The Passion of Joan of Arc

What it is

This 1928 silent film, directed by Danish filmmaker Carl Theodor Dreyer and starring Renée Jeanne Falconetti as Joan, dramatizes Joan of Arc's trial and death. Dreyer researched the original trial transcripts for over a year and condensed many interrogations into the film's script. It was shot on a large set built to resemble the medieval Rouen prison.

Why it matters

The film is considered one of the most important works in cinema history, admired for its close-up cinematography and Falconetti's performance. Made shortly after Joan's canonization in 1920, it reflects renewed French interest in her as a national and religious icon, and shows how filmmakers can draw directly on primary legal records to recreate the past.

Look closer

• Why might a director choose to base a film's dialogue on real trial documents rather than invented dialogue?
• What effect might close-up shots and no make-up have had on how audiences saw Joan's suffering?
• Why was there controversy over a non-French director making a film about a French national icon?