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DVD Joan of Arc
The lavish 1948 production of Joan of Arc may not qualify as a great movie, but it scores a triumphant victory as a great DVD. Thanks to a stunning restoration by the renowned UCLA Film and Television Archive, this relic from Hollywood's golden age can now be appreciated in all its magnificent Technicolor glory, restored to its original theatrical length of 145 minutes after decades of truncated TV broadcasts. Under the direction of Victor Fleming (whose credits include Gone with the Wind and The Wizard of Oz), this is a stodgily respectable mini-epic, adapted from Maxwell Anderson's acclaimed play Joan of Lorraine and giving 33-year-old Ingrid Bergman one of her quirkiest star turns as the 19-year-old "Maid of Lorraine," destined by divinely inspired fate to rescue imperiled France from British occupation, and face trial on charges of witchcraft. Winner of three Oscars (for cinematography and costumes, and an honorary award to Producer Walter Wanger for boosting Hollywood's "moral stature") and five nominations (including acting nods for Bergman and José Ferrer, making his screen debut as the French Dauphin), the film suffers from an abundance of talky exposition and stage-bound incident, but the battle scenes are still rousing, Bergman glowing beatifically in polished armor and surrounded by a seasoned cast of studio-era character players in a rampant case of Hollywood anachronism (somehow, Ward Bond just doesn't belong in medieval France!). If you get bored during the slow parts, you can always marvel at the pristine restoration, full of heavenly sunbeams, masterful matte paintings, and enough colorful detail to make most 1948-vintage films pale by comparison. Frame by gorgeous frame, martyrdom never had a classier showcase. --Jeff Shannon
I've been wanting this movie on DVD for awhile. Received movie in a timely manner.
A Restored Classic--Bergman At Her Greatest
I remember seeing this film on TV during the 60s and 70s and could not understand why the story line was disjointed. Now I know why. After Ingrid Bergman scandalized herself during post-World War II America, audiences boycotted this film in droves. Finally, after all these years, this film has been restored to its former glory. It is a must-see for those of us who fell for this lady's beauty and dignity. This film has all the greatness and sweep of Gone With The Wind. Bergman's performance will bring tears to your eyes. She is surrounded by a great cast with Victor Fleming in his directorial farewell. Filmed in superb, old-fashioned Technicolor.
Sanitised version of Joan's story
They have a way in this movie of making 15th century Europe look a lot less bloody, sexist, lusting, and filthy than it really was. Nonetheless, already having known a lot of the real Joan's life I found this film to be reasonably accurate and it goes down seriously but still easily enough. Recommended!
Carol Reed (The Third Man) directed this 1965 portrait of the relationship between Michelangelo (Charlton Heston) and Pope Julius II (Rex Harrison), who commissioned the artist to paint the Sistine Chapel ceiling. Based on a novel by Irving Stone, the script plods along, juggling the dynamics between the two men along with a somewhat perfunctory love story and distracting battle sequences. Reed seems more attuned to the nuances and great pains of the artistic process, as seen in sequences of Michelangelo working. But the overall focus of the film is unfortunately fuzzy. --Tom KeoghMore Info about this DVD Actor(s): Charlton Heston - Rex Harrison Director(s): Carol Reed DVD Release Date: Released the 22 February 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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A strong cast, impressive production values, and astute direction distinguish this generally successful dramatization of the tumultuous life of the 15th-century French heroine whose military victories were eclipsed by her martyrdom. At the heart of the story is the conflict between the teenager's simple but fierce faith and the more complex political and theological issues that influence her downfall, a theme fleshed out through the portrayals of the young warrior's liege, the Dauphin (later King) Charles, and the Bishop Cauchon.
The 140-minute feature follows Joan D'Arc's odyssey from peasant obscurity to notoriety as the "Maid of Orleans," spiritual fulcrum for the beleaguered French forces struggling to halt English invaders. As played by Leelee Sobieski (Eyes Wide Shut),... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Christian Duguay DVD Release Date: Released the 20 February 2001 Usually ships in 24 hours
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This silky smooth film noir pits gruff police detective Dana Andrews, stiff and blunt in his street-bred manners, against a cultured columnist and acidic wit (Clifton Webb at his prissiest) in a battle of wits during a murder investigation. The cop is a romantic hiding under a hard-boiled exterior who falls in love with the beautiful victim through the portrait that hangs in her apartment. Gene Tierney, whose heart-shaped face mixes the exotic with the girl next door, brings the poise and calm of a model to her role as the object of every man's gaze and the target of a killer. Laura, handsomely shot in dreamy black and white, is the first and best of Otto Preminger's cool, controlled murder mysteries. In the gritty world of film noir it remains the most refined and elegant example... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Gene Tierney - Dana Andrews Director(s): Rouben Mamoulian - Otto Preminger DVD Release Date: Released the 15 March 2005 Usually ships in 24 hours
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1999 may be remembered as the year of Joan of Arc: NBC created a miniseries in her honor, Carl Dreyer's long-lost The Passion of Joan of Arc was discovered in a mental hospital, and Facets re-released Jacques Rivette's Joan the Maid. Luc Besson rounds out the corpus with his stylistic and vaguely heretical grand-scale feature, The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc.
Besson (La Femme Nikita, The Fifth Element) challenges established notions about the Maid of Orleans as he creates a decidedly more human heroine than have previous biopics. The story line is the same--a young, illiterate peasant girl convinces the dauphin of France to give her an army, and she leads them to victory in Orleans, only to be burned at the stake for heresy--but Milla... More Info about this DVD Actor(s): Milla Jovovich - John Malkovich Director(s): Luc Besson DVD Release Date: Released the 30 October 2001 Usually ships in 24 hours
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