Jeanne d'Arc

It's only befitting that one of the most venerable pioneers of French cinema should have addressed himself to portraying one of his nation's great national heroines. By some miracle his version has survived complete with the original tinting.

As usual with Melies the characters saunter back and forth with little sense of urgency before finally engaging the English, while Joan herself is depicted playing no part in the hostilities, her hair for once not shorn.

During her trial the use of tinting adds emphasis to the brazier containing hot coals soon to be applied by a torturer dressed in satanic red prior to her final burning at the stake.

This is a classic tale of a true figure in French history, who paid a price for her beliefs. She is heroic as she fends off those that would have her take the easy way out. This film is hand painted and has brilliant color throughout. Also, the images are sophisticated. I have always thought that this story ranks with the best. Was Joan a hero or was she mad? Any way you look at it, she had the entire courage of her convictions.

This is not a bad quick version of the story of Joan of Arc. The colouring is nice, acting pretty good but I felt there was too much of Melies' style in this film that I felt I was watching a fairy-tale instead of a historical piece.

7.5/10

This was pretty good. The coloring was nice, the sets were awesome and the battle and execution scenes were cool, too. It does get a little boring at the beginning, but overall, its pretty sweet.

Without a word uttered and being only ten minutes this was better than Milla Jovovich starred "The Messenger."

Knowing the story of Joan of Arc would help immensely in watching this short. She is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronation of Charles VII of France during the Hundred Years' War. Stating that she was acting under divine guidance, she became a military leader who transcended gender roles and gained recognition as a savior of France.

I'm sure that's very hard to capture in a ten minute video with no dialogue, but for the time this was the best you were going to get.