The Passion of Joan of Arc

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The Passion of Joan of Arc
Directed by	Carl Theodor Dreyer
Written by	Joseph Delteil Carl Theodor Dreyer
Starring	Renée Jeanne Falconetti Eugene Silvain André Berley Maurice Schutz
Cinematography	Rudolph Maté
Release date(s)	April 21, 1928 October 25, 1928
Running time	110 min 82 min (restored DVD version at 24fps)
Country	France
Language	silent film French intertitles
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile

The Passion of Joan of Arc (French: La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc) is a silent film produced in France in 1928. It is based on the trial records of Joan of Arc. The film was directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer and stars Renée Jeanne Falconetti and Antonin Artaud. It is widely regarded as a landmark of silent cinema.^[1]

Contents 1 Story and style 2 Responses and legacy 3 References 4 External links

[edit] Story and style

The film details the last hours of Joan of Arc after she has been captured by the English. It details her trial, imprisonment, torture and final execution similar to that of a passion play. What especially stood out at the time Passion was made was the film's camera-work and emphasis on the actors' facial features. Dreyer shot a great deal of the film in close-up and forbade his actors from wearing makeup, the better to tell the story through their expressions.^[2] Falconetti — in her second and last movie role — was commended for her multifaceted performance as Joan.^[3]

Passion was originally intended to use the new technology of sound, but Dreyer did not have sufficient financing and so the film is silent.^{[citation needed]}

Dreyer intended the film to be watched in complete silence with no musical accompaniment. However, in 1994 composer Richard Einhorn wrote an oratorio based on the movie, entitled "Voices of Light". This piece is now available as an optional accompaniment on the Criterion Collection's DVD release of the film. In 1999, American indie singer/songwriter Cat Power provided musical accompaniment at several screenings of the film in America.

[edit] Responses and legacy

Some critics claimed that Passion was the best silent film ever made,^{[citation needed]} and Pauline Kael wrote that Falconetti's portrayal of Joan of Arc "may be the finest performance ever recorded on film."^[1][3] However, it was banned in Britain for its portrayal of crude English soldiers who mock and torment Joan in scenes that mirror biblical accounts of Christ's mocking at the hands of Roman soldiers. The Archbishop of Paris was also critical, demanding changes be made to the film.^{[citation needed]} Whether or not this request was honored in any way is unknown.

The original version of the film was lost for decades, after a fire destroyed the master negative. Dreyer himself attempted to reassemble a version from out-takes and surviving prints, but he died believing his original cut was lost forever. Almost miraculously, a virtually complete print of Dreyer's original version was found in 1981 in a janitor's closet of an Oslo mental institution.^[1] This version is now available on DVD.

Scenes from Passion appear in Jean-Luc Godard's Vivre sa Vie (1962), in which the protagonist sees the film at a cinema and identifies with Joan. In Henry & June, Henry Miller is shown watching the last scenes of the film and in voiceover narrates a letter to Anais Nin comparing her to Joan and himself to the "mad monk" character played by Antonin Artaud.

[edit] References

1. ^ ^{a b c} The Criterion Collection: Passion of Joan of Arc, The Synopsis by Anonymous. Accessed March 22, 2007.
2. ^ The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) - review by Roger Ebert (February 16, 1997). Accessed February 11, 2006.
3. ^ ^{a b} Kael, Pauline (1982). 5001 Nights At the Movies. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York. ISBN 0-03-042606-5. 

[edit] External links

• The Passion of Joan of Arc at the Internet Movie Database
• The Passion of Joan of Arc at the Arts & Faith Top100 Spiritually Significant Films list
• Criterion Collection essay by Carl Theodor Dreyer

Carl Theodor Dreyer
Silent films	The President • The Witch Woman • Leaves from Satan's Book • Love one Another • Once Upon a Time • Michael • Thou Shalt Honor Thy Wife • Bride of Glomdal • The Passion of Joan of Arc
Sound films	Vampyr • Good Mothers • Day of Wrath • Two People • Water from the Land • The Struggle Against Cancer • The Danish Village Church • They Caught the Ferry • The Storstrom Bridge • The Castle Within the Castle • Ordet • Gertrud