The Passion of Joan of Arc is one of the best films of the 20th century. I hope by the end of my review you feel the same way. This is a black and white silent film made in 1928 in france when films were not considered very important. Plays and theartre were still ruling in those early days of film making. Yet, Carl Th. Dreyer still wanted to show the world (or at least France) his work of art called ’’The Passion of Joan of Arc’’. Joan is played by Renee Falconetti who has such a look about her. You can see the character she is playing has over taken her and is really helping her to transform herself from Renee into the person of Joan of Arc. Through all the trials and tribulations that you go through with Joan in this film you feel a sence of compassion for someone who would lay down their very life for the Lord Jesus Christ. Her passion for her Jesus was like no one else they had seen and she wasn’t going to compromise her walk with God to satisfy the priests and judges of her day. This film depicts just the trial that she faced and because they kept good records in that day the dialogue is that of what the judges really said, and how Joan responded. It is really a great script for as little as they ’’say’’ in this film. The most striking thing in this movie is that 70% or more of it is close up shots of people’s faces so you can really see the reaction Joan gives to the judges and how the judges react to her ’’blasphemies’’. If you don’t know the story of Joan of Arc this is a great way to introduce you to someone that really wanted to live for her Lord, King, Master, and Saviour...Jesus Christ. The moment when Joan is burning at the stake and cries out to Jesus for help is something I will never forget because it was at that moment of the movie that I knew that there is something worth dying for. Something interesting about this film is over the course of a few years the original negative, and a second version were destoryed in two freak warehouse fires. It wasn’t until 1985 that a near perfect print of the original cut was amazingly discovered under a pile of rags in a janitor’s closet of a Norwegian mental instituttion. After they carefully restored it, composer Richard Einhorn so wonderfully added his elegent oratorio ’’Voices of Light’’ inspired by the film and the heroic life of Saint Joan of Arc. So, if you ever get a chance to view this spectacular film I recommend it highly!