Passion of Joan of Arc

Dreyer's version of the life of France's Joan of Arc ignores all the battlefield dramatics and confines itself to showing Joan in her cell and at her trial, with only one exterior shot--that of Joan (stage actress Falconetti in her only film role) on her way to the stake. The script is drawn from the Latin text of the heresy trial itself and Dreyer uses numerous close-ups (the actors wore no makeup) to show the bewilderment, fear, and anger of the participants. Dreyer refused to have his film shown with musical accompaniment but the tape includes Richard Einhron's oratoria, "Voices of Light."