La Passion De Jeanne D'Arc (1928)

Set in 1431, Joan of Arc (Renee Jeanne Falconetti) is brought to stand trial for heresy by French clergymen loyal to the English. Directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer, the screenplay is based on the actual records of Joan's trial. One of the supreme achievements of silent cinema, the film is notable for Dreyer's use of close ups so the actors (none of whom wear any make up) are totally exposed, both physically and emotionally. Through these series of naked close ups as well as the text of Joan's trial, we're thrown into the 15th century as if we were there. But this isn't a dry history lesson, it's fluid cinema and Falconetti's Joan is one of the two or three greatest performances by an actress on film. Raw as an open wound and once seen, never forgotten. As a silent film, there have been various scores accompanying it throughout the years but after watching it with Richard Einhorn's oratorio, VOICES OF LIGHT (courtesy of Criterion), it would be difficult for me to watch it again with any other underscore. With Michel Simon and Antonin Artaud.