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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:7

Fresh:3

Rotten:4

Average Rating:5/10

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 - 9 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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N/R

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

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Guardian [UK] | comment Comment
12/30/06
Peter Bradshaw
Peter Bradshaw
Guardian [UK]
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N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: BBC | comment Comment
12/30/06
BBC
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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
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Of course there is nothing inherently wrong with preaching to the converted -- secular Hollywood does it all the time. But I confess I wish the movie had some of the passion of The Passion of the Christ.

Full Review Source: CNN.com | comment Comment
07/09/07
Tom Charity
Tom Charity
CNN.com
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A refreshingly unadorned example of straightforward storytelling.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
12/01/06
Bill Zwecker
Bill Zwecker
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This is not a chance to 'experience the most timeless of stories as you've never seen it before' but just the opposite: an opportunity, for those who want it, to encounter this story exactly the way it's almost always been told.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
11/30/06
Kenneth Turan
Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

... The Nativity Story sticks to the familiar details of the narrative and dramatizes them with sincerity and good taste.

comment Comment
11/30/06
A.O. Scott
A.O. Scott
New York Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Hollywood is in a born-again mode with its rediscovery that Biblical epics can bring manna at the boxoffice. In New Line Cinema's The Nativity Story we have the first smart, artistically and spiritually satisfying film to emerge from this trend.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment 2 Comments
11/22/06
Kirk Honeycutt
Kirk Honeycutt
Hollywood Reporter
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Memories of dreary Sunday school classes come flooding back courtesy of The Nativity Story.

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
11/22/06
Todd McCarthy
Todd McCarthy
Variety
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1 - 9 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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Latest News for The Nativity Story

November 29, 2007: Box Office Guru Preview: Mr. Skywalker and Ms. Storm in New Thriller
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This week at the movies, we've got a new take on the first Noel ("The Nativity Story," starring Keisha Castle-Hughes), endangered Americans in Brazil... More...

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