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Joan of Arc (1900) FULL VIDEO

 






Joan of Arc (1900)
Original Title: Jeanne d'Arc
Director: Georges Méliès
Story: Based on the historical life of Joan of Arc


Cast: Jeanne Calvière, Georges Méliès, Jehanne d'Alcy



Release Date: November 1900
Country of Origin: France



In the village of Domrémy, young Joan receives a divine mandate from Saint Michael and other saints to liberate France from English occupation. Despite the pleas of her parents, she embarks on a mission that leads her to the governor of Vaucouleurs, the courts of the Dauphin, and the triumph at Orléans. Her journey concludes with the coronation of Charles VII, her eventual capture at the Siege of Compiègne, a tragic trial for heresy, and a martyrdom at the stake in Rouen, followed by a final spiritual ascension to heaven.

Georges Méliès’s Joan of Arc is a seminal work of historical drama and fantasy that expanded the scope of early narrative cinema. While many of his films focused on short-form trickery, Joan of Arc served as a grand historical pageant. Spanning approximately ten minutes—a significant length for the era—it utilized multiple tableaux to transform the screen into a living storybook. The film is particularly noted for its sophisticated hand-tinted coloring and its ambitious attempt to compress a complex historical biography into a cohesive, theatrical structure.


Cast and Crew Details

  • Jeanne Calvière as Joan of Arc. A stablewoman from the Cirque d'Hiver, Calvière’s performance was so well-received that she became a recurring member of Méliès's core acting troupe.

  • Georges Méliès in seven distinct roles: He performed as Joan's father (Jacques d'Arc), her uncle, Robert de Baudricourt, a beggar, a soldier, a jailer, and the wood carrier who prepares the stake.

  • Jeanne d'Alcy as Joan’s mother, a lady at Vaucouleurs, and a lady at Orléans. A preeminent stage actress and Méliès's second wife, she was instrumental in the production and management of the Star Film Company.



Pioneering Achievements & Historical Context

  • Expansion of Narrative Scale: Unlike his earlier trick films, this project moved toward the "biopic" genre. It was one of Méliès’s first films to exceed 200 meters in length, demonstrating that audiences were ready for longer, more involved storytelling.

  • The Tableaux Technique: The film consists of roughly twelve distinct scenes. By linking these scenes through direct narrative progression rather than isolated tricks, Méliès bridged the gap between stage theater and cinematic storytelling.

  • Artistic Preservation: Long considered a lost film, a hand-colored copy was rediscovered in 1982. This print allows modern viewers to see the vibrant aesthetic that characterized Méliès's premium releases, where each frame was meticulously painted by a dedicated workshop of women in Paris.

  • Technical Artistry: The final scene, depicting Joan's ascension to heaven via a hidden trapdoor and surrounded by angels, remains one of the most iconic "special effects" sequences of the silent era.

Interesting Facts & Trivia

  • The "Burning" Effect: Méliès simulated the execution by creating a large column of orange-tinted smoke that obscured the actress. This visual artifice, combined with the reactions of the surrounding extras, effectively conveyed the tragedy without requiring modern gore.

  • Historical "First": It is widely cited as the first film ever made about the French national heroine, Joan of Arc.

  • Production Volume: The film was released as numbers 264–275 in the Star Film catalogue, reflecting its status as a major multi-part production rather than a simple short.

  • The "Double Life": The film demonstrates Méliès’s transition from a pure magician to a director who utilized the same fantasy techniques (like the superimposition of ghosts/saints) to provide a "mystical" quality to historical storytelling.



References




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