Joan of Arc (1948)
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Joan of Arc Movie Review
Joan of Arc is a 1948 epic film directed by Victor Fleming and starring Ingrid Bergman. It’s a very well made, but overly talkative picture.
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“I think I have courage to die,
but not to die thus in small sick ways“
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Joan of Arc, a 14-year-old girl hears God’s voice. But when this voice gives instructions, she leads an army to save France from the English and in the process, she gets arrested. This was unfortunately the last movie that Victor Fleming directed before his death and it is far from his best efforts. Although he was obviously a great fit for the material, ‘Gone with the Wind’ this epic simply was not.
The biggest issue here is the overall structure of the film. The movie is almost two and a half hours long and it’s leisurely paced leading to a movie that is rarely particularly engaging to watch and never riveting. Structurally, the final courtroom stretch of scenes worked best as it was superbly performed and very well written, but the rest of the movie seriously meandered and never quite reaching that same level of strength or interest.
I have very mixed feelings regarding the casting of Ingrid Bergman to play this important historical figure. On the one hand, her performance is quite strong and at times even emotionally powerful. She was particularly strong during the emotionally heavy third act. But on the other hand, I simply never bought her in the role as she was too elegant and feminine to play Joan. She was believable in the courtroom scenes, but thoroughly unbelievable in the battle ones.
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Joan of Arc relied heavily on Bergman to carry it through the finish line. Every other performer did a strong job, but their roles were quite small. The movie was nominated for the whopping seven Academy Awards, but it did not receive a BP nomination. Technically, this is a stellar production. The Technicolor cinematography is quite beautiful, the score is pretty good, the editing is solid and of course the art direction is phenomenal – the sets and coulisses are gorgeous and sumptuous throughout. The costumes are also terrific. The dialogue is mostly excellent, but the characterization was problematically slight as we never quite got a bigger insight into Joan’s psyche or personality. The film seriously lacked personality and drive.
Joan of Arc was the last movie that Victor Fleming directed and it’s not one of his best works. Ingrid Bergman delivered a stellar, emotional performance, but she still remained thoroughly unbelievable in the titular role. The movie is technically polished – the art direction is sumptuous, the costumes are fantastic and the cinematography excellent – but the movie was overly talkative, structurally uneven and overly leisurely paced. The courtroom scenes at the end were very effective, but the rest of the movie was seriously lacking in personality and engagement.
My Rating – 3.5
Results
#1. Which of these Oscar nominations did this movie get?
Select all that apply:
