The Nativity Story Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

The Nativity Story Blu-ray Movie Review

A Young Couple on the Cusp of History and Heaven

Reviewed by Michael Reuben March 4, 2013

The Nativity Story was released theatrically for the Christmas holiday season in 2006, but New Line issued the DVD for Easter the following year. Warner, which has since absorbed New Line, is doing the same thing for the Blu-ray. The timing is appropriate, however, because a signature feature of director Catherine Hardwicke's retelling of the Biblical account is its richly textured portrayal of the extreme poverty and hardship throughout the land where Jesus was born. The brutality of the Roman-controlled local government is shown with as much frankness as a PG rating will allow, and foreshadowings of Christ's future occur throughout the film. It is almost impossible to watch The Nativity Story without some awareness that its joyous conclusion also marks the beginning of a journey that concludes with the momentous events marked by Ash Wednesday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday.

Screenwriter Mike Rich is no stranger to stories of struggle and triumph. His other works include Finding Forrester and Secretariat. But in scripting The Nativity Story, Rich wanted to return to basics and try to imagine people who had no idea that they were in the process of becoming religious icons and world-historical figures. How would such individuals—the crucial one a mere teenager—react to the extraordinary events recounted in the Gospels?

The focus of Rich's script guided the producers' choice of director. A distinguished production designer, Hardwicke had directed only two films, both of them focused on contemporary teens, Thirteen and Lords of Dogtown. (She would later direct the first Twilight movie.) The producers wanted someone who would remain focused on creating an authentic screen version of ancient Judea and who had a proven track record working with young actors. They also wanted a female perspective in the director's chair, because, as anyone familiar with the story should know, the "star" of the story that ends with Jesus' birth is his mother, Mary.

In fine filmmaking tradition, Rich and Hardwicke open the film with shocking images: the Massacre of the Innocents ordered by King Herod (Ciarán Hinds), who, upon hearing that the long-awaited messiah has been recently born in Bethlehem, orders all male children two and under to be slaughtered. The story then winds back a year to show how we reached this horrible event, but already the point has been made that Jesus's path through the world will be perilous and bloody.

Three intertwining plots make up the remainder of the film. One of them follows Herod as he taxes his people into near-starvation, builds grand palaces to his glory and is always looking over his shoulder for the next plot or rival, including his own son, Antipas (Alessandro Giuggioli). Hinds, who, by coincidence, had just played Julius Caesar in HBO's Rome, gives Herod the menacing intelligence of one of Shakespeare's villainous nobles, but Herod's lack of imagination is his undoing. Hearing rumors among the people of a great king who will unseat him, he searches for a warrior. Only too late does he learn from the Magi that his enemy is a child of humble birth.

The three Magi are the second plot line, and it's here that Rich and Hardwicke make their only major misstep by trying to introduce comic relief. Students of both astrology and prophesy, the Magi surround themselves with luxury as they scour both the heavens and ancient texts for clues to the birth of the messiah. When they discover an imminent alignment of planets that foretells the blessed event, it is Melchior (Nadim Sawalha) who insists on leaving their comfortable quarters and journeying across the desert to witness the event for themselves. Balthasar (Eriq Ebouaney) reluctantly agrees after debating how many camels will be needed to carry his luggage, but Gaspar (Stefan Kalipha) refuses to leave his study, only to catch up later with the other two. The actors do their best, but the comedy feels forced and detracts from the intensity of the faith that drives the Magi on their quest.

The third and most important plot is that of Mary (Keisha Castle-Hughes) and Joseph (Oscar Isaac) themselves. Ordinary young people in Nazareth, a town groaning under the weight of Herod's taxes and the cruelty of his tax collectors, they are pledged in a marriage arranged between Mary's father, Joaquim (Shaun Toub), and Joseph. Mary is assured by her mother, Anna (Hiam Abbass), that the arrangement is for the best, but is unsettled at the thought of spending her life with a man she doesn't love. Shortly, however, she has weightier matters to consider.

Hardwicke's staging of the Annunciation is especially impressive, because it is so restrained. On an otherwise ordinary day, a distant figure appears and then is somehow next to Mary. There are no blaring trumpets or other loud sounds and only the subtlest of visual effects. The Angel Gabriel (Alexander Siddig) gently informs Mary of her chosen status and then departs, leaving Mary to ponder her future. For advice and counsel, she visits her cousin Elizabeth (Shohreh Aghdashloo), where she witnesses the birth of the baby who will become John the Baptist, son of Zachariah (Stuart Townsend).

Mary's return to Nazareth, where her now-visible pregnancy causes consternation, and her subsequent trip to Bethlehem with Joseph, where he must register for August Caesar's census, are some of the film's most interesting sequences, because they depict the growing relationship between two people coming to terms with the realization that they have been chosen to act as parents to the Son of God. The best moments are often the quietest, as, for example, the exchange when the young couple sit by a campfire and admit to each other that they are both afraid. It is with such simple touches that Hardwicke most effectively reawakens a fresh sense of wonder from a story that every Sunday School attendee can recite by rote.

The Nativity Story Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Hardwicke tapped her cinematographer from her previous two films, Elliot Davis, to shoot The Nativity Story. (Davis also shot her Twilight film and, more recently, The Iron Lady for director Phyllida Lloyd.) Captured on film and finished on a digital intermediate, The Nativity Story was given a look dictated largely by the period production design, which was monochromatic, and the arid locations in Morocco. To the extent any color remained, it appears to have been further desaturated in post-production, with the exception of scenes involving the Magi, who, by virtue of their wealth, could afford more vivid finery.

Warner's 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray features exceptional, almost tactile detail that renders the landscape almost three-dimensional in some scenes. Blacks are solid and well-differentiated—a must, given the lack of strong colors to separate one plane from another. The grain pattern is unusually fine, which is probably a result of the DI process, but nothing looks filtered or smoothed. Nor does any of the image's sharpness appear to be the result of electronic enhancement. Although the bitrate is not the highest I've seen (at just under 21 Mbps), there were no evident compression artifacts, and given the limited audio options and the relative lack of extras, the 101-minute film fits comfortably onto a BD-25.

The Nativity Story Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack is pleasant-sounding and professionally engineered, with good dynamic range and a fine sense of presence, especially for Mychael Danna's elegant score, which strikes an apt balance between an adventure story and a devotional experience. The spare dialogue is always clear. Although the temptation to add thunderous sound effects to appearances of the Angel Gabriel must have been overwhelming, these major events remain understated and dreamlike. To the extent the surrounds become active, it is only in isolated moments such as Herod's tour of a palace under construction or a river crossing by Mary and Joseph that turns hazardous.

The Nativity Story Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

I do not have the 2007 New Line DVD, but assuming it is identical to the DVD included with the Blu-ray, then the documentary is a new feature.

• The Nativity Story: A Director's Journey (480i; 1.85:1, non-enhanced; 23:13): This informative documentary includes interviews with Hardwicke, Rich, Castle-Hughes, Isaac, various producers and production designer Stefano Maria Ortolani, among others. It includes footage from rehearsals, location scouts, set construction and filming and provides a useful (if not in-depth) look at the making of the film.



• Trailer #1 (1080p; 2.35:1; 2:34): A traditional trailer with scenes.



• Teaser Trailer (1080p; 2.35:1; 1:16): Little more than an announcement that the film is coming.

The Nativity Story Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Nativity Story did modest but not impressive box office and was widely criticized for being insufficiently grand. In its personal and intimate approach to the story of Christ's birth, it is perhaps better suited to the home viewing experience. Still, one cannot hope to immerse oneself in Hardwicke's meticulous recreation of ancient Judea without a superior reproduction of the film's detailed imagery. Warner's Blu-ray provides just that and, for those wishing to enter into the experience, is highly recommended.