The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)

The 1928 French silent film The Passion of Joan of Arc is beautiful: amazing and powerful. Suitable for teens (certainly acceptable for anyone mature enough to watch the Passion of the Christ - though this film is mature mostly because of its intensity).

It might be worthwhile to discuss the historical position of the Church's relationship with Joan of Arc and the intentions of the filmmaker who, focusing on Joan's trial and death, might be viewed as having some degree of an agenda. It would also be fair to consider the controversies surrounding the Passion of the Christ for providing a similar, limited focus.

The DVD (available from Netflix) provides English subtitles and a choice of no audio or a background score.

The commentary was quite interesting and helpful. I love how the Danish film expert refers to her in the familiar French/Danish Jeanne (sounds like Shen) in this English commentary.

The Passion of Joan of Arc was listed on the Vatican list of best films.

Links Up from the Comments Box:

Esther has a post about this film here.

http://www.maidofheaven.com/

Harold Lloyd

I never thought I'd say this about a silent film, but Harold Lloyd's Safety Last is one of the funniest movies I've ever seen. It's available from Netflix on disc 1 of the Harold Lloyd Comedy Collection. I saw a documentary on Harold Lloyd quite a few years ago, but it's only with the popularity of DVDs (and Netflix) that so many of these old movies are becoming so readily available. I also appreciate that this is a high-quality tranfer compared to the cheap-o editions of Charlie Chaplin and Laurel and Hardy I've seen. It does make some sense that the art of physical comedy would have been mastered during the silent era. Ask Father (which is also rolling-on-the-floor funny) only includes a few lines of dialogue.

Please note: Not all of his films (or all of the films on this particular DVD series) are suitable for children.