The word masterpiece is sometimes thrown around loosely like a tagline to a product. It gets you buy, but most of the time it doesn't hold the weight the tagline demands. In reality a true masterpiece is something that is universally accepted rather than an opinion. Think Starry Night and Beethoven's 9th Symphony. Today, we're delving into a cinematic masterpiece that hits on almost every level from acting, cinematography, directing, and writing. A film that is as affecting today as it was almost one-hundred years ago. A movie that was highly acclaimed by most and at the same time highly criticized by others, leading to censorship and almost the complete loss of a cinematic masterpiece.
So if you're like me and you enjoy film and the impact and emotions they convey then grab a glass of your preferred liquid and join me for the next little while. For me, that's a humble glass of water. So sit back, relax, and let's talk about the love of film. Welcome to Glazed Cinema.
Today we're setting sail on a journey you and I. We're embarking on an adventure through our inaugural film series that I'm coining French Phenoms. This series will cover three films in three consecutive episodes. Now one thing I want to illuminate is that the films I've chosen aren't part an actual series, trilogy, or anything like that. However, I've chosen them because of the connective tissue shared among them. Some of that is literal, while some is not so literal. Each, however, are excellent subjects and I'm excited to share them with you in this and the the two episodes to follow.
Today's film begins with a choir singing and text credits of the players. This is then followed by scrolling French text that translates to:
"In Paris, the library of the Chamber of Deputies holds one of the most extraordinary documents in the world: the minutes of the trial of Joan of Arc. A trial which ended in her sentencing and death..."
As the text disappears the black screen transitions to black and white footage of an old book being placed onto a table. As hands shuffle through the pages we see handwriting that harkens to a long gone age. Transitioning again to black we see more French text that translates to:
"In it the judges' questions and Joan's answers are meticulously recorded. Reading it we discover Joan as she really was. Not the Joan in helmet and armor, but simple and human. A young woman who died for her country. We witness an astounding drama: a young, deeply religious woman attacked by a horde of blinded theologians and experienced lawyers.
Next we transition into a scene wherein the camera affixed with a fishbowl lens slowly pans from left to right. We see a bare white wall and a stone floor as men in monk like robes look to their right in anticipation and curiosity. There are also soldiers holding spears, talking, waiting, and getting the room ready. As we pan more and more soldiers and clergy members appear, lining the room. Then a woman emerges beneath a window, appearing between two men holding spears. She is wide eyed and looks hesitant and afraid. With shackled ankles she shuffles to a stool and sits down. This is how our subject today begins. This is The Passion of Joan of Arc.
Today's subject comes from a Danish director and someone whose work we've highlighted in the past, though it's been a bit. It's a product of Carl Theodor Dreyer titled The Passion of Joan of Arc. This movie means a lot to me and plays an important role in my film fandom.
The last time we talked about Dreyer was a while back, in fact it was the inaugural episode of Glazed Cinema. In Episode One we highlighted Dreyer's underseen and underappreciated Vampyr. Vampyr interestingly enough is the movie he made after today's subject. If you haven't listened to that one I recommend the episode and the movie. In the Vampyr episode I referenced The Passion of Joan of Arc and today, four years later we're doing the reverse. It's crazy for me to look back on four years of time and realize we've at least in a small way come full circle.
Up to the point of making today's subject Dreyer had written and directed a fair share of films including 1925's Master of the House. He was a sought after director and was looking to his next project. However, his project would find him when he was invited by Le Société Générale des Films to direct a new picture for their company. The French production company was new on the scene, with one project called Napoleon in production at the time. The company was owned by a wealthy Frenchman named Jacques Grinieff who had a dream of making unique films.
When they invited Dreyer it was under a multi-picture contract with a near unlimited budget and the promise of total creative freedom. With those stipulations the Dreyer agreed to terms and embarked upon a film about the French heroine Joan. The subject was chosen thanks to the a resurgence in popularity. This newfound popularity was in large part thanks to the Roman Catholic church, which canonized her at the top of the decade in 1920 by Pope Benedict XV. With this Joan became the patron saint of France, prisoners, and female soldiers. This also illuminated her story to a new generation and made people want to learn more about the heroine's story.
So, when approached by the French production company, Dreyer decided to make his story revolve around the newly crowned saint. This was great news for the production company as well as this meant their first two pictures would feature stories about legendary French historical figures. There was little doubt that if done right they would make back any budget and then some.
For Dreyer, the story of the newly crowned saint was not in her military career, achievements, or her leadership. Instead, the Passion of Joan of Arc tells the story of Joan of Arc's trial post capture and the tribulations she faced throughout. The plot line follows the actual trial in very accurate fashion as referenced by the opening sequence highlighted previously.
When embarking on this subject Dreyer spent a long time reading trial manuscripts of Jeanne d'Arc's trial. He wanted to ensure that his film as as accurate as possible to what happened nearly five-hundred years prior.
For those unaware of Joan of Arc's story, I'll provide a brief bio. Joan of Arc was a young French peasant who led an army against the oppressive English to reclaim France in the 1400's. Fighting what was coined the Hundred Years War Joan, claimed she was acting under the guidance of God and inspired the army and the French people to follow her charge. Joan was eventually captured by the English and was tried over the course of several months for the crime of heresy. Tried by a contingency of monks and priests and the movie follows the events of that trial, albeit condensed through to her eventual execution in 1431. The movie highlights the faith, grace, and resolve she emitted throughout that has inspired and continues to inspire people today. There' a lot more to her story and I find her to be such an inspirational figure. Her story is well worth reading more into.
When Dreyer initially took on this subject he was greeted with a lot of criticism, mainly due to three things. The first of them is the subject itself. Afterall this was the first film about the patron saint of France and as such a highly revered, respected and loved figure there was pressure to ensure they did the title subject a service. Secondly, was the director himself...now the criticism wasn't due to his credentials, resume, or creativity, but something more personal. Dreyer you see wasn't French, but Danish. For some, a foreigner tackling a subject like Joan should be reserved for French directors. So with the Dane at the helm the country's eyes were especially fixed on the project to see how he would do. Lastly, was the plot. At the time, some in France, particularly the nationalists wanted their Joan to be strong, and courageous, and heroic, leading her country against its oppressor. When they learned that Dreyer's plot would be about the trial with no prelude of The Hundred Years War they were not pleased. This view however was incredibly short sighted as heroism can take on various forms and most are stronger when unarmed.
Apart from writing the screenplay the sets were also built for stylization and period accuracy. In fact the exterior sequences in the picture were all constructed in an empty field. This included a town square, church, narrow streets and tangential buildings along with a moat, draw bridge, blockade, and guard towers. Almost all of them constructed of wood and concrete, which was quite the undertaking. As for the interiors, they were all filmed inside of an empty automobile factory. The interiors were designed by a duo who had created the sets for a legendary Expressionist film called The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, which is you haven't seen is well worth a viewing as well. Unlike that film though with its disproportionate, angular, and bizarre set design, here they went for plainness and austerity. All the sets both interior and exterior were stylized and rather minimalist. Apparently the exterior sets were so well built they had to be leveled by dynamite in order to restore the field to its pre-production state. After set design and construction was finished, filming began in 1927 under the direction of Dreyer. That's also another thing that points to excellent direction as well. Everyone on this project seemed to understand and connect with the vision Dreyer had, which speaks volumes to his leadership and communication skills.
The Passion of Joan of Arc takes a lot of risks and Dreyer used his opportunity of creative freedom to explore as an artist. In Joan, the conventional rules of cinema are thrown out the window. Here scenes start and stop with almost no action moving into the next sequences. Shots are either shot at off angles or in close-up meant to evoke an emotion. For instance shots of Joan are zoomed in on her face, meant to bring about sympathy and empathy whereas shots of the head priest leading the trial are show from a low angle meant to evoke a feeling of oppressive power and apathy. This along with the stylized minimalistic sets add to what Dreyer was hoping to achieve, which was to illuminate the inner and outer struggle Joan endured and the grace and humility she acted by.
There are other scenes utilizing a fish bowl lens that almost imitate us looking through a keyhole to see what's going on. With Joan we get an intimate and personal look at her suffering, her humiliation, and her struggle. More importantly we see her faith and the steadfast holding to that faith and what she knows to be the truth despite temptation, humiliation, and torment.
Of course none of this works if the actress playing the main role isn't stellar and thankfully she was more than that. The star of this film and rightfully so is Joan, played by Renee Jeanne Falconetti. Renee was a seasoned theatre actor who had worked in a multitude of roles. Here the strengths of Renee are not in dialogue, but in the unspoken. It's in her expressions, her movements, mannerisms, and posture. Here the most subtle expression change feels as significant and emotionally gripping as an expertly read passage of Shakespeare. Most of that communication happening through the eyes. They say that the eyes are windows to the soul and here they illustrate so much of her thoughts, feelings, and emotions. Her performance is so outstanding and groundbreaking and helps make this movie so affecting and successful.
The film debuted in Copenhagen in 1928 and immediately struck critics, though reservations existed. Afterall nothing like this had ever been seen before, it was so thought and emotionally provoking and experimental. One Danish newspaper stated, "Artistically he has triumphed, but we think he is so far ahead of his time that for some time yet it will be difficult for the audience to digest this kind of film." That quote alone says it all in terms of its reception from a wider audience. Recognized for its experimental cinematography, emotional content, and the outstanding performance by lead Renee Falconetti it was heralded for its artistry.
There were three entities however that were against the film for various reasons and all of them had a historical role in its subject. Those were the Church itself, France, and England. France had the tamest reaction. For the film board, certain religious content found within was too much. It was met with edit demands after the debut and because of these demands the original version wouldn't last long. French authorities would order the omission of certain scenes which depicted what they deemed "religious hypocrisy". This mainly entailed a scene wherein Joan is refused the Holy Sacrament despite the promise of receiving one. These edits cut eight minutes from the original version and these edits did create a better box office in France for a wider audience. Sadly though, even with those edits it didn't make as big of a splash that the production company envisioned from the start. Part of this was due to people wanting to see details of the Hundred Years War and her military exploits rather than just her trial and subsequent execution.
England was more offended by the film than France. In fact, the country banned the picture altogether in 1931 due to its portrayal of English soldiers as crude tormentors of the saintly Joan. It wouldn't resurface in England for nearly sixty years, but we'll come back to that in a bit.
The last party was the Roman Catholic church who had the most radical reaction of any. They took the extreme measures of demanding lengthy edits and even destroyed film reels, which is the cruelest form of punishment. I find these three reactions ironic as the film is accurately based on history and editing these topics or even worse erasing these topics appears to be an attempt at editing history itself, which is not only dangerous, but as we all know history is something that cannot be undone.
These edited versions became the standard for decades and there were generations who only knew it by those versions, which were disavowed by the director. To combat these versions Dreyer himself would attempt to recreate the original using what footage he could find and various outtakes. Sadly though, even these versions were destroyed.
It wasn't until 1981 that a rather pristine and intact original film reel was discovered in the unlikeliest of places. Mystery still surrounds how a 1928 original film reel of The Passion of Joan of Arc was found in a closet of a mental hospital in Olso, Norway. No one knows when or how it got there or who placed it in the closet originally. Thanks to that singular reel though, the film was able to be restored and released in its entirety once again, unedited. This was a major victory for cinema as now audiences worldwide could view the actual film, how it was intended. All parties that once were against the film lifted all censorships and bans, allowing this masterpiece to be viewed by all.
The new viewership breathed new life into the work and for fifty years people have been able to experience this great creative work of art. As with new audiences came new critiques and the reverence that was initially praised by Danish media back in 1928 only grew with time. The Passion of Joan of Arc is now widely considered one of the great masterpieces of cinematic history. All thanks to a mental hospital in Norway.
The first time I saw this film I was twenty-one years old at the time and was just starting to dip my toes into the artistic side of cinema. At the time I was pretty deep into German Expressionism and off my viewing of Vampyr, Dreyer floated to the top of my list to see more things from him. When it came to today's subject I didn't really know too much about it other than the director and the subject matter. Now I love blind buys and blind watches, but with that knowledge alone I felt pretty comfortable going into it pretty blind.
I went in open minded and relatively low expectations and I came away feeling and knowing that I had just watched something incredible. It's the most beautiful and poignant film I've ever seen and one I hold in the highest regard as a film fan. It greatly affected me and was a transcendental experience for me. The first time I saw it by the end I had a lump in my throat and was in awe of what I had witnessed. It stuck with me for days afterward as I revisited it in my mind, digesting the scenes and my thoughts. It was for me a sort of spiritual experience and I know that that sounds odd, but for me it felt like that. I had heard people say that about 2001: A Space Odyssey and how for them, seeing that in theaters was a religious experience, that it greatly affected them. For me, that's what The Passion of Joan of Arc did. It awakened something within me through its beauty and because of that it holds a special place in my heart.
On a more tangible level it also really opened my eyes to what is possible in cinema and in art and for that I am forever grateful. I can honestly say that without seeing this movie I wouldn't be the film fan I am today. This was to me the pandora's box, that opened the flood gates for me. The amount of doors this opened in my mind and intrigued me to delve into more arthouse and film movements things in that realm of art is immeasurable. I owe a great deal to this picture honestly.
This movie has a way of bringing you in through its intimate approach and makes you feel for her and her experience. I liked Joan of Arc before this film, but after this I saw her in a whole new light. It is critically regarded as one of the greatest films and one of the greatest cinematic achievements of all time. Personally it is also very high on my list for what it did for me as a film fan, but also the tremendous artistry within. I've never seen anything like it before or since and it is for me the most poignant and beautiful film I've ever seen.
I had the honor of seeing this in theaters last year when my local theater, The Philadelphia Film Society screened the full BFI 100 list throughout the year. I went with my wife and it was great to see a decent turnout for this movie. It was so beautiful and amazing on the big screen and it was almost like a first time viewing again. We really enjoyed the experience. If you have an opportunity to see this screened don't pass it up if you can help it.
If you like arthouse films or like to explore great films this is is an absolute must see. If you've never seen The Passion of Joan of Arc, you should press play on this cinematic classic. I don't think you'll be disappointed.
If you'd like to watch The Passion of Joan of Arc you can find it on a variety of streaming services. At the time of this recording you can find it on The Criterion Channel. The Criterion Channel is a streaming service of tremendous value for bourgeoning or seasoned film fans with pricing options of $10.99 per month or $99 per year, which is what I chose to do.
Apart from the Criterion Channel you can also find it on Tubi. Tubi is a streaming service with a wide variety of content and the best part is, it's completely free to enjoy.
You can also find it on Max. Max is a streaming service from HBO and offers TV and movies both from under and outside the umbrella of HBO. Pricing options include $9.99 per month with ads, $15.99 per month ad-free, and ultimate ad-free for $19.99 per month.
Lastly you can find The Passion of Joan of Arc on Prime Video, Apple TV for $3.99 to rent.
If you like this podcast tell your friends and follow us on Instagram and Facebook. Each week there will be new content including hints about episodes before they air. If you'd like to learn more about the podcast visit our website at glazedcinema.com. There you'll find more info about the show and a place to submit ideas for future episodes. For film fans who are hearing impaired the blog page on our website features each episode in written form as well. As always thanks for listening and I hope to see you next time with another beverage and another fine film on Glazed Cinema.