The Passion of Joan of Arc - Death Scene

WARNING:  THIS CLIP RECREATES THE DEATH OF JOAN of ARC.  IT IS NOT EASY TO WATCH.  PROCEED WITH CAUTION.

This clip, from The Passion of Joan of Arc (directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer and starring Maria Falconetti), recreates the final moments of Joan’s life - at the hands of English soldiers - and the crowd’s reaction to her death by burning at the stake.  (Experts believe she likely died of smoke inhalation.)

Voices of Light - an oratorio based on the film which Richard Einhorn composed in 1994 - plays in the background.

The film (believed lost to fire but found, in 1981, in a Norwegian hospital) was silent.  Although new sound technology was available to him, Carl Theodor Dreyer (the film maker) declined to use it because of its cost.

Credits

Clip from: The Passion of Joan of Arc.

Directed by:  Carl Theodor Dreyer (a Dane)

Writtren by: Joseph Delteil and Carl Theodor Dreyer

Starring:  Renée Jeanne Falconetti (a/k/a Maria Falconetti) as Jeanne d'Arc (Joan of Arc)

Released on April 21, 1928 in Denmark.

Filmed in Boulogne-Billancourt, Hauts-de-Seine, France.