Joan The Woman (Full Frame)

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Legendary director Cecil B. DeMille takes on the historical saga of Joan of Arc in his first great spectacle. Following in the epic footsteps of D.W. Griffith's "The Birth of a Nation," DeMille's "Joan the Woman" was produced as a road-show special production with a huge budget for the time. The story follows a British officer in World War I who is inspired by a vision of Joan when he finds her decayed sword. The film then takes us back to her leadership of the French Army and eventual burning at the stake, complete with a cast of thousands, cinematic beauty and the imagination that DeMille would become famous for in this timeless historical spectacular. "Joan The Woman" (Cardinal Film Corporation, 1916) was Cecil B. DeMille's first great spectacle. In keeping with theatrical tradition, DeMille sought a more formal and stylized mode of acting from stars Geraldine Farrar and Wallace Reid--a technique he continued in his late historical films. Wilfred Buckland's art direction is outstanding, and DeMille's social comments are subtle but biting. The film also features a dramatic hand-colored climax utilizing the Handschiegl stencil-color process.

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