she would have been eligible for the very first best actress oscar in 1928 (won by janet gaynor) had hollywood actually acknowledged foreign films at the time. instead, maria falconetti's silent performance as joan of arc has gone down in history, in what every legitimate film critic has termed, as the single greatest performance ever captured on film. skeptical at first, i was fortunate enough to catch the passion of joan of arc in it's entirety on youtube, and cried throughout the whole thing. not a single word is uttered, yet falconetti manages to transcend vocal communication and instead use the most beautiful eyes i have ever seen on an actress to dramatize her character's final hours. falconetti, ironically, was famed throughout france as a comedic stage performer prior to her breakthrough role. she never made another picture after joan, dying in 1946. i have posted the first three clips of the passion of joan of arc.
do yourself a favor and find the rest.
greatest moment: see below
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