The Star of Bethlehem (1921)
The original nativity story animated silent film by Lotte Reiniger.
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Very well executed
I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.
As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.
Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.
This past Christmas, I was glancing through a bargain bin of DVDs and found a compilation of Christmas shorts. While several of the titles in the collection turn up on numerous other compilations (the hazards of public domain!), I was surprised to find that one of the shorts was Lotte Reiniger's STAR OF BETHLEHEM. This is, perhaps, one of three titles by her still available. The only other early cut-out animation from this pioneer of the process is the excellent DVD of THE ADVENTURES OF PRINCE ACHMED, which not only contains that Arabian Nights feature, but a documentary on Reiniger, as well as an animated silent theatrical commercial by her for a popular bath soap. It's a pity that a more comprehensive compilation of her fairy tales has not been put together.