Overview
A powerful tale of faith and sacrifice unfolds as a young woman faces the ultimate test of her beliefs.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Extreme
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Graphic
- austere
- harrowing
- devotional
- serious film study
- historical cinema viewing
What critics said
Critics overwhelmingly regard Dreyer's austere formal design and Maria Falconetti's intensely expressive performance as masterpieces of silent cinema, despite the film's severe and demanding style.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Maria Falconetti's face dominates the film, registering Joan's fear, faith, pain, and resolve through sustained close-ups.
Dreyer's oblique angles, stark interiors, doorways, and hard-edged compositions make the court environment feel actively oppressive.
Joan's prayers and claims of divine calling are repeatedly reinterpreted by the Inquisition as blasphemy and heresy.
The torture chamber, bodily injury, and execution structure Joan's refusal to renounce her convictions.
Films like The Passion of Joan of Arc, and why
The Seventh Seal
Shared austere historical drama, religious persecution, martyrdom, and formally expressive black-and-white imagery.
Winter Light
Shared spiritual crisis, institutional judgment, intense close-ups, and psychologically confrontational arthouse drama.
The White Ribbon
Shared historical oppression, religious conviction, and emotionally devastating black-and-white period drama.
The Trial
Shared trial-centered structure, moral confrontation, and stark visual formalism focused on faces and institutional power.
Movie Details
- Director
- Carl Theodor Dreyer
- Release Date
- 1928-04-21
- Runtime
- 81 min
- Rating
- 8.0 / 10 (1135)
Cast
- Maria Falconetti
- Eugène Silvain
- André Berley
- Maurice Schutz
- Antonin Artaud
- Michel Simon
- Jean d'Yd
- Louis Ravet
- Armand Lurville
- Jacques Arnna
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- HBO Max Amazon Channel, FlixFling, HBO Max, France Channel Amazon Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home, FlixFling
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home, FlixFling
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Passion of Joan of Arc about?
- Carl Theodor Dreyer transforms Joan of Arc’s Inquisition trial into a stark, intimate vision of faith, persecution, and martyrdom.
- What is The Passion of Joan of Arc like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Passion of Joan of Arc as measured, its intensity as extreme and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The Passion of Joan of Arc violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in The Passion of Joan of Arc as graphic.
- What did critics think of The Passion of Joan of Arc?
- Critics overwhelmingly regard Dreyer's austere formal design and Maria Falconetti's intensely expressive performance as masterpieces of silent cinema, despite the film's severe and demanding style.
- Which films are like The Passion of Joan of Arc?
- Films with a similar feel include The Seventh Seal, Winter Light, The White Ribbon, and The Trial.
- How long is The Passion of Joan of Arc?
- The Passion of Joan of Arc runs 81 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Passion of Joan of Arc?
- In United States, The Passion of Joan of Arc streams on HBO Max Amazon Channel, FlixFling, HBO Max, France Channel Amazon Channel.
