Joan of Arc: Miniseries and Film

An article by your Women's History Guide, Jone Johnson Lewis

What's up? Women's History Month was in March in America. But American TV has decided to honor women's history in its own fashion in May 1999: with several major presentations on notable women. No, I don't think it's in honor of Mother's Day, May 9. It's far more likely that at least the two miniseries are related to May being sweeps month.

At the end of April, Barbara Walters and ABC honored the 100 greatest women of the 20th century (see previous feature). In May, we'll have the chance to see two miniseries, Cleopatra and Joan of Arc. May will also bring a documentary on Cleopatra. In November, a film on Joan of Arc will also be released.

How accurate will these treatments be? Where can you find more information on these notable women? Below I've tried to provide further information that may help you judge accuracy and dig deeper into Joan of Arc's history -- in a few weeks, I'll highlight Cleopatra.

Cleopatra

NBC presents their version of Cleopatra's story on May 23rd and 24th. Watch for a feature on this site with more information on the Cleopatra miniseries and documentary.

Joan of Arc

On Sunday, May 16th, and Tuesday, May 18th, CBS presents a miniseries Joan of Arc starring LeeLee Sobieski, Jacqueline Bisset, Powers Boothe, Olympia Dukakis, Neil Patrick Harris, Robert Loggia, Peter O'Toole, Maximilian Schell, Peter Strauss, Chad Willett and Shirley MacLaine. The network is marketing the miniseries on the Net; the official site includes video clips. [Note: links have been removed from this paragraph because the pages have been removed by CBS.]

Then there's the upcoming movie, due (at this writing) to be released in November 1999, from director Luc Besson and Gaumont Pictures.

Starring in this picture are Vincent Cassel, Faye Dunaway, Pascal Greggory, Desmond Harrington, Dustin Hoffman, Milla Jovovich (as Joan), Mathieu Kassovitz, John Malkovich. {Dustin Hoffman as the Grand Inquisitor? Now that is an interesting casting decision!)

For more information on the movie, you can visit the official Sony site, a great unofficial site, or keep up with gossip about the stars and other news about the movie.

Want to find information on Joan of Arc, to help judge the accuracy of the Joan of Arc miniseries and movie? Check out my Joan of Arc Netlinks.

Author: Jone Johnson Lewis.
Title: "Joan of Arc: Miniseries and Film"
This URL: http://womenshistory.about.com/library/weekly/aa050399.htm

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