Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie

  • Rated Not Rated
  • 1hr 47m

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Movie Info & Cast

Release Date:

Sep 17, 2026

Runtime:

1hr 47m

Synopsis

New footage by Rushdie's wife shows his recovery path after the attack, capturing both physical healing and renewed hope. Based on his memoir "Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder."
Moviegoers are saying
Alex Gibney's intimate documentary about Salman Rushdie's 2022 stabbing attack divides audiences between those moved by the author's raw vulnerability and courage, and those who find the filmmaking itself disappointingly conventional despite its powerful subject matter. The film's unflinching hospital footage shot by Rushdie's wife Rachel Eliza Griffiths creates an intensely personal viewing experience that some find inspiring while others describe as having 'main-character energy.'
Top Mentions
Stomach-Turning
Unflinching
Parasocial-Anxiety
Main-Character-Energy
Butchered-Reality
Carnivorous-Reading
Summary generated from the text of Atom User reviews

Letterboxd User Reviews

3.5
706
519
117
RATINGS 0 FANS
3.5
  • Jan 25, 2026

    KNIFE: THE ATTEMPTED MURDER OF SALMAN RUSHDIE takes us through the man’s life, career, assassination attempt and eventual recovery through a largely conventional but intimate approach, revealing both the ugliness and the beauty of humanity along the way. Rushdie’s…

    36 Likes
    Matt Neglia
    Matt Neglia
    Sep 19, 2026

    Middle of the road Gibney (which, when considered next to most contemporary documentaries is a high compliment) but the real highlight — and the reason Nile and I simply HAD to be there — was the post screening Q&A between the editor of the film and American actor Alec…

    17 Likes
    Max Bolen
    Max Bolen

    From Sundance 2026 On August 12, 2022, Indian-born novelist Salman Rushdie was stabbed 15 times while on stage for a speaking event in Chautauqua, New York. The attack, which drew widespread publicity, was undoubtedly traumatic, both physically and psychologically. But it…

    17 Likes
    SiddhantAdlakha
    SiddhantAdlakha
  •
    Jan 26, 2026

    Repeatedly commits the cardinal sin of using far better works of art in its creation. Now I just want to watch Psycho, Knife in the Water, The Seventh Seal, etc. There’s a particularly egregious use of High and Low that really pushed the technique from slightly annoying…

    11 Likes
    Ben Delgado
    Ben Delgado
    Sep 12, 2026

    I've only read a handful of books that have honestly changed my outlook on the world: Plato's Republic (insufferable, I know); Shūsaku Endō's Silence; Leisure, the Basis of Culture by Josef Pieper; How to Blow Up a Pipeline; and Cixin Liu's Remembrance of Earth's Past…

    7 Likes
    Joshua Polanski
    Joshua Polanski
    Sep 30, 2026

    5/10 screening at The Light Cinema. Salmon Rushdie wrote a misunderstood book that unintentionally offended a very thin skinned religion on a topic they don't like folk to talk about... He became the object of a serious fatwa... after having to hide for ages he then became…

    4 Likes
    Gavin Turner
    Gavin Turner
  • Oct 2, 2026

    My biggest takeaway from this documentary is that somehow Sallman Rushdie had crazy game. Jesus his wives throughout the years were gorgeous! He’s always looked about the same lol. Maybe there’s something alluring about having a fatwa.

    4 Likes
    sam
    sam
    Oct 2, 2026

    The terrifying, inspiring story of how Salman Rushdie survived and thrived after the assassination attempt on him in New York in 2022 is the subject of this excellent documentary from Alex Gibney — based on Rushdie’s own memoir, narrated extensively by the author himself,…

    3 Likes
    Peter Bradshaw
    Peter Bradshaw
    Jun 12, 2026

    The moment that broke my heart: Salman Rushdie: “I’m afraid I’ve lost my eye.” Wes Anderson: “Don’t stress! You can still watch movies, just not in 3D.”

    6 Likes
    Jacob Mclean
    Jacob Mclean

Atom Users Reviews

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Metacritic

80
metacritic
Based on 13 Critics
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USER SCORE (0)

There are no user reviews yet
70
Sep 17, 2026

In ways that are sometimes inspiring, sometimes indulgent, Rushdie explains his desire, in recent decades, to lead a more public life.

Metacritic review by Ben Kenigsberg
Ben Kenigsberg
The New York Times
80
Jan 30, 2026

While it feels a fraction overlong, Gibney’s film is a vibrant testament to the intellectual life of its subject.

Metacritic review by David Rooney
David Rooney
The Hollywood Reporter
83
Jan 30, 2026

Gibney unspools an ambitious, three-pronged timeline that mixes and mingles throughout the documentary, including the immediate aftermath of the attack, Rushdie’s youth and early years of writing, and what happened in 1988 after the publication of his “Satanic Verses.”

Kate Erbland
IndieWire

Frequently Asked Questions

When does Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie come out in theaters?
September 17, 2026 is the release date.
How long is Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie (2026)?
The movie is 1hr 47min long.
What's Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie (2026) about?
New footage by Rushdie's wife shows his recovery path after the attack, capturing both physical healing and renewed hope. Based on his memoir "Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder."