41. La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc

La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc
The Passion of Joan of Arc
1928

Oh my gosh, that was incredible!


Let me just start by asking when the last time a good Joan of Arc movie came out.  I mean, this story has so much potential but yet no one ever does anything with it.  This film, however, told the story wonderfully so I guess no one ever tried to top it.

The acting?  Amazing.  The storyline? Amazing.  And it was in French so I could practice my dismal language skills.  The score in my version was really eerie.  I have the same kind of fascination with this story that I do with the Romanovs.  It is just so heart-breaking and interesting.  The directing was also really good.  There was this one shot of one of the judges that I jumped at.  This was a bit of an overreaction since it is not even a horror movie, but my point is that it was skillfully done.

Some of those images will stick with me and now I think I have to go do more research about Joan of Arc.  The only reason I am not giving this five stars is because I can't see watching it constantly, which is my criteria for a five star film (why didn't I go a four star maximum?  That would have made so much more sense!).  Still, an excellent movie; one of the best we have seen.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

None of the actors wore make up which was very unusual for silent movies.

The lost print was found in a mental hospital.  Another spooky element!

Real blood was used in one of the scene's but it was a stand-by's.  I am curious about how that went down.

Available on YouTube.  First part: