StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Myron Clemons A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

Dana An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

burkewhb This is easily the best Joan of Arc I have ever seen. Leelee Sobieski, at a very young age (17, which is how old the real Joan of Arc was) does a very mature job of portraying the strength of character, immense leadership qualities, high intelligence, natural military ability, and great faith of the real Joan of Arc.I think the medieval castles and the great battle scenes were very realistic. I know the movie takes liberties with the actual history of some of the events (for instance, Sir William Glasdale drowned in the moat trying to escape, he wasn't actually ordered to be killed by Joan), although I liked the way the movie did it, it was much more dramatic than what actually happened.Other actors in the movie also did a marvelous job, especially Peter O'Toole, Chad Willett, and Neil Patrick Harris, who I thought was very good as the cunning King Charles. The coronation scene was very well done with the glorious music and magnificent cathedral.What I didn't like about the movie was that in most of the second half too many liberties were taken with the real history of Joan's capture and mock trial. Joan didn't just give herself up to the Burgundians, she was trapped outside the town of Compiegne, which had raised its drawbridge before Joan could escape from the Burgundians she was fighting. Joan was not raped in prison as they strongly imply in this movie, although her guards tried many times to do so. Joan's final moments were too sad to watch. What happened was that she was convicted of heresy for wearing men's clothing (she only did so to keep from being raped). The whole trial was a mockery engineered by the English who wanted her dead no matter what. They feared and hated Joan for defeating them in battle. The English had complete control over the pro-English clergy who tried and judged Joan.This was a great movie. It's a shame that it was made for TV and not the big screen. I think more people would have seen it. For anyone with little or no knowledge of Joan of Arc, this movie is a must.

sharonartiste43232 I watched Joan of Arc on VHS and I really enjoyed it. I saw it on TV when it came out in 1999. This was a very well made motion picture and it is much better made than the movie theater films. Leelee Sobieski is a very talented young actress and played the part of Joan of Arc very well. I don't know a lot about French history, but I learned a lot by watching this movie. It was nice to watch a film without any profanities and sex scenes. It was also nice that they portrayed Joan as a woman of strong faith in God. The scenery and costumes were done very nicely. All of the actors and actresses did a wonderful job. It would be nice if they made more movies like this, of this quality.

crazeymaisy I saw this movie in my history class, and it was great! It makes her an extreme role model that says that girls can do anything guys can, and sometimes in this case, much better. I still think it was sooooo unfair that this wonderful hero had to die in the end but it really makes you believe that she is the Maid of Larine! It really shows the pain that Joan had to go through, whether the information was real or not, this was still a wonderful historical movie. It is a great movie for kids to watch that are learning about her in class, and her story takes you to her time. The actress who played Joan was full of talent and you almost see her as Joan. If you are ready to witness the story of one of the best historical figures in history, this is the movie. I believe in the Maid.And she is Joan of Arc.

KFSIMONATL Do great times call forth grand souls or do grand souls change great events or both? Joan's World - Historical Background. It was a time when the English crown controlled huge territories in France - and not by way of some invasion or occupation, but as the direct result of the fact the English King, Henry IV, (also Duke of Lancaster) and his son Henry V (both of Shakespeare fame)were descendants of the original French Duke of Normandy, William, who had conquered England in 1066 and thus the King of England continued to remain the feudal "owner" of Normandy, Brittainy and Acquitaine. This English King, Henry V would stake the biggest claim and actually force the King of France to appoint this same English King, his "lawful" successor to the French throne. Combine this with the fact the the English had a willing French ally in the form of Charles, Duke of Burgundy who was a rival for the French crown. Its no surprise that the Burgundians were the bully boys of this era. They were allies of the English and thus their French-speaking local "enforcers." The English would control these areas for over 300 years. The "Hundred Years War" would be fought to maintain that English control. So at the time of this story, the Dauphine of France, the weak French prince Charles was not yet the crowned King of France and controlled only a fraction of the country. Even he saw his chances for the crown as limited. Another Charles, the Duke of Burgundy, France, was far more powerful than the Dauphine and to offset his limited powers, Burgandy had allied themselves with the English.It was into this was brutal world, that Joan of Arc was born. A savage time of "might makes right" and a nobility class-sanctioned brutalization of a citizen population caught in a titanic chess match as pawns between a class of nobles who, although they had taken ancient oaths sworn to guard the defenseless, nevertheless preyed on the very people they were sworn to defend.There are parallels to many parts of the world where so-called "war lords" have re-imposed a modern-day feudalism of protectors and protected.Joan was inspired, (and just by what/who, remains a hotly debated theological and psychological discussion to this day) to free France of English domination. Why? Catholics might argue that she was called to this by God in order to preserve France as a bastion of Catholicism against the invading "heresy" of the Protestant Revolution. Think how events might have turned out if England had conquered all of France and imposed Protestantism on France.Historical Sequel to Joan of Arc.Henry V would die in France of a fever and never assert this claim. With Joan's military successes as precedents, and the Duke of Burgandy eventually abandoning his English allies, Henry V's son, Henry VI, a weak-willed but pious monarch, would be VERY unsuccessful in asserting any of his father Henry V's claims even though another war, the "Thirty Years" war would be fought by Henry VI's dukes to try to take back lost regions. The English would eventually lose that war and surrender, city by city, castle by castle, the entire regions of Normandy and Aquitaine back to the French. Ultimately, the Ennglish would control only the port city of Calais before losing that last foothold on the Continent. A new war in England, a civil war between the houses and Dukes of York and Lancaster would be fought, in part, from the failures of the Lancastrian King, Henry VI to keep those hard-fought territories - "The War of the Roses." Now why is the movie great? Because it faithfully captures the life of a illiterate and simple peasant girl, called by unseen forces to change the world around her in direct conflict with the brutality, the conflict, the religious zeal/fanaticism and the lust for power of he times into which Jean D'Arc was born into.If you don't know much about either Joan or the times, you learn a great deal from this wonderful movie. Joan was on a "mission from God," at least to her way of thinking and the religious forces of her day in the form of the Church hierarchy were dumbfounded initially and enraged, eventually that some "mere girl" would dare to tell them anything about God's will for either herself, let alone her King and country.The Maid of Orleans' life is a testament to one person, even a unschooled young girl's in an age of female political impotence to change events on a grand scale.