1001 Movies Club - Passion of Joan of Arc, The (1928)

#43. The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)

Why It's In The Book: "Carl Dreyer's 1928 masterpiece - his last silent film, and the greatest of all Joan of Arc films - is the work of his that brought him worldwide fame, although, like most of his later pictures, it was strictly a succès d'estime and fared poorly at the box office... it will continue to live long after most commercial movies have vanished from memory" -1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

Member Ratings

Adolytsi - 10/10
"This film is so, so much more than any other silent picture I think ever made. It is gripping, cruel, and unforgiving in its material, and for that it deserves to be held aloft on a pedestal above practically any other silent film of its time."
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bpdreview - 10/10
"This is a movie meant to honor Joan of Arc, and it succeeds not only in its goal, but also by honoring cinema as an art form at least as well as any other movie ever made."
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Klaus Ming - 10/10
"The film's unique cinematography, combined with its continuous emotional build-up, provide a hypnotic viewing experience which is only extinguished by the flames which eventually consume its principal character."
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Michaël Parent - 10/10
"Far from being an easy film, La passion de Jeanne d'Arc is unique and crucial."
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Ripley - 10/10
"There are no words I, a mere blogger, can say to properly capture the beauty of this film and Maria Falconetti (who gives, among other things, a fantastically subtle performance, at least compared to the boisterously physical ones of silent film)."
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Chris Edwards - 9/10
"Dreyer's aim, more or less stated in the opening shot, is to lift Joan's trial off the page; disrobe it of the legend, and so, while his sets are bleached of colour and his timelines compressed, his actors are
as real as can be, and we always get a good look."
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ChrisLejarzar - 9/10
"It should be apparent that Mel Gibson has seen this film."
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Doug Tilley - 9/10
 "To watch The Passion of Joan of Arc is to re-think much of what you know regarding the language of cinema."
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Movie Guy Steve - 9/10
"...The Passion of Joan of Arc is the closest thing I've had to a religious experience in well over a year."
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Siochembio - 9/10
"Anything I say about it is slightly ludicrous because it’s all been said before by people far more eloquent. But hey, this is my blog, so I’ll nobly make an attempt."
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Sunny D - 9/10
"The Passion of Joan of Arc is a movie that does it all, and more importantly did it all with very little in the way of precedent to look to for guidance."
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Alfindeol - 8/10
"There's no sound."
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Darwin - 8/10
"The psychological aspect alone makes it an engrossing historical drama. Pride, scheming, anxiety, and martyrdom are all in feverish display."
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Nicolas Kizan - 8/10
"almost absurdly clean and pure aesthetics"
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KimWilson - 7.5/10
"I find it interesting that the only surviving original print of the film was found in a Norwegian asylum in the 1980s. Call me crazy, but I don't know that this film falls under the category of emotional therapy."
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TSorensen - 7/10
"What Dreyer achieves in his film is to focus entirely on the inner, personal battles and does it by showing the faces of people so close that we can see the wrinkles and the warts and all the feelings and thoughts running through their heads."
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Squish - 7/10
"Every word Joan speaks is lifted right from the trial. That, my friends, is pretty neat."
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Overall Rating: 8.8/10