The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)

Tonight was the first night of my Film Theory class and after watching some of the earliest films ever made along with 1902's A Trip to the Moon by Georges Méliès we watched The Passion of Joan of Arc filmed in 1928.

Wow.

Seriously. If you agreed with me that Seven Samurari was ahead of it's time just get your hands on a copy of The Passion of Joan of Arc! The story of how we even have the film is interesting in itself. The film was originally censored and much of it was destroyed in a fire, bits of it surviving via the scrap clips that could be found, and then in 1981 the entire film was found in a janitor's closet in an insane asylum in Oslo! The film itself is incredibly striking, like Seven Samurai it feels right at home in 2007. Director Carl Theodor Dreyer used a TON of close ups and in so doing captures up-close and personal some great performances. The use of camera angles is dramatic and serves the story well. Joan is almost always shown from above with soft lighting. Her monastic acusers are shot from below, towering above her. Hard lighting is used on the old monks and every wrinkle, every skin pore sticks out in these extreme close ups. In the midst of the acusatory rants thrown at Joan are cut extreme close-ups on angry, shouting mouths. The cinematography in this film is nothing short of beautiful. It is art! I have so much to learn from this film, I can't wait to watch it again.

Labels: Film