The Passion of Joan of Arc (Full Screen)

Just because this is a silent film should be no reason for anybody to suspect that the pace of this film is slow and boring, quite the opposite. The film builds with great suspense which is almost unbroken throughout, making what could have been routine and uninteresting conversations in the hands of another director glow with life as he shows us in detail the faces, personalities, and motivations of the people who judge Joan of Arc; he gives us whispered words passed between the characters, the indignation on their faces when their will is refused, even the quiet, heartbreaking regret of one of the priests who condemns her, which comes much too late to be of any use. All this is done with incredibly imaginative camera angles and wonderful pacing.

The composer of the music that goes with this film deserves as much credit as the director of TPoJoA, which is saying a lot! The orchestral + voices score to the movie is powerful, fascinating, and would be interesting to listen to on its own; combine it with the movie and the effect is astounding; it perfectly captures every mood shown in the movie, amplifying them twofold.

The final scene in the movie was one of the most horrific scenes I've ever seen in a movie, rivaling the scene in Elem Klimov's "Come and See" (probably the most powerful war movie to come out of the USSR) where an entire Belorussian village is burnt to the ground with all of the inhabitants still inside.

Certainly a movie that must be seen to be believed. It will have less significance for you if you are not religious, but all the same it should be seen. You will not be bored, neither by the movie nor by the accompanying score.

Technically, this is a very good restoration; I only noticed very minor blemishes once or twice during the entire length of the film; the picture was clear otherwise. It does seem that it runs a little too fast at times, probably because the score was not long enough for it to run at a normal tempo. I think that this faster speed generally makes the movie more interesting to watch, especially for a modern audience, though there are times when it is really noticeable (when we see close-ups of Joan's face for example). Still, this is not often enough to spoil the film.

This movie is one of the most well known classics of Europe. The 2nd original print, long thought to be lost to fire, was miraculously found in the closet of a mental hospital in Norway in 1981. The 1st original was burned though.

The recent film, "Passion of the Christ" was not the only "passion" film to generate controversy. This film was thought to be anti-England due to its protrayal of their treatment to Joan of Arc. The French were also upset that a non-French and non-Catholic man directed the film. The film's dialoge (by intertitles as it is a silent film) is based on actual transcripts of Joan's trial which have managed to survive also. The film is said to be very moving for some people just like Gibson's "Passion of the Christ." Not being Catholic, I am not sure of what many of the elements of either film may refer to.

The DVD has numerous special features as always.

Audio commentary by Dryer scholar Casper Tybjerg of Copenhagen University (he has a thick Danish accent that is very nice)
Optional soundtrack for Richard Einhorn's "Voices of Light" (a musical piece inspired by the film)alsong with an essay about the music and a libretto booklet.
Production design archive
History of the many different cuts and alternat versions of the film
Audio-only interview with the star's daughter, Hélène Falconetti.