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Joan of Arc 1948

type: Movie

language: English

duration: 132 min

genre: historical

theme: epic

director: Victor Fleming

Score: 4 / 10

Joan of Arc is a 1948 American epic historical drama film directed by Victor Fleming, and starring Ingrid Bergman as the eponymous French religious icon and war heroine. It was produced by Walter Wanger and is based on Maxwell Anderson's successful Broadway play Joan of Lorraine, which also starred Bergman, and was adapted for the screen by Anderson himself, in collaboration with Andrew Solt. It is the last film Fleming directed before his death in 1949.

Plot

Unlike the 1946 play-within-a-play Joan of Lorraine, which is a drama that shows how the story of Joan affects a group of actors who are performing it, the film is a straightforward recounting of the life of the French heroine. It begins with an obviously painted shot of the inside of a basilica with a shaft of light, possibly descending from heaven, shining down from the ceiling, and a solemn off-screen voice pronouncing the canonization of the Maid of Orleans. Then, the opening page of what appears to be a church manuscript recounting Joan's life in Latin is shown on the screen, while some uncredited voiceover narration by actor Shepperd Strudwick sets up the tale. The actual story of Joan then begins, from the time she becomes convinced that she has been divinely called to save France to her being burnt at the stake at the hands of the English and the Burgundians.

Awards

Cast

More details

author	Maxwell Anderson
award	Academy Award for Best Cinematography, Color Academy Award for Best Costume Design, Color National Board of Review: Top Ten Films
director	Victor Fleming
editor	Frank Sullivan
genre	drama historical
keywords	basilica burnt at the stake canonization ceiling latin open play-within-a-play voiceover narration
musicBy	Hugo Friedhofer
nomination	Academy Award for Best Actress Academy Award for Best Art Direction, Color Academy Award for Best Cinematography, Color Academy Award for Best Costume Design, Color Academy Award for Best Film Editing Academy Award for Best Original Dramatic or Comedy Score Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor
producer	Walter Wanger
productionCompany	Sierra Pictures
publisher	RKO Radio Pictures
theme	biographical drama epic