Bathed in colorful cinematography, pretty little Ingrid Bergman (as Jeanne d'Arc aka "Joan of Arc") looks divine in a 15th century French church. Her farming family frets about Ms. Bergman's preoccupation with prayer. However, Bergman has a more direct line to God than anyone knows. Inspired by her savior Jesus Christ, Bergman decides to go to fight the British occupiers of France. She also sets out to ensure God's chosen man is crowned King. People tell Bergman it is impossible, but she insists, "I must save France!"

To enlist, Bergman disguises herself as a young lad. With a busty figure, make-up and cute new French haircut, the actress simply does not look like a boyish teenager. The miscasting could have been successfully addressed by sticking with the original stage version's "play within a play" format. It was about a troupe of actors dramatizing the heroine's life. The stage format allows more leeway in casting...

The last film directed by Victor Fleming, "Joan of Arc" was elevated far above its worth by "Academy Awards" voters. It won three Oscars and was nominated for five more, including a notable one for supporting actor Jose Ferrer (as the Dauphin aka Charles) in his film debut. Unsatisfied by all the attention, producer Walter Wanger refused to accept his special award because the film failed to be nominated in the "Best Picture" category. "Joan of Arc" has been restored to its original epic length, which turns out to be a mixed blessing.

**** Joan of Arc (11/11/48) Victor Fleming ~ Ingrid Bergman, Jose Ferrer, Francis L. Sullivan, J. Carrol Naish

I haven't seen the DVD version. This commentary is based on the horrible VHS print I viewed and promptly tossed out. I now know that 45 minutes of the original film was missing and replaced by commentary that in no way made the story coherent.

But the shortened version contained dialog that sounded so theatrical and was delivered in non-credible fashion by a cast of professionals under Victor Fleming's uninspired direction.

This is clearly not one of Bergman's best performances. She is radiant in many of the close-ups although a little too old to be believable as the young Joan. The film betrays its stage origins and is much too talky for extended sequences. The only time the film embraces some action is during a poorly staged battle sequence.

Summing up: I suppose it's unfair to judge the film based on the print I saw--but even allowing for the bad editing, it is apparent that this was not a successful transition to the screen of what apparently was a marvelous stage role for Ingrid. Jose Ferrer gives the most interesting performance as the Dauphin but others are simply part of the scenery.

Costumes are beautiful and some of the sets look impressive but overall it has no cinema magic and leaves the viewer with a flat viewing experience. I'll have to watch the DVD version if I'm to change my opinion since the cinematography surely must look better on DVD.

P.S. - Have just read Michael Sragow's new book on Victor Fleming and even the great director himself said, "It's a disaster, that picture."

P.P.S. - TCM has just shown the fully restored version of JOAN OF ARC and it's a much better film than it appears to be in the edited print which I first saw on VHS. Furthermore, the sets are magnificent, the color restoration is excellent, and all technical issues are much better represented. But the script is too talky and leaves the film stage bound at points. Bergman looks incredibly radiant in all of her close-ups but it seems like a surface performance and one that is not that deeply felt.

Victor Fleming's Academy Award-winning epic about the French warrior/saint casts Ingrid Bergman in the lead role. It would've been interesting to see a full adaptation of the play on which "Joan of Arc" is based, incorporating the theater troupe putting on a production of Joan's life. This movie does feel like a play, emphasizing the dialogue. I found it to be worth seeing, just the opposite of Luc Besson's clumsy 1999 movie about Joan (seriously, that movie came across as a spoof of historical epics).

In the end, it's not a great movie, but a fine look at Joan's life.