Joan of Arc 

Spurred by divine voices and visions, a 15th-century teen leads French forces against the English.

Stars:

Leelee Sobieski, Chad Willett, Peter O'Toole

Nominated for 4 Golden Globes. Another 15 wins & 25 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Leelee Sobieski	...	Joan d'Arc 3 episodes, 1999
Chad Willett	...	Jean de Metz 3 episodes, 1999
Peter O'Toole	...	Bishop Pierre Cauchon 3 episodes, 1999
Neil Patrick Harris	...	King Charles VII of France / ... 3 episodes, 1999
Powers Boothe	...	Jacques d'Arc 3 episodes, 1999
Ted Atherton	...	Jean d'Estivet 3 episodes, 1999
Peter Strauss	...	La Hire 3 episodes, 1999
Olympia Dukakis	...	Mother Babette 3 episodes, 1999
Robert Loggia	...	Father Monet 3 episodes, 1999
Jacqueline Bisset	...	Isabelle d'Arc 3 episodes, 1999
Shirley MacLaine	...	Madame de Beaurevoir 3 episodes, 1999
Maury Chaykin	...	Sir Robert de Baudricourt 3 episodes, 1999
Chandra Engstrom	...	Young Joan 3 episodes, 1999
Robert Haley	...	Georges de la Trémoille 3 episodes, 1999
Matt Hoffman	...	Raymond 3 episodes, 1999
Jonathan Hyde	...	John Plantagenet, Duke of Bedford 3 episodes, 1999
Justin Peroff	...	Pierre d'Arc 3 episodes, 1999
Maximilian Schell	...	Brother Jean le Maistre 3 episodes, 1999
Ron White	...	Jean de Dunois 3 episodes, 1999
Jaimz Woolvett	...	Philip III, Duke of Burgundy (as Jaimz Wolvett) 3 episodes, 1999

Storyline

Joan of Arc is born in 1412 in the village of Domrémy in the war zone of Northern France. During her youth she often witnesses the horrors of war, but her spirit is kept high by the legend of the Maiden of Lorraine. This says that a young maiden one day will unite the divided country and lead the people to freedom. 11 years old she starts hearing voices from Saint Catherine and Archangel Michael. Through them she is commissioned by God to go to Prince Charles in Chinon, to convince him to become the King of France and drive the English occupants away. Charles thinks that Joan could be the catalyst that animates his disheartened troops. He commissions her to lead the army together with captain La Hire. After their victory at Orléans Joan participates in the coronation of Charles in Reims. Bishop Cauchon accuses her of heresy, and is relocated to Northern France, where he associates with the English occupants. Joan breaks Charles treaty with Burgundy by attacking Paris. Her troops are ...

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Plot Keywords:

character name as series title | joan of arc character | reference to joan of arc | heretic | stake | 

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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 | War

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Official Sites:

Official Website

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

Joan of Arc

Filming Locations:

Czech Republic

Box Office

Budget:

$20,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Alliance Atlantis Communications, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

60 min (3 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Joan of Arc was left handed

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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: You seem troubled, Captain.
La Hire: Yes, I'm troubled! Attacking Paris is madness! The walls are too high; our ladders may not even reach the top. And as for me, I'm paid to fight soldiers, not tradesmen.
Joan D'Arc: Are you still, after all, just a mercenary?
La Hire: Paris is neither an enemy nor a friend.
Joan D'Arc: Our Lord said, "He who is not with me, is against me."
La Hire: With Jesus... or with Joan?

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Alternate Versions

The DVD (180 minutes) is the complete miniseries, as it contains 40 minutes cut from the VHS, which is 140 minutes.

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Connections

Version of Johanna aus Lothringen (1959)

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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

True to Both History & Theology - Some Background

Do great times call forth grand souls or do grand souls change great events or both? Joan's World - Historical Background. It was a time when the English crown controlled huge territories in France - and not by way of some invasion or occupation, but as the direct result of the fact the English King, Henry IV, (also Duke of Lancaster) and his son Henry V (both of Shakespeare fame)were descendants of the original French Duke of Normandy, William, who had conquered England in 1066 and thus the King of England continued to remain the feudal "owner" of Normandy, Brittainy and Acquitaine. This English King, Henry V would stake the biggest claim and actually force the King of France to appoint this same English King, his "lawful" successor to the French throne.

Combine this with the fact the the English had a willing French ally in the form of Charles, Duke of Burgundy who was a rival for the French crown. Its no surprise that the Burgundians were the bully boys of this era. They were allies of the English and thus their French-speaking local "enforcers." The English would control these areas for over 300 years. The "Hundred Years War" would be fought to maintain that English control.

So at the time of this story, the Dauphine of France, the weak French prince Charles was not yet the crowned King of France and controlled only a fraction of the country. Even he saw his chances for the crown as limited. Another Charles, the Duke of Burgundy, France, was far more powerful than the Dauphine and to offset his limited powers, Burgandy had allied themselves with the English.

It was into this was brutal world, that Joan of Arc was born. A savage time of "might makes right" and a nobility class-sanctioned brutalization of a citizen population caught in a titanic chess match as pawns between a class of nobles who, although they had taken ancient oaths sworn to guard the defenseless, nevertheless preyed on the very people they were sworn to defend.

There are parallels to many parts of the world where so-called "war lords" have re-imposed a modern-day feudalism of protectors and protected.

Joan was inspired, (and just by what/who, remains a hotly debated theological and psychological discussion to this day) to free France of English domination. Why? Catholics might argue that she was called to this by God in order to preserve France as a bastion of Catholicism against the invading "heresy" of the Protestant Revolution. Think how events might have turned out if England had conquered all of France and imposed Protestantism on France.

Historical Sequel to Joan of Arc.

Henry V would die in France of a fever and never assert this claim. With Joan's military successes as precedents, and the Duke of Burgandy eventually abandoning his English allies, Henry V's son, Henry VI, a weak-willed but pious monarch, would be VERY unsuccessful in asserting any of his father Henry V's claims even though another war, the "Thirty Years" war would be fought by Henry VI's dukes to try to take back lost regions. The English would eventually lose that war and surrender, city by city, castle by castle, the entire regions of Normandy and Aquitaine back to the French. Ultimately, the Ennglish would control only the port city of Calais before losing that last foothold on the Continent. A new war in England, a civil war between the houses and Dukes of York and Lancaster would be fought, in part, from the failures of the Lancastrian King, Henry VI to keep those hard-fought territories - "The War of the Roses."

Now why is the movie great? Because it faithfully captures the life of a illiterate and simple peasant girl, called by unseen forces to change the world around her in direct conflict with the brutality, the conflict, the religious zeal/fanaticism and the lust for power of he times into which Jean D'Arc was born into.

If you don't know much about either Joan or the times, you learn a great deal from this wonderful movie. Joan was on a "mission from God," at least to her way of thinking and the religious forces of her day in the form of the Church hierarchy were dumbfounded initially and enraged, eventually that some "mere girl" would dare to tell them anything about God's will for either herself, let alone her King and country.

The Maid of Orleans' life is a testament to one person, even a unschooled young girl's in an age of female political impotence to change events on a grand scale.