TV Guide Magazine by Ken Fox

Think of it as a dark, suspenseful scenario penned by Joseph Conrad and designed by Toulouse-Lautrec and Auguste Renoir, and jump right in.

Variety by Ronnie Scheib

Instead of using its hot-button issues as a present-day hook, sticks with a 19th century mindset which it accompanies with elegant turn-of-the-century decors.

Boston Globe by Ty Burr

Shakhnazarov's film effortlessly captures the times and the author's conflicted yet unyielding attitude, yet it never draws any conclusions -- the film remains under glass.

New York Daily News by Elizabeth Weitzman

A visually lavish but somewhat sterile adaptation.

Los Angeles Times by Kevin Crust

The force of the film is not as profound as Shakhnazarov clearly intended, and The Rider Named Death is easier to respect than enjoy.

The A.V. Club by Noel Murray

In spite of good performances and colorful design, The Rider Named Death is too grave and remote to stir much emotion.

New York Post by V.A. Musetto

You can't fault the film's elegant look. But you have to wonder why Shakhnazarov, one of Russian's most experienced filmmakers, didn't take more care with the script.

L.A. Weekly by Ella Taylor

Curiously flat and immobile.

The New York Times by Lawrence Van Gelder

To make a film in 2005 that asks audiences to sympathize with the plight of a band of terrorists is an intellectually audacious gesture.

Village Voice by Michael Atkinson

All the same, The Rider Named Death is curiously anemic; rather than passion, outrage, and danger, we're contemplating the sotto voce conspiracy love of a quaintly distant age, when results weren't quite as emotionally important as commitment and camaraderie.