57
Metascore
8 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 88The Globe and Mail (Toronto)The Globe and Mail (Toronto)John Frankenheimer does an excellent job of maintaining tension in an implausible situation in Black Sunday. Good performance by Bruce Dern as the loony. [31 Dec 1977]
- 80TV Guide MagazineTV Guide MagazineBlack Sunday benefits from its technical skill, drawn-out suspense and developed characterizations, though the film could have been even more effectively tight with a shorter running time.
- 70NewsweekJack KrollNewsweekJack KrollThe best thing about Black Sunday is its pulsating rhythm of suspense and the glittering texture of details it assembles as it drives its way toward its climax. [04 Apr 1977, p.73]
- 60Time OutTime OutUnfortunately, all the major characters have a whiff of Hollywood artifice, largely because (as has happened too often before in his career) Frankenheimer gets carried away by their verbosity. But perhaps any Hollywood film giving the Palestinian case an airing deserves to be welcomed.
- 60The New York TimesVincent CanbyThe New York TimesVincent CanbyThe characters don't motivate the drama in any real way. They are cut and shaped to fit it, and if the cast of Black Sunday were not so good, and if Mr. Frankenheimer were a less able director, the movie would be unendurably boring.
- 50Washington PostGary ArnoldWashington PostGary ArnoldBlack Sunday takes such a plodding literal-minded approach with an extravagant thriller premise that we have more than enough time to watch the gears working and all too often jamming. [01 Apr 1977, p.B1]
- 40Chicago ReaderDave KehrChicago ReaderDave KehrOnce again, violence (more than 30 on-screen deaths) makes a poor substitute for suspense, while sloppy, rear projection work drains most of the excitement from the climax.