Year: 1899
Director: Georges Melies
Country: France
Language: N/A
The silent era, which started in 1878 and ended in 1927, was a 40+ year period of artistic growth in regards to technological and artistic advancements. In 1899 film was still in its infancy; looking more like live theater. The actors in Jeanne d’Arc appear to us as they would have on-stage: small, with out-sized gestures and elaborate costumes to confirm their roles and actions.
In the village of Domrémy, the young Joan is visited by Saint Michael, Saint Catherine, and Saint Margaret, who exhort her to fight for her country. She is captured by the enemy and burned at the stake.
The effect of the actors' exaggerated pantomime can be seen as quite goofy to 21st Century audiences. In addition the lack of plot can be seen as a bit awkward, because we are not used to how films used to be. Pioneer special effect filmmaker Georges Meilies doesn't structure Jeanne d'Arc like a typical movie; rather he cherry-picks key scenes from the Joan of Arc legend and presents each as a standalone piece.
The result is fun film that, while not exactly 100% faithful to the original story, would have blown 1899 audiences away with its special effects, costuming and set design. The running time, a solid 10 minutes, was also fairly unique for the time. Believe it or not, Jeanne d'Arc was actually considered a long movie once upon a time.
Though its steeped in theatre, Melies manages to give his audience an experience that they couldn't find live. There are quite a few close-ups and camera angles that are at a proximity no stage show could ever reproduce. Jeanne d'Arc was and remains quite a treat.
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