Rent The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)

4.2 of 5 from 143 ratings
1h 37min
Rent The Passion of Joan of Arc (aka La passion de Jeanne d'Arc) Online DVD & Blu-ray Rental
  • General info
  • Available formats
Synopsis:
One of the most emotional film experiences of any era, Carl Theodor Dreyer's 1928 'The Passion of Joan of Arc' is a miracle of the cinema, an enigmatic and profoundly moving work that merges the worlds of the viewer and of saintly loan herself into one shared experience of hushed delirium. Drever's film charts the final days of Joan of Arc as she undergoes the debasement that accompanies her trial for charges of heresy - through her imprisonment and execution at the stake.
Actors:
, Eugene Silvain, André Berley, , , , , Louis Ravet, , Jacques Arnna, , , , , Gilbert Dalleu, , Dimitri Dimitriev, Fournez-Goffard, , Paul Jorge
Directors:
Writers:
Joseph Delteil, Carl Theodor Dreyer
Aka:
La passion de Jeanne d'Arc
Studio:
Eureka
Genres:
Classics, Drama
Collections:
21 Reasons to Love, 21 Reasons to Love... Ingmar Bergman, A Brief History of the Tradition of Quality, A Few More Screen Princes, Award Winners, Getting to Know..., Getting to Know: Tilda Swinton, Masters of Cinema, The Biggest Oscar Snubs: Part 1, A Brief History of Film..., The Instant Expert's Guide, The Instant Expert's Guide to Carl Theodor Dreyer, The Instant Expert's Guide to: Éric Rohmer, The Instant Expert's Guide to: Miloš Forman, Top 10 Best Last Films: World Cinema, Top 10 Czech Films, Top Films
Countries:
France
BBFC:
Release Date:
26/11/2012
Run Time:
97 minutes
Languages:
French Dolby Digital 1.0, Silent
Subtitles:
English
DVD Regions:
Region 2
Formats:
Pal
Aspect Ratio:
Full Screen 1.37:1
Colour:
B & W
Bonus:
  • Optional audio tracks: a piano score performed by Japanese silent film composer Mie Yanashita (for the 20ips option), and a radical accompaniment by esteemed American avant-garde musician Loren Connors (for the 241ps option)
  • The complete "Lo Duca" version of the film - the version (featuring an alternate edit and soundtrack) that circulated in France and around the world for decades before the rediscovery of Drever's "director's cut"
  • Video demonstration of the restoration
BBFC:
Release Date:
26/11/2012
Run Time:
97 minutes
Languages:
French DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
Subtitles:
English
Formats:
Pal
Aspect Ratio:
Full Screen 1.37:1
Colour:
B & W
BLU-RAY Regions:
B
Bonus:
  • Optional audio tracks: a piano score performed by Japanese silent film composer MieYanashita (for the 2Ofps option), and a radical accompaniment by esteemed American avant-garde musician Loren Connors (for the 24fps option)
  • The complete "Lo Duca" version of the film - the version (featuring an alternate edit and soundtrack) that circulated in France and around the world for decades before the redicovery of Dreyer's "director's cut"
  • Video demonstration of the restoration

More like The Passion of Joan of Arc

Reviews (3) of The Passion of Joan of Arc

Mind-blowingly powerful - The Passion of Joan of Arc review by CP Customer

Spoiler Alert
16/10/2020

I’d read the reviews calling it a masterpiece but felt I was going to be left cold by a film this old and this alien to my own atheism. But my goodness. Not only is the style of it absolutely gripping, accomplishing so much with, for the most part, a series of shots of faces, but when there is action - especially at the climax - it is both surprisingly accomplished, quite modern and incredibly moving. It is a masterpiece quite unlike any other I have seen, and the central performance is quite probably the best ever committed to celluloid  

2 out of 2 members found this review helpful.

The power of expression - The Passion of Joan of Arc review by HW

Spoiler Alert
26/11/2023

This is certainly a demonstration of how much silent films relied on the expressions of their performers to tell a story. The tearful, passionate and desperate expressions of the incredible actress playing the saintly martyr Joan contrast with the leering, outraged and callous faces of the male judges and priests. This silent film also proves that you don’t need audible dialogue or sound to tell a complex, moving (if biased) story of faith, hypocrisy and betrayal. Is Joan a heretical madwoman or a true believer? The film doesn’t fully answer this question for the audience and leaves us with a frantic, brutal, raging ending that declares even Medieval history will always be relevant; should the sheer quality of this cinematic marvel fail to stand up in the 21st century. 

1 out of 1 members found this review helpful.

Landmark Silent. - The Passion of Joan of Arc review by Steve

Spoiler Alert
01/09/2024

Relentlessly austere but mesmeric account of the trial and execution of Joan of Arc at Rouen in 1431 during the Hundred Years' War. It's a classic French silent directed by the Danish Carl Th. Dreyer based on transcripts of the trial. And it has become a critics favourite, invariably in the top 10 of the Sight and Sound poll.

It is most memorable for the high contrast photography, shot on bare white sets, with the actors almost entirely in extreme close up. And for Maria Falconetti's harrowing, mythic title performance. The main impression the film leaves is of her agonised face. At first it conveys rapture, and then fear and finally a tenuous acceptance. There is nothing else like it in cinema.

A curiosity of the film is that it is silent, when the most of the narrative is her trial, and therefore spoken. There are a lot of title cards. It must cross everyone's minds what this film would be if it used the emerging sound technology. The price would have been more restricted camera movement. But what we get is an incredible intensity which builds to an ecstasy of faith.

It can be approached as a document of a historic event; though it is silent, there is an impression of authenticity. But that isn't exactly the spirit of Dreyer's creation because this is an ambient experience which the audience feels personally. And credit for this must be extended to Falconetti, who seems to transcend the limits of the screen, in her only film role. 

0 out of 0 members found this review helpful.

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