tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post114719230152046247..comments2024-03-27T14:57:37.031+05:30Comments on Jabberwock: Film classics: The Passion of Joan of ArcJabberwockhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-77729282929833964972012-04-03T16:15:13.360+05:302012-04-03T16:15:13.360+05:30Thanks for this nice review of one of cinema's...Thanks for this nice review of one of cinema's masterpieces; I saw the film recently and was struck of course by Falconetti's amazing intensity - but also by the faces of all the other characters around her, which seemed to me to come out directly of Leonardo da Vinci's caricatures, or some other medieval artist: certainly Dreyer has plunged his film into this brutally ambivalent world of good and evil that his B&W cinematography underlines so well.yveshttp://www.letstalkaboutbollywood.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-41291255207150733042007-11-17T02:42:00.000+05:302007-11-17T02:42:00.000+05:30Watch The Passion of Joan of Arc here Free<A HREF="http://www.maidofheaven.com/joanofarc_videos_movies.asp" REL="nofollow">Watch The Passion of Joan of Arc here Free</A>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-25520986418527170492007-09-11T04:49:00.000+05:302007-09-11T04:49:00.000+05:30The Passion of Joan of Arc is a wonderful old film...The Passion of Joan of Arc is a wonderful old film and thanks to the internet at MaidofHeavne.com it can be seen for free:<BR/><BR/>http://www.maidofheaven.com/joanofarc_videos_movies.aspAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-1147411878514565902006-05-12T11:01:00.000+05:302006-05-12T11:01:00.000+05:30this is a bit OT but here's an interesting intervi...this is a bit OT but here's an interesting interview with Donald Ritchie about Japanese cinema. A large part of it is about Ozu (which is why i was reminded of Schraders book). <BR/><BR/>http://www.midnighteye.com/interviews/donald_richie.shtml<BR/><BR/>Incidentally the site midnight eye is entirely devoted to japanese movies. well worth a look if you havent already done so.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-1147411498721620142006-05-12T10:54:00.000+05:302006-05-12T10:54:00.000+05:30FYI: there was this book that paul schrader wrote ...FYI: there was this book that paul schrader wrote many years ago (the guy who wrote the script for taxidriver among others) which compared the styles of ozu, bresson and dreyer. he called it the 'transcendental' style in film. i havent read the book myself but i would think its well worth reading...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-1147376174693795112006-05-12T01:06:00.000+05:302006-05-12T01:06:00.000+05:30Alok, that would be Matthew Barney, art world supe...Alok, that would be Matthew Barney, art world superstar. He made a sequence of films called "The Cremaster Cycle" which showcased his monumental self-importance and complete lack of craft. I read a report a few weeks back that he's making a new film with Bjork, in which they participate in a Japanese tea ceremony and are then turned into dolphins...<BR/><BR/>Or something.Cheshire Cathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07463645065346922684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-1147340283802807452006-05-11T15:08:00.000+05:302006-05-11T15:08:00.000+05:30great post and very learned comments too...!it is ...great post and very learned comments too...!<BR/><BR/>it is very interesting indeed to compare von trier with dreyer and see how the ideas of faith and suffering get a postmodern twist, specially in breaking the waves.<BR/><BR/>I sometimes long for those innocent pre-ironical age when someone could make films like these and still mean everything that they wanted to say.<BR/><BR/>btw, who is bjork's husband?Alokhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12947383354732747209noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-1147332551395224042006-05-11T12:59:00.000+05:302006-05-11T12:59:00.000+05:30Anonymous, thanks for the correction. Makes sense,...Anonymous, thanks for the correction. Makes sense, given that Joan is the sympathetic character. But really, as you say, religion may not be a very useful lens through which to read Dreyer. I remember "Vampyr" (which is the only other movie of his I've seen) as eccentric and brilliant, but not religious in any conventional sense.<BR/><BR/>I do disagree about Bresson. With "Mouchette" and especially with "Au Hasard Balthasar", the Jansenist belief in predestination is too powerfully relevant.<BR/><BR/>Jabberwock, I mentioned Bjork because the role demanded so much from her, and it seemed doubtful she would ever act again after that experience. Unfortunately, she might be back, thanks to that insufferable husband of hers...Cheshire Cathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07463645065346922684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-1147323870823557522006-05-11T10:34:00.000+05:302006-05-11T10:34:00.000+05:30Anonymous: Have seen Ordet but haven't ben able to...Anonymous: Have seen <I>Ordet</I> but haven't ben able to get my hands on <I>Day of Wrath</I> yet. <BR/>Interesting to hear that Dreyer wasn't very religious - sort of adds to my idea that <I>Passion...</I> doesn't necessarily think of Joan as a saint but simply as a young woman of great conviction.<BR/><BR/><I>Perhaps Bjork is the modern Falconetti</I><BR/><BR/>Cheshire Cat: now there's a nice, bizarre thought! In the context of "intense explorations of faith and suffering", there's also of course the Emily Watson character in <I>Breaking the Waves</I>.<BR/><BR/>JAP: thanks. Actually, I often start to get impatient when a post starts going beyond 800-900 words. Want to wrap it up quickly then.Jabberwockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10210195396120573794noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-1147322177275517382006-05-11T10:06:00.000+05:302006-05-11T10:06:00.000+05:30You should also catch Dreyer's "Days of Wrath" and...You should also catch Dreyer's "Days of Wrath" and "Ordet", both available from criterion (the palika guy might have it). "Days of Wrath" is similar to Joan of Arc in some ways - a deeply repressive and tyrannical setting, a woman as the protagonist, a medieval age etc (though there are also differences). Ordet has one of the most amazing endings in the history of cinema - its probably completely unique. A must see.<BR/>Incidentally, Dreyer was from a Danish Lutheran background, not catholic. But its also true,that Dreyer was not himself very religious (see Jonathan Rosenbaum's criterion collection essay here : http://www.criterionco.com/asp/release.asp?id=125&eid=135§ion=essay). In this he seems similar to Robert Bresson: both made films which are intensely about religion (Bresson's Diary of a country priest) but even Bresson was an agnostic and not especially religious.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-1147257112489803312006-05-10T16:01:00.000+05:302006-05-10T16:01:00.000+05:30You really are outstanding in your film reviews. I...You really are outstanding in your film reviews. In your other posts, I imagine an undercurrent of impatience, as if you wanted to finish it quick and get back to another film.<BR/><BR/>J.A.P.J. Alfred Prufrockhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16446127543417759542noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8204542.post-1147249504505137972006-05-10T13:55:00.000+05:302006-05-10T13:55:00.000+05:30Thanks. I remember the emphasis on physiognomy, as...Thanks. I remember the emphasis on physiognomy, as if the soul can be read in the lines of the face. One might wonder, in a silent movie, what else is there? There are the words, unspoken; stinting gives more power to the words. I'm surprised you didn't mention the dialogue - Joan's responses to her inquisitors are philosophically resonant and yet true to her fiercely unlearned character. In this respect, there's a parallel with the trial scene in Kiarostami's "Close-Up"...<BR/><BR/>Trivia buffs may be interested to know that Antonin Artaud, of "Theatre of Cruelty" fame appears as one of the inquisitors.<BR/><BR/>Dreyer is a significant influence on Lars von Trier, an influence that goes far beyond the fact of their common Danish Catholic background. They are both drawn to intense explorations of faith and suffering (typically of a woman who is <I> pure of heart </I>), though of course von Trier's films are much more heavily ironized, in acknowledgment of the times. Perhaps Bjork is the modern Falconetti?Cheshire Cathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07463645065346922684noreply@blogger.com