Product 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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #13377 in DVD
• Brand: Image Entertainment
• Released on: 1999-10-19
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Black & White, Dolby, DVD, Silent, Special Edition, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Dubbed in: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 114 minutes

Amazon.com essential video
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

Additional features
Criterion's release of Carl Dreyer's landmark film The Passion of Joan of Arc is a definitive example of DVD restoration. Initially believed to be lost forever in a fire, this transfer was created at 24 frames per second from a negative of the rediscovered original version. For a film released in 1928, The Passion of Joan of Arc looks absolutely remarkable. As with most silent films, Dreyer's Joan was originally presented to audiences with different pieces of music. Criterion has chosen composer Richard Einhorn's Voices of Light for this edition. Inspired by the film, Einhorn's piece, presented in 5.1 surround sound, is a wonderful compliment to Dreyer's visual presentation. Notable extras include a history of the film's many versions and an audio interview with Renee Falconetti's daughter. However, by far the best "extra" is Dreyer scholar Casper Tybjerg's incredible commentary that informatively combines rich details of the film's importance and content with known historical elements of St. Joan's life, trial and death. --Rob Bracco

Customer Reviews

Worth the purchase price (details and specs below)
"Passion of Joan of Arc" was beautiful. I put it on my list of essential DVDs after viewing the last part of it on Turner Classic Movies.

Other reviews have said that "Passion" was the best of the films of Joan of Arc, and after viewing this masterpiece directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer (cq), it's hard to think that something better could be out there.

Five stars across the board for the presentation, quality (sound and video) and for the film itself, which is one that demands the most caring team to make certain that a DVD presentation is of the best quality. This comes from the Criterion Collection, and make no mistake about it, they did what this archive in cinematic achievement demanded.

The DVD contains a digitally restored, black and white transfer from an original negative which was discovered in 1981 in a Norwegian mental institution (perhaps the person who hid this gem was not crazy, after all). Originally a silent movie, the film is accompanied by a digital stereo composition performed by Anonymous 4 with soloist Susan Narucki and the Radio Netherlands Philharmonic and Choir. The audio, which is optional to the viewing of "Passion" is GORGEOUS. The music alone is worth the price of admission.

Included with the DVD is a "Voices of Light" libretto booklet. Kudos to composer Richard Einhorn. If you're reading this, I'd love your autograph. This work is a "must have" in a serious collector of cinematic (and orchestral) genius, so if you're both, kill both birds with the same stone.

For the movie, I was stunned at the cinematic approach to filming "Passion." This is why I am certain that no one has come to within the state border of being close to the depth of passion that pours out of EVERY frame. From the opening scene to the bitter end, this DVD keeps you involved. By the end, you may be in tears, as I was. Lead actress Renee Falconetti (imdb database has her listed as Maria Falconetti) is flawless in her role as Joan of Arc, and it's simply a pity that her nature kept her away from acting. She only made two films (according to the imdb database, "La Comtesse de Somerive" [1917] was her first) and "Passion" was her second. It seemed as though she became Joan from the start, and as she presented her role, she seemed to almost be consumed by the spirit of Joan's demise herself. I wonder if Falconetti was all but traumatized by the structure in which she had to act the part? A website said that she fled her country during World War II for Buenos Aires, where she lived until 1946.

For those interested in filmmaking, this movie MUST BE SEEN. Repeat that sentence, which bears repeating. To this day, you will not see the wonderfully filmed and lit scenes, credited by Rudolph Mate, director of photography. The filming doesn't go by the book, because in 1928, no book was even written on filmmaking. Today, I wish more directors and DP's would go more by the books of Dreyer and Mate.

Technical details: This is ONLY for the Criterion Collection version: Transfer of an original print, via digital restoration; 82 minutes, B&W (no colorization) at its original screen aspect ratio of 1.33:1 (which is now TV format ratio); French intertitles and optional English subtitles; optional silent- viewing or the digital stereo 5.1 surround of "Voices of Light," which was written for "Passion"; optional audio commentary by Univ. of Copenhagen Dreyer scholar Casper Tybjerg; audio interview with Falconetti's daughter; details on the film's restoration (with video comparisons); video essay on "Voices of Light"; 3- page dual- sided pamphlet which includes a small passage that Th. Dreyer wrote; 25- page "Voices of Light" libretto booklet; plus a Criterion catalog.

Dreyer and Einhorn - Perfect Together
There's nothing to add to the chorus of high praise this masterpiece has already received, so I won't try. Just one point: the restored version features a new score, VOICES OF LIGHT. I'm not the biggest fan of grafting new music to vintage films - too often it's ill-fitting, adding nothing but a showy distraction to the narrative . Here it's a marriage made in Heaven. Absolutely the most moving and mesmerizing film score I've ever heard, greatly enhancing an already great movie. Viewers in 1928 were probably thunderstruck by Dreyer's vision and imagery, but Einhorn's score gives voice to Joan's inner devotion and faith, transforming this film of sexist persecution and religious hypocrisy into a true passion play of martyrdom. As for historical inaccuracies, remember that this is not a movie about Joan of Arc but about the Trial of Joan of Arc. It's not History but History refracted through slow glass for the purposes of Art.

Apocalypse Now!
Well, this is certainly a film that can't be argued with. The Amazon reviews of this film have used up about every superlative there is. If ever a film screamed "classic", it has to be this one. I mean, damn, at one point the film was thought destroyed by fire, like Joan herself, only to be discovered in the closet of lunatic asylum - and in pristine condition, no less. Just as though God himself had placed the thing there for safe keeping. I surrender. The film is blessed.

I'll just add this for the perspective buyer that may be a bit intimidated by the bombast of the reviews: please don't assume this film will be like going to a required class. It truly is thrilling. The final scene, when Joan is burned, is one of the most gripping pieces of film-making I've ever scene. It builds and builds with quick edits, the camera suddenly moving like the eye of a terrified child, each image a bit more twisted and seared than the last, until finally you realize you are watching something mankind should not witness - the apocalypse descending on earth. As Kurtz would say, "The horror. The horror."

Worth the price of admission, wouldn't you say? --Mykal Banta