I possess somewhat of a cynical attitude when it comes to made-for-TV movies, particularly the yearly network features that revolve around medieval or fantasy themes. In fact, I wasn't very enthusiastic as I watched "Joan of Arc" for the first time, especially seeing how I was doing so in a foreign language class which would require a questionnaire and exam to be completed at the film's conclusion (there is nothing worse than having to watch a movie looking for insignificant information as to how old somebody's third cousin is, etc.). So it was with some surprise that I found myself thinking about the film days after I had finished watching it.
To be candid, the only factor that I initially thought to be somewhat redeeming for the movie was the lead actress, Leelee Sobieski; and to be even more candid, the only thing that sparked any actual interest in the movie was the shoulder-length wig that Sobieski began to sport a third of the way through (I'm well aware of how infantile that is, but I like short hair). Due to the class schedule, we were only allowed to watch a small portion of the movie after that particular point, but the twenty minutes that were presented were enough to ignite interest in the story of Joan of Arc, and that night I conducted some research which led into a bit of fascination with the life of this courageous young woman.
Needless to say, that immediately changed my outlook on the movie, and I became enamored of every minute that the remainder of it had to offer, despite the fact that it was not necessarily historically accurate. But I still regarded the first portion of the film to be extremely amateurish, with the banality that inhabited it being as repulsive as that of all the other made-for-TV movies in existence (for example, a minor character who was not featured on screen for more than two seconds is murdered, and emotive music begins to play while everybody screams "Nooo!" for thirty seconds or more).
After watching the film, I learned that it was a two-part miniseries. "Fair enough," I thought to myself. "First half is bad, second is much better. I suppose that that evens out." And then I learned that I had watched a butchered-down version of the movie, with close to thirty minutes having been edited out; so I felt compelled to acquire a full version of the movie, and flabbergastedly took note that the first half was simply a notch below the latter in terms of quality, though nowhere near as bad as that of the version I had watched. And what surprised me the most? The fact that the ill-fated minor characters which had not even showed up in the version I'd originally seen actually had a fair amount of screen time for their roles.
Most of the other comments on this film accentuate on its positive aspects, so it doesn't serve much of a purpose to employ sheer redundancy. Suffice to say that Sobieski's performance adheres to your mind long after you have seen this film, and Neil Patrick Harris, whose career seemed doomed to failure by the image presented in "Doogie Howser, M.D.," plays out his role in an excellent fashion. My one recommendation would be to avoid the commercial one-tape VHS version of this film, and either buy the DVD, or solicit a two-tape version on an online auction site. For being one of the best TV movies to come out in a long time, "Joan of Arc" deserves the effort that its search demands.
To be candid, the only factor that I initially thought to be somewhat redeeming for the movie was the lead actress, Leelee Sobieski; and to be even more candid, the only thing that sparked any actual interest in the movie was the shoulder-length wig that Sobieski began to sport a third of the way through (I'm well aware of how infantile that is, but I like short hair). Due to the class schedule, we were only allowed to watch a small portion of the movie after that particular point, but the twenty minutes that were presented were enough to ignite interest in the story of Joan of Arc, and that night I conducted some research which led into a bit of fascination with the life of this courageous young woman.
Needless to say, that immediately changed my outlook on the movie, and I became enamored of every minute that the remainder of it had to offer, despite the fact that it was not necessarily historically accurate. But I still regarded the first portion of the film to be extremely amateurish, with the banality that inhabited it being as repulsive as that of all the other made-for-TV movies in existence (for example, a minor character who was not featured on screen for more than two seconds is murdered, and emotive music begins to play while everybody screams "Nooo!" for thirty seconds or more).
After watching the film, I learned that it was a two-part miniseries. "Fair enough," I thought to myself. "First half is bad, second is much better. I suppose that that evens out." And then I learned that I had watched a butchered-down version of the movie, with close to thirty minutes having been edited out; so I felt compelled to acquire a full version of the movie, and flabbergastedly took note that the first half was simply a notch below the latter in terms of quality, though nowhere near as bad as that of the version I had watched. And what surprised me the most? The fact that the ill-fated minor characters which had not even showed up in the version I'd originally seen actually had a fair amount of screen time for their roles.
Most of the other comments on this film accentuate on its positive aspects, so it doesn't serve much of a purpose to employ sheer redundancy. Suffice to say that Sobieski's performance adheres to your mind long after you have seen this film, and Neil Patrick Harris, whose career seemed doomed to failure by the image presented in "Doogie Howser, M.D.," plays out his role in an excellent fashion. My one recommendation would be to avoid the commercial one-tape VHS version of this film, and either buy the DVD, or solicit a two-tape version on an online auction site. For being one of the best TV movies to come out in a long time, "Joan of Arc" deserves the effort that its search demands.