Film Details

Voted the ninth best movie of all time in a 2012 poll of international film critics and film curators conducted by Britain’s Sight & Sound magazine, this visually stunning re-creation of the trial and execution of the 15^th-century French freedom fighter who became a Catholic saint is a masterpiece of spiritual cinema. Based on the actual transcripts of Joan’s interrogation by the French clerical court (she was accused of heresy), this silent film is justly celebrated for its stark, stunning close-ups, and for Renée Falconetti’s sublime central portrayal (which film critic Pauline Kael said “may be the finest performance ever recorded on film”). The soundtrack for this new restoration is Richard Einhorn’s 1994 oratorio (inspired by the movie) “Voices of Light,” which features Anonymous 4 and has been performed live during special screenings. “One of the most staggeringly intense films ever made…Magisterial cinema…Almost unbearably moving.” –Time Out Film Guide. Cleveland revival premiere. DCP. 82 min.