Victor Fleming was a very accomplished filmmaker in the Technicolor era. His most famous works are Gone with the Wind and The Wizard of Oz, both released in the same year of 1939-- arguably his greatest year, and he won for Best Director for GTTW. He did make exciting black & white films with Spencer Tracy before and after including Captains Courageous (1937, Spencer's first Oscar win) and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1941). Therefore, more people should watch Joan of Arc, his Technicolor-enriched portrait of talented actress Ingrid Bergman playing the legendary woman and fallen fighter for France.
It contains a top notch cast, some impressive action, fantastic-as-usual color cinematography and that classic Golden Era Hollywood style of direction that Victor Fleming helped make classic. Even though Fleming could easily be somewhere in the top 25 of greatest filmmakers, younger generations often only see The Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind, so hopefully Joan of Arc can get proper viewings and analyses from young filmmakers and anyone interested in the life and legend pertaining to SAINT Joan of Arc.
There is a reason why in The Rocketeer (1991) the director filming the swashbuckling film in the second act is named "Victor" (as well as the last name, Berg, being an allusion to Spielberg LOL). The DVD and blu-ray are fantastic restorations of this epic historical drama. -G