The Nativity Story
|
List Price: Our Price: $3.01 You Save: $11.95 (80%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.94 (click here) Category: DVD See more DVD releases |
|---|
Buy this DVD movie at online store in your country
Canada
Canada
Movie Reviews of The Nativity Story
Movie Review: Family Friendly
Summary: 5 Stars
Most of the previous reviewers (who have reviewed the movie itself rather than the DVD, which isn't out yet) have done a fine job of reviewing the movie. I consider their reviews accurate, and I too loved the movie. Yes, the critics you'll read in the newspapers find the movie boring. That's because they find religion boring and offensive. For people who believe in Jesus Christ rather than James Bond, going to the theater this Christmas season to see The Nativity Story, and then buying it for future Christmas seasons, is a really good idea. I'd hesitated to go based on who directed the film, but it turned out well (if you get too picky about perfection in directors and actors, you miss great films like The End of the Spear). Not perfectly (I'm not sure, for example, that the Wise-Men-as-comedy-troupe works so well), but very well, especially as a story not just about baby Jesus but also about Mary and Joseph.
I write simply to address the question one person asked about whether the movie is appropriate for preteens.The movie begins with Herod's soldiers raiding Bethlehem to kill the male babies. No babies get sliced up onscreen, but it's clear that is what is happening in the town. It might be too intense for some kids, as might be a scene where a daughter is forcibly taken away by the Romans in payment of taxes. It's definitely not at the intensity of The Passion of the Christ, though (a great movie that I can't imagine taking preteens to see). There's also a circumcision scene, in which anyone who knows anything about Jewish traditions knows what is happening to the baby, and that would make anyone cringe. There are also passing shots of people who have been crucified. Overall, the movie's pacing is slow but builds to a good climax. Interspersed are some realities of biblical life. I took my kids, who range from 8 up, and would have regretted not taking them. The bishop of my LDS congregation recommended the movie without reservation. But there may be some preteens who would do better without seeing it. You know your kids best. You might use pluggedinonline as a good family friendly movie review source.
Movie Review: Solid, reverent, existential telling...
Summary: 5 Stars
Director Catherine Hardwicke has done an excellent job rendering THE CHRISTMAS story. Drawing Scriptural underpining from Gospel of St.Luke,she ably dramatizes the initial ACT of Incarnation & Birth of Jesus Christ,
culminating event in Christian Confession of Salvation History.Jump-cut technique segues~from machinations of Herod & Son to destroy the prophesized MESSIAH...to personal challenges of The Holy Family in scandal of young Mary's pregnancy with Joseph's heroic acceptance of faith's burden...to bewilderment of Mary's parents,and consternation of Nazareth Community which threatens Mary with execution under Jewish Law.Political reality of Roman domination contra mystical ambience of Divinity is presented in scenes depicting Caesar's Legions ruthlessly enforcing Tax levies; the Angel of the Lord(Gabriel/Alexander Sidding)proclaiming the miraculous; and The Magi probing cosmic secrets of the stars and esoteric literature.
NATIVITY STORY is solid,reverent existential telling of the birth of The King of Kings.Keisha Castle-Hughes is excellent as regal young girl chosen to be THEOTOKOS,the God-bearer.Oscar Isaac is equally noteworthy as the man who renounces personal ambition(and at first,his sense of HONOR)to be protector of The Christ and his Mother.The ensemble cast is effective in bringing CHRIST back into CHRISTmas despite our PM culture's prodigious efforts(from Saintless Nicks;to relativising PC-osities like "Happy Holidays" to shameless equivocations like Kwanza).
The film ends with The Blessed Mother reciting THE MAGNIFICAT.This was the celebratory poem of saluation Mary declaimed in greeting her cousin, Elizabeth(also miraculously--PM--pregnant with John the Baptist):MY SOUL DOTH MAGNIFY THE LORD/AND MY SPIRIT REJOICES IN GOD MY SAVIOR/BECAUSE HE HAS REGARDED THE HUMILITY OF HIS HANDMAID,FROM HENCEFORTH ALL GENERATIONS WILL CALL ME BLESSED/FOR HE WHO IS MIGHTY HAS DONE GREAT THINGS FOR ME/ HOLY IS HIS NAME! This is a wonderful,truly Christmas movie for anyone who has forgotten...or been made ashamed to remember...what CHRISTMAS is.(777 stars)
Movie Review: One Of The Greatest Historic Epics - 10/10
Summary: 5 Stars
The title of "The Nativity Story" says it all: the tale of Jesus's birth, from Mary's early meetings with Joseph, through the angel's prophecies, and all the way to the Bethlehem manger. Boasting great production and one of the most authentic feels for a historic tale, "The Nativity Story" captures a lot of different moods of the time: a dark and desperate atmosphere for the depiction of life under a tyrant (in this case King Herod) to magic-feeling, inspirational moments, and a surprisingly large dose of playfulness and humor. A lot of the gentle humor comes from the depiction of the Three Kings following the Star Of Bethlehem. Handled wrong, inserting a lot of comedy into their voyage and dialogues could have come off tacky, but here it adds very nicely to the overall picture. The characters of Mary and Joseph are developed exceptionally well. Also of note is the superior cinematography, brilliantly capturing the rugged, magnificent beauty of the Middle East. Very nice musical score too, and a momentous finale that ranks high in the pantheon of movie climaxes.
A lot of people say this movie is too 'restrained' or subtle. I disagree. When filiming an epic, there's a time to go in with lots of bombast and big visuals, like with "Star Wars" or "Chronicles Of Narnia" or "Lord Of The Rings", but there's also a time to step back a bit and go slower, with a few less big dramatic impacts, and a bit more focus on capturing the day-to-day context in which the big events take place. The former approach worked smashingly on the other movies mentioned, and the latter works smashingly here. Fans of Keisha Castle-Hughes's performance as Mary will probably want to check out Whale Rider, another great movie; and if you enjoy The Nativity Story I really recommend Jesus, the 2000 tv mini-series, which has never gotten the full credit it's due.
Movie Review: The Nativity
Summary: 5 Stars
"The Nativity Story" is a really decent interpretation of the birth of Jesus, as portrayed in the Bible, I thought. It's simply done, reverent but with a lightness of touch and softly styled.
Mary ("Whaler Rider's" Keisha Castle-Hughes) is betrothed to be married to Joseph, a man she doesn't know well enough to love. An angel visits her elder cousin Elizabeth, telling her that she'll have a child in her old age, who'll be named John. Mary also is visited by an angel who tells her she'll have a baby, but she's never been with a man. The child is to be called Jesus, and he shall be the Son of God, the Messiah the people of Judea, oppressed by the Roman Empire and King Herod, have been waiting for. Mary's afraid that Joseph won't believe her and that her parents will reject her, so she runs away to her cousin Elizabeth. Meanwhile, in Persia, three wise men discover that a bright star will appear over the Judean province, a star that matches prophecies regarding the Messiah, and decide to make the journey there. Thanks to an upcoming Roman census, Mary will also need to make a journey, and so will her husband Joseph...
One thing this film does is emphasizes Joseph's role in Jesus' life. Here, he's not just a man in the background. He's a loving man, a giving man, a protective, a man of positive influence, who wins the reluctant Mary over with love. The Jewish roots of Christianity are also emphasized, which was a nice touch, in the people, the places, the speech and the everyday goings on. I loved the shots of the Temple in Jerusalem. All of Jerusalem's done really nicely, actually, and Bethlehem. Not quite sure how they did it, but it had a really organic look. The score is nicely done too, with nice little thematic references to a couple of Christmas Carols, which were actually really effective, I thought.
It's the nativity story, straight up, no controversies or awkward twists. Worth a look when you can.
Movie Review: A wonderful story
Summary: 5 Stars
This movie provides an excellent recap of the lives of Mary and Joseph leading up to Jesus's birth. As with most movies, there are some minor inconsistencies between the story reflected in the movie and what is written in the New Testament. One such inconsistency is how the story tells about the three magi who are following the signs from the stars in hopes of Jesus's birth. According to the New Testament (Matthew 2:10), "When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy." Once they noticed the stars lined up while on their horses, they seemed more at peace than overly excited. Additionally, according to the movie these three magi were close to Bethlehem the night of his birth and followed the light from the three stars to find the newborn child. However, according to the New Testament (Matthew 2:11), the magi (an unidentified number) actually went to Mary and Joseph's house and fell down to worship him, then presented the gifts. They probably chose to show the magi that same night to go along with the story as it is familiarly retold. Another example of a part of the movie that seems a bit off is when Mary is shown in the movie to witness John's birth and then returns home but in Luke 1:56, Mary returns home and in Luke 1:57, Elizabeth gives birth.
Nevertheless, overall I believe it was very realistic and fairly close to what is recorded in the New Testament. For example, King Herod's rule and the Roman oppression seemed accurately portrayed, especially during the scenes of innocent killing, tax collections, and ordering the census. The angel appearing for Zechariah, Mary, Joseph and the shepherds seemed accurately represented according to the Bible as well. Even the part where Zechariah was unable to talk due to him not believing the angel in the temple and then later having to write his son's name, John, on the tablet which suddenly allowed his tongue to loosen is as mentioned in Luke, chapter 1.