One Day in September
Sony Pictures Classics | Release Date: November 17, 2000 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
82
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 20 Critic Reviews
Positive:
19
Mixed:
1
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
New York Daily NewsJami Bernard
A gripping thriller whose terror -- unfortunately -- comes from real life. Read full review
100
USA TodayStaff [Not Credited]
Comprehensive and blisteringly paced. Read full review
90
Los Angeles TimesKenneth Turan
This utterly compelling behind-the-scenes account of that horrific event unfolds with a potent sense of authority and authenticity. Read full review
90
L.A. WeeklyElla Taylor
Macdonald's singular achievement is to restore -- through interviews and archival footage -- the dead to such vivid life, you weep for them and for their families, who have only memories to live off. Read full review
90
Village VoiceAmy Taubin
It could be described as the most gripping political thriller to hit the big screen in many years, although given the events it depicts through interviews, photographs, and news footage, the words "gripping" and "thriller" have inappropriately frivolous and commercial associations. Read full review
89
Austin ChronicleMarjorie Baumgarten
Scores its ultimate coup de grace though its interviews. Macdonald has lined up an amazing collection of interviewees. Read full review
88
Mr. ShowbizKevin Maynard
Especially timely in light of the current escalation in Palestinian-Israeli aggressions, but this is one sad story that would pack a staggering punch in any political climate. Read full review
88
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
Macdonald's film brilliantly telescopes the '70s, an era when every physical action had its equal and opposite political reaction. Read full review
88
Miami HeraldMarta Barber
Gripping, made more intense by the knowledge that all is true. Read full review
80
Washington PostDesson Thomson
Straightforward but nonetheless powerful documentary. Read full review
80
Washington PostStephen Hunter
The film, built of interviews with participants, is fast-paced, utterly absorbing and ultimately tragic. Read full review
80
TV Guide MagazineKen Fox
It's a shocking story, made all the more so by the film's final revelation, an outrageous allegation no one even bothers to deny. Read full review
80
VarietyDennis Harvey
Never less than gripping as an account of what happened and what went terribly wrong. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleEdward Guthmann
Impassioned and well-crafted, One Day in September is also grueling. Read full review
75
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
Sweeps us back into a terrifying and desperate string of events and makes us feel them - and, more crucially, understand them as well. Read full review
75
New York PostLou Lumenick
A gripping reminder of a brutal chapter of 20th-century history. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Grips the attention and is exciting and involving. I recommend it on that basis--and also because of the new information it contains. Read full review
70
Dallas ObserverJean Oppenheimer
Nothing, however, can diminish the sense of horror we feel at what happened that day in September, while Macdonald's revelations and the candid comments he elicits more than make up for the film's less successful elements. Read full review
70
The New York TimesRon Wertheimer
Given the power of its story, One Day in September seems at times to be pushing too hard. Read full review
60
Film.comPeter Brunette
One Day in September does "being there" very well -- I just wish director Macdonald had spent a little more time explaining why we should want to be there in the first place. Read full review
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