The Passion of Joan of Arc is a movie that many may not have heard of, but it's a movie that you should definitely watch! This silent movie truly moved me when it was first shown to me in college in a dark and moody chapel. As the title suggests, this movie is about Joan of Arc, and specifically covers her last days. It's so much more than that though. It's also a landmark in cinema and and has an absolutely fascinating history.
Why this movie is a must see:
I have rarely been more moved by a movie. The use of very tight shots at jarring angles creates both a sense of disorientation and heightened empathy with Renee Jeanne Falconetti, who portrays Joan of Arc with an absolutely amazing performance. You feel Joan of Arc's suffering, fear, doubt, and faith as your own as you watch her. Supposedly, legendary director Carl Dreyer made her kneel on stones and repeat take after take to get her to exhibit the appropriate emotions. He also made her shave off all of her own hair in one of the final takes during filming. Supposedly, Falconetti, so traumatized by the filming of this movie, never acted in a movie again. The result is a performance that some consider to be the best in film history.
A fascinating history:
Almost as interesting as the movie itself is its past. The movie that has reached us today was largely unavailable for a rather large portion of its history. After its initial release in 1928 (met by rave reviews and dismal viewership) the original negative of the film was lost in a studio fire. Dreyer, determined to preserve his film, stitched together a new negative from alternative takes that were not consumed by fire. Unfortunately, soon after he reconstructed the negative, the reconstruction was also destroyed in a separate fire.
Between its initial release and today, various re-releases were issued. One release in 1933 was truncated and included a voice over by a radio announcer. Another, released in 1951 included a series of shots of stained glass windows which clearly go against that aesthetics of the film. At the same time, poor quality reels of the original film traveled among film clubs and hospitals, but many received the movie poorly as a result of its often extremely poor film quality.
Miraculously, in 1981, an intact and well preserved reel of the original cut of the movie was found in the closet of a Norwegian mental hospital. While this print (Now called the Oslo print) was not in perfect condition, it was carefully restored and the version we can see today is this one. Today you can purchase it on DVD as part of the criterion collection.
Truly an amazing movie with an amazing history.
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1 comment:
yay!!!!!
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