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Interesting spectacle with opera star Geraldine Farrar as Joan of Arc. The costumes and sets are impressive, and the battle of Orleans is well staged. Wallace Reid appears in a dual role; first, as an English soldier in the trenches of World War I who has a vision of Joan, and then as an English soldier during the time of Joan of Arc who is saved by her, but ultimately is ordered to capture her. Raymond Hatton, as the spineless Charles VII, is quite good, as are most of the supporting actors. The burning-at-the-stake scene is harrowing and realistic. The copy I saw on YouTube appeared to be a 1997 restoration, complete with a pipe organ score.

I'm convinced that one of the reasons that Joan The Woman was filmed by Cecil B. DeMille was to bolster the Allied cause and the cause of France in World War I. We were not yet in the war but that very issue was the main issue in the campaign for president in 1916.

It's hard to imagine an opera star being an entertainment idol in this day and age. But Geraldine Farrar was just that. With that in mind DeMille got Famous Players-Lasky to sign Farrar who was an opera soprano known for her acting ability as well as singing. Silent films afforded her a great opportunity to use the same kind of histrionics used on an opera stage that for the silent screen was essential.

Why DeMille didn't opt for just a retelling of Joan Of Arc's story is beyond me. The whole ploy with Wallace Reid playing a contemporary British soldier in the trenches and his ancestor fighting in France against the French in the Hundred Years War was both ludicrous and doesn't wear well with age. I suppose possibly the message was that France and England enemies before were now allies in a great cause as great as the one Joan gave her life for.

Reid finds a sword that belonged to the Maid of Orleans and he uses it as a talisman of sorts to communicate with the long dead maid. Then we go back in time to the struggle for France to liberate and unite as a people against the English conquerors. Where Reid meets the Maid on two occasions and his life is saved. Unfortunately he can't reciprocate when her time comes.

Farrar is a find Joan Of Arc. DeMille knew what he was doing in bringing her to Hollywood, her operatic training was what was needed for the silent screen believe it or not. She did the same in another DeMille production of one of her leading roles, Carmen.

Raymond Hatton is fine as the feckless King Charles VII who also let Joan down in the crunch. Theodore Roberts another DeMille favorite was chillingly evil as the Bishop Of Cauchon the one who tried her and judged her a witch and a heretic.

It's hardly historically accurate, but other than Reid's grafted in role it's not a bad film. Joan The Woman has the kind of spectacle and special effects that made the reputation of Cecil B. DeMille.

One of the most famous American Silent productions is also among the first to deal with the much-filmed subject of Joan of Arc – treated over the years in both an elaborate and intimate manner. De Mille being De Mille, this particular version naturally takes the former path – even drawing parallels with the ongoing 1914-18 war (in the bookend sequence, a British soldier is inspired by Joan's sacrifice to undertake a suicide mission). Incidentally, this aspect necessitates a certain sympathy for the English – resulting in a tentative yet unconvincing romance between the heroine and, of all people, the young man leading the enemy forces facing her! Geraldine Farrar is an earnest but clearly over-age and rather ordinary-looking Joan, while the figure of Bishop Cauchon – whom she spites and ends up on the receiving end of his ire during the subsequent trial – inevitably represents the archaic prototype of the hissable villain; he is abetted in his wickedness by a so-called mad monk (who eventually repents) and an enemy agent dubbed "The Spider" posing as the uncrowned King's jester – with the latter, always depicted as something of an idiot, being easily influenced by their wiles and proving rather unworthy of Joan's championing. Of course, the film – a hefty but rarely boring 137 minutes – illustrates the most significant events in the exploits of the Maid Of Orleans: receiving her spiritual calling via symbolic crucifixion on a fleur-de-lys lit against the back wall of her room (she later experiences visions of a radiant sword and a black horseman alerting her to impending doom), her military campaign (by way of one lengthy and surprisingly fierce battle) and her martyrdom (though the hearing itself – around which would be built some of the best versions of the story – is rather hastily resolved with the threat of torture). In retrospect, this De Mille effort can be seen to have retained its essential relevance (despite its obvious age) when compared to other accounts of the life of Saint Joan (of which this is the eight example that I have seen). Incidentally, being the 50th anniversary of the director's passing, I have managed to acquire a fair number of his works (some of which had thus far eluded me) – including two more well-regarded Silent dramas, namely THE CHEAT (1915) and THE WHISPERING CHORUS (1918) – and which I now hope to check out in the not-too-distant future.

This is a curio - the story of Joan of Arc leading on from a view of the English trenches in World War One (which was still of course, a reality when this film was made). Geraldine Farrar might not look the part of Joan but she manages to convey all the power, spirituality and vulnerability the part demands. her acting is a little theatrical as you would expect from an opera diva but she is excellent nontheless. Wallace Reid (a tragic casualty of Hollywood not that long after this) is pretty good as well, although I thought the love story angle stretched credibility a bit in places. The film itself meanders a bit but when you consider it is over eighty years old it still retains a remarkable amount of effect. Not as good as the 1928 Dreyer film but one to seek out.

I saw the Eastman House print, where only the final 20 minutes or so were tinted and where the titles in the first half hour were very jumpy.

The acting is better than average for movies of the time, though modern artists may think odd the scenes where Geraldine Farrar emotes to the camera.

Best for the sets and the costumes. I thought that the attack on the castle was the best part of the movie, and the early scenes in Joan's home village were very atmospheric.

The story itself is more to be ignored and seems to take history just as a jumping off point.

All the Demille trademarks are here - huge crowd scenes, wild orgies, torture - but there is also a beauty and imagination here that is lacking in some of his later work. The use of double exposures for Joan's visions, the magnificent use of lighting and colour tinting, reveal a film-maker of greater depth than we might expect.

Opera diva Geraldine Farrar seems a little old and hefty for Joan of Arc, but once you get past that she truly gives an excellent performance. And Wallace Reid as her English lover lends strong support.

The camera is a little static and the "spectacular" battle scene is really just hundreds of people running around waving sticks in the air and falling backwards off walls (and I think very little attention was paid to the safety of the extras and the horses), but this is still a very rewarding and innovative film. And we get the original 1916 score performed on a Wurlitzer.

The historical story is framed by a World War 1 (then currently raging in Europe) scene, which adds poignancy to the piece, but does make the central thesis of the story (that God takes sides in wars) a little harder to take. Ramon Novarro's in this somewhere - can you find him?

"Joan the Woman", Cecil B. DeMille's attempt at a Griffith-esque epic has its moments, but, overall, it's overly theatrical and tiresome. Dropping the tacked-on romance with the Englishman would've helped cut down the running time. Additionally, the present-day framing thread somehow linking the story of Joan of Arc to the Great War is absurd. As far as historical inaccuracy, DeMille was on par with D.W. Griffith. I don't particularly care, or expect, that a film be historically accurate, but there's no excuse for the historical misinterpretations to lack even logical sense. For example, I don't see why the bishop must go to the trouble of forcing Joan to repent as a means to kill her for being a relapsed heretic when, in reality, the original heresy was enough.

At least, this is the last film I'll see that stars Geraldine Farrar; she's slightly more tolerable here than in "Carmen", but her gesticulation and obvious maneuvering for the camera's view are still annoying. As I said, the film does have its moments, though. It looks nice, as do most films by DeMille. The Battle of Orléans is the worthwhile part. DeMille didn't yet have a grasp on direction of large-scale battles that Griffith did, but he makes up for it with some good camera angles and brisk editing.

Joan The Woman was Cecil B DeMille's first epic, the genre that today he is best remembered for, although at this point it was more the case that was hopping on a band wagon. After the massive success of Italian "super production" Cabiria, DW Griffith had made Intolerance and Thomas Ince (forgotten today but a big name at the time) did a World War epic called Civilization. In 1916, all the big names were doing epics, and DeMille, now established as Paramount's star filmmaker, wasn't going to be the one to miss out.

Joan The Woman was something like De Mille's fourth or fifth collaboration with Jeanie Macpherson. Typically of Macpherson it has a tight storyline somewhat marred by some rather odd ideas. The framing story, set in war-torn Europe, is apparently there to give the tale some contemporary relevance, and it may be in part an Intolerance-inspired blending of narratives in different historic periods. However on MacPherson's part it seems to be a chance to explore her interest in reincarnation. So we get this daft little story about a British soldier who was in a past life the man who betrayed Joan, and now has to go and sacrifice himself in battle to repay the debt. An officer holds up a bomb as if it were the catch of the day – "I need one of you chaps to go and drop this in the German trench. Oh and by the way it's a suicide mission, so think carefully before you volunteer" The whole thing looks like something out of Blackadder Goes Forth.

This is DeMille though, and it's not about the daft plot – it's about the big picture. De Mille's deftness at handling crowd scenes had been apparent since his earliest films, but here he really gets to use that skill to its full potential. The main battle sequence is as spectacular as those in Intolerance, but it is also convincing. DeMille apparently set the two opposing armies of extras genuine objectives – hence we get a very real sense of desperation and determination. He makes good use of high angles looking down on the action – God's-eye-views, perhaps. DeMille also builds up tension to the clash of armies with a mighty cavalry charge across the screen, and in this we see the seeds of the equivalent sequences in DeMille's The Crusades (1935) Eisenstein's Alexander Nevsky and Olivier's Henry V, all of which used and developed the opening cavalry charge to add excitement to battle scenes.

DeMille continues to progress well with his mastery of visual grammar. As per usual in his silent pictures, he makes some use of "Rembrandt lighting" – well lit actors against dark backgrounds. Here however he achieves a similar effect, albeit it with light and dark reversed, with clouds of dust or smoke framing the characters as silhouettes. Also much in evidence here is DeMille's use of images to imply sound – for example a shot of church bells ringing, followed by a shot of Joan reacting to the sound conveys narrative (and in this case character information) without resorting to intertitles. DeMille knows that he doesn't necessarily have to throw in a title every time a character opens their mouth, and as often as possible keeps a smooth flow of meaningful images. The romantic scenes between Geraldine Farrar and Wallace Reid are particularly effective as a result. Having said that, there is perhaps a bit too much pompous theatrical gesturing from the actors, which I suppose goes hand-in-hand with the rather unnecessary use of "thees" and "thous" in the titles.

It's perhaps rather appropriate that, as well as being the first time DeMille brought epic spectacle to the fore, this is also his first story to contain a heavy dose of religious piety. For DeMille, as we can see here, God is a showman, a god of miracles, visions and righteous destruction. The incredibly egomaniacal DeMille probably saw himself as a similar figure, dazzling the populace and hammering home his messages with spectacle and special effects. So, with Joan The Woman, we see the beginnings of the DeMille who would one day part the red sea and resurrect Jesus on the silver screen.

Geraldine Farrar (as Joan of Arc) comes to the reincarnation of her earthly love Wallace Reid (as Eric Trent) during the Great War (…to End All Wars, aka World War I), after he finds her sword. From there, we flashback to the story of the French maid Joan, who loved God, France, and Englishman Wallace Reid (in that order)…

There are some nice sequences, and the production levels are obviously high, but Cecil B. DeMille's "Joan the Woman" ultimately fails. Ms. Farrar's portrayal is individually intriguing, surpassing her more successful "Carmen" (1915). However, this film is one of several film biographies of Christ-like Frenchwoman Joan d'Arc; and, historically, it must surely be the most inaccurate! Mr. Reid's characters, Eric Trent and his reincarnation, are obvious DeMille-Macpherson "incarnations", though the Trent character adds to the excitement; especially at the end. Hobart Bosworth, Raymond Hatton, Tully Marshall, and Theodore Roberts are among those lending illustrious support. The excitement/entertainment does pick-up a little - but, make a pot of coffee to view this one!

The ending is most memorable, albeit inappropriate.

***** Joan the Woman (12/25/16) Cecil B. DeMille ~ Geraldine Farrar, Wallace Reid, Raymond Hatton

Geraldine Farrar's performance as Joan of Arc, along with some memorable visual sequences, are the main reasons why "Joan the Woman" is still worth seeing today, despite the availability of many other movies about the celebrated French heroine. Although Farrar is not as remarkable as Maria Falconetti was 11 years later (which is by no means a criticism of Farrar - no one else has come close to Falconetti in the role of Joan, and most probably no one will for many years to come), she is very good, especially given the limitations of the time.

Except for clearly being older than the historical Joan was, Farrar conveys pretty well the most important characteristics of the heroine. She and DeMille did well to avoid making her too feminine, instead making her a strong and interesting leader with a limited but heartfelt set of priorities. The story does include some rather fanciful DeMille touches, but as cinema they work well enough, even if on a handful of occasions they may seem out of place in Joan's story. The screenplay also gives Farrar a chance to show many different sides of her character.

Some of the large-scale sequences are also nicely done for an era in which film-makers usually had to work out by themselves how to film such scenes, with only a handful of previous examples to go by. While some of the seams might show now, they did a very good job with what was available, and they must have looked rather impressive in their day.

Raymond Hatton performs well enough in the rather thankless role of the weak king Charles, and Theodore Roberts has some good villainous moments as Cauchon. Some of the other characters, while satisfactory, are a bit too non-descript to be a fully effective complement to Joan.

The one real weakness of the movie is the now-extraneous sequence set in the World War that was in progress when the film was made. It's not bad in itself, and contemporary audiences might have found it worthwhile, but the story of Joan of Arc is really powerful enough that it should be allowed to stand on its own.

Overall, "Joan the Woman" is a good to very good movie in just about every respect, and it is still among the better Joan of Arc films. Perhaps the only one that is clearly superior is the amazing 1928 Dreyer/Falconetti masterpiece "The Passion of Joan of Arc". Since there are a number of sound movies about Joan available, this one unfortunately may not get much attention anymore, but for those who still enjoy the silents, it's worth seeing.

This is without a doubt the finest screen version of Joan of Arc. The multi-talented Geraldine Farrar brings this saintly woman to the screen in all her piety. This is DeMille's first epic and he laid the groundwork for his subsequent masterpieces. This film is not only important for the superb acting but also for the technical aspects such as composition and beautiful photography. These early years are generally classified as DeMille's "Visionary Period". This is a wonderfully restored film complete with the hand tinted frames and William Furst's musical score from the original 1916 release. A very elaborate production for the time brimming with artistry and compelling continuity. The use of early special effects such as double exposure, the tinted frames to depict certain moods, blues for subdued and bright oranges for fiery rage. Opera diva Geraldine Farrar proved she was as dynamic an actress as she was a soprano. She was every inch Jeanne d' Arc, beautiful, pious, gentle yet strengthened by her faith and patriotism in the face of battle. She breathed so much into this role, no one, not even Ingrid Bergman did it better. There is also fine support from Wallace Reid and Raymond Hatton as Charles VII. That noble actor Hobart Bosworth gives a fine performance as the faithful General La Hire. An all star cast for 1916 audiences. An edifying work of art.

The problem with Joan of Arc is that she was only seventeen when her story began.Geraldine Farrar was 25 and she was obviously too old for the part.Most of the versions to come had the same problem:to name but three,Ingrid Bergman in Fleming's epic,or MIchèle MOrgan in Joan's native country or even Falconetti in Dreyer's masterpiece were not physically the maid of Orleans .Otto Preminger was right when he cast a nineteen years old Jean Seberg.

This is minor quibble .De Mille' s movie is a good,nay excellent epic. It was a propaganda movie,cause it featured a "modern" prologue and an epilogue which took place in the tranches during WW1.DeMille would continue in that vein in his "ten commandment" (1923) where a long biblical part was followed by a "realistic" contemporary tale.But propaganda movie does not mean bad movie!Cecil Blunt de Mille was a storyteller extraordinaire,only equaled in the silent era by David Wark Griffith.

Joan's adventures are half history (The meeting with the queen in Chinon,my own native town ,the trial ,Jean de Luxembourg selling Joan)half fictionalized history: Eric de Trent appears at the beginning of Joan's epic ,in Domremy,we find him back in Orleans,Compiègne,Rouen,all along the way,which has nothing to do with French history.Ditto for the king's failed abdication just when Joan is in the castle ,or worse the poisoned wine (by Bishop Pierre Cauchon,no less.Eric de TRent looks like an alter ego of Gilles de Retz (or Rais) -not present in the movie- who reportedly was in love with Joan and who ,becoming mad after her death ,buggered and killed lots of children (the legend made him Blue Beard).

This is a very well told story;La Tremouille's despicable role -he is referred to as "the spider" ,I have not noticed his name in the lines- is not passed over in silence;the battles in Orleans are better than ,say,the Lara Croftesque ones depicted by Luc Besson's recent "the messenger" ;the martyrdom in Rouen where De Mille makes an unusually inventive use of color for the fire.All the lines are in Middle -Ages English :funny how ,since William the Conqueror,many French and English words look like each other (coward=couard ,old French for "lâche" ).Sentences from the trial are often authentic.

French's honor!This "Joan of Arc" is one of the best!

Like this? Try these:

"La Merveilleuse HIstoire de Jeanne D'Arc" Marc(o) De Gastyne,1928 "La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc " Carl Dreyer 1928 "Joan of Arc " Victor Fleming 1948 "Destinées" Jean Delannoy 1953 (one sketch) "Giovanna d'Arco al rogo" Roberto Rosselini,1954 "Saint Joan" Otto Preminger 1957 "Procès de Jeanne D'Arc" Robert Bresson 1962

A great piece of film making for 1916. Joan the Woman was Cecil B DeMille's first epic film and I think one of his better ones. In 1916 epic was really in style with Intolerance and Birth of a Nation just being released. In this film Geraldine Farrar gets the leading role of Joan of Arc who acted superbly in this film, even though I thought physically does not look anything like her.

The battle scenes are really spectacular for this time. And de'mille really shows he knows how to handle a big scene with lots of people. The only down side to the movie is the lead is a little to old and heavy to be playing Joan though she makes up with great theatrical performance, and the heavy preaching which unfortunately mars De'Milles other epics. He just can't help it I guess. Overall a very good silent.

Grade B+

You must watch this film from a certain angle, and you also have to know in advance who Cecil B De Mille was, in which way he oriented his movies. Big budget for many of them, high christian propaganda movies, destined to naive audiences, a bit dum for my opinion, great stories which he set up according to his desires, his political opinions, his belief, no matter the actual facts. De Mille was the perfect anti realism director, among many other ones, I admit. His silent era movies were overlong, and some of them speaking of couple relationship from a Christian point of view. I saw a dozen of those and I will never repeat it again. But he also was a specialist of gigantic productions, only excellent for the eyes, rarely for the purpose. This movie is a big metaphor, using Joan Of Arc myth for WW1 in France. It is a good film, if you wish to know some De Mille's stuff, and not so known too. Less than THE TEN COMMANDMENTS for sure. Awesome battle scenes around a castle assault. In actual history, Joan Of Arc has never been tortured. Put in jail, certainly yes, but not tortured.