she stands, back to the stake, her hands are together behind (around) the stake, again shackled, but there is a shot where her hands are re-shackled.

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Quotes

Joan D'Arc: Come out, that I might send you to hell!

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Connections

Version of The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999)

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Soundtracks

"Panis Angelicus"
Written by César Franck
Arranged by Julian Smith
Performed by Charlotte Church
Courtesy of Sony Music Entertainment (UK) Ltd.

User Reviews

Best thing on television in a long time

It's not often that television movies compete with big screen productions, but this one does.

Leelee Sobieski's performance is one of the best I've seen by a young actress. She really looked like someone who had seen a vision of divine power, and yet she also looked like a young girl, driven beyond her personal strength by the force of the visions. Many of the other performances were good also, but hers was so outstanding that the others paled next to hers.

The script writers took some creative license with the history. In some cases they did it for length and clarity, improving the storytelling at the expense of the history. In other cases, I didn't see how the story as written improved on the story as understood by history (although they didn't weaken the story either). But overall, the story was excellent storytelling and still good history. And since Leelee's performance was so spectacular, it was good that the script kept her on screen through most of the story.

The battle scenes show how medieval warfare was often more a matter of morale than casualties or tactics. They manage to capture the mood and chaos of battle, without the unnecessary gore that would make the movie inappropriate for children (or television). Most important, the battles feel like they're decided by the morale of the soldiers, and that those soldiers' morale depends on the presence of Joan.

This movie far outclasses almost all television movie-making. Even by the tougher standards of big screen movies, it's still an excellent movie. It makes me want to see more about the Joan of Arc story.