DramaHistory

The Trial of Joan of Arc

Rouen, Normandy, 1431, during the Hundred Years' War. After being captured by French soldiers from an opposing faction, Joan of Arc, the Maid of Orléans, is unjustly tried by an ecclesiastical court overseen by her English enemies.

Release Date : 1963-02-13

Language :EnglishFrench

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : Agnès Delahaie Productions

Production Country : France

Alternative Titles :

Cast

Character Name : Jeanne d'Arc

Original Name : Florence Delay

Gender : Female

Character Name : Bishop Cauchon

Original Name : Jean-Claude Fourneau

Gender : Male

Character Name : Jean Beaupere

Original Name : Roger Honorat

Gender : Male

Character Name : Jean Lemaitre

Original Name : Marc Jacquier

Gender : Male

Character Name : Jean de Châtillon

Original Name : Jean Gillibert

Gender : Male

Character Name : Isambert de la Pierre

Original Name : Michel Herubel

Gender : Male

Character Name : D'Estivet

Original Name : André Régnier

Gender : Male

Character Name : Jean Massieu

Original Name : Arthur Le Bau

Gender : Male

Character Name : Nicolas de Houppeville

Original Name : Marcel Darbaud

Gender : Male

Character Name : Martin Ladvenu

Original Name : Philippe Dreux

Gender : Male

Character Name : Guillaume Erard

Original Name : Paul-Robert Mimet

Gender : Male

Character Name : Jean-Lohier

Original Name : Gérard Zingg

Gender : Male

Reviews

CinemaSerf

@Geronimo1967

2022-11-10

There is something especially evocative about the way in which this quite short film has been put together by Robert Bresson and Léonce-Henri Burel. In just over an hour, it offers us a startlingly bleak interpretation of the last weeks of Joan of Arc's life, imprisoned, manipulated and subjected to immense amounts of intellectual cruelty by a church and a state that was determined that she should burn - regardless of any guilt or innocence. Florence Delay is very effective in the tital role - probably the best characterisation of this woman I have ever seen. Jean-Claude Fourneau is also at the top of his game as the prosecuting bishop "Cauchon" offering us a vision of a man as devoid of any Christian kindness as it is possible to imagine. Given everyone knows what did happen to this tortured soul, Bresson still manages to elicit a considerable degree of optimism: might things end differently this time? The dialogue is bland. Not in any dull sense, but in a matter-of-fact, non-florid fashion. The photography is basic and almost rudimentary - indeed, that also adds a great deal to the authenticity of just what it might well have been like at the time. If you ever watch any films about this historical event, then this ought to be the one...