Joan of Arc

Rating:
Summary: A great telling of the tale
Review: This movie tells the tale of Joan of Arc, aka "The Maid of Lorraine." The interesting part of this movie to me is not what happens while Joan is accepted by the people as their hero and military leader, but the events preceeding and following that. I think that the attention paid to political wheeling and dealing behind Joan's back, and the jealousy and pious attitude of the king's main advisor from the church move the story telling to a higher level -- this is not just an action adventure!

Joan realizes at a young age that she has a special connection with a matron saint who gives her inspiration and direction. With that direction Joan is able to ovecome social and political stigmas related to her gender and become a force in a France split by dissention and torn by war. She shows a steely determination to serve her king as she clears the way for him to be crowned king over a united France. She stands up to royalty and clergy alike as she moves toward that goal.

The acting is good, the story is believable, and the emotions protrayed ring true. In addition, the costumes and backgrounds for the movie are great.

Experience a fresh telling of this classic tale of faith and determination via this version of "Joan of Arc."

5 stars.

Rating:
Summary: The most noble adaption of Joan of ark .
Review: At times this movie is far superior then The Messenger.Lee Lee Solbeski does an incredible job as Joan haveing the courage and bravery.The 19 year old who saw visons from the sky that told her to seek out the doufer of France to invade English ground at Orleaon to gain the right to crown a new king to France.The battle scenes are just as impressive as The Messenger and incredible for a miniseries the most impressive battle scenes ever filmed period for a miniseries.

An imprssive all star cast bring this movie to life well acted and truly epic movie.And this DVD has enough it has a extended version from te video and many other features fans who liked The Messenger should pick this one up its an awsome movie.

Rating:
Summary: PRETTY LEELEE, BUT NOTHING ELSE
Review: I am really at a loss; this TV movie is certainly better than the horrible Besson's patchwork, but in general, it is not too good a spectacle. Although I liked LeeLee Sobieski, I liked her as a young pretty actress, but not as the medieval French heroine. I think it would be extremely difficult anyway to find a girl with an adequate charisma like Joan of Arc certainly had. LeeLee goes through the movie like a good, kind girl, but I would never believe that she would be able to lead an army. If I don't take into account some historical inaccurraties (Cauchon on the court of king Charles! ), I must remark that the movie suffers from too slow a pace - some scenes and dialogues are namely absolutely unnecessary and incomprehensible for me (a silly "military discussion" about hay in the tower La Tourelles, the visit on the sick man in Orleans etc.). On the whole, it doesn't rank among the best movies of Joan of Arc, but if you have survived Besson's Messenger, I am sure that this spectacle certanly won't kill you.

Rating:
Summary: Gloriously Riveting
Review: This film is truly a masterpiece. I am not a Joan of Arc expert, hence I can not give a correct criticism of historical accuracy, but the movie as a cinematic work was spectacular. The music was exalting and the effects of light were breathtaking. You could feel the serenity and joy that Joan felt in each apparition. The actress playing Joan did a brilliant performance capturing the bravura and boldness of Joan of Arc's character but also the many facets of piety, kindness, warmth and wit. That, in addition to the top-notch directing and the superb acting of all the other actors, made the movie a truly moving and touching work that imbues the soul with a sense of glory, humanity, virtue, and, above all, an utmost reverence to this truly admirable figure, Saint Joan of Arc.

Rating:
Summary: Magnificently Moving!
Review: This version of Joan of Arc is so much better than the "Messenger". It highlights on values, morals, things that feed the human spirit -- rather than revolving pretty uselessly about Joan's own beliefs. This movie is not promising, historically, since there are many loopholes in the script. The cuts in the film sequence could have been improved, but why sacrifice such a small detail when the movie as a whole was, truly, beautiful? How many films manage to move your heart the first time you watch it? I couldn't sleep after seeing it -- not because of the gory battle scenes, or revolting images (as was evident in "The Messenger), but because I was so thoroughly captured by the content of the film. If you don't end this movie with a thorn in your heart, and with a strange desire to do good things -- and to fill your life with as much passion as she did, then you must be crazy! Furthermore, Leelee Sobieski was perfectly cast as the young Maid of Lorraine. She was radiant! The other cast members support this radiance, and give the movie, as a whole, a very believable atmosphere -- as if you knew the characters yourself, understood their minds, and wished the same dreams as they. I can't remember when "wholesome" "powerful" and "entertaining" were last combined in one film attempt. This is it!

Rating:
Summary: Buy it for the music score if nothing else
Review: Most TV movies are terrible, but this one was an exception. However, it was far from perfect. The basic story was there, but it lacked some details, and it needed more gritty reality in the battle scenes. I really liked Leelee as Joan, and the directors certainly made her out to be more demure and confused than the Joan in "The Messenger." What really stood out for me though was Charlotte Church's voice as the backdrop for the dramatic scenes. She is a perfect fit for this story. I am a big fan of Joan of Arc, so any movie about her is a welcome event, and I like the fact that each one takes its own view of what Joan was really like. She is still a mystery and I think that is the way it should be.

Rating:
Summary: Joan of Arc (1999)
Review: If you loved Braveheart, don't even bother with this film. I love films from this historical period and can give them more attention than they deserve, but this film was awful. First of all, one major downfall is the TV Movie feeling you obtain by watching this. Every third scene cuts away as though it was going to a commercial, and the feeling is originated in the cheesy beginning credit graphics design and story introduction. The entire movie does not have the smooth transitional feeling one must have in a piece that covers so much time and I think the director would have been more the wiser to just leave the image of Joan of Arc's visions up to the audience rather than interpreting the image through special effects. And please do not cast Doogey Howser (Neil Patrick Harris) as a prince anymore. The poor guy has already been type-cast in my eyes. One positive note of the movie is the excellent acting by LeeLee Sobieski, who single-handedly gave a grand performance that kept me from popping the movie out. LeeLee Sobieski

Rating:
Summary: Historically Inaccurate
Review: Joan of Arc was French, and she did live in the 1400's. That's about as far as the accuracy of this film goes. As an avid student of Saint Joan, who has read approximately 30 books about her, this "made for TV" movie fails to capture her true personality, and fails on a number of historical facts. It also misrepresents, and even leaves out key characters in her life. The cute Leelee Sobieski did not quite convey the personality of the headstrong, but faithful saint. Among the most egregious violations of historical record are Joan denouncing her "voices" because Pierre Cauchon held her hand to a flame (in actuality, she was afraid of excommunication, and desired to attend Mass), and yelling out to the English commander, Glasdale, "I'll send you to hell" (which she would never had said). The film also portrays Pierre Cauchon as a good guy, while in actuality, he desired Joan's death for political reasons. Furthermore, Pierre Cauchon never knew Dauphin Charles, but the movie portrays Cauchon as part of Charles's court! Overall, this movie is a mass of historical inaccuracy, and only worth seeing if you want to see a cute, perky young actress playing Joan in a trendy role from a definitely modernized perspective.

Rating:
Summary: THEY CUT IT OUT!
Review: This is a fabulous movie. I bawled like a baby when I saw iton TV, then eagerly awaited the video release. So you can imagine myabsolute astonishment when I realized that they had cut out a ton of scenes. I mean, you can still understand the movie and everything, but it is not as good, nor as powerful as the original version... But still, it is a movie worth watching, and is actually accurate, a rare thing for movies these days. END

Rating:
Summary: "The Messenger" a better portrayal
Review: This TV mini-series makes a decent made for TV film. The performance from Sobieski and O'Toole are wonderful. Sobieski portrays Joan as a very heroic martyr. The visuals were good and the battles well choreographed. I'm still amazed no horses were hurt. I gave this a low rating because the writers were extremely loose with the accepted events in Joan's life. I could count about half a dozen events that history has no record of or even hint at that was included in this version. Although I have no problem with writers inventing a childhood for Joan, not much was known, or speculate about her motivations and thoughts, but putting in scenes during her last 2 years of fairly well documented life was too much for my sensibilities. Even the very well documented trial I thought was poorly done with more poetic license then I could accept. People have criticized "The Messenger" because it portrayed Joan more as a victim of her beliefs, this may or may not have been the case, at least it remained truer to the accepted facts. Overall, I feel that "The Messenger" with all it's drawbacks is a much better portrayal of Joan then this film with all it's speculations.