Jeanne d'Arc - Die Frau des Jahrtausends Online

The story of Joan D'Arc has always interested me, because this was a girl who stood by her beliefs till the end, no matter what she was threatened with or who tried to make her doubt them. She had great conviction, and especially in the Middle Ages, where women's roles were passive, the fact that she was able to rise up, lead an army, and defend herself with extreme wit and cleverness from the onslaught of treachery before and during the famous trial, shows just how remarkable this young girl was (19 when she died).

This movie captures brilliantly the cleverness and strength of this brave heroine. Acting was in the most part very good, as one is gripped from the great opening sequence all the way to the end. While there are some unconvincing CGI effects (mainly of Joan's saints), the battle sequences are very believable to watch. One has to note, however, that the writers took quite a few liberties with the script. The viewer has to be careful to not take every event as fact. I won't go into detail, but please read about the history of Joan, as, even though this movie does a great job in showing Joan as a smart, God-loving person, some events in the movie did not happen historically, or else the writers changed them to suit their own goals.

In the end, however, the main point about Joan, is that she was able use her faith, head, and heart to thoroughly aggravate and embarrass those who would have her dead. In the end, she is still the victor. And the movie reflects this.

A lot of films have been made about this person, but none of them seems to be as powerful as this one. The reason is not only the fact that few films of such topics include such a great cast (most of the characters are played by great stars of cinema). It is, I think, the way that Mr Duguay portrayed Joan of Arc, really as she most probably was like: a young, sweet maiden who dared say the British: "I will lead my nation to victory through God's help!" She turns out to be a saint rather than, like in some other movies, a religious fanatic.

The portrayal of Joan is created perfectly by a young, beautiful actress, with Polish ancestry, Leelee Sobieski. Throughout the movie, she beautifully stresses her innocence and gentleness going in pairs with the capability of leadership. In my opinion, no matter if Leelee will appear in other 50 films in her life career, this role will always be UNFORGETTABLE!

Others who shine in their roles are, of course, Peter O'Toole as bishop Cauchon. On the one hand, he judges Joan and accuses her of pride and vanity; but on the other hand, fights for her "eternal soul". Maximilian Schell also gives a fine performance as a cruel and double faced representative of inquisition. But I particularly like Peter Strauss as La Hire, a commander of the French army. This role is typical for him: someone hesitating and doubting, but in the long run, opening his eyes and totally setting his heart on the values.

"I stopped to believe in others and started to believe myself only. At Orleans, I stopped to believe myself, I started to believe in you," as he says once to Joan - REALLY POWERFUL!

The mini series about Joan of Arc is a must in my film gallery. Without hesitation, I give it 9/10. GREAT STORY, WONDERFUL CAST, EXCELLENT MUSIC, MEMORABLE QUOTES, GREAT LOCATIONS (old castles in the Czech Republic)! This movie is really visually stunning. Do see it! Having seen once, you will feel a need to see this at least for the second time.

In a stroke of good fortune for those of us who like a good historical religious story, this film and "Messenger" both came out in 1999. They are both excellent, both relate the same story, but in quite different ways. Here, Joan is depicted in the more traditional manner, a young girl who is both humble and headstrong in her wanting to follow God's will, and help set France free of the English. As I did for "Messenger", I rate this one a strong "8" of 10.

I own the DVD, and it is a very nice one. No extras, but the picture and sound, in ProLogic, are both excellent. The movie was originally broadcast as a "mini-series", as I recall, but the DVD is one continuous presentation 3 hours and 5 minutes long. However, there are no wasted scenes here, and the entire story is captivating.

To add a great touch of realism, much of the filming was obviously done in unheated churches and castles. As a result you can see the breath of the characters in the cold as they speak. It probably was really like that during the 1400s. Also, the colors chosen for the costuming remind me of the colors in old masters' paintings. The deep rose, muted royal blue, the earth tones, all added to the realism.

Leelee Sobieski really became Joan for this role. Plus, all the other veteran actors were in top form. There isn't any flaw in the film version of the story of Joan of Arc.

Joan is perhaps the most female difficult role to cast. The actress must be attractive but not conventionally alluring; magnetic but not intellectual; a towering figure but physically slight. You must understand why people would die for her. Above all, the performer must convey an authentic sense of religious piety, a virtual impossibility for young actors today. Sandrine Bonnaire--a wonderful star in every other respect--tried her hand in the recent French version but was too sexy for the part.

As Joan, Sobieski juggles the disparate requirements astonishingly well. This is emphatically not the kind of movie in which the actress can merely show up and look decorative; you have to work at it, but as Sobieski revealed in Uprising, she has the capacity for challenging period roles. And that also means that in contrast to her female peers in the business, she has a long professional future.

Watch out for O'Toole in an astonishing performance as a Cardinal who gradually realizes that Joan is the real thing.

The culminating scene--no details provided, you must see it yourself--is curiously uplifting and properly theological rather than merely unpleasant.

The movie is set in ¨Hundred years' war¨ developed between 1337 and 1453 (downfall date of Constantinopla by Turks). The historical deeds are the followings : Henry V vanquishes Charles VI in Agincourt (1415) that was a major English victory against a numerically superior French army in the Hundred Years' War . The battle occurred on Friday , 25 October 1415 and Henry V takes over Normandy . Charles VI of France signs ¨Troyes treatise¨ in which Henry V is wedded to Charles's daughter . Later on , Henry VI of England proclaims himself king of France but then Joan of Arc , being nineteen years old , proclaims in Bourges to Charles VII as king , after being crowned in Reims . Joan of Arc acting as a divine mission defeats the English army in Orleans . But she's captured by the Borgoneses and is handed over the English authorities and they fire her for heretic and witch in Rouen .

Runtime movie is overlong , approx. three hours , but is neither boring , nor dull , but entertaining . The battle scenarios are very well designed , there are thousands of extras and the struggles are breathtaking . The ending trial in which she's condemned is very interesting and the sentence at the burning pole is overwhelming . Lelee Sobieski , who was only sixteen when shooting , gives a good interpretation , likeness to Neal Patrick Harris as Charles VII . Furthermore , Peter O'Toole as the cunning Bishop is excellent . The support cast is satisfying : Jacqueline Bisset (the mother) , Powers Boothe (the father) , Olimpia Dukakis (the nun) and Peter Strauss (the captain). The motion picture was well directed by Christian Duguay , an expert filmmaker of TV movies . The yarn will appeal to historic event buffs . Rating : 7/10 . Worth viewing the TV picture .

Joan of Arc is indeed my biggest hero of all time! Everything about her, beauty,brains and her remarkable courage. Leelee Sobieski is incredible in this film, she takes it all in total stride. The passion with which she portrays her role is..... I am at a loss for words! I admit it with pride, I cried like a baby. It's that good. The medieval fight scenes were well done, in many aspects too. Some of the special effects are somewhat unrealistic, but it gets the point across. Very well, actually. The other actors did their parts well. They definitely showed their love for her, as it does in the true story. If you want to see a true, fascinating story of faith then, see this movie!

Do great times call forth grand souls or do grand souls change great events or both? Joan's World - Historical Background. It was a time when the English crown controlled huge territories in France - and not by way of some invasion or occupation, but as the direct result of the fact the English King, Henry IV, (also Duke of Lancaster) and his son Henry V (both of Shakespeare fame)were descendants of the original French Duke of Normandy, William, who had conquered England in 1066 and thus the King of England continued to remain the feudal "owner" of Normandy, Brittainy and Acquitaine. This English King, Henry V would stake the biggest claim and actually force the King of France to appoint this same English King, his "lawful" successor to the French throne.

Combine this with the fact the the English had a willing French ally in the form of Charles, Duke of Burgundy who was a rival for the French crown. Its no surprise that the Burgundians were the bully boys of this era. They were allies of the English and thus their French-speaking local "enforcers." The English would control these areas for over 300 years. The "Hundred Years War" would be fought to maintain that English control.

So at the time of this story, the Dauphine of France, the weak French prince Charles was not yet the crowned King of France and controlled only a fraction of the country. Even he saw his chances for the crown as limited. Another Charles, the Duke of Burgundy, France, was far more powerful than the Dauphine and to offset his limited powers, Burgandy had allied themselves with the English.

It was into this was brutal world, that Joan of Arc was born. A savage time of "might makes right" and a nobility class-sanctioned brutalization of a citizen population caught in a titanic chess match as pawns between a class of nobles who, although they had taken ancient oaths sworn to guard the defenseless, nevertheless preyed on the very people they were sworn to defend.

There are parallels to many parts of the world where so-called "war lords" have re-imposed a modern-day feudalism of protectors and protected.

Joan was inspired, (and just by what/who, remains a hotly debated theological and psychological discussion to this day) to free France of English domination. Why? Catholics might argue that she was called to this by God in order to preserve France as a bastion of Catholicism against the invading "heresy" of the Protestant Revolution. Think how events might have turned out if England had conquered all of France and imposed Protestantism on France.

Historical Sequel to Joan of Arc.

Henry V would die in France of a fever and never assert this claim. With Joan's military successes as precedents, and the Duke of Burgandy eventually abandoning his English allies, Henry V's son, Henry VI, a weak-willed but pious monarch, would be VERY unsuccessful in asserting any of his father Henry V's claims even though another war, the "Thirty Years" war would be fought by Henry VI's dukes to try to take back lost regions. The English would eventually lose that war and surrender, city by city, castle by castle, the entire regions of Normandy and Aquitaine back to the French. Ultimately, the Ennglish would control only the port city of Calais before losing that last foothold on the Continent. A new war in England, a civil war between the houses and Dukes of York and Lancaster would be fought, in part, from the failures of the Lancastrian King, Henry VI to keep those hard-fought territories - "The War of the Roses."

Now why is the movie great? Because it faithfully captures the life of a illiterate and simple peasant girl, called by unseen forces to change the world around her in direct conflict with the brutality, the conflict, the religious zeal/fanaticism and the lust for power of he times into which Jean D'Arc was born into.

If you don't know much about either Joan or the times, you learn a great deal from this wonderful movie. Joan was on a "mission from God," at least to her way of thinking and the religious forces of her day in the form of the Church hierarchy were dumbfounded initially and enraged, eventually that some "mere girl" would dare to tell them anything about God's will for either herself, let alone her King and country.

The Maid of Orleans' life is a testament to one person, even a unschooled young girl's in an age of female political impotence to change events on a grand scale.

It's not often that television movies compete with big screen productions, but this one does.

Leelee Sobieski's performance is one of the best I've seen by a young actress. She really looked like someone who had seen a vision of divine power, and yet she also looked like a young girl, driven beyond her personal strength by the force of the visions. Many of the other performances were good also, but hers was so outstanding that the others paled next to hers.

The script writers took some creative license with the history. In some cases they did it for length and clarity, improving the storytelling at the expense of the history. In other cases, I didn't see how the story as written improved on the story as understood by history (although they didn't weaken the story either). But overall, the story was excellent storytelling and still good history. And since Leelee's performance was so spectacular, it was good that the script kept her on screen through most of the story.

The battle scenes show how medieval warfare was often more a matter of morale than casualties or tactics. They manage to capture the mood and chaos of battle, without the unnecessary gore that would make the movie inappropriate for children (or television). Most important, the battles feel like they're decided by the morale of the soldiers, and that those soldiers' morale depends on the presence of Joan.

This movie far outclasses almost all television movie-making. Even by the tougher standards of big screen movies, it's still an excellent movie. It makes me want to see more about the Joan of Arc story.

This is great stuff. Like everyone else, I loved Leelee as Joan. She is a very good young actor. The story is well done, much better than most big budget movies (that usually end up as just dreck aimed at idiots). The acting is good, the script is great, etc, etc--what I really loved about it was the period detail. Awesome. These guys have full plate armor that makes the guys in 'Excalibur' seem underdressed! Gotta love that. If only for the battle of Orleans, this movie is worth a look. Such intensity in a battle is so rarely matched, and they did it without overexcessive gore and blood, so I can let my kids watch it without flinching (too much). This is good, because a story like this, tragic as it is, is important for everyone to hear. Not only that, the story is TRUE. I'm sure some liberties were taken in this version, but it doesn't matter, the heart of the story is about idealism in the face of bitter cynicism. Joan brings hope and victory with her vision, and for her effort is betrayed and murdered in a gruesome fashion. But she never backed down, never withdrew her convictions, and never succumbed to doubt or self pity. We should all think about that--especially in today's world of sarcasm and scorn. I'm not very religious, but this story inspires me nonetheless. And...I love midieval battle scenes with plate armor and huge swords :)

I watched Joan of Arc on VHS and I really enjoyed it. I saw it on TV when it came out in 1999. This was a very well made motion picture and it is much better made than the movie theater films. Leelee Sobieski is a very talented young actress and played the part of Joan of Arc very well. I don't know a lot about French history, but I learned a lot by watching this movie. It was nice to watch a film without any profanities and sex scenes. It was also nice that they portrayed Joan as a woman of strong faith in God. The scenery and costumes were done very nicely. All of the actors and actresses did a wonderful job. It would be nice if they made more movies like this, of this quality.

I had to write a comment after reading the previous one. I found this to be a very refreshingly straightforward rendition of the Joan of Arc story that taught me, as one who only knows the story from movies, a great deal about the political and social realities at the time, including the hunger for real leadership and real spiritual authority. Not too different from our own times now.

Apparently a great deal of research was done, including a thorough reading of the transcripts of Joan's actual trial in the original French, to get both the setting and Joan's personality right. And I think it shows. It certainly held my interest, and nothing about its budget distracted me.

Plus they did not make her a complete victim - she knew enough to go willingly to the stake. And that's a courageous move on the part of the film's creators which adds that final necessary element of spiritual integrity. Enough so I willingly cried many times through it without feeling manipulated... these matters of soul and spirit felt real to me, and for a skeptical Scorpio like me that's high praise for work well done.

Overall, I enjoyed this movie. I thought it was well put together and well researched and definitely gave the viewer a flavour of the times in which it was set: 14th century France (although the movie was actually filmed in the Czech Republic.)

Leelee Sobieski put on a very convincing performance as Joan of Arc, the young girl who hears what she believes are divinely inspired voices calling her to unite the French people and lead them in rebellion against their English conquerors. To his credit, director Christian Duguay leaves the origins of the voices very much to the discretion of the viewer. They may or may not be real; Joan may or may not be imagining them. What's important (and historically accurate) is that Joan herself believed in the voices, and they inspired both her and the French nation. Powers Booth and Jacqueline Bisset were believable as Joan's understandably confused parents trying to decide whether their daughter is divinely called or simply rebellious (or possibly insane.) Peter O'Toole was well cast as Bishop Cauchon (and the religious divisions of the time, just before the open outbreak of the Protestant reformation, was well presented) and I was surprisingly impressed by Neil Patrick Harris as King Charles.

All that sounds good, and yet I can't find myself going higher than 6/10 on this. Somehow, in spite of the good performances and well put together story I found the movie inexplicably difficult to follow, and frankly much too long. An hour could have easily been cut out of it and not missed. To me, that's a major weakness. It doesn't destroy the movie. This is still a good movie worth watching. But for me, it just misses the point of moving from good to very good.

Early in the 15th Century, Burgundy and England fought for control of a divided France, while Charles, the dauphin and rightful heir to the throne, hadn't enough power nor the backing to make his ascendancy. But it had long been prophesied that a maid from Lorraine would rise up to unite France and make the country whole; and in 1429 that prophecy came to pass, when a young woman from the farming country in the north made her way to Charles and convinced him that she was on a mission from God. Her name was Joan D'Arc; and this is her story. `Joan of Arc,' directed by Christian Duguay, stars Leelee Sobieski as Joan, who-- seventeen-years-old at the time-- through Divine guidance managed to lead an army to victory after victory, and within months was instrumental in placing Charles upon the throne, as King of France.

When Joan was ten, she first heard the `voices' that would ultimately lead her to her destiny. It was the voice of her patron saint, Catherine; and by the age of seventeen, having been guided by others, including Saint Michael, she was in the court of Charles (Neil Patrick Harris). How she was able to do what she did still seems inexplicable; and yet it is a matter of recorded history that this maid, Joan D'Arc, did indeed lead the armies of France and helped unite the country. That she was betrayed by Charles and burned at the stake for heresy when she was nineteen is also well documented, as is the fact that seven years after her death France at last became a whole country, united-- as she had predicted. And Charles went on to reign for another thirty years.

Originally made for TV as a miniseries, this film nevertheless is as good, or actually even better, than many projects that find their way into theatrical release. Well written (by Michael Alexander Miller and Ronald Parker) and directed by Duguay, it presents Joan as a very real person, struggling herself to realize where she fits into the grand scheme of things. Duguay successfully avoids lapsing into any melodrama, and instead delivers a solid drama that is realistic and absorbing. But the real strength of the film is clearly Sobieski, who was herself seventeen when this movie was filmed.

Sobieski, with a maturity beyond her years, keeps Joan grounded with a portrayal that is not only credible, but which makes her extremely accessible to the audience; one with whom you can easily empathize. Her Joan is strong, yet vulnerable, and Sobieski's ability to capture the complexities of the character is what makes her so good, and makes her Joan so believable. There is an innocence about her that, along with her maturity conveys an attitude as well as attributes that the real Joan of Arc conceivably would have had. And Sobieski embodies it all with her engaging, powerful performance, which is arguably the best portrayal of Joan ever brought to the screen, and for which she deservedly received an Emmy nomination.

The supporting cast includes Jacqueline Bisset (Isabelle), Powers Boothe (Jacques D'Arc), Maury Chaykin (Sir Robert de Baudricourt), Olympia Dukakis (Mother Babette), Jonathan Hyde (Duke of Bedford), Robert Loggia (Father Monet), Shirley MacLaine (Madame de Beaurevoir), Peter O'Toole (Bishop Cauchon), Maximilian Schell (Brother John Le'Maitre), Peter Strauss (La Hire) and Chad Willett (Jean de Metz). A lavish and emotionally involving presentation of the life of this remarkable young woman driven by Divine providence to carry out a singular mission, `Joan of Arc' is an inspirational meditation on the many and varied manifestations of destiny, and those who in rare instances are motivated by forces clearly beyond the comprehension of mortal man. Riveting and extremely well presented, this is a memorable film that will promote a reflection on life, while providing a true sense of the eternal. I rate this one 9/10.

There are few movies that bring me to tears. Epic movies such as "The Mission" and "Braveheart" succeeded in that. However "Joan of Arc" surpassed them all. I taped the mini-series, and it is the only movie that has me sobbing EVERY SINGLE TIME I watch it. Coming from an actor, this is wonderfully written and beautifully acted by Peter O'Toole, Neil Patrick Harris (far from his Doogie Howser days!), Chad Willet, and, of course, Leelee Sobieski. She didn't play the Maid of Lorraine...she WAS the Maid of Lorraine. I give credit to the people behind the musical score, it fits the movie perfectly, and 12-year old Charlotte Church's vocals were just the thing for the battle scenes. This is one movie I will cherish always.

wow, this is a really great epic film. i loved the maker's attention to details. it was greatly acted as well. the amazing leelee sobieski did a PERFECT job as joan of arc. i loved it and could watch it over and over again. there are great shots and even better action scenes. leelee did a great job all around. it is a TV movie, too! it just blew me away. the story of the amazing joan of arc truly comes alive in this movie. it's a very inspirational film and its story couldn't have been told any better. the acting, the detail, the action, the backgrounds, the historic representation, even the extras are all excellent. sorry to sound redundant, but this is the best it can get. it is so touching and you will learn things about joan of arc you never knew. it teaches you and gives you so much to take in. GREAT FILM!!

Now, understand that Joan of Arc is one of my heroes, and I would not stand for a movie about her that was bad, but this one was excellent.

First of all Leelee Sobieski is a very talented young actress, and I cannot think of anyone to portray St. Joan better than her--especially since she was the first actress to portray her at the right age.

And though slight inaccuracies...*SPOILER BELOW!* (For example, Jean De Metz and Joan could not have been in love because Joan pledged her celibacy and virginity to God)

Peter O'Toole was excellent as were many of the other actors. If you want an entertaining and interesting and dramatic Joan of Arc story, then watch this.

You'll be blown away. This movie was in my mind for a long time after I finished it. It is very moving and beautiful. I think you'll like it.

Yes. It wouldn't happen today, that's for sure, but it really did happen once upon a time in France, some 580 years ago. A nation managed to unite against an occupying power, inspired and led by a girl who responded to the request of her mysterious "voices" to do something about it when she was about seventeen years of age. Growing up in Domremy in what was then Lorraine, this girl clearly ended up quite the tomboy, typically dressed in jerkin, doublet and hose, her hair cropped short, ready upon instruction from her voices to don armour and wield the sword if necessary to raise France like a phoenix from the ashes. The film doesn't show this, but in Domremy she was called "Jeanette," when she arrived in France she was called "Joan," and in the actual transcripts of her trial she states, "as for my surname, I know of none," unlike the title of this film which borrows the popular English version of the name by which she is known today.

The story of Joan makes for a daring plot, and were it not for the fact that the transcripts of Joan's trial still indeed exist today -- making her one of the best known persons in history -- and attest to the events described as being most certain in fact, we might otherwise think such a story line to be quite incredible, if not simply ridiculous.

So let's make no mistake about it: Leelee Sobieski had the nerve to play one of the most riveting characters in history, a risky role that many a great actor has already played with determined success. Yet, like the powerful personage she portrays, Ms. Sobieski achieves a major victory in the final scheme of things. Not that Peter O'Toole didn't turn in his usual stunning performance, or that Ms. Sobieski wasn't also well-supported by Neil Patrick Harris, Maury Chaykin, Maximilian Schell, Shirley MacLaine, Chad Willet, and all under the fine direction of Christian Duguay, but let's face it -- it really boils down to being pretty much a one-kid show.

For a change, Hollywood really did this one right. Joan was a teenager, Joan should obviously be played by a teenager, and Leelee Sobieski was clearly the right kid for the job. Ms. Sobieski captured Joan's many contradictions brilliantly. With Joan, pious spirituality took its place along with a frisky charm, a sense of things serious and urgent often relaxed to humor and a sharp wit, the relentless pain of arrows that pierced her body was surely dulled by her thriving desire to live and her unfailing commitment to lead France to its place in a free world that she herself would sadly never see. Leelee Sobieski wove all of these into the highly textured character of Joan, not leaving a single aspect untouched, even though Joan's personality could occasionally disturb those of us who are far less saintly. Ms. Sobieski captured the spirit of a teenaged girl who actually led France to war in the 15th Century, and managed to create a crystalline character that convincingly showed us how that just might happen.

This film borrows freely from history but, to its credit, it thankfully doesn't borrow much of anything from the many previous films about Joan. Leelee Sobieski goes beyond being the best "Joan" in film so far. She so superbly plays the role that one could rightly say that she is the only Joan so far. For this reason alone, don't miss this film.

We don't know much about what Joan looked like, as no portraits or detailed descriptions of her were made from anyone who actually saw her during her short life. We don't know if Leelee Sobieski physically resembles the historical Joan or not and, since it seems we'll never know, it also doesn't matter. Joan was in her teens at her finest hour, Leelee is a teenager, and that's close enough. Furthermore, there are so many interesting facts pertaining to Joan's life, her character, her family, her friends, her enemies, the logistics of the battles, and so forth and so on, that a film would need to go on for hours to even begin to capture most of it, so I think it's quite fair to forgive the film's several omissions. If viewers are inspired to know more about Joan (and after seeing this film they certainly should be), then I'd recommend perusing Regine Pernoud's book entitled, "Joan of Arc by Herself and Her Witnesses," (Scarborough House; Lanham, Maryland; 1994), still considered by many to be the best written work on the subject.

One final and perplexing thought: the mini-series "Joan of Arc" is but one of several films on this character that are being produced within the span of only a couple of years. It almost seems as though Joan (after several hundreds of years have gone by) has somehow caught our imagination as we approach the end of the millenium. Perhaps in our uncertain times when heros seem to be in short supply, we somehow hope that the spirit of a young teenage girl from 15th Century France will guide us and lead us to freedom as we enter upon a new age in history. At any rate, aside from mere coincidence, I just don't know quite how else to explain this phenomenon.

This is a riveting presentation of the life of St. Joan of Arc that will bring tears to the eye and a deep appreciation of the faith of this farm girl from Lorraine, France. From a lowly child that almost didn't get to live past her day of birth to the single-most significant solidifying force of a woefully divided France under a weak King Charles, this emotionally charged, suspenseful film will pull the viewer deeply into the difficult, driven life of this 19 year old heroine who was both executed for heresy and canonized as a saint by the Church. The film is blessed with an excellent cast, fantastic scenery, great directing, and very believable script. The characterization is very round, with Joan herself portrayed as a holy and tortured soul in love with her faith and her Church. This dichotomy of simple faith and torturous self-doubt makes this film so palpable as to render the viewer more as a cast member than as a movie watcher. Beautiful!

Leelee holds Joan of Arc together and makes this a vision of a miracle. Actually the director an writer probably did not plan it but her inspired performance changed the direction of this film. This was far better than the pathetic and dark Messenger. It starts out great but has too many doses of cynicism injected, something is always behind something. Perhaps people really just were led by this wonderful girl. It is at times apologetic and rationalizes Joan's finding of Charles in the crowd etc..

It also misses her fantastic statements at her trial. Also as in all previous Joan films, it fails to focus on the real reason she was tried and executed which was the fear of British rulers of her tremendous leadership of the French people. Joan was a military threat to the English powers. The religious leaders were unwilling or unable to stand up to the British rulers or military for Joan. Joan did unite the people of France and France became the nation that it is because of her. Indeed Joan was indeed a miracle of her era and the destiny that God gave her the opportunity for was indeed a miracle. Perhaps the best film about her is yet to be made.

When I first saw this DVD, it was at a popular home electronics store for the price of about $10 so I thought what the heck, I'll give it a try and I have to tell you, it was the best ten bucks that I've ever spent. Leelee Sobieski's performance as Joan of Arc just totally blew me away. Rarely have I seen such a powerful performance from one so young in years. Mark my words, this young woman is destined for some great things and you and I will be the beneficiaries. The performances of Peter O'Toole, Shirley MacLaine and Olympia Dukakis were very powerful also but, to me, it is Miss Sobieski who makes this film the stand-out that it is. Her performance almost had me in tears.

I should preface this with a disclaimer--Medieval History is my academic field, and therefore I tend to be something of a stick in the mud when it comes to authenticity. Then too, the mystery of Jeanne d'Arc has always been a special interest for me. Granted, I would not expect a production made primarily for entertainment to have had historicity first and foremost, and even so, this Joan of Arc isn't so tragically off the mark anyway. Still, the history is fictionalized enough for me to see this as Joan fantasy (no spoilers, but I will say that I doubt it was snowing at the end of May, 1431). But fantasy or not, this is good stuff. The acting is exquisite, particularly Leelee Sobieski in the title role and Neil Patrick Harris, who gave a spectacular performance as Charles VII. Sobieski really carries the production, however, with her combination of outer angelic sweetness masking a will and strength of iron. No, it's not straight history, and yes, it does get hokey at times. But it is quality--and it might even get viewers interested enough to look into the actual history of La Pucelle and her times. That's value enough.

It is easy to remark than the story of Joan of Arc has many adaptations. few - memorable. and this is the first good point of this serie - to look for have its voice. to say the story in a honest, simple and convincing manner. using the right tools. the cast, the fight scenes, the trial. great names, from Peter O Toole to Maximilian Schell. and a Joan who is so ...different.because it is fair to say than Lelee Sobieski does more than a decent job but a convincing one, giving force and right nuances to portrait of Joan. in same measure, Neal Patrick Harris is a nice surprise as Charles VII. so, an interesting film. for a reason out of definitions. because its basic, fundamental and useful virtue is the honesty to say a story , so familiar, in your style. and this adaptation does it.

I just finished watching this movie with my history class and we all enjoyed it. The acting was pretty good, but there were scenes when I felt that the young actress playing Joan could be doing so much better. She was okay and did a phenomenal job in some scenes but in others, she fell completely flat.

Neal Patrick Harris was amazing as the king, and to be perfectly honest, I never thought he had it in him. when I saw his name in the credits I was like, "Oh, boy," but he was really good.

Peter O'Toole was...well, he was Peter O'Toole. He was the real gem of the picture. Playing the role of the conflicted bishop, his performance was by far the strongest.

The movie is rather long but I think it is well worth the watch.

I watched this just the other day, about 10 years since i first saw it, and have to admit its still a good watch.

Sobieski was really a stand out for me, and considering how young she was when this was shot, she really did the role justice. I couldn't have seen anyone else playing this role with such maturity.

I also liked the way this movie portrayed Joan, as the other film starring Milla Jovovich had her conveyed in a more schizophrenic manner. In this movie, Joan was shown to be a compassionate, intelligent, strong-willed young woman who was guided completely by her solid faith. It was really inspiring and a great insight into the life & struggles of one of the great saints.

A good movie for the family, with an even better message behind it - truly captivating and faithful to the history.

I saw this movie in my history class, and it was great! It makes her an extreme role model that says that girls can do anything guys can, and sometimes in this case, much better. I still think it was sooooo unfair that this wonderful hero had to die in the end but it really makes you believe that she is the Maid of Larine! It really shows the pain that Joan had to go through, whether the information was real or not, this was still a wonderful historical movie. It is a great movie for kids to watch that are learning about her in class, and her story takes you to her time. The actress who played Joan was full of talent and you almost see her as Joan. If you are ready to witness the story of one of the best historical figures in history, this is the movie. I believe in the Maid.And she is Joan of Arc.