Seven centuries ago, a humble peasant girl was able to convince Charles de Valois (soon King Charles VII) that she had been chosen by God to lead a French army against English forces during the Hundred Years’ War. With no military training, she achieved a momentous victory at the city of Orléans. She was later captured, tried for heresy, and burned at the stake at the age of 19.

The story of Joan of Arc has been treated numerous times on film. This week on “Picture Perfect,” we’ll hear music from some of those.

Carl Theodor Dreyer’s silent classic “The Passion of Joan of Arc” (1928) is justly celebrated as a landmark of world cinema. The film features a legendary performance by Maria Falconetti. Falconetti’s portrayal is unusually nuanced and cumulatively heartbreaking. Richard Einhorn composed “Voices of Light,” an original work, in 1994, to accompany the film. The recording includes contributions by Anonymous 4.

Earlier, in 1983, conductor and composer Ole Schmidt provided his own score to “The Passion of Joan of Arc.” Interestingly, Schmidt was born the same year the film was released. He also held the distinction of sharing Dreyer’s Danish nationality.

Luc Besson directed the “The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc” (1999), featuring his then wife, Milla Jovovich, as the Maid of Orléans. The starry supporting cast includes John Malkovich, Faye Dunaway, and Dustin Hoffman (donning an Obi-Wan Kenobi robe). The composer was Éric Serra. The score is primarily orchestral, but incorporates synthesized effects.

Finally, we’ll turn to Otto Preminger’s “Saint Joan” (1957), based on the play by George Bernard Shaw. Graham Greene wrote the screenplay. Newcomer Jean Seberg is Joan, somewhat out of her element alongside veteran actors John Gielgud, Anton Walbrook and Felix Aylmer. Also, would you believe Richard Widmark as Charles VII?

Unfortunately, “Saint Joan” was immolated by the critics. Mischa Spoliansky composed the lovely score. You can sample some of it here, along with the film’s main title sequence, designed by the legendary Saul Bass:

I hope you’ll join me for music for movies about Joan of Arc this week, on “Picture Perfect.” Feel the burn, this Friday evening at 6:00 EDT, on WWFM – The Classical Network and wwfm.org.