Product Details

• Actors: Ingrid Bergman, Francis L. Sullivan, J. Carrol Naish, Ward Bond, Shepperd Strudwick
• Format: Black & White, NTSC
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Uav Corporation
• VHS Release Date: January 1, 2002
• Run Time: 100 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6302676827
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #178,151 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

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

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Miraculous Restoration of a Classic Film!!!, September 30, 2004

By 

Christian Lehrer "Christian Lehrer" (Bay Point, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Joan of Arc (DVD)

For my birthday I received the new DVD of Victor Fleming's 1948 Technicolor production of "Joan of Arc" starring the ever radiant Ingrid Bergman. Image produced the DVD and the UCLA film archive spent years restoring the film and putting in all the footage trimmed from its original 146 minute release. Many of us saw a shortened and doctored print of this film on television growing up. I did not know than that the film had not only been cut down, but additional footage, including the maps showing Joan's journey had actually been added along the way. This edited version was released on VHS by Sterling Video and on Laserdisc by VidAmerica. Both editions have been unavailable for some time. I managed to rent the Laserdisc after reading another review that said it featured the "shorter version". It corresponded to what I remembered watching on TV so it dawned on me that I had never seen the entire film. I assumed the rest was probably lost and I never would, but thanks to the painstaking efforts of the UCLA film archive with help from the Motion Picture Academy, private collecters and even (according to the insert) a film museum in the Netherlands, we have the complete film magnificently restored. Ingrid Bergman turns in a wonderful perfomance along with Jose Ferrer, Cecil Kellaway and host of other well known faces from that time. George Zucco even has a small part as captain of a border guard and for once does not play a heavy. Ingrid Bergman caught some flak at the time for playing against type herself as her own personal life came under scrutiny. Despite this she was nominated for a Best Actress Academy Award. The film won three Oscars including a special award to producer Walter Wanger, Cinematography and Costume Design. It was also nominated for Supporting Actor-Jose Ferrer, Art Direction, Film Editing and Score. Thanks to Image entertainment for bringing yet another classic gem to DVD! Make some popcorn and enjoy the show. Thanks!

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I AM a teenager who loves classics, and this is MY FAVORITE!, June 26, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Joan of Arc [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I enjoy good movies by good actors. It is somewhat of a hobby. I was a little boy the last time I saw this movie, and I would do just about anything to see it again!!! Ingrid Bergeman made a SPECTACULAR performance in this EPIC ADVENTURE that people of all ages should see. If you are interested in the type of acting and performing that is superior to "modern Hollywood," then you need to see Ingrid at her best! I would put in a plea to the producers to re-release this film to a deserving audience!

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful Epic, Finally Available at Last!!!, May 30, 2004

By 

Stephen Lovell (Arlington, VA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Joan of Arc (DVD)

First of all, let me begin by saying this is not "A" Joan of Arc movie, this is "THE" Joan of Arc movie--unexcelled and unsurpassed by any movie made before it or since. Millions of dollars and painstaking attention to detail were invested in this grand epic to ensure that it was truthful and true-to-life down to the minutest detail. The events, clothes, and portrayals were all garnered from the the current records and historians of the day (for example, we have the entire transcript of Joan's trial). Ingrid Bergman dutifully and extensively studied St. Joan in an attempt to accurately capture her mulit-dimentional personality--unlike modern portrayals which are either inconsistent with the historical records (showing Joan to be crazy) or flat, wooden, one-dimensional portrayals.
Fans of this movie will shudder to know that the studio almost destroyed this great film by butchering it to death. It was a misguided attempt to get more people to come to the theater to see it. There was nothing wrong with the film in it's original incarnation. It simply was released at a time when Ingrid Bergman was unpopular in the American press due to things in her personal life. The studio's cutting and re-editing of this film almost caused us to lose it in its original form for all time. Prints had to be brought in from overseas to restore it.
I know I've been waiting for years for this great classic to be restored and re-released and I'm finally glad it has been.