‘The Passion of Joan of Arc’: the silent masterpiece destroyed in a fire (twice)
Regarded as one of the finest films of the silent era, 1928’s The Passion of Joan of Arc by Carl Theodor Dreyer is a transcendent exploration of humanity’s relationship with the divine. Like its 15th-century protagonist, the film went through a trial of fire. After the original cut’s release in April 1928, the film was edited within an inch of its life before finally being destroyed. It’s remarkable it survives at all, really.
Recently included on our as part of our cinematic history France feature, The Passion of Joan of Arc traces the final hours of Joan’s life leading up to her execution. Danish director Carl Theodor Dreyer artfully captures the French martyr’s fear and profound connection with God through intimate close-ups of Renée Jeanne Falconetti’s expressive visage. It’s bold, stark and utterly immersive.
The film was an immense undertaking. Upon receiving a budget of seven million francs, Dreyer ordered the construction of an octagonal reconstruction of Rouen Castle, which was built as one massive interconnecting structure complete with towers on all four corners and concrete walls capable of supporting the weight of actors. That’s to say, nothing of what Dreyer asked of his actors.
The director demanded absolute realism, signing actors exclusively for the duration of the shoot. They were required to completely immerse themselves in their roles, keeping their hair cut so that it never appeared to have grown. Such demands made Dreyer the butt of numerous jokes. To the cast and crew, he was secretly known as “Gruyere”, owing to the many holes dotted around the set, which were used for low-angle shots. By the time he was done digging, the enormous set – the most elaborate ever made at that point- resembled a great slab of Swiss cheese.
Despite all the director’s hard work, many French citizens were unhappy with the idea of a Danish filmmaker seizing control of France’s most revered foundational figures. The film debuted at the Palads Teatret in Copenhagen before premiering in Paris on October 25th, 1928, at the Cinema Marivaux. The delay was due to the efforts of French nationalists, many of whom were offended by the fact that Dreyer was neither French nor Catholic. They were even more upset by the rumour that an American actress called Lillian Gish had been cast as Joan.
Under the orders of the Archbishop of Paris and government censors, the film received numerous cuts, over which Dreyer had no control. But this was only the beginning. Later that year, Dreyer’s only negative of The Passion of Joan of Arc was destroyed in a fire at UFA Studios in Berlin, leaving the director to stitch together a new version using alternate and unused takes. Sadly, this was also destroyed in another fire at the French studio where it was being kept.
Over the next forty years, several truncated versions of Joan resurfaced, including a 1933, 61-minute cut featuring an ill-fitting narration by radio star David Ross in place of the original title cards. Then, in 1951, another copy of Dreyer’s second version was unearthed in the Gaumont Studio vaults, to which Joseph-Marie Lo Duca made several additions, including a baroque score. For the next decade, this was the only copy available, much to the dismay of Dreyer.
Then, in 1981, something incredible happened. A janitor at the Dikemark Hospital mental institution was cleaning out a store cupboard when he came across three film canisters labelled The Passion of Joan of Arc. These were passed on to the Norwegian Film Institute, where they sat unopened for three years before finally being examined. Inside, they found Dreyer’s original 1928 cut, pre-government and religious censorship, fully intact.
To this day, nobody knows how the pristine print ended up in the hospital, but there’s something rather fitting about a film depicting the “madness” of Joan ending up in such a place.
You can watch The Passion of Joan of Arc below.
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