its always difficult to make movies on history. Especially when you don't have the exact facts related to it. But if you make a movie with a right blend of all the ingredients of film making, it does the trick. 'Joan of Arc' is one such film that deserves a standing ovation. When you are watching it, the feeling is quite authentic and you really feel for the characters. I saw this when I was around 14 at a TV Channel, That time I hardly paid any attention but the movie did strike in my mind. And several years later, I got the movie on DVD through a friend and I watched it and this time I was blown away. I am always in love for historic characters especially the ones who achieve martyrdom at their early age. The Performances are extraordinary. LeeLee, the actress who plays the title role really looks the part and delivers a marvelous performance, sometimes you may find that she is lacking the expression field, but the feel of the film makes you forget everything. Every other actor has done his/her job brilliantly. The Music is Epic. It glorifies the movie even more.One thing that made me shocked that this movie wasn't a theatrical one but instead made for TV. I think this movie deserved to be on the theaters, as It deserved to be. After Watching this, I want to salute the spirit of 'Joan of Arc'.

I just finished watching this movie with my history class and we all enjoyed it. The acting was pretty good, but there were scenes when I felt that the young actress playing Joan could be doing so much better. She was okay and did a phenomenal job in some scenes but in others, she fell completely flat. Neal Patrick Harris was amazing as the king, and to be perfectly honest, I never thought he had it in him. when I saw his name in the credits I was like, "Oh, boy," but he was really good.Peter O'Toole was...well, he was Peter O'Toole. He was the real gem of the picture. Playing the role of the conflicted bishop, his performance was by far the strongest. The movie is rather long but I think it is well worth the watch.

As the film rolls past we catch the faces of many a Hollywood has-been. The last generations finest reduced to roles of utter humiliation. They do not give good performances. They look embarrassed and defeated and all too aware of their surroundings. Only Peter O'Toole has a spark of life in him - God knows what he was thinking when he took this role, he can't even save the scenes where he's the only one in the frame, and despite the fact he is one of the most respected actors in Hollywood, the makers of the film feel too above him to let this happen more than once or twice. Too bad. Instead, they fill the frame with Leslee Sobieski, who takes herself, the role, and this ridiculous, cliché ridden made for TV movie like she planned to upstage Maria Falconetti. Points for effort, but she doesn't attain much more of a performance than most porn stars do. She manages a grimace here and there, usually just before a battle. Then the camera cranes dramatically up and down and to the side while lots of people fight. 8 year old boys will be ready to praise because, whatever comes in between, there are battle scenes.Joan of Arc does not fall into the category of "so bad it's funny." It is not funny. It is simply bad. It is not filled with clichés - it IS a cliché. A cliché extended over several hours, and nearly unbearable to watch at that. Shirley MacLaine, a long way from "The Apartment," makes a brief, very dramatic cameo - the kind where we first see her feet step out and then the back of her head and finally her face. But she doesn't actually get to do anything besides some violent coughing. She exists to give the film some air of credibility, I suppose.The last section of the film, like many Joan of Arc movies past, does indeed use the actual dialouge Joan spoke during her trial. The 1928 film "The Passion of Joan of Arc" directed by Carl Theodore Dreyer was built entirely around this one section, and it was a devastating, brutally told real-time drama of unflinching power. The very same dialouge is used in this film, yet it is acted so terribly, and presented so blandly, that it's hard to believe they could focus on the same subject.Save the wonderful Mr. O'Toole, there is no redeeming quality in this film. It is indeed one of the worst films ever recorded onto celluloid.

The story of Joan D'Arc has always interested me, because this was a girl who stood by her beliefs till the end, no matter what she was threatened with or who tried to make her doubt them. She had great conviction, and especially in the Middle Ages, where women's roles were passive, the fact that she was able to rise up, lead an army, and defend herself with extreme wit and cleverness from the onslaught of treachery before and during the famous trial, shows just how remarkable this young girl was (19 when she died).This movie captures brilliantly the cleverness and strength of this brave heroine. Acting was in the most part very good, as one is gripped from the great opening sequence all the way to the end. While there are some unconvincing CGI effects (mainly of Joan's saints), the battle sequences are very believable to watch. One has to note, however, that the writers took quite a few liberties with the script. The viewer has to be careful to not take every event as fact. I won't go into detail, but please read about the history of Joan, as, even though this movie does a great job in showing Joan as a smart, God-loving person, some events in the movie did not happen historically, or else the writers changed them to suit their own goals.In the end, however, the main point about Joan, is that she was able use her faith, head, and heart to thoroughly aggravate and embarrass those who would have her dead. In the end, she is still the victor. And the movie reflects this.