63
New York Daily News by Elizabeth Weitzman
A visually lavish but somewhat sterile adaptation.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
40
Curiously flat and immobile.
70
Think of it as a dark, suspenseful scenario penned by Joseph Conrad and designed by Toulouse-Lautrec and Auguste Renoir, and jump right in.
50
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.
40
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.
40
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.
50
In spite of good performances and colorful design, The Rider Named Death is too grave and remote to stir much emotion.
70
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.
63
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.
50
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.