The Passion of Joan of Arc [1928 film]
by Carl Theodor Dreyer (Director/Screenwriter), Joseph Delteil (Screenwriter)
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Description
Dramatization of the life of Joan of Arc centering on her trial and execution.Tags
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Member Reviews
The heresy trial of Joan of Arc.
Emotionally powerful, intellectually fascinating, visually striking, and entirely unique.
Concept: B
Story: A
Characters: A
Dialog: A
Pacing: A
Cinematography: A
Special effects/design: A
Acting: A
Music: A
Enjoyment: A plus
GPA: 4.0/4
Emotionally powerful, intellectually fascinating, visually striking, and entirely unique.
Concept: B
Story: A
Characters: A
Dialog: A
Pacing: A
Cinematography: A
Special effects/design: A
Acting: A
Music: A
Enjoyment: A plus
GPA: 4.0/4
Spiritual rapture and institutional hypocrisy come to stark, vivid life in one of the most transcendent masterpieces of the silent era. Chronicling the trial of Joan of Arc in the hours leading up to her execution, Danish master Carl Theodor Dreyer depicts her torment with startling immediacy, employing an array of techniques—expressionistic lighting, interconnected sets, painfully intimate close-ups—to immerse viewers in her subjective experience. Anchoring Dreyer’s audacious formal experimentation is a legendary performance by Renée Falconetti, whose haunted face channels both the agony and the ecstasy of martyrdom.
(source: The Criterion Collection)
(source: The Criterion Collection)
Brigitte Helm's creepy wink in Metropolis, Buster Keaton's all-around deadpan expression, Renée Heanne Falconetti's tear-filled eyes, for me, these 3 represent the silent film era, dare i say.
Apr 16, 2024Portuguese (Brazil)
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ThingScore 100
One of the greatest of all movies. The director, Carl Dreyer, based the script on the trial records, and the testimony appears to be given for the first time. (Cocteau wrote that this film “seems like an historical document from an era in which the cinema didn’t exist.”) As the five gruelling cross-examinations follow each other, Dreyer turns the camera on the faces of Joan and the show more judges, and in giant closeups he reveals his interpretation of their emotions. In this enlargement Joan and her persecutors are shockingly fleshly—isolated with their sweat, warts, spittle, and tears, and (as no one used makeup) with startlingly individual contours, features, and skin. No other film has so subtly linked eroticism with religious persecution. Falconetti’s Joan may be the finest performance ever recorded on film. show less
added by SnootyBaronet
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Author Information
Carl Theodor Dreyer, a director who worked in France, Germany, Sweden, and Norway, as well as in his native Denmark, spanned the silent and sound eras of filmmaking. He was adopted, and only learned at 18 of his natural mother's tragic early death from an illegal operation, a revelation that affected him deeply and perhaps contributed to his film show more portraits of martyred women. His 1928 film The Passion of Joan of Arc is regarded as one of the greatest silent films ever made. Through the use of such techniques as uncut sequences, careful composition, and tight closeups, he illuminated the spiritual passion of the French saint burned as a heretic in the Middle Ages. In this film and in Day of Wrath (1943), a tale of medieval witch hunting, Dreyer's theme is the suffering born of intolerance and deliverance from evil through death. Dreyer made several other notable films, including the classic horror movie Vampyr (1932) and The Word (1955), a monumental story of spiritual and physical regeneration. His last film was Gertrud (1964). (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- The Passion of Joan of Arc [1928 film]
- Original title
- La passion de Jeanne d'Arc
- Original publication date
- 1928-04-21
- People/Characters
- Joan of Arc (Jeanne d'Arc); Pierre Cauchon, Bishop of Beauvais
- Important places
- Rouen, Seine-Maritime, Normandy, France; Normandy, France; France
- Important events
- Execution of Joan of Arc; Hundred Years' War; Middle Ages; 15th century; 1430s; 1431
- Related movies
- La passion de Jeanne d'Arc (1928 | IMDb)
- Original language
- French (silent) (silent)
- Canonical DDC/MDS
- 791.4372
- Canonical LCC
- PN1997.P28
Classifications
- DDC/MDS
- 791.4372 — Arts & recreation Recreation, sports, and performing arts Public performances Motion pictures, radio, television, podcasting Motion pictures Films; screenplays Single films
- LCC
- PN1997 .P28 — Language and Literature Literature (General) Literature (General) Drama Motion pictures Plays, scenarios, etc.
Statistics
- Members
- 161
- Popularity
- 204,169
- Reviews
- 4
- Rating
- (4.50)
- Languages
- 5 — Chinese, English, French, Italian, No linguistic content
- ISBNs
- 5
- UPCs
- 5
- ASINs
- 14
