Kirpianuscus It is easy to remark than the story of Joan of Arc has many adaptations. few - memorable. and this is the first good point of this serie - to look for have its voice. to say the story in a honest, simple and convincing manner. using the right tools. the cast, the fight scenes, the trial. great names, from Peter O Toole to Maximilian Schell. and a Joan who is so ...different.because it is fair to say than Lelee Sobieski does more than a decent job but a convincing one, giving force and right nuances to portrait of Joan. in same measure, Neal Patrick Harris is a nice surprise as Charles VII. so, an interesting film. for a reason out of definitions. because its basic, fundamental and useful virtue is the honesty to say a story , so familiar, in your style. and this adaptation does it.

mannuskyhigh 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'.

anonymous124 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.

matjag This is a riveting presentation of the life of St. Joan of Arc that will bring tears to the eye and a deep appreciation of the faith of this farm girl from Lorraine, France. From a lowly child that almost didn't get to live past her day of birth to the single-most significant solidifying force of a woefully divided France under a weak King Charles, this emotionally charged, suspenseful film will pull the viewer deeply into the difficult, driven life of this 19 year old heroine who was both executed for heresy and canonized as a saint by the Church. The film is blessed with an excellent cast, fantastic scenery, great directing, and very believable script. The characterization is very round, with Joan herself portrayed as a holy and tortured soul in love with her faith and her Church. This dichotomy of simple faith and torturous self-doubt makes this film so palpable as to render the viewer more as a cast member than as a movie watcher. Beautiful!