JOAN THE WOMAN

During the First World War, on the French front, a young British soldier (Wallace Reid) dreams of Joan of Arc (Gerardine Farrar), who urges him to die for France in order to redeem the faults of the English against her – after liberating Orleans she was betrayed by an English soldier whose advances she pushed back and ended up at the stake. When she wakes up, the soldier decides to sacrifice himself in a night raid against the Germans. Written by Jeanie MacPherson, this is one of nine films De Mille made in 1916/1917. In particular, it is his first historical kolossal in which he used colour for some sequences. He used a mechanical printing process, developed by Paramount engineers, which became known as the ‘De Mille-Wyckoff process’. The film is presented here in a restored version, with a new soundtrack, thanks to the collaboration of the ‘Rimusicazione Film Festival’ of Bolzano. Joan the Woman is still considered a great spectacular machine, rich in war scenes and dreamlike sequences. Presented shortly after the entry of the United States into the war, De Mille made a propaganda film in favour of France and the Allies. Its notable success earned De Mille the title ‘Michelangelo of the cinema’ from the American press. De Mille chose a famous and exceptionally beautiful soprano, Geraldine Farrar, to play the role of Joan of Arc.