Connecting the dots: La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc, a musical score and censorship

Film historians have long known that the version of Carl Theodor Dreyer's La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc (1928) shown at its French premiere was heavily censored by the state and the Catholic church. Exactly what was cut, however, has never been entirely clear, meaning that almost all of the critical literature about the subject has been forced to accept the testimony of those who claim to have seen it at the time. An overlooked source that would help resolve the debate is the score commissioned for its Paris premiere. It includes vital evidence in the form of intertitles and actions that correspond to a print acquired by the British Film Institute in 1947. A detailed comparison of screen and musical time convincingly demonstrates that the 1947 print is a copy of the censored version, and a broader analysis of empathetic musical gesture and specially written lyrics for choir and soloists supports that contention. This analysis underlines the valuable contribution that film-music studies can make to film history in helping reveal for the first time exactly what it was to which the authorities objected in Dreyer's famous film.

Automated summary

Film historians have discovered that the French premiere of Carl Theodor Dreyer's La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc (1928) was heavily censored by the state and the Catholic church. However, the exact details of the censorship have always been unclear. A new analysis of the score commissioned for the film's Paris premiere, along with a comparison to a print acquired by the British Film Institute in 1947, reveals that the 1947 version is a copy of the censored film. The analysis also provides evidence of empathetic musical gestures and specially written lyrics that support this claim. This study highlights the valuable contribution of film-music studies in uncovering the censored aspects of Dreyer's famous film.