The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc

The Messenger:
The Story of Joan of Arc
The Messenger:; The Story of Joan of Arc
	French theatrical release poster
French	Jeanne d'Arc
Directed by	Luc Besson
Written by	Luc Besson; Andrew Birkin;
Produced by	Patrice Ledoux
Starring	Milla Jovovich; John Malkovich; Faye Dunaway; Dustin Hoffman; Pascal Greggory; Vincent Cassel; Tchéky Karyo; Richard Ridings; Desmond Harrington; Timothy West;
Cinematography	Thierry Arbogast
Edited by	Sylvie Landra
Music by	Éric Serra
Production; company	Gaumont
Distributed by	Gaumont Buena Vista International
Release dates	18 October 1999 (premiere); 27 October 1999 (France);
Running time	158 minutes
Country	France
Language	English
Budget	$60 million
Box office	$67 million

The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (French: Jeanne d'Arc) is a 1999 English-language French epic historical drama film directed by Luc Besson and starring Milla Jovovich, John Malkovich, Faye Dunaway and Dustin Hoffman. The screenplay was written by Besson and Andrew Birkin, and the original score was composed by Éric Serra.

The Messenger portrays the story of Joan of Arc, the French war heroine and religious martyr of the Hundred Years War. It begins with young Joan as she witnesses the atrocities of the English against her family, and she has visions that inspire her to lead the French in battle against the occupying English. Her success in routing the English allows Charles VII to take the throne. Eventually, Joan is captured by the English, tried and executed for heresy.

Besson's previous film, The Fifth Element, which also stars Jovovich, was a critical and financial success, and had a positive influence on both of their careers. The Messenger was intended to follow that success and cement Besson's and Jovovich's status in film.^[5] However, it received mixed reviews and underperformed at the box office,^[6] earning just under $67 million on a $60 million budget.

^ Cite error: The named reference variety was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ ^a ^b "The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 19 January 2016. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
^ Hayward 2009, p. 162.
^ Cite error: The named reference Movies and the Maid was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Hayward 2009, p. 161.
^ "Luc Besson". MSN. Archived from the original on 28 November 2014. Retrieved 5 October 2014.

[variety-1] Cite error: The named reference variety was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[mojo-2] "The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 19 January 2016. Retrieved November 21, 2014.

[FOOTNOTEHayward2009162-3] Hayward 2009, p. 162.

[Movies_and_the_Maid-4] Cite error: The named reference Movies and the Maid was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[FOOTNOTEHayward2009161-5] Hayward 2009, p. 161.

[6] "Luc Besson". MSN. Archived from the original on 28 November 2014. Retrieved 5 October 2014.

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The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc
French theatrical release poster

French	Jeanne d'Arc

Directed by	Luc Besson
Written by	Luc Besson Andrew Birkin
Produced by	Patrice Ledoux
Starring	Milla Jovovich John Malkovich Faye Dunaway Dustin Hoffman Pascal Greggory Vincent Cassel Tchéky Karyo Richard Ridings Desmond Harrington Timothy West
Cinematography	Thierry Arbogast
Edited by	Sylvie Landra
Music by	Éric Serra
Production company	Gaumont
Distributed by	Gaumont Buena Vista International
Release dates	18 October 1999 (1999-10-18) (premiere) 27 October 1999^[1] (1999^[1]-10-27) (France)
Running time	158 minutes^[2]
Country	France
Language	English
Budget	$60 million^[3]^[4]
Box office	$67 million^[2]