LittleSwallow

I find that this 1998 Masterpiece theater TV version follows the novel of the same name pretty faithfully. One who has never read the novel may find the action moving too quickly, so that the flow of the movie may seem slightly abrupt or choppy. However, the movie is only 2 hours long, which is probably why they had to cut out parts of the book and take some liberties with ages and certain details. That does not detract too much from the enjoyment of this movie, which despite its choppiness, has excellent acting, beautiful cinematography (the landscapes are breathtaking), and a wonderfully wrought out, bitter plot which focuses on three generations of two families who are intimately interlocked with each other. Heathcliff definitely comes off as the cruel, embittered man he is in the book, and it's great to see a TV movie capture the personalities of all the characters so well. Highly recommended movie.

The story of Joan D'Arc has always interested me, because this was a girl who stood by her beliefs till the end, no matter what she was threatened with or who tried to make her doubt them. She had great conviction, and especially in the Middle Ages, where women's roles were passive, the fact that she was able to rise up, lead an army, and defend herself with extreme wit and cleverness from the onslaught of treachery before and during the famous trial, shows just how remarkable this young girl was (19 when she died).

This movie captures brilliantly the cleverness and strength of this brave heroine. Acting was in the most part very good, as one is gripped from the great opening sequence all the way to the end. While there are some unconvincing CGI effects (mainly of Joan's saints), the battle sequences are very believable to watch. One has to note, however, that the writers took quite a few liberties with the script. The viewer has to be careful to not take every event as fact. I won't go into detail, but please read about the history of Joan, as, even though this movie does a great job in showing Joan as a smart, God-loving person, some events in the movie did not happen historically, or else the writers changed them to suit their own goals.

In the end, however, the main point about Joan, is that she was able use her faith, head, and heart to thoroughly aggravate and embarrass those who would have her dead. In the end, she is still the victor. And the movie reflects this.