Review of Joan Of Arc

Introduction

Joan of Arc is one of many historical characters that we learn about at school - but fail to learn much more about after we have left. My recent experiences of Joan have comes courtesy of Microsoft`s Age of Empires 2/Age of Conquerors!

I had heard about the latest film version of her short life but didn`t know a great deal about it - so when I spotted it on the new release shelf last week I decided to give it a chance - Luc Besson directed two of my favourite films, Leon/The Professional and The Fifth Element and the cast is strong.

In simple terms the young Joan has visions from god and after seeing her sister raped and murdered by English Soldiers, these visions lead her to believe that it is her duty to stand up for France and fight back. Eventually she commands armies to historic victories but is then betrayed by the King she helped to crown.

Video

Video comes in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen and is of an excellent standard throughout the film.

The director uses the beautiful scenery to very good effect and the composition of the photography makes the film very pleasing to the eye. The locations used - such as castles, villages etc are all very well re-created and look authentic.

Being set back in the 1400`s - there`s little need for special effects - battles consist of swords, battering rams, catapults etc and the battles have some blood and guts but are nowhere near as brutal as those in Braveheart.

Audio

The sound comes in Dolby Digital 5.1 and like the video is of a very high standard.

The Eric Serra score is excellent and is entirely in keeping with the time and mood of the film. All channels are used to good effect and provide good atmosphere when required.

The battles all sound great with plenty of action around the soundstage and good use of the subwoofer to reinforce the effects. Despite plenty going on, the dialog is always easy to hear and understand.

Features

Extras on offer include the theatrical trailer, a teaser trailer, an HBO "Making-of", isolated score and talent profiles.

The making-of is takes the usual format of extended clips from the film with a voice over from "voice over man" (who is this bloke???) and additional narration by Milla Jovovich. There are also interviews with several cast and crew members. It runs for about 22 minutes and is fairly interesting.

My copy also came with an extra DVD full of trailers inside the packaging.

Conclusion

Joan of Arc is very well made and well acted, but perhaps some of the cast choices were flawed. Milla Jovovich is excellent as Joan, but John Malkovich`s character seems weak and Dustin Hoffman was too like, er, Dustin Hoffman. These two roles would have perhaps been better with unknown actors in them. In addition, Faye Dunnaway`s costume/headgear makes her look like a ghoul and is very unflattering. Also, during one of the battles with the English, there`s an Englishman standing on the castle ramparts shouting abuse at the French and he is played by a Scot with a VERY broad Scots accent - sounds great but perhaps someone from Essex would have been more appropriate than a Glaswegian!

The film runs for 151 minutes and holds interest quite well, but drags slightly towards the end and could perhaps have been edited down by say 15 minutes.

However, despite reservations about the cast and running time, the film was still enjoyable and entertaining. Content aside, the DVD has very good sound and video and a reasonable "making-of" featurette thrown in. Joan of Arc is not as good as Braveheart, but then again, not many films are - however it is a worthy addition to my collection.