The only version I've seen of Joan of Arc is the VHS edited version. But what I saw convinced me that it was indeed a triumph for Ingrid Bergman. Unfortunately it had lousy timing in when it was released and poor editing that cut it to 100 minutes.
Ingrid got her greatest stage reviews in this part and she does a grand job in playing the charismatic Maid of Orleans who rallied a nation with her simple faith and piety.
This should really be seen in conjunction with Henry V either the Olivier or the Branagh version. Henry V is the 100 Years War from the English point of view, Joan of Arc is from the French. Henry V is also the prologue of the events leading up to Joan of Arc.
Henry V has decimated the French army and has asserted his claim to the French throne as well as the English. He forced a treaty with the French, married the French princess and had the French king disinherit his son, the dauphin from the line of succession.
Then Henry V died quite suddenly and his infant son Henry VI became the claimant to the French crown. All the politics surrounding that is dealt with in Shakespeare's Henry VI Part I.
In the meantime the Dauphin is keeping up a rear guard action in exile. In this film he's played by Jose Ferrer in his screen debut. Ferrer captures the dauphin perfectly. Not exactly one of France's noblest kings, he's weak and unsure of himself. Still when Joan the Maid of Lorraine comes to him and convinces him of her sincereity, he believes in her.
He's successful with Joan as a symbol at the head of his army and he starts taking back his kingdom, bit by bit. But Ferrer loses interest and signs a truce with the English. Joan keeps on fighting with some loyal followers and is captured by the nobles allied with the English.
The high point of the film and her life is the trial where she is condemned as a witch and burned at the stake. Francis L. Sullivan plays Bishop Cauchon of Beauvais who does the dirty work for the English and he plays the part with relish.
Did Joan really hear voices from on high and was actually divinely inspired? If you believe in results then yes she was. After she died she inspired a nation to revolt. By the end of the Dauphin's reign when he became King Charles VII the English were only controlling Calais and its suburbs.
Poor Ingrid Bergman. The tabloids of the day did some job on her. As this film was in general release the scandal broke about her affair and the pregnancy resulting with Roberto Rosellini and the film tanked at the box office. Getting cast as a saint here and as a nun in The Bells of St. Mary's was just too much for the American public who back then really believed the images film stars conveyed.
I'm glad this film is fully restored now. Hopefully we'll see it on DVD one day.
Ingrid got her greatest stage reviews in this part and she does a grand job in playing the charismatic Maid of Orleans who rallied a nation with her simple faith and piety.
This should really be seen in conjunction with Henry V either the Olivier or the Branagh version. Henry V is the 100 Years War from the English point of view, Joan of Arc is from the French. Henry V is also the prologue of the events leading up to Joan of Arc.
Henry V has decimated the French army and has asserted his claim to the French throne as well as the English. He forced a treaty with the French, married the French princess and had the French king disinherit his son, the dauphin from the line of succession.
Then Henry V died quite suddenly and his infant son Henry VI became the claimant to the French crown. All the politics surrounding that is dealt with in Shakespeare's Henry VI Part I.
In the meantime the Dauphin is keeping up a rear guard action in exile. In this film he's played by Jose Ferrer in his screen debut. Ferrer captures the dauphin perfectly. Not exactly one of France's noblest kings, he's weak and unsure of himself. Still when Joan the Maid of Lorraine comes to him and convinces him of her sincereity, he believes in her.
He's successful with Joan as a symbol at the head of his army and he starts taking back his kingdom, bit by bit. But Ferrer loses interest and signs a truce with the English. Joan keeps on fighting with some loyal followers and is captured by the nobles allied with the English.
The high point of the film and her life is the trial where she is condemned as a witch and burned at the stake. Francis L. Sullivan plays Bishop Cauchon of Beauvais who does the dirty work for the English and he plays the part with relish.
Did Joan really hear voices from on high and was actually divinely inspired? If you believe in results then yes she was. After she died she inspired a nation to revolt. By the end of the Dauphin's reign when he became King Charles VII the English were only controlling Calais and its suburbs.
Poor Ingrid Bergman. The tabloids of the day did some job on her. As this film was in general release the scandal broke about her affair and the pregnancy resulting with Roberto Rosellini and the film tanked at the box office. Getting cast as a saint here and as a nun in The Bells of St. Mary's was just too much for the American public who back then really believed the images film stars conveyed.
I'm glad this film is fully restored now. Hopefully we'll see it on DVD one day.