Saint Joan

This was a Hallmark Hall of Fame production. I recall seeing it as a boy. This was my first encounter with Shaw and the character of Joan of Arc. This was an excellent, well-cast, well played production. Hallmark specialized in mounting productions of theatrical warhorses with well-know stage/screen actors in their twilight years; this was a somewhat more difficult play (not often revived in the US) with the budding screen star Genevieve Bujold--who was very good. The supporting cast was uniformly excellent (Maurice Evans, Theodore Bikel, Raymond Massey). Alas, fancy greeting cards have mostly disappeared as has the Hall of Fame as has all intelligent drama on American TV. It's a pity these productions are not available for download; they were so much better than the vulgarities inflicted on television audiences nowadays...

I saw only the last part of this movie when it first aired and was blown away. Genevieve Bujold was fantastic - perhaps it's because I grew up in Quebec but I identified with her Joan immediately - her French temper shown at the trial spoke to me. I've seen other versions but none were as realistic as hers. I gave it an 8/10 because I was so young when I saw it and had missed the start.