A contender for THE movie of the 1920s

Rating: 10/10 (25 May 2011)

As much as I did love Metropolis, The Gold Rush and Faust(1926), The Passion of Joan of Arc is a contender for the movie of the 1920s, that's how amazing it is. It is an incredibly well made film, it draws on artistic styles from the Renaissance through to the avant-garde and with all the symbolic angles, zooms, tilts and pan shoots the photography is spellbinding and captures the authentic costumes, sets and scenery wonderfully.
The Passion of Joan of Arc is also a very haunting film, as what it does have is an atmosphere that is so genuine and unsettling. It is beautifully directed by Carl Th Dreyer, and the story based on trial records is highly compelling and genuinely dramatically intense in its action. Other than the atmosphere and visuals, what makes The Passion of Joan of Arc is the lead performance. Sincere and personal, Maria Renee Falconetti is absolutely astonishing.
All in all, amazing and dare I say a milestone not only of its decade and genre but of film in general. 10/10 Bethany Cox