--- title: "The Passion of Joan of Arc" year: 1928 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-passion-of-joan-of-arc" fi1m_score: 94 critics_score: 93 critics_reviews: 11 published: "2026-09-16T11:27:45.730769+00:00" updated: "2026-09-16T11:27:58.008237+00:00" region: "US" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) Directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer · 1h 21m · MPA NR · Drama, History **Fi1m score: 94** · Critics 93 from 11 reviews *In a sentence:* A silent film that makes us want to interrupt the questioning > Carl Theodor Dreyer makes a church trial painfully immediate, with Maria Falconetti giving us a woman whose faith does nothing to remove her fear. We recommend it without hesitation, though its close-ups can be exhausting. ## Synopsis In a church courtroom, Jeanne d’Arc (Maria Falconetti) faces Bishop Pierre Cauchon (Eugène Silvain) and Jean d’Estivet (André Berley) as she is questioned about her faith. Jean Massieu (Antonin Artaud) is also present at the proceedings. Jeanne d’Arc tries to hold to her convictions while her interrogators press her to account for them. The questioning unfolds in close-ups of her face and the faces of the men waiting for her answers. She has to defend herself before religious authorities who regard the beliefs sustaining her as grounds for suspicion. ## Review *The Passion of Joan of Arc* makes a church trial difficult to sit through without relying on a broad account of the history around it. Carl Theodor Dreyer concentrates on the questioning and on the woman required to endure it, until watching someone struggle to answer becomes distressing in itself. We recommend it even to those who usually find silent films remote. Its close scrutiny of fear and faith gives us little chance to retreat into admiring an old film. Maria Falconetti plays Jeanne d’Arc with a conviction that never makes her seem protected from the men examining her. Fear keeps breaking through, and the uncertainty in her expression gives us something to watch beyond a fixed image of religious devotion. The performance can seem painfully exposed, yet there is thought in it as well as distress. We can believe that she is trying to answer these men while also trying to understand what they want from her. Rudolph Maté’s cinematography brings us close enough to inspect skin, eyes and mouths, often with little surrounding space to distract us. The contrast between Jeanne d’Arc’s face and those of her interrogators makes their authority feel physically oppressive. We wanted the questioning to stop. Returning to Maria Falconetti’s frightened expression again and again makes another question feel like an intrusion, and we began to resent the scrutiny that was also holding our attention. The editing, credited to Marguerite Beaugé and Carl Theodor Dreyer, makes the courtroom hard to map. Faces follow faces without the reassuring sense of who sits where, so each new question seems able to come from anywhere. That uncertainty works because Jeanne d’Arc’s distress is always easy to read; we never have to wonder whose fear should concern us. The scene can feel crowded even when only one person occupies the screen. There is a cost to this concentration. Bishop Pierre Cauchon, played by Eugène Silvain, and Jean d’Estivet, played by André Berley, belong to a court whose collective severity can make the men seem too easily read. We are given so much reason to recoil from the interrogators that curiosity about them sometimes falls away. The trial remains oppressive, but we occasionally wanted a less emphatic distinction between the accused and her judges. Music is credited to Jesper Kyd, Ole Schmidt, Victor Alix and Léo Pouget, and accompaniment needs care with images this insistent. We prefer music that leaves room for the effort of watching a person think, rather than treating every expression as an invitation to swell. Maria Falconetti supplies enough anguish without that encouragement. At 81 minutes, the film already demands a sustained attention that can become exhausting. As a historical drama, it gives unusually little comfort to anyone hoping to stand back and take in the period. The fragmented courtroom keeps bringing us to the same immediate business: men question a woman, and she has to find the strength to answer. That narrow focus makes its occasional heaviness worth accepting. See it when there is nothing else demanding attention; a distracted viewing would make its repetitions harder and its changes easier to miss. *Fi1m score 94, published 16 September 2026.* ## What the critics say The reviews are unanimously positive, with praise centred on Falconetti’s performance and Dreyer’s concentration on the human face. Most critics describe the close-ups as the source of the film’s emotional force, making Joan’s fear, pain and religious conviction palpable without relying on historical spectacle. The editing and fragmented space also draw repeated praise: critics find that the trial’s claustrophobia keeps attention on Joan’s suffering and her confrontation with her interrogators. There is little disagreement across these eleven reviews, and the spread of assessments is narrow. The Guardian offers the clearest reservation, finding the organ accompaniment used for a particular reissue bland, rather than identifying a weakness in the film itself. Elsewhere, differences are chiefly matters of emphasis: some critics stress spiritual anguish, others the physical directness of Falconetti’s acting or the close-ups and montage, but none offers a mixed or negative assessment. ### Reviews we read (11) - **RogerEbert.com**, Roger Ebert (4/4): The critic hails Dreyer's film as a transcendent masterpiece centered on Falconetti's unparalleled performance as Joan, captured through intense close-ups that convey spiritual suffering and conviction. He praises the director's radical use of fragmented space and editing to focus solely on the human and emotional core of the trial. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-the-passion-of-joan-of-arc-1928) - **Empire**, David Parkinson (95/100, inferred): The critic calls the film a deeply moving masterpiece whose power comes from Dreyer's intense focus on Falconetti's performance and innovative close-ups and editing during the trial scenes. It remains one of the most inspired and purely cinematic films ever made. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/passion-joan-arc-review/) - **Time Out**, TR (95/100, inferred): Dreyer's most universally acclaimed masterpiece remains one of the most staggeringly intense films ever made. It deals only with the final stages of Joan's trial and her execution, and is composed almost exclusively of close-ups, especially Falconetti's face which evinces physical anguish and spiritual exaltation palpably. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/la-passion-de-jeanne-darc) - **Los Angeles Times**, Susan King (90/100, inferred): The critic describes the film as one of the greatest ever made, a riveting tragic retelling based on Joan's trial transcripts, with unforgettable close-ups and Falconetti's performance cited by some as the greatest in film history. She notes the masterful photography by Rudolph Mate and the film's restoration history. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-oct-28-ca-26975-story.html) - **Slant Magazine**, Eric Henderson (90/100, inferred): The critic deems it a hermetically sealed masterpiece that distills Joan’s trial and execution into 80 minutes of sustained sensation via close-ups and balanced montage, singling out Maria Falconetti’s raw, pore-exuding performance as the essential element that conveys panic, pain, and empathy. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/the-passion-of-joan-of-arc/) - **The AV Club**, Keith Phipps (90/100, inferred): The critic calls the film an indisputable masterpiece of the silent era whose original negative was nearly lost, praising its claustrophobic intensity through extreme close-ups of the trial and Maria Falconetti’s expressive performance as Joan facing church authorities. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/the-passion-of-joan-of-arc-dvd-1798195528) - **The Guardian**, Peter Bradshaw (90/100, inferred): The critic calls the film a stunning, uncompromising silent masterpiece whose power scorches the screen through painterly close-ups, especially of Falconetti's agonised, Christ-like face. It transcends early cinema technically and spiritually, though the re-issue's bland organ score is a minor flaw. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2003/jul/18/artsfeatures3) - **The New York Times**, J. Hoberman (90/100, inferred): The critic calls the restored film a transcendent masterpiece of silent cinema, highlighting its innovative close-up style and Falconetti's intense, unparalleled performance as Joan confronting her inquisitors. He notes the film's basis in trial transcripts and its focus on spiritual anguish over historical spectacle. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/22/movies/the-passion-of-joan-of-arc-new-digital-restoration-film-forum.html) - **The Skinny**, Keir Roper-Caldbeck (★★★★★): The critic calls the film a revelation and a demonstration of silent cinema at its peak, far from typical melodrama. They highlight the intense close-ups contrasting Joan's features with those of her interrogators and praise Falconetti's extraordinary performance capturing her faith and fear. [Read](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/dvd-reviews/the-passion-of-joan-of-arc) - **Collider**, James Napoli (90/100, inferred): The critic praises the film's intense close-ups and Falconetti's iconic performance, highlighting how it immerses the viewer in Joan's trial and emotional struggle. He notes its transcendent montage of the execution and its enduring power as a depiction of spiritual integrity. [Read](https://collider.com/james-napolis-rental-of-the-week-this-week-the-passion-of-joan-of-arc-1928/) - **/Film**, Joshua Meyer (90/100, inferred): The critic praises the film's enduring power as a silent classic based on Joan's trial records, highlighting Renée Falconetti's monumental, human performance and the innovative close-ups that capture emotional intensity. They note its influence on later cinema and timeless relevance. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/869889/the-daily-stream-the-passion-of-joan-of-arc-is-potent-as-ever/) ## Details - **Director:** Carl Theodor Dreyer - **Director:** Carl Theodor Dreyer - **Screenplay:** Carl Theodor Dreyer - **Writer:** Joseph Delteil - **Cinematography:** Rudolph Maté - **Editor:** Carl Theodor Dreyer, Marguerite Beaugé - **Music:** Jesper Kyd, Ole Schmidt, Victor Alix, Léo Pouget - **Costume design:** Valentine Hugo - **Cast:** Maria Falconetti as Jeanne d'Arc; Eugène Silvain as Bishop Pierre Cauchon; André Berley as Jean d'Estivet; Maurice Schutz as Nicolas Loyseleur; Antonin Artaud as Jean Massieu; Michel Simon as Jean Lemaître; Jean d'Yd as Guillaume Evrard; Louis Ravet as Jean Beaupère - **Runtime:** 1h 21m - **Certificate (MPA):** NR - **Release (the US):** 28 March 1929 - **Genres:** Drama, History - **Box office:** $18,121 - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iz3XmfNzrNs ## Where to watch in the US - HBO Max: streaming, leaving 2026-09-30 - Tubi: free, hd - The Roku Channel: free, hd - Amazon Prime Video: add-on - The Roku Channel: add-on, hd - Amazon Prime Video: rent $3.99, hd - Amazon Prime Video: buy $14.99, hd *Checked 2026-09-16.* Also available in: AT, AU, BE, BR, CA, DK, ES, FI, FR, GB, MX, NO, NZ, SE, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## If you liked this - *The Trial of Joan of Arc* (1962): Another trial, with restrained performances that make each question feel dangerous. - *Ordet* (1955), Fi1m 86: Faith tested within a family, with patience replacing the courtroom’s concentrated pressure. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/ordet.md) - *The Ascent* (1977): Spiritual conviction under interrogation, with faces that make the moral choices hurt. - *Close-Up* (1990), Fi1m 92: Another courtroom asks us to inspect faces before deciding whom to believe. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/close-up.md) - *Saint Omer* (2022): Patient attention to a woman on trial makes the act of watching uncomfortable. --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/the-passion-of-joan-of-arc