Product Description

In a world torn apart by persecution, war and oppression, 3 children in Fatima, Portugal were chosen by God to offer an urgent message of hope to the world. Based on the memoirs of the oldest seer, Lucia Santos, and many thousands of independent eye-witness accounts, The 13th Day dramatizes the true story of three young shepherds who experienced six apparitions of Our Lady between May and October 1917, which culminated in the final prophesied Miracle of the Sun on October 13th. Abducted from their homes, thrown into prison and interrogated under the threat of death in the government's attempt to silence them, the children remained true to their story about the crucial messages from Mary of prayer, repentance and conversion for the world.

Our Lady gave a secret to the children told in three parts, from a harrowing vision of hell, to prophetic warnings of future events including the advent and timing of the Second World War, the spread of communism, and the attempted assassination of the Pope.

Stylistically beautiful and technically innovative, the film uses state-of-the-art digital effects to create stunning images of the visions and the final miracle that have never before been fully realized on screen. Shot on location in Portugal and in the UK, the film has a cast of hundreds to re-create the scenes of the 70,000 strong crowds, with 3 young Portuguese actors play the iconic roles of the Seers.

Witness the greatest miracle of the 20th Century, and experience the incredible, emotionally-charged and harrowing world of three young children whose choice to remain loyal to their beliefs, even in the face of death, would inspire thousands. Filmed in High Definition with Dolby Surround Sound. Stars Jane Lesley, Michael D'Cruze, Filipa Fernandes and Tarek Merlin.

Special Features
- 24 page companion Collector's Booklet with special interviews, articles, pictures and more!
- Film on Fatima with Fr. Andrew Apostoli titled "Fatima: Message of Hope for Today"
- Optional English, Spanish or Portuguese subtitles
- DVD case includes an actual Rosary
- beautiful color leaflet with Rosary mysteries and prayers
- lovely color Fatima prayer card

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5918 in DVD
• Brand: Ignatius Press
• Released on: 2009-12-01
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: NTSC, Surround Sound
• Running time: 85 minutes

Review
The 13th Day is the best film ever made about Fatima the most beautiful and effective, as well as one of the most historically accurate. Sister Lucia's memories are imbued with an aura of reverie and contemplation by striking visuals, an effective score and a stark, simple narrative. A fact-based film that succeeds in being both artful and reverent is a rare thing. The 13th Day succeeds. --Steve Greydanus, National Catholic Register

Review
Catholic and non-Catholic viewers alike will be captivated by the dramatic and artistic retelling of the Fatima apparitions during a new film, The 13th Day. The lighting, careful positioning of characters within a scene and innovative cinematic effects add to the film's appeal. The directors, Ian and Dominic Higgins, use digital effects to help viewers realize the profound and powerful nature of both the apparitions and the miracle. --Laura Wright, Catholic Standard

Review
A remarkable re-telling of the story of Fatima, told from the perspective of Sister Lucia s memories. A moving presentation that vividly portrays the courage of the children and the great demands made not only on them but on their families. I believe that many will be deeply touched by the film. --Most Reverend Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster, UK

Customer Reviews

God Proves HIs Existence
In 1917, 3 uneducated children said said that the Mother of Jesus had appeared to them, and had told them God would work a great miracle on October 13th. On that day, 70,000 rain-soaked people saw the sun burst throught the clouds and start to spin, throwing a kaleidscope of colors over the ground. Then, to their wonder and terror, the sun appeared to jump and dance in the sky, and finally to fall towards the earth. After several minutes the downward spiral stopped, and the sun returned to its normal position and appearance. As the crowd recovered from this scare, they began to notice that their clothing was now bone dry. Skeptical journalists who had come to report on nothing more than the anger of disappointed wonder-seekers instead published accounts of a miracle that can still be found on microfilm in city libraries.

There have been several films made on the events of Fatima. One is a 1950s Hollywood spectacle done in the tradition of The Song of Bernadette. Not bad, but a tad too Hollywood, with a made up starring character to provide (I guess) comic relief. In 1992, a documentary-type re-enactment titled "Apparitions At Fatima" was produced in Europe. Very accurate, but lacking decent special effects, and, as Steve Greydnaus has said, not compelling as cinematic art.

The 13th Day leaves surpasses these earlier efforts. Directors Ian and Dominic Higgins were illustrators before the were film makers, and it shows. Evert shot of The13th Day could be framed and hang on a wall. Most of the movie is done in black and white--color only blooms across the screen during each apparition. The absence of color makes the more primal light and darkness jump out at the viewer. The miracle of the sun scenes match eyewitness descriptions more accurately than any other movie version. And here's a first: the vision of the "third secret"(that involved Pope John Paul II) is depicted on film for the first time.

Now, keep in mind this is NOT a documentary. To keep the film a manageable length, the Angel apparitions of 1916 were not dealt with, and only four of the six apparitions are depicted. In the scenes where an older (Sister) Lucia is writing her memoirs, the voiceover narration is not word for word quotes from her writing, but rather the script writer's way of introducing each set of events in the film. Another criticism: the character of Lucia as protrayed in the film is a more introverted, taciturn person than the Lucia of history. But The 13th day is overall very true to the events, the spirit, and above all the message of Fatima. And the film is a thing of beauty.

The BEST portrayal yet of the Fatima Events
This is by far, the best movie ever made on the 1917 Fatima events. It had the feel of an old-time, classic black & white movie... but with sprinkles of dazzling colorized state-of-the-art special effects that made the supernatural depictions in the movie come to vivid life.

I really liked the way the story of the events was told in a straight-forward manner - based closely on the memoirs of the late Sr. Lucia - without being overly-dramatized as in the early Hollywood version of the Fatima story. My family and I watched the entire movie with wrapt interest as it progressed through a steady pace and all of us were deeply moved by certain scenes. Of course the climax of the movie was the great miracle that was foretold by the Blessed Virgin for October 13th, 1917... and the movie's superior special effects did it justice!

All in all, I highly recommend this DVD to all families, and especially to those individuals who have a special interest in Mariology and Marian apparitions. I think the spiritual message of Fatima could have been emphasized a bit more in the movie, but the Special Features in the DVD more than made up for any ommissions - it's definitely a movie worth having as part your family's DVD home collection.

A Great Family Movie
This movie was wonderful. We showed it to our children - the youngest that saw it was six years old. They really enjoyed it too and saw how the shepherd children felt during the whole ordeal: the disbelief of some of their family members & friends as well as the persecution from the government.

It made me want to learn more about the Fatima message. The DVD has a special feature which is a series of interviews that provides background information on the Marian apparitions.