The Passion of Joan of Arc - Criterion Collection

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Carl Dreyer's The Passion of Joan of Arc is as truly mythic as any film ever shot, its artistic achievement rivaled by its turbulent history. The focal point of controversy when released in 1928, the original film was lost for a half-century until an intact copy of Dreyer's original version was recovered in the early '80s.

Seeing Joan of Arc today remains a cinematic revelation, its approach to storytelling, set design, editing, and especially cinematography (by Rudolph Maté, who also shot Dreyer's visionary Vampyr) radical then, and still strikingly modern many decades later. Influenced by both German expressionist film and the French avant-garde, Dreyer's huge set was designed with asymmetrical doors, windows, and arches, through which Maté's camera moves along equally off-centered, even vertiginous, but fluid trajectories. Although the story is epic in its implications, the film is composed primarily of extreme close-ups, especially of Joan and her principal interrogator, Bishop Cauchon, and medium shots of small groups, often shot from low angles. Dreyer and Maté shot their cast in bright light, without makeup, giving each wrinkle, blemish, or tuft of hair sculptural detail.

For all its visual invention, however, Dreyer's film is most devastating in its central performance by Falconetti (née Renee Falconetti), a French stage actress who made her only screen appearance here--one critic Pauline Kael has suggested "may be the finest performance ever recorded on film." Through Falconetti, Joan's spiritual devotion, simple dignity, and suffering become utterly real; even without a dialogue track and only sparse inter-titles, the film achieves a fevered eloquence.

This meticulous restoration also includes composer Richard Einhorn's beautiful oratorio, Voices of Light, inspired by Dreyer's film and set to texts by women mystics from medieval and early-Renaissance Europe. A luminous work on its own, Einhorn's oratorio matches both the dramatic arcs and tremulous emotions of Dreyer's film, while its juxtaposition of choral and solo voices (with early-music vocal quartet Anonymous 4 evoking Joan herself) echoes the martyr's confrontation with the court. --Sam Sutherland

Description

With its stunning camerawork and striking compositions, Carl Th. Dreyer's The Passion of Joan of Arc convinced the world that movies could be art. Renée Falconetti gives one of the greatest performances ever recorded on film, as the young maiden who died for God and France. Long thought to have been lost to fire, the original version was miraculously found in perfect condition in 1981-in a Norwegian mental institution. Criterion is proud to present this milestone of silent cinema in a new special edition featuring composer Richard Einhorn's Voices of Light, an original opera/oratorio inspired by the film.

Customer Reviews:

Good & Bad Of This Extraordinary Film.......2007-09-13

Many of the times, while watching this for the first time, I thought this was almost the re-enactment of Jesus' last day, seeing the phony trial, the trumped-up charges He endured by legalistic, power-hungry religious leaders of the day who had no clue who God is, and then the tragic end to the central character. Apparently, there were a lot of similarities to Joan of Arc's last day and of Christ's day. However, here it's the Catholic leaders who are the 'bad guys' while in Jesus' time it was the Pharisees and the Sanhedrin. Also, with Joan's story here, she is portrayed far differently in her ordeal than Christ did, the latter taking everything in stride stoically while Joan, without any physical beating, still cried constantly and signed some paper in a moment of weakness (although she later recants that, which costs the woman her life.)

Anyway, while one could write volumes on this film, let me just add what incredible direction and photography was in this production. Scene after scene is pretty amazing and especially so when you consider this was made about 80 years ago! I would like to see the same director and photographer doing work with today's technology.

Another big plus for this film was the addition of "The Voices of Light." They made the music score in here fantastic. I can't recall too many films in which I have been so impressed with a soundtrack. The DVD gives you the option of watching this film with or without that audio. I strongly recommend viewers to take the audio.

There is caution, however, for first-time viewers: this is extremely slow and repetitive story. Shot-after-shot of just Falconetti agonizing or crying and weird-looking men staring at her might drive YOU to tears! If you aren't a devotee of cinematography, this movie could be extremely boring after about 10 minutes.

I'm glad I saw this but, to be fair and totally honest, I can only recommend this to a very select audience who knows what to expect with this film.

Ultimate cinema.......2007-07-04

Dreyer's masterpiece is a work of total commitment. Sheer modernist technique, effacing establishing shots, the exterior world of baubles and parades in favour of the strict claustrophobic logic of people's faces in close up. A film starved of distraction. No backgrounds except for white walls: no original music survives, but none is needed. Watch it silent and be embarrassed at being put face to face with a sense of anguish that has never been equalled in cinema. It's the ultimate film because any more emotion and it would be unbearable: to go "beyond" "The Passion..." would mean the film could never be shown to a civilised audience.

Falconetti "is" Joan Of Arc to an extent that surpasses conventions of actorly involvement in the role: she never acted again on screen because she never acted in the first place.

If great art can be defined simply as that which demands total emotional involvement from its audience, Dreyer's "Passion" is the greatest film of them all.

The Passion of Joan of Arc.......2007-06-20

Dreyer's sensational, groundbreaking depiction of the trial of 15th-century Christian martyr St. Joan of Arc was one of the first on-screen realizations of the principle that film is "the seventh art." Though Dreyer's print was lost for 50 years, its eventual recovery and restoration guaranteed that others would finally be able to appreciate its sublimely expressionistic qualities. Mobile camerawork, unconventional angles, and inspired direction of the entire cast are its legacy, as are hauntingly scrutinous close-ups of Falconetti's noble visage. Suffering never looked this good.

The passion of Joan of Arc - The face of Renee Maria Falconetti.......2007-04-16

"The Passion of Joan of Arc" (1928) by Carl Theodor Dreyer is simply one of the greatest films ever - silent or no silent and what considered by many critics, the greatest performance by any actress on the screen. Renee Maria Falconetti, a French stage performer, was persuaded by Dreyer to play the Maid of Orleans even though she had no film experience. From her very first shot, we can understand what a visionary Dreyer was. The director asked the actress to crop her hair and to strip her face of any makeup. Filmed mostly in close-up, the agonized face of Falconetti's Jean, free of all cosmetic artifice, appears more moving and human, and expresses so many emotions that it literally stays in a viewer's soul.

A German designer Herman Warm ("The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" and "The Tree Lights") constructed the austere sets for the film; the photography of Rudolph Mater also contributed to the films universal power. The composer Richard Einhorn wrote in 1989 the composition "Voices of Light" which is included in DVD that I saw and effectively enhances Dreyer's impressive images. With all that said, I couldn't help quoting Ingmar Bergman who said once, "The human face is the great subject of the cinema. Everything is there". Faces tell the tale of the Maid of Orleans in this movie, and above all, one unforgettable face - that of Renee Falconetti in her only film appearance

Passionate Silent Film.......2007-03-31

'The Passion of Joan of Arc' differs from expectations of a silent film. Not having any reading material, I am going out on a limb and say it was innovative for its time. Maria Falconetti plays Joan with intensity, conveying courage, fear, and fragileness with expertise througout. The Inquisition are presented as smug and patronizing, making the drama even more realistic. Director Carl Theodor Dreyer skillfully interweves shots that broaden the film, and his attention to details is ground breaking. The close ups and editing are of the caliber that today we take for granted. The pace of the frames flows along like real life, unlike, say Charlie Chaplin's silent films do. Presenting a trial and the burning at the stake that never seem fake, 'The Passion of Joan of Arc' is a real triumph. Even as a silent film, the facial expressions say more than words. The film, which like Joan herself, was thought to be lost in a fire, has been resurrected for the benefit of all.

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