New York Daily News by Jami Bernard

A gripping thriller whose terror -- unfortunately -- comes from real life.

USA Today by Staff [Not Credited]

Comprehensive and blisteringly paced.

Village Voice by Amy 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.

L.A. Weekly by Ella 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.

Los Angeles Times by Kenneth Turan

This utterly compelling behind-the-scenes account of that horrific event unfolds with a potent sense of authority and authenticity.

Austin Chronicle by Marjorie Baumgarten

Scores its ultimate coup de grace though its interviews. Macdonald has lined up an amazing collection of interviewees.

Mr. Showbiz by Kevin 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.

Miami Herald by Marta Barber

Gripping, made more intense by the knowledge that all is true.

Philadelphia Inquirer by Carrie Rickey

Macdonald's film brilliantly telescopes the '70s, an era when every physical action had its equal and opposite political reaction.

Washington Post by Stephen Hunter

The film, built of interviews with participants, is fast-paced, utterly absorbing and ultimately tragic.

Washington Post by Desson Thomson

Straightforward but nonetheless powerful documentary.

New York Post by Lou Lumenick

A gripping reminder of a brutal chapter of 20th-century history.

Chicago Tribune by Michael Wilmington

Sweeps us back into a terrifying and desperate string of events and makes us feel them - and, more crucially, understand them as well.

San Francisco Chronicle by Edward Guthmann

Impassioned and well-crafted, One Day in September is also grueling.

The New York Times

Given the power of its story, One Day in September seems at times to be pushing too hard.

Dallas Observer by Jean 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.

Film.com by Peter 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.