“You cannot know the history of silent film unless you know the face of Renée Maria Falconetti” – Roger Ebert
Spiritual rapture and institutional hypocrisy come to stark, vivid life in one of the most transcendent achievements of the silent era. Chronicling the trial of Joan of Arc, in the final hours leading up to her execution, Danish master Carl Theodor Dreyer (Vampyr) depicts her torment with startling immediacy, employing an array of techniques to immerse viewers in her experience. Anchoring Dreyer’s audacious experimentation is a legendary performance by Maria Falconetti, whose haunted face channels both the agony and the ecstasy of martyrdom. Long available only in rare prints that necessitated live accompaniment, we’re presenting The Passion of Joan of Arc in a new restoration with two different scores: Richard Einhorn’s acclaimed “Voices of Light” and a more recent score by Adrian Utley of Portishead and Will Gregory of Goldfrapp, which mixes electronic and acoustic instruments and voices. Please note: The 1:30 and 5:20 shows will feature Einhorn’s “Voices of Light” score and the 3:25 and 7:15 shows will feature the score from Utley and Gregory.
The Passion of Joan of Arc was restored in 2015 by Gaumont, with funding from the Centre national du cinéma et de l’image animée. The restoration was created from a 2K scan of a duplicate negative made from the Danish Film Institute’s nitrate copy of Carl Theodor Dreyer’s original cut.
