The Passion of Joan of Arc -THE CRITERION COLLECTION #62 (a J!-ENT DVD Review)

Powerful, brilliantly acted and fantastic!  A landmark silent film that is a true masterpiece for director Carl Theodore Dreyer!  Wonderful music by Richard Einhorn’s “Voices of Light” (an optional musical soundtrack to view the film).  Highly recommended!

Image courtesy of © 1985 Gaumont. 1999 THE CRITERION COLLECTION. All Rights Reserved.

TITLE: The Passion of Joan of Arc – THE CRITERION COLLECTION #62

DURATION: 82 Minutes

DVD INFORMATION:  Black and White, Silent with French Intertitles and Optional English Subtitles, Optional Stereo Music Track, 1:33:1 aspect ratio

COMPANY: The Criterion Collection/Janus Films

RELEASED: 1999

Directed by Carl Th. Dreyer

Screenplay by Carl Th. Dreyer in collaboration with Joseph Delteil

Cinematography by Rudolf Maté

Edited by Marguerite Beauge, Carl Theodor Dreyer

Historical Consultant: Pierre Champion

Art Direction: Hermann Warm

Set Decoration: Jean Hugo, Hermann Warm

Production Design:   Jean Hugo

Costume Design:  Valentine Hugo

Starring:

Renee Jeanne Falconetti as Jeanne d’Arc

Eugène Silvain as Pierre Cauchon

André Berley as Jean d’Estivet

Maurice Schutz as Nicloas Loyseleur

Antonin Artaud as Jean Massieu

Gilbert Dalleu as Jean Lemaitre

Jean d’Yd as Nicolas de Houppeville

Louis Ravet as Jean Beaupère

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.

In 1928, the film “La Passion de Jeanne d’Arc” based on the trial of  Joan of Arc was directed by Danish filmmaker Carl Theodor Dreyer.  The film is considered a landmark in cinema and was released by The Criterion Collection back in 1999.

But its one thing to watch the powerful silent film starring Renée Jeanne Falconetti as it details the actual trial of Jeanne d’Arc (based on the actual court documents) and to hear the amazing music by Richard Einhorn’s “Voices of Light” accompanying the film.  But what is equally amazing is the story behind-the-making of the film because there have been many different versions of Dreyer’s original film.

Right at the beginning of working on the film, the French nationalist campaigned against the film because it was directed by a non-French director, a non Catholic director and they simply felt he was not the right person to direct a film about the country’s icon hero Joan of Arc.  So, the archbishop of Paris ordered changes to be made for the film without Dreyer’s input.

Then on Dec. 1928, the original negative of the film was destroyed during the fire at UFA studio in Berlin.  All Dreyer had now was worn out copies that were distributed earlier at screenings.  Heartbroken by what happened, Dreyer was able to create a new version of the film utilizing alternative takes and almost matched the original.  But another fire took place at the labs of G.M. de Boulogne-Billancourt in 1929 and the second negative was lost.

But then a lost version of the film at 61 minutes without the intertitles was found in 1933 and featured a vocal narrative. In 1951, film historian Lo Duca found an intact negative in the vaults of Gaumont Studios that was based on Dreyer’s second negative and Lo Duca made major changes and included subtitles and a vocal narrative.  This was released and infuriated Dreyer even more (who hoped that Lo Duca would release the original negative of the film instead of his “modernized” version).  Then the Danish Film Institute went on to work on another film based on existing prints and utilizing another source print found in London which contained extra shots but also missing nearly 200 shots.

Needless to say, within the next 60+ years, people who have seen the film have seen different versions.  The original 1928 film was burned in the fire and the true version would never be seen by moviegoers…until 1981 when a workman in Oslo, Norway who was cleaning out a closet at a mental institution found film canisters.  The canisters were given to the Norwegian film Institute and it was discovered that the canisters were the original print of the film from 1928.

Immediately the film was restored and remastered.  In 1999, the Criterion Collection DVD would feature the first definitive edition of  “The Passion of Joan of Arc”.

For those not familiar with Joan of Arc, she is a national heroine of France and post-posthumously named a Catholic saint.  As an illiterate peasant girl from France, she started hearing voices in her head and that it was from God.  Jeanne d’Arc at 17-years-old was responsible for leading the French Army (disguised as a man but later revealed as a woman) and winning victories during the Hundred Years’ War against the English.  She was feared by the Burgundians and the English and was eventually captured and put on trial.

The silent film “The Passion of Joan of Arc” takes place during the trial based on actual transcripts of Jeanne d’Arc being put on trial for heresy.  She was interrogated and each answer she gave, she would surprise the court and the court would try to scare her in order to get her to be sentenced in someway or manner.  We see the entire trial and also her execution and the aftermath of her execution.

Although a silent film, it’s the acting of Renée Jeanne Falconetti that captures the attention of the viewer.  No sound or words are needed to understand the fear in her eyes, her belief in God…the court is also well captured as their expressions tell you their frustration but also their cold, calculating ways of trying to get Jeanne d’Arc to answer their questions.

Accompanied by the Voices of Light soundtrack, we are greeted with one of the earliest and more powerful silent films that has been regarded as one of the top films of all time and on various polls of the top films of all time, “The Passion of the Joan of Arc” is easily in the top 10.

VIDEO & AUDIO:

“The Passion of Joan of Arc” is featured in black and white (1:33:1 aspect ratio).  Considering what had taken place with the film for over 70 years, this footage found in 1981 and restored for the The Criterion Collection DVD is fantastic.  Not perfect but compared to the VHS blurry copies that people have had for many years, the quality on this DVD is awesome for a film that is over 80-years-old.  You do see a bit of scratches and dust but with all the work that went in to correct many frames from warping and acid and massive dust, the picture quality is very good.  According to Criterion, the digital transfer was created at 24 frames a second from a 35mm fine-grain master positive made from the restored negative.  The transfer was restored utilizing the MTI Digital Restoration System.

As for audio, “The Passions of Joan of Arc” is a silent film but the inclusion of Richard Einhorn’s “Voices of Light” is fantastic.  The choral and orchestral work is performed by the vocal group Anonymous 4, soloist Susan Narucki and the Radio Netherlands Philharmonic and choir.

The music track is in stereo but if you have a receiver which you can put stereo on all channels, “Voices of Light” is just an incredible soundtrack that matches the film perfectly.  According to Criterion, the surround music track was mixed from the Sony 32-track recording and synced to the film by Tom Lazarus and Steven Deur of Classic Sound.

Optional subtitles are in English during the scenes with French intertitles.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“The Passions of Joan of Arc” comes with the following special features:

• Audio Essay by Casper Tybjerg – Audio essay by Dreyer scholar Casper Tybjerg record on Aug. 1999.  A very indepth commentary by Caper Tybjerg who evaluates the shots on the film.
  
• An Extensive Production Design Archive – A text based archive (which can be forwarded via your remote).  Photos are included of production sketches by production designer Jean Hugo and Hermann Warm.
  
• A History of Passion’s many versions with clips – The many incarnations of “The Passion of Joan of Arc” featuring comparisons of the Lo Duca and the Oslo version.  Text based but video for film comparisons.
  
• Audio interview excerpts with Helene Falconetti – Richard Einhorn’s audio interview from 1995 with Helene Falconetti, daughter of Renne Falconetti.
  
• Text and video essay by Richard Einhorn – (5:16 for video essay) An essay on how Richard Einhorn discovered the film and eventually working on the optional music for the silent film via “Voices of Light”.
  
• Restoration Demonstration – Showing the difference of how the original VHS copies looked versus the restored and remastered video version of the film.
  
• 24-page booklet - Featuring the lyrics to “Voices of Light libretto” including medieval text used in Einhorn’s composition and the various songs in the film plus acknowledgments and thank you notices by Richard Einhorn.
• Tri-fold insert – Featuring a write up from “Realized Mysticism’ from 1929 by Carl Theodor Dreyer.
  

Powerful, emotional and important.  Carl Th. Dreyer’s “The Passion of Joan of Arc” was a film that had to go through so many challenges.  If it’s one thing to have so many versions, so many cuts and so much controversy, the film also had to contend with the move away from silent films to film with sound.

Regardless  of the controversy, the fact is that Dreyer’s original print after 60 years has been found, restored and we are being given the opportunity to see this film the way it was mean to be seen.

I feel that in this day and age, many viewers are familiar with Joan of Arc through films such as Luc Besson’s “The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc” or Christian Duguay’s mini-series “Joan of Arc” or even whatever they learned through the PSP video game “Jeanne d’Arc”.  But the story of Jeanne d’Arc is not as easy one to tell in 90-120 minutes.  Also, instead of focusing on the protagonist fighting in various wars or in battle, “The Passion of Joan of Arc” is nothing like any of these newer incarnations of the story of Joan of Arc.

What we have with “The Passion of Joan of Arc” is a true Dreyer masterpiece not realized until after 1981.  A powerful performance over 80-years ago by an actress captured on film.  The visual composition is amazing, the set design (which was very expensive despite not being utilized in the film all that much) and that final moments are just incredible to see.  This was made in 1928 and here we are 81-years later and this film just holds up remarkably well.

As for the Criterion Collection DVD of this amazing film,  I know that it’s an older release but even though it doesn’t have a similar style of bonus features that we are used to with recent Criterion releases, there is still a good number of content included.  The fact that in 2007, the Danish Film Institute commissioned a new soundtrack and that other composers have made soundtracks for the film afterward, I don’t know if its possible but if The Criterion Collection does choose to release this film on Blu-ray, I hope we can get various soundtracks to accompany the film.   That would be magnificent.

But still, Richard Einhorn’s 1994 oratorio titled “Voices of Light” is still a remarkable (and optional) soundtrack for the film.   Just to hear the music all around me was such a great experience.  The commentary is quite  in-depth with information but also the video comparisons and other artwork included on the special features.

If you have been interested in watching “The Passion of Joan of Arc” for the first time, it’s definitely an experience and a Criterion DVD worth owning in your collection.  Highly recommended!