From Animals to Arks, How 'Noah' the Movie Compares to the Bible

The new movie "Noah," director Darren Aronofsky's $130 million epic retelling of the story of Noah's Ark and the Great Flood, carries this advisory: "While artistic license has been taken, we believe that this film is true to the essence, values and integrity of a story that is a cornerstone of faith for millions of people worldwide."

"Noah" has been banned in some Middle Eastern countries, and attacked by some Christian critics for taking liberties with scripture. Aronofksy told the New Yorker that "Noah" is "the least biblical biblical film ever made," hardly the kind of comment to calm the faithful.

Fair disclaimer, but it's likely not one that will reach all filmgoers who see "Noah" with the expectation that the Aronofsky's version will closely mirror the biblical series of events. For a little scriptural background and film fact-checking, Steven D. Greydanus, a film critic for the National Catholic Register and his own website, Decent Films, and a Bible student at the Archdiocese of Newark viewed the film before its release. The experts' general verdict: there's a lot that closely mimics the epic story, but some liberties are taken. Warning: Spoilers for the film obviously follow.

Is the word God missing from the film as some critics have charged?

No, says Greydanus. "For the most part, God is referred to in the film as 'the Creator' and this is a creative choice that I think does a lot for the film. It helps to defamiliarize the language somewhat, it makes the figure of God a little more mysterious to us." But His name is clearly spoken when Ham, second son of Noah, says to Tubal-cain: "My father says there can be no king. The Creator is God."

So who is this Tubal-cain?

Tubal-cain, introduced in the Book of Genesis, is a descendant of Adam and Eve's son Cain. He doesn't actually cross paths with Noah in the Bible but, as Greydanus explains, "the film needs someone to represent the evil of mankind that is responsible for God's judgment."

Ray Winstone plays Noah's nemesis, Tubal-cain, a descendant of Cain, in "Noah."

And what's with those giant rock creatures on Noah's ship-building crew?

That one is a little tricky. According to Greydanus, the giant Watchers of the film are derived from the Nephilim of the Book of Genesis, thought of as human-angel hybrids by some scholars, and the Watchers of the Book of Enoch in the Torah. "In Aronofsky's version, the angels crash-land on Earth and, because of their disobedience to God, are punished by having their bodies of light merged with the rock," Greydanus says. "So The Watchers of the Book of Enoch become the Nephilim in Aronofsky's telling."

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From Animals to Arks, How 'Noah' the Movie Compares to the Bible