It was inevitable that Bresson's film would be compared to Dreyer's acclaimed 1928 silent version of the subject LA PASSION DE JEANNE D'ARC but Bresson rejected comparisons, finding much to dislike in the over-the-top caricatures of the judges in the earlier work.
Bresson's performers were all non-professionals which adds to the low-key tone of the film which lasts a mere 65 minutes. There is some stilted playing - notably by the actors playing the English characters - but the non-showy performances of Florence Carrez as Joan and surrealist painter Jean-Claude Fourneau as Bishop Cauchon are fine.
Unlike Dreyer's version which suggested the trial lasted a few days, Bresson suggests the four month event by the continual climbing and descending of the prison stairs.
Shelf or charity shop? Bresson's subdued film still manages to impress and - as it is based almost entirely on the actual transcripts of the trial - Joan's voice echoes down the centuries with a clarity as she evades the attempts by the judges to trip her up. This lives in my dvd limbo of a plastic storage box.
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