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Movies / On DVD / The Nativity Story
The Nativity Story

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The Nativity Story (2006)

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Reviews Counted:125

Fresh:47

Rotten:78

Average Rating:5.3/10

Consensus: The Nativity Story is a dull retelling of a well-worn tale with the look and feel of a high-school production.

Rated: PG [See Full Rating] for some violent content.

Runtime: 2 hrs 41 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:08-12-2006

Synopsis: A cinematic journey into the heart of history's greatest story, The Nativity Story is poised to come to the big screen for the first time in a major motion picture event. New Line Cinema's The... A cinematic journey into the heart of history's greatest story, The Nativity Story is poised to come to the big screen for the first time in a major motion picture event. New Line Cinema's The Nativity Story chronicles the arduous journey of two people, Mary and Joseph, a miraculous pregnancy, and the history-defining birth of Jesus. The dramatic and compelling film traces the perilous journey of a young couple who must travel from their home in Nazareth to Bethlehem, Joseph's ancestral home, to register for a census ordered by King Herod. It is a journey of over 100 miles, through treacherous terrain, made much more difficult by the fact that Mary is nine months pregnant. A New Line Cinema Presentation of a Temple Hill Production, The Nativity Story stars Academy Award® nominee Keisha Castle-Hughes (Whale Rider) as Mary, Oscar Isaac (upcoming Guerrilla) as Joseph and Academy Award® nominee Shohreh Aghdashloo (House of Sand and Fog) as Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist. The international cast also includes Hiam Abbass (Munich, Paradise Now), Shaun Toub (Crash), Alexander Siddig (Syrianna), Nadim Sawalha (Syrianna), Eriq Ebouaney, Stefan Kalipha, Said Amadis, Stanley Townsend and Ciarán Hinds (Munich). The film is directed by Catherine Hardwicke (Thirteen, Lords of Dogtown) from a screenplay written by Mike Rich (The Rookie, Finding Forrester). The producers are Wyck Godfrey (I, Robot) and Marty Bowen.The executive producers are Toby Emmerich, Cale Boyter, Tim Van Rellim, Mike Rich and Catherine Hardwicke. The co-executive producers are Judd Funk and Michael Disco. The film also features an outstanding production team which includes cinematographer Elliot Davis (White Oleander, I Am Sam, Out of Sight), Production Designer Stefano Maria Ortolani (Art Director on Gangs of New York and The Talented Mr. Ripley), Film Editors Robert K. Lambert, A.C.E. (Three Kings, I Heart Huckabees, Ask the Dust) and Stuart Levy, A.C.E (Any Given Sunday, Jesus' Son), Costume Designer Maurizio Millenotti (The Passion of the Christ, Tristan and Isolde, Immortal Beloved) and composer Mychael Danna (Little Miss Sunshine, Capote, The Ice Storm). New Line Cinema will release The Nativity Story (rated PG by the M.P.A.A. for "some violent content") in theaters nationwide on December 1st, 2006. -- © New Line Cinema [More]

Starring: Shohreh Aghdashloo, Keisha Castle-Hughes, Eriq Ebouaney, Ciaran Hinds

Starring: Shohreh Aghdashloo, Keisha Castle-Hughes, Eriq Ebouaney, Ciaran Hinds, Alexander Siddig, Shaun Toub, Tim Van Rellim, Oscar Isaac, Stanley Townsend, Star, Stefan Kalipha, Farida Ouchani, Alessando Giugglioli, Said Amadis

Director: Catherine Hardwicke

Director: Catherine Hardwicke
Producer: Marty Bowen, Wyck Godfrey
Composer: Mychael Danna
Studio: New Line Cinema

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Reviews for The Nativity Story

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1 - 20 (sorted by rotten rating; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
12/30/06
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
12/30/06
Time Out
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Daily Mirror [UK] | comment Comment
01/02/07
David Edwards
David Edwards
Daily Mirror [UK]
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
12/30/06
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Surprisingly sedate telling of the rather well-known tale from Catherine Hardwicke.

Full Review Source: Empire Magazine | comment Comment
11/29/06
Ian Freer
Ian Freer
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Catherine Hardwicke (Lords of Dogtown, Thirteen) may seem like an unusual choice for a Biblical epic, but she proves an inspired choice, choosing to focus on the authenticity of the story, primarily through Mary.

Full Review Source: ViewLondon | comment Comment
12/30/06
Matthew Turner
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon

With a fresh approach to the birth of Jesus, Hardwicke (Thirteen) tells the biblical story with energy and spark, adding layers of meaning that give the film a bit of a kick.

Full Review Source: Shadows on the Wall | comment Comment
11/30/06
Rich Cline
Rich Cline
Shadows on the Wall
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
12/30/06
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/30/06
Film Threat
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This is an old-fashioned Biblical film that, except for a very few aspects, could have been made in the '50s ... If you're not a wiseass like me and you like this sort of thing, [it]will probably be adequate ...

Full Review Source: Los Angeles CityBeat | comment Comment
11/30/06
Andy Klein
Andy Klein
Los Angeles CityBeat

You have the feeling that if the camera panned just a little to the left or right you'd see a a catering truck and trailers for the actors.

Full Review Source: KPBS.org | comment 2 Comments
12/03/06
Beth Accomando
Beth Accomando
KPBS.org

The proceedings come across as quite a bit less than the greatest story every told.

Full Review Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution | comment Comment
11/30/06
Bob Longino
Bob Longino
Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Everything is handled with an anvil-like importance, forgetting that, in essence, this is tale of great joy and hope.

Full Review Source: OhmyNews.com | comment Comment
12/01/06
Brian Orndorf
Brian Orndorf
OhmyNews.com

It’s a dreary, depressing slog until finally there's a tiny, tiny hint that the world could possibly contain joy, love and peace, instead of a wealth of evil.

Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine | comment Comment
12/01/06
Bridget Byrne
Bridget Byrne
Boxoffice Magazine

Catherine Hardwicke's original Christmas film is not the greatest story ever told. It is plodding, drab and boring.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
12/01/06
Bruce Kirkland
Bruce Kirkland
Jam! Movies

Just about as perfunctory and old-fashioned as can be.

Full Review Source: Bryant Frazer's Deep Focus | comment Comment
12/06/06
Bryant Frazer
Bryant Frazer
Bryant Frazer's Deep Focus

f you've ever gazed at Christmas cards featuring artworks of the great masters and wished those images would magically come to life, [this] is your kind of movie.

Full Review Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal | comment Comment
12/01/06
Carol Cling
Carol Cling
Las Vegas Review-Journal

If you've ever gazed at Christmas cards featuring artworks of the great masters and wished those images would magically come to life, [this] is your kind of movie.

Full Review Source: Las Vegas Review-Journal | comment Comment
12/01/06
Carol Cling
Carol Cling
Las Vegas Review-Journal

What we end up with is little more than a Christmas pageant with better production values.

Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press | comment Comment
11/30/06
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press

In their silken robes, the wise men -- like everyone else in The Nativity Story -- feel like participants in an elaborate high school production, one that looks authentic but has no soul.

Full Review Source: Associated Press | comment Comment
11/28/06
Christy Lemire
Christy Lemire
Associated Press
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by rotten rating; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 >> >|
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