The initial cut of this film—clocking in at just under two and a half hours—is considerably superior to the version currently available; however, even that one isn't particularly impressive. Ingrid Bergman’s portrayal doesn’t feel like an interpretation of Joan of Arc so much as a demonstration of what Bergman herself would be like. The consistently anguished, saintly look she wears, combined with her spirited battle…

It feels impossible to turn back, like I’m obligated to move ahead. Set in Fifteenth Century France, a country devastated following its war with England, the story introduces a young woman from a farm who insists she's receiving divine messages instructing her to lead an army and install the hesitant Dauphin Charles VII as king. She inspires people through her beliefs, builds an army, and marches toward Orleans—an…