In our era there are women warriors in film and TV, from Xena to Beatrix Kiddo, but back in Hollywood's classic era they were an extreme rarity. Joan of Arc was an exception that was acceptable partly because she came from history not fiction and, more crucially, she was a saint and a miracle worker. The tale was told in the only way it could be then, as one of the religious epics that would become a major presence in the cinema of the following decade.Appearing a few years before the epic genre really took off, and while studios were still recovering from the lowered budgets of WW2, Joan of Arc is not quite as grandiose as the biblical movies that would come later on. Based on a play (Maxwell Anderson's Joan of Lorraine), upon its release it was accused of being too talky and lacking in action. But this is made up for in a number of ways, not least of which is its lavish period detail. It is epic in scope and scale, but only so far as the history requires. There is no spectacle for spectacle's sake. The movie is exactly as big and spectacular as it needs to be.The movie is also buoyed by a leading performance from Ingrid Bergman. Bergman brings a necessary presence to the role, not in her delivery of lines but in the power of her emoting, which transcends any stolidness in the screenplay. An especially notable moment is her look of genuine disappointment when she realises that the dauphin has been replaced by one of his lackeys. The other standout performance is that of José Ferrer as the real dauphin. Fresh from the stage, Ferrer is theatrical, Shakespearean even, but that is just the sort of exuberant touch the movie needs to stop it becoming staid.This was the final project of ace director Victor Fleming, who had earlier helmed (most of) Gone with the Wind and The Wizard of Oz. Joan of Arc sees him taking a more relaxed pace (his trademark was speed and punchiness), but with no less of an eye for intelligent staging and shot composition. There's an excellent scene where a young Joan wanders distractedly away from the chattering of her family to sit alone by the fire, framed in profile with the flames forming a corona about her head. This isn't just some obscure bit of symbolism or foreshadowing, it's a way of showing her in clear isolation while still keeping her image dynamic and vibrant.The presentation and performance of this edition of the Joan of Arc story compensates for its dramatic, dialogue-based format. And, while it remains very much a movie based on Joan's sainthood and Christian devotion, Bergman makes her touchingly human, and this allows the character to reach us from the past.

Director Victor Fleming's final film, an independently-produced adaptation of Maxwell Anderson's play "Joan of Lorraine", with Ingrid Bergman reprising her stage role as Joan of Arc, the Maid or Orleans. The opening shots--with chiming bells, rows of tall candles, and a painted shaft of light coming down on the basilica--coupled with a heavy narration and heavenly choir telegraphs the audience in no uncertain terms what they're in for. Our French heroine, a fifteenth-century farmer's daughter who receives Divine Word from God that she is to save France by leading the Dauphin's army against the English, is a wonderful character for an actress to portray, yet Bergman doesn't do anything but make speeches in a fevered monotone. She approaches the role as a duty, and we can't read any mystery in her face because Fleming's direction (and his handling of Ingrid overall) is far too straightforward. The thinking seems to be that the ornate costumes (which won an Oscar) and the background detail will carry the star, but Bergman isn't even convincing in the earliest scenes, praying at a shrine which seems to be set up in the woods. The Technicolor process is rather poor, while the action sequences are noisy and perfunctory. Heavily tampered with for its general release in 1950, the picture was cut from 145 minutes down to 100 minutes (this review is based upon the latter). "Joan of Arc" has an appropriately moral tone and solemn air, but it forgets to be cinematically exciting while recounting history. ** from ****

A very poor film translation of a stage play--rather than being tailored to the movie medium, this is very stagy, overly talky. The dialogue is arty and artificial. Everyone is obviously acting, giving a performance, though Bergman is radiant and her performance is passionate and sincere.All of the exteriors (outdoor shots) which feature close ups of the lead actors are obviously shot on a sound stage. Some beautiful outdoor footage is used occasionally for establishing shots or transitions between scenes, but Bergman never leaves the soundstage. On the positive side, the film is beautifully photographed, many individual shots are works of art, masterfully lit and composed. However, the camera moves only when necessary to follow the actors, the shots are static, adding to the staginess of the production. Which reminds me of CB DeMille; you could get a good idea of this film by saying it's like a DeMille film, only with more high art pretensions and less spectacle (no cast of thousands here).The most outstanding aspect of 'Joan of Arc' is the music, it's prominently featured, good and loud, and it deserves to be--it's gorgeous. The DVD has no extras at all, though the image and sound are excellent--a very good restoration job. A commentary track would have been very welcome; my guess is this was a challenging production, possibly with a long production period (three cinematographers are listed). It was a commercial failure, at least in part because of public condemnation of Bergman's personal life. I believe director Victor Flemming died soon after production. Lots of meat here for an interesting commentary or two.

The difference between the butchered 100 minute release of Victor Fleming's final film, JOAN OF ARC and the original 146 minute version is like night and day! UCLA has worked on restoring this film to its uncut form for some 10 years -- the results can now be seen with the May 2004 release on DVD by Image-Entertainment. My opinion of the film has greatly changed for the better. For some years I have had access to the 100 minute cut on a nice Laser Disc copy. Seeing the new DVD is a revelation. Not only is the Technicolor splendor of the original on the DVD, but the film as conceived by Victor Fleming is 100% better in its restored form. Ingrid Bergman may be a bit old to play the part, but she is quite marvelous as is Jose Ferrer as the Dolphin, in this his first film appearance. If you have any interest in this film and have only seen it in its butchered form, then do yourself a favor and take a look at the DVD. In this form it can take its place along side Victor Fleming's two most famous films, GONE WITH THE WIND and THE WIZARD OF OZ.