Joan of Arc (1948)

the audience applauded

Best movie of this year hands down!

Absolutely Fantastic

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Ingrid Bergman, 32 at the time she played the 19-year-old Maid of Orleans, is totally convincing as an illiterate farm girl who wrestles with divinely inspired voices for seven years before going to battle against England for France.The slimy and mercenary churchmen and politicians who betray her are expertly depicted, as is the sole loyal priest whose faith in Joan never wavers. (How novice actor Jose Ferrer won an Oscar nomination for the cardboard role of dauphin is a mystery).The story of Joan's battles, though complicated and full of intrigue, is presented clearly, at times with stentorian voice-over narration. (For anyone who has tried to wade through her exploits on Wikipedia, this element is a godsend.)The climactic execution scene is handled with both horror and dignity. A memorable work.

Director Victor Fleming's final film, an independently-produced adaptation of Maxwell Anderson's play "Joan of Lorraine", with Ingrid Bergman reprising her stage role as Joan of Arc, the Maid or Orleans. The opening shots--with chiming bells, rows of tall candles, and a painted shaft of light coming down on the basilica--coupled with a heavy narration and heavenly choir telegraphs the audience in no uncertain terms what they're in for. Our French heroine, a fifteenth-century farmer's daughter who receives Divine Word from God that she is to save France by leading the Dauphin's army against the English, is a wonderful character for an actress to portray, yet Bergman doesn't do anything but make speeches in a fevered monotone. She approaches the role as a duty, and we can't read any mystery in her face because Fleming's direction (and his handling of Ingrid overall) is far too straightforward. The thinking seems to be that the ornate costumes (which won an Oscar) and the background detail will carry the star, but Bergman isn't even convincing in the earliest scenes, praying at a shrine which seems to be set up in the woods. The Technicolor process is rather poor, while the action sequences are noisy and perfunctory. Heavily tampered with for its general release in 1950, the picture was cut from 145 minutes down to 100 minutes (this review is based upon the latter). "Joan of Arc" has an appropriately moral tone and solemn air, but it forgets to be cinematically exciting while recounting history. ** from ****

In Europa,I've often heard people complaining .Why has the movie been boiled down to a digest of barely 100 min? In France,Joan's native country,it's a scandal!It was broadcast on the history channel yesterday and again in the "short" editing.It seems that many scenes were replaced by a voice over which is infuriating ,cause Fleming's version of "Joan Of Arc" ,although inferior to Preminger's and Dreyer's works, is quite interesting.Although too old for the part,Ingrid Bergman had enough charisma to make you forget that Joan was 17 when her epic began.Fleming's style is far away from Dreyer's bare aestheticism or Luc Besson's video game battles.Holy picture best describes his way of filming Joan,which makes sense ,cause it begins with the heroine's canonization (only in 1920!).Good things:La Tremouille's bad influence on the king;Joan who did not realize in 1430 that fighting had been replaced by negotiations;the abjuration: in Rouen,you can see a commemorative plaque which reads "Here ,in 1431, Joan of Arc suffered the infamous ordeal of abjuration" .On the "Place du Vieux Marché" ,where she was burnt alive,another plaque reads "To you,Joan,who knew that a hero's grave was the heart of the living." (André Malraux)

The difference between the butchered 100 minute release of Victor Fleming's final film, JOAN OF ARC and the original 146 minute version is like night and day! UCLA has worked on restoring this film to its uncut form for some 10 years -- the results can now be seen with the May 2004 release on DVD by Image-Entertainment. My opinion of the film has greatly changed for the better. For some years I have had access to the 100 minute cut on a nice Laser Disc copy. Seeing the new DVD is a revelation. Not only is the Technicolor splendor of the original on the DVD, but the film as conceived by Victor Fleming is 100% better in its restored form. Ingrid Bergman may be a bit old to play the part, but she is quite marvelous as is Jose Ferrer as the Dolphin, in this his first film appearance. If you have any interest in this film and have only seen it in its butchered form, then do yourself a favor and take a look at the DVD. In this form it can take its place along side Victor Fleming's two most famous films, GONE WITH THE WIND and THE WIZARD OF OZ.