Brigham Young University will show the Technicolor epic "Joan of Arc" starring Ingrid Bergman on Thursday, March 24, at 7 p.m. in the Harold B. Lee Library auditorium.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Admission is free, but seating is limited so early arrival is encouraged. Children ages 8 and over are welcome. No food or drink is permitted in the Auditorium.
When "Joan of Arc" was released in 1948, it was, at $4.5 million, the most expensive motion picture made up to that time. Swedish actress Ingrid Bergman, whose previous success in Alfred Hitchcock's "Notorious" and "Casablanca" assured box office success, had completed a seven-month run of the Maxwell Anderson Broadway play "Joan of Lorraine" to outstanding reviews.
"Joan of Arc" is distinguished by not only Bergman's passionate performance as the 15th century Maid of Orleans who claimed divine guidance in fighting against the English during the Hundred Years War, only to be burned at the stake as a heretic, but for it luminous color cinematography.
"Producer Walter Wagner wanted this film to have the lush look of Technicolor achieved by Laurence Olivier's 'Henry V,'" says James D'Arc, curator of the Special Collections Motion Picture Archives. "'Henry V' was a major award winner in 1945, and Wagner spared no expense in sets and costumes for his 'Joan of Arc.'"
The film print that will be shown is an extremely rare dye-transfer Technicolor copy that retains the vivid colors of the film during its initial release. The Oscar-nominated music score is by Hugo Friedhofer, whose papers reside in the L. Tom Perry Special Collections.
The Special Collections Motion Picture Archives Film Series is co-sponsored by the Friends of the Harold B. Lee Library and Dennis and Linda Gibson.
Motion pictures shown in the series are taken from the permanent collection of feature films in the L. Tom Perry Special Collections. The complete season schedule is available online at sc.lib.byu.edu.
For more information, please contact James D'Arc at (801) 422-6371.
