Joan of Arc (1999)
Ten years before her death, Joan hears voices. Six years later, from the village of Domremy, she begins her mission to unite France under King Charles. First she leads a defense of Vaucouleurs against the Burgundians, then obtains safe passage to Charles, the Dauphin. He uses her, as the embodiment of the mythical "Maid of Lorraine," to raise an army, and he sends her to the rescue of Orléans. After Charles is crowned, Joan leads a disastrous campaign in Paris, where her brother dies. Then she's the victim of Charles's manipulations: she's captured in Burgundy, sold to the English, examined by Bishop Cauchon, found a heretic by the Inquisition, and burned at the stake.
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I watched this just the other day, about 10 years since i first saw it, and have to admit its still a good watch.Sobieski was really a stand out for me, and considering how young she was when this was shot, she really did the role justice. I couldn't have seen anyone else playing this role with such maturity.I also liked the way this movie portrayed Joan, as the other film starring Milla Jovovich had her conveyed in a more schizophrenic manner. In this movie, Joan was shown to be a compassionate, intelligent, strong-willed young woman who was guided completely by her solid faith. It was really inspiring and a great insight into the life & struggles of one of the great saints.A good movie for the family, with an even better message behind it - truly captivating and faithful to the history.
We watched this movie and were completely enthralled in it from start to finish! As a way to draw people into history it is a remarkably fascinating movie! It's believable on its own without the story of Joan behind it to give it a dramatic edge. The actors were believable in their parts without the over the top acting that one so often sees in a medieval movie. This is something that I would watch again!I found the historical facts and the legend were all personified to a very believable extent, and the attention to detail in the wardrobe was good. It would have been easier to gloss over the gorier aspects of the legend here, but the ending scene paid full justice to what happened. There were a few discrepancies in the footage (seen as goofs) but honestly, until they were pointed out we never noticed them.
A lot of films have been made about this person, but none of them seems to be as powerful as this one. The reason is not only the fact that few films of such topics include such a great cast (most of the characters are played by great stars of cinema). It is, I think, the way that Mr Duguay portrayed Joan of Arc, really as she most probably was like: a young, sweet maiden who dared say the British: "I will lead my nation to victory through God's help!" She turns out to be a saint rather than, like in some other movies, a religious fanatic.The portrayal of Joan is created perfectly by a young, beautiful actress, with Polish ancestry, Leelee Sobieski. Throughout the movie, she beautifully stresses her innocence and gentleness going in pairs with the capability of leadership. In my opinion, no matter if Leelee will appear in other 50 films in her life career, this role will always be UNFORGETTABLE!Others who shine in their roles are, of course, Peter O'Toole as bishop Cauchon. On the one hand, he judges Joan and accuses her of pride and vanity; but on the other hand, fights for her "eternal soul". Maximilian Schell also gives a fine performance as a cruel and double faced representative of inquisition. But I particularly like Peter Strauss as La Hire, a commander of the French army. This role is typical for him: someone hesitating and doubting, but in the long run, opening his eyes and totally setting his heart on the values. "I stopped to believe in others and started to believe myself only. At Orleans, I stopped to believe myself, I started to believe in you," as he says once to Joan - REALLY POWERFUL!The mini series about Joan of Arc is a must in my film gallery. Without hesitation, I give it 9/10. GREAT STORY, WONDERFUL CAST, EXCELLENT MUSIC, MEMORABLE QUOTES, GREAT LOCATIONS (old castles in the Czech Republic)! This movie is really visually stunning. Do see it! Having seen once, you will feel a need to see this at least for the second time.
This is a very good movie and I think that this film is very realistic how it was back then. The actress who looks almost exactly like Helen Hunt Leelee Sobieski stars as the title name and she has a powerful performance. Powers Boothe, Jonathan Hyde, Peter O'Toole, Robert Loggia, Shirley MacLaine, Maximilian Schell, Neil Patrick Harris, and Peter Strauss all put on great performances. The music in the film is very good. I think everything looks very realistic and there maybe few battles but all are good. Back to her performance, Sobieski acts very convincingly as Joan. This is a very good film that is emotional, interesting, and exciting and really shouldn't be missed by any big movie fan or fans of Gladiator and The Lord of the Rings trilogy. I strongly recommend this title!