*Carl Th. Dreyer's THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC (1928) Filmex Poster Beautiful Art

Description

This is a vintage original 24 x 36 in. poster printed for a special presentation of the classic French silent film drama,
THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC
(
La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc
), released in France in 1928 and
directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer
. In 1431, Jeanne d'Arc (
Maria Falconetti
) is placed on trial on charges of heresy. The ecclesiastical jurists attempt to force Jeanne to recant her claims of holy visions. The cast includes Eugene Silvain, André Berley, Maurice Schutz, Antonin Artaud, Michel Simon, Jean d'Yd, Louis Ravet, and Armand Lurville.
This poster was printed in a very small run for a special three-day screening at the Wadsworth Theatre in Los Angeles. Held on May 23-29, 1983, this event was produced and presented by the Los Angeles International Film Exposition ("Filmex") and the UCLA Film Archives in association with Scandinavia Today, L.A. To accompany the screening, an original score was composed and conducted by Ole Schmidt with a 30-piece chamber orchestra. This beautiful and evocative poster was
designed by artist
Bjorn Wiinblad
and
features his signature in the lower left corner of the artwork area. It
was printed on a thicker stock in a very small print run, and the artwork is complimented by a thin gold metallic border. Unrestored and unfolded as originally issued, it is in fine- condition with light signs of wear along the top edge; creases of varying sizes along the last 5 in. of the left border; a 2 in. wide area of light random scuffing along the bottom border; and a light 4 in. diagonal crease near the right border to the right of the world "Theatre." There are no pinholes, tears, stain, or other flaws and the rich color tints and thin metallic gold border and fresh and vibrant without any signs of fading.
The film was considered lost for many years. In 1978, an almost complete print was found in the estate of an Italian priest who had organized screenings in mental hospitals. The same is true of the silent film,
The Burning Soil
(1922). The film took a year and a half to complete. After finalizing the original cut of the film, director Carl Theodor Dreyer learned that the entire master print had been accidentally destroyed. With no ability to re-shoot, Dreyer re-edited the entire film from footage he had originally rejected. None of the actors wear any make-up, which was unheard of in the silent era, as Dreyer thought this lent strength to the characters' faces. Much of the film's budget was reserved for the expensive sets, although Dreyer used so many close-ups that very little of the actual sets are seen. Real blood from a real puncture wound was used in the scene in which Joan's arm is cut, but it was that of a stand-in, and not that of Falconetti. Falconetti’s second and final film role. Although the film was shown with live musical accompaniment in cinemas, there is no evidence that Dreyer ever selected a definitive score. All current DVD versions of the film use Richard Einhorn's atmospheric "Voices of Light" for accompaniment.
The Passion of Joan of Arc
was voted as the ninth greatest film of all time in "Sight & Sound's" 2012 critics' poll; selected by the Vatican in the "religion" category of its list of 45 "great films"; and ranked #1 on the Toronto International Film Festival's "Essential 100" list published in 2009.