Watch The Passion of Joan of Arc For Free

Absolutely Fantastic

Funny, strange, confrontational and subversive, this is one of the most interesting experiences you'll have at the cinema this year.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

It's Falconetti's face,somehow Dreyer managed to capture on film what seems impossible,such raw human emotion,a soul if you will,and the viewer is left drained at what they had just seen. I recommend the 24 frames a second with the 'Voices of Light' score,and watch it on the biggest screen you can find,because this is a life changing experience,transcendent even.Falconetti gives the greatest performance I've ever seen on film,and the director uses closeups for much of the movie,it's confrontational and brilliant,there is nowhere to look but at Joan,what she is going through,it's powerful stuff,your life will be elevated by just watching it.

Roger Ebert once said that "to see Falconetti in Dreyer's "The Passion of Joan of Arc" is to look into eyes that will never leave you." I cannot find a better statement for this miracle of a silent masterpiece. What has been mastered here is a view, taken from historical record, and put under a microscope figuratively and literally on screen to dive into the spiritual essence of destiny. This film is in a class by itself, and had a profound impact on this viewer.The film begins during the 100 Years War in France. In its battle against its enemy England, a commoner rose through the ranks to lead France to many great victories. This great warrior was peasant girl Joan of Arc, not even 18 years old but commanded a presence among her peers and a reputation impressed upon her enemies. Joan has been promised French deliverance from the mouth of God himself. Captured and put on what is essentially a mock trial for the whole film (she would have most likely been executed anyway) she must stand firm against the cacophony of priests who at first spit at her and call her a demon who cries blasphemy. Soon however, when she is given the chance to free herself at the expense of her devout belief in God and refuses, the film becomes a tragedy of the rest form, a good person making the ultimate sacrifice to something bigger than anyone in this film can possibly imagine. The mastery of this film's narrative is in its reliance on the extreme close-up, which i can only estimate takes up 95% of the film. Director Dryer and cinematographer Rudolf Mate take a radical approach to the film, which has stood the test of time as one of the most daring films ever made. Joan's face as well as the other characters fill the frame, and what was not normal for the silent films, the actors do not wear any make-up at all. What this gives is confinement in the audience, as wee are as locked in this small blank room as Joan is, thus helping us feel the emotions of the scenes and care for the main character in a unique way. We cannot look away from the faces, especially that of Joan's astonishingly beautiful eyes.What stands out in this film is the central performance of Maria Falconetti as Joan of Arc. When she enters the picture, she does not look like a common heroine. She has short hair, no make-up, and no soft lighting to make her "gorgeous." In this way, Falconetti must communicate a visceral reaction and emotions through her facial expressions, and since she is always in close-up, this cannot escape and she cannot cheat. With this said, this is a truly flawless performance, in fact one of the greatest films I have ever seen in Cinema history. When she does stumble and ultimately does the "morally right" thing, I broke down in tears, quite rarely have I ever had so much respect and heartbreak over a person I never knew. This is a bravura performance that I cannot praise enough.The Passion of Joan of Arc is a miracle, and when given again the fact that it was made in the 1920s, this is even more astonishing. Please see this film and judge for yourself.Note: I am sorry I haven't written in a long time. College and work is murder and time must be put elsewhere quite a lot. But I intend to write more and this film helped me rekindle the flame that git me to doing this in the first place - Theflyace"

Maria Falconetti's performance was life altering. If perfection in acting is possible, Falconetti would be the pioneer of perfection. I saw this movie the other day at an international cinema, having no prior knowledge about the film, just the fact that I love foreign films. I must say, it is now my all-time favorite movie. Period! The movie will stay with you forever. I was not merely watching the trial of Joan of Arc, I was experiencing it. The lack of parallel lines and order in the set design adds to the surreal and nightmarish sensation of being falsely accused. However, Falconetti brings us back to reality from the surreal world with her movements and expressions of despair, hope, anguish, love, faith and devotion. All of which define the human experience. Seeing her on screen was like seeing myself, Falconetti's eyes were a window into humanity. I could feel what she felt, I could see what she saw, and I could understand what she understood. This emotional investment in the film had me in tears the entire time. Never have I experienced a movie like this. Along with the powerful performance by Maria Falconetti (which I could discuss for days) was the incredible music score. "Voices of Light" by Richard Einhorn was perfect at setting the mood and helping the audience become emotionally invested in the film. After watching the movie I immediately bought the soundtrack. If you let it, this movie can change your life, as it did mine.

Carl Dreyer's "The Passion of Joan of Arc" is a film that feels light years ahead of its time. Lean and mean, focusing its entire narrative on the interrogation of Joan that inevitably lead to her execution by burning at the stake, the film is kinetic in ways that most films even now aren't. Composed almost completely of tight close ups, Dreyer and crew cut rapidly between disconcerting, asymmetrical shots, giving the film a breathless, anxious, nearly frenzied pace.Maria Falconetti gives an almost unbelievably intense performance as the title heroine. Her performance, and the film in general, does get a bit monotonous -- it exists primarily of impassioned gazes into the middle distance, giant, tearing eyes opened wide, an expression of passionate, nearly demented religious fervor on her face. It's not a film that concerns itself with characters and plot, so we don't get to know Joan as a person. It's difficult to care for her particular plight and we instead feel compassion for her as one human being feeling compassion for another. For that reason, the film left me remembering its striking images and formal style more than any emotions I might have felt while watching it. But it's no less of a remarkable cinematic achievement for that.Grade: A