Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie

Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie
Directed byAlex Gibney
Produced byErin Edeiken
Alex Gibney
Sruthi Pinnamaneni
CinematographyBenjamin Bloodwell
Edited byAndy Grieve
Music byWill Bates
Production
company
Jigsaw Productions
Release date
  • January 25, 2026 (2026-01-25) (Sundance)
Running time
107 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie is a 2026 American documentary film which details the recovery of Salman Rushdie after his attempted assassination in 2022. The film is based on his memoir Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder. It is directed by Alex Gibney.[1]

The film premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival.[2]

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of 11 critics' reviews are positive.[3] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 83 out of 100, based on seven critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[4]

Kate Erbland of IndieWire gave the film a B+ and wrote, "Rushdie provides voiceover throughout, and there is an immediate impact from hearing a man narrate his own attempted murder, and with such a calm (and often darkly humorous) demeanor."[5]

David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "While it feels a fraction overlong, Gibney's film is a vibrant testament to the intellectual life of its subject."[6]

References

  1. ^ Morfoot, Addie (June 3, 2024). "Salman Rushdie Documentary Set Based on His Memoir 'Knife,' With Alex Gibney Directing (EXCLUSIVE)".
  2. ^ Lee, Benjamin (December 10, 2025). "Charli xcx, Natalie Portman and Salman Rushdie lead 2026 Sundance lineup" – via The Guardian.
  3. ^ "Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved February 4, 2026.
  4. ^ "Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie". Metacritic. Retrieved February 4, 2026.
  5. ^ Erbland, Kate (January 26, 2026). "'Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie' Review: Don't Look Away from This Staggeringly Intimate Doc". IndieWire. Retrieved January 26, 2026.
  6. ^ Rooney, David (January 25, 2026). "'Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie' Review: Alex Gibney's Intimate Study of Physical and Spiritual Recovery". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 26, 2026.