The Passion of Joan of Arc

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Film Description

Some films have their own mythology - none more so than this. An intensely powerful depiction of spiritual grace and suffering, this is a truly astounding film. It was Falconetti's only screen role and was enough to make her one of the great 'faces' of cinematic history. No film has ever scrutinised a human face with such electrifying intensity. One of the great works of art in whatever form.

Film Information

DVD Extras

A gorgeous new transfer of the original version; Richard Einhorn's Voices of Light: A choral and orchestral work; Audio essay by Casper Tybjerg, a Dreyer scholar from the University of Copenhagen; An extensive production design archive; A history of Passion's many versions, with clips; Audio interview excerpts with the star's daughter, Hélène Falconetti; Essay by Richard Einhorn on Joan of Arc and Voices of Light; Voices of Light libretto booklet, including the medieval texts used in Einhorn's composition.

Technical Details

Film Media

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Reviews & Articles

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Review by Wolfram Parge on 17th November 2003

Carl Theodor Dreyer's The Passion Of Joan Of Arc is a film to behold. Joan of Arc was the subject ultimately chosen from among propositions for Marie Antoinette and Catherine de Medici. In focussing on Saint Joan, Dreyer dispensed with the events concerning her life as a liberator on the battlefield. The film is a microcosm of her trial and interrogation. It is also, in essence, a portrait-film, framing faces as the most revealing aspects of a character's inner being. Christian inquisitors loom oppressively over an intimidated Joan. The Church is an alien force capable of damnation. At the heart of this film lies one of the most celebrated performances by a human being on camera, that of Renee Falconetti as Joan. The torment and anguish which line her features are universal. A beautiful and intense vision, The Passion Of Joan Of Arc captures human souls with extraordinary power. You must see it with living eyes.

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Collections & Lists

This film is part of the following Film Collections

Sight and Sound Critics Choice 2002

Including: 2001: A Space Odyssey, Andrei Rublev, Au Hasard Balthazar, Bicycle Thieves, Breathless (Godard, 1959), Charlie Chaplin - City Lights, Fanny and Alexander, Fellinis 8 1/2, Intolerance, Ivan The Terrible (Parts 1 & 2).

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This film is part of the following Customer Film Lists

Halliwell's Top 100 Movies by MovieMail

Leslie Halliwell was one of the most authoritative of film critics and a new edition of the film bible lists the Top 1000 movies of all time. Here we list the Top 100, all of which are undoubted classics that stand up to repeated viewings and which are testament to the brilliance that cinema can achieve.

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