The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc [DVD]

I liked the acting. The rape scene in the beginning is inaccurate history, but soldiers of that time did do such things. It downplayed some of the miracles witnessed by many, and her trial they tried to find something that was a lie. She was burned for wearing men’s clothes. Given the circumstances of the time and war, that was acceptable by the church which is one of many reasons the Pope threw out the trial. They do try to get the audience to be question Joans sanity as well as the integrity of the clergy of the time. There is no mention of an empty ampoule of oil . There were 4 lords that guarded and escorted the abbot to the church. So the story of Charles step mom performing a miracle is inaccurate as is the story of how Joan acquired her sword. I. The movie they imply that it showed up in the field one day and in hail Satan is offering alternatives for how it got there. Basically saying she was a bit crazy for saying it was from Heaven which Joan never said.In the Journal du siège and Chronique de la Pucelle, Jean Chartier, writes about the sword used by Joan of Arc and the circumstances by wich it was acquired: The King wanted to present her with a sword, so she asked for that of Sainte Catherine de Fierbois. "on lui demanda si elle l'avoit oncques veue, et elle dit que non"........A black-smith was sent from Tours who found the sword amongst several other ex-voto that had been left in a trunk behind the altar. ( From1415 and the beginning of the battle of Azincourt, armed soldiers would come and offer all or least some of their weapons in thanks to Sainte Catherine who had protected them in battle ). It is amongs these weapons that Joan's sword was chosen.The movie present Jain as basically mentally ill and confused. She had her wits about her at all times. She was not touched as they say and she was very accurate in what she said would happen including her predictions of her wounds and where they would occur. She did have quite the temper that was portrayed well in the film. It was well acted and the atmosphere of the violent times does put the viewer into the story. There was no question even among the English enemies that she was sent by God. These people were not fools and Joan proved to skeptical people that she was who she said she was.

What a force she was.Heard about her, never knew the story. 1st watch 02/23/2023.

Let me say that I like the movie and Jovovich's performance. The film is also more historically accurate to Joan life then the TV series with Sobieski. You aren't reading this to hear if you want to see the movie, but if you want to buy the DVD, so I'll review the DVD and this International version which is different from the American version shown in theaters. The picture quality is good especially the battle scenes and landscapes although in somewhat dim scenes the background did not have a lot definition which I don't remember from the theater. The sound quality was fine. I'll break down the difference from the International version with the American theater release version one by one and my own take them.2:30 minutes was added to the scene where the Dauphin chooses who will be the impostor. This is a good addition because it introduces the characters that will be Joan's captains in the following battles.A single line, where Joan tells the Dauphin her message. I didn't like this because the Dauphin never told anyone what Joan said to him to make him believe in her. The American version left this a mystery too.7 minutes (a whole chapter, 3 scenes) was added right after the private audience where various officials examine and interview Joan. I liked this because historically this is what happened, although I don't agree about how it was done, a bit ridiculous, and it could have been cut in half.A few lines here and there that I don't remember, particularly during the battle scenes that made the battles seem a little bit less intense. For example, "Do something!" "What do you want me to do?" "I don't care, just do something!" which are lines I don't remember, but I could be wrong. None-the-less some parts of the battles seemed less intense to me from what I remember.I may be mistaken, but there seemed to be some deleted scenes too. The trial seemed shorter in the International version, which makes sense considering Americans love of the TV trial a la O.J. Simpson; they would have made it longer. I also think the lines where Joan screams out "Jesus!" were deleted which I didn't care for because it was reported that she did scream out his name. The final burning scene seemed rather abrupt. I could have sworn they had a scene where they brought her out, tied her down, and read the charges before burning her. I'd definitely buy this DVD if you like the movie. It would have been nice to get both versions of the film on this DVD much like they did for the Abyss. If you are interested in learning more about her, "Joan of Arc: Her Story" by Regine Pernoud is an excellent book as well.

Didn’t think it was a bad nor good film. Wouldn’t watch it a second time.

I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Milla Jovovich, John Malkovich, Faye Dunaway and Dustin Hoffman were in this film but I think they could have done a lot more with the ultimate burning scene. I don't mean 30 minutes of torture porn, like Passion of the Christ, but that quick glimpse looked like '50s era special effects.

This is a great story, many texts and movies have tried to portray it. It popped up on my screen, as The Messenger. I have that DVD here, somewhere packed away in a box. I probably haven't watched in 10 years. I knew it was Le Le Sobieski and a fine movie. Well, apart from the girl getting burned up.To me, this is the best version. Milla Jovovich as Jeanne. Luke Besson as the story teller. I think this cast and crew gets the story in the best way. Pleasant surprise that I had never seen.

Le film de Luc Besson est très bien fait, bien que sa version de l'histoire de Jeanne d'Arc en prend large avec l'Histoire. Le vrai personnage de Jeanne d'Arc était probablement moins hystérique que celui campé par Milla Jovovich qui joue cependant très bien son rôle. Il est probable que si la véritable Jeanne d'Arc avait été telle qu'on nous le montre, elle n'aurait pas pu convaincre grand monde qu'elle était envoyée par Dieu pour bouter les Anglais hors de France. Milla est très bien entourée par une flopée d'excellents acteurs jouant très leurs rôles. Il faut remarquer John Malkovich dans le rôle d'un Charles VII faible mais sournois (en fait le véritable Charles VII était ainsi). Il faut aussi remarquer Dustin Hoffman qui campe de manière sombre la conscience de Jeanne d'Arc. Je m'en voudrais de ne pas souligner la présence de Vincent Cassel dans le rôle de Gilles de Rais, un compagnon de Jeanne qui va finir mal en devenant l'un des pires tueurs en série du Moyen Âge. Si on le voit avec un sens critique, le film est très regardable.

Película épica que narra la vida de la conocida Juana de Arco y sus logros obtenidos gracias a su ferrea voluntad y tesón. El film no sólo enseña correctamente la obsesión religiosa reinante en la época y el poder que la iglesia tenía a nivel global, sino que nos muestra como contrapunto las propias dudas de esta empecinada heroina, a veces incomprendida y otras venerada por sus actos.

The messenger is a good movie, with good pace. Things are always happening.But seems simplified, compared to the Alliance Atlantis movie...Joan of Arc.The Alliance Atlantis movie with Leelee Sobieski is also good, but feels longer, because there is more development of Joan. Make sure you have a comfortable sofa. It's a long one. You are in for a Journey!

“I’ve never really got into watching period pieces”until I saw “Downfall” about Hitler's life andfall from power,and many others after that,but this one the “Messenger” the “life of Joan Of Arc”that “Luc Besson”did so well,shows us a woman that was so tormented by her fait,the love for Franceand her King,lead an army of a few to squash the English,what we see here is a woman that was so determinedto take her country back,and was also laughed at by the church and called a devil,in 1426 the church wasthe only place you go for advice,because it was the lord who will help you,if you say anything against the church,they would burn you to the stake,now in 2014,we have Cable,Twitter and Face Book, funny how things change andwe don’t even get it, imagine getting burn at the stake while others look on,even the kids.2.40:1 Widescreen.Runtime 158 Minutes.5.1 Dolby True HD. I wish it was in DTS-HD.Master.Very Good...

J'ai acheté ce film car il était clairement écrit bilingue doublé en français et malheureusement ce n'est pas le cas. Je suis désappointée des vendeurs qui ne respectent pas les détails pourtant écrits noir sur blanc. Faites attention, demandez avant pour être sûr… D'habitude je demande toujours le langage avant d'acheter à un vendeur particulier, mais cette fois j'étais trop confiante parce que pour une fois c'était écrit clairement bilingue ET doublé en français… Déçue! Il est introuvable ce maudit film!