A Russian & Soviet Movie Podcast with Ally Pitts
Sep 29, 2026 · 1 hr 59 min · 15 segments
To celebrate Silent Movie Day—29th September every year!—host Ally Pitts shares a favourite episode from his podcasting archive. Back in 2021, deep in the Covid-19 pandemic he guested on *Media-eval…
Ali PittsGuestAli PittsHostI also wanted to talk a little bit before we get into the film itself to talk a little bit about what I know of the story behind how this film was made.
And it already I think even before anybody had seen it was controversial, because all of these French nationalists thought it was just absolutely inappropriate that somebody who wasn't French would make a movie about Joan of Arc.
And it's interesting in the very opening title cards, it talks about Joan being a woman who died for her country.
And at the time, an awful lot of people in France were... would have known somebody who they would have perceived to have died for their country.
Because this is like the year it comes out is 10 years after the armistice that ends World War I.
Yeah, and France lost, I want to say it was upwards of a million soldiers in that conflict.
Yes, although I'm sure I can get into some of the nuances and details of that later or as we go along.
And then once the film came out, it also sparked controversy because it annoyed a whole bunch of other people.
The Archbishop of Paris was annoyed because he saw it as being anti-Catholic.
Well, maybe your lot should have thought about that before you burnt her at the stake, but, you know.
No, and I mean, okay, like the best you could do in terms of making it not anti-Catholic would be to, I don't know, fast forward and add in the bit where they rehabilitated Joan.
But the trial itself sort of is what it is, as I'll talk about more later.
I also wanted to talk a little bit before we get into the film itself to talk a little bit about what I know of the story behind how this film was made.
And it already I think even before anybody had seen it was controversial, because all of these French nationalists thought it was just absolutely inappropriate that somebody who wasn't French would make a movie about Joan of Arc.
And it's interesting in the very opening title cards, it talks about Joan being a woman who died for her country.
And at the time, an awful lot of people in France were... would have known somebody who they would have perceived to have died for their country.
Because this is like the year it comes out is 10 years after the armistice that ends World War I.
Yeah, and France lost, I want to say it was upwards of a million soldiers in that conflict.
Yes, although I'm sure I can get into some of the nuances and details of that later or as we go along.
And then once the film came out, it also sparked controversy because it annoyed a whole bunch of other people.
The Archbishop of Paris was annoyed because he saw it as being anti-Catholic.
Well, maybe your lot should have thought about that before you burnt her at the stake, but, you know.
No, and I mean, okay, like the best you could do in terms of making it not anti-Catholic would be to, I don't know, fast forward and add in the bit where they rehabilitated Joan.
But the trial itself sort of is what it is, as I'll talk about more later.
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