The Nativity Story is refreshingly original, an inspiring version for our age and, maybe, for the ages.
The Nativity Story (2006)
Tomatometer
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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.
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
Reviews for The Nativity Story
It's a rather lifeless re-telling of the Nativity, with greeting-card imagery and stiff performances.
Perhaps a special appearance from Old St. Nick might not have been such a bad idea.
Nativity is a movie that may not take full advantage of its tale but doesn't betray it either.
Inexorably tedious, and full of performances that are either absurdly malevolent in an over-the-top way (like Ciarán Hinds' King Herod) or completely wooden (like everybody else).
'When You Care Enough to Send the Very Best'...the film has all the substance, visual appeal, and excitement of a Hallmark card.
Just a clean re-telling of a benchmark in the endless conflict between spirituality and science, God and man.
The story is good, but the execution favors the safe over the challenging. Personally, I’d rather just read the Bible.
What we end up with is little more than a Christmas pageant with better production values.
Bless me, Father, for I have sinned. It has been three weeks since I saw The Nativity Story, and I still think it is so far from divine as to in fact be abominably bad.
[The Nativity Story has] little to offer besides a pageant with TV-style melodramatic flourishes.
The proceedings come across as quite a bit less than the greatest story every told.
...allows us to think of the parties involved as real human beings and not just characters from a Sunday school lesson.
Even at the height of Hollywood biblical epics, the real meaning of Christmas was essentially ignored. The Nativity Story goes a long way toward redressing this historic omission.
The greatest story ever told has been made into one of the worst movies of the year.
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 ...
The Nativity Story is a film of tame picture-book sincerity, but that's not the same thing as devotion. The movie is too tepid to feel, or see, the light.
Latest News for The Nativity Story
November 29, 2007:
Box Office Guru Preview: Mr. Skywalker and Ms. Storm in New Thriller
Only one new film ventures into wide release. Studios typically avoid opening worthwhile pics during the weekend after the Thanksgiving frame since moviegoing subsides and... More...
November 30, 2006:
Critical Consensus: "Nativity" Is Too Safe; "Turistas" Not Worth Trip
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...
November 30, 2006:
Box Office Guru Preview: "Nativity" Leads Trio of New Releases
The post-turkey blues will kick in as the North American box office should slump this weekend following a busy Thanksgiving holiday frame. More...
November 10, 2006:
The Weekly Ketchup: "Borat" Great Success, A New Sarah Connor, "Transformers" Travails, And More!
In this week's Ketchup, "Borat" blows away the box office competition, a new Sarah Connor is set for the small screen "Terminator," and Shia LaBoeuf... More...
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