Black Sunday

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Black Sunday

R

1977

2h 23m

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

76%

Tomatometer

33 Reviews

65%

Popcornmeter

2,500+ Ratings

Blimp pilot Michael Lander (Bruce Dern), who has endured the horrors of the Vietnam War, is now psychotic. Hoping to kill himself in grand fashion, he teams with Palestinian terrorist Dahlia (Marthe Keller), who plans on using Lander to set off a bomb at the Super Bowl by crashing his aircraft into the crowded stands. With thousands of lives at stake, Israeli military agent Kabakov (Robert Shaw) teams with the F.B.I. in an attempt to stop Lander's mass murder-suicide.

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Critics Consensus

A smart, tense thriller from director John Frankenheimer, Black Sunday succeeds on a technical level, even if it fails to bring its characters to vivid life.

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John Hindle

The Age (Australia)

Sep 27, 2025

Black Sunday is a thrill -- and the thrills and tension are very much in evidence.

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Richard Corliss

TIME Magazine

Aug 23, 2016

Black Sunday may well make a bundle, thanks to the technical skill with which it manages its long-delayed payoff. But it is getting tiresome to be forced to admire, for want of anything else to do, the skill with which moviemakers jerk audiences around.

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Dave Kehr

Chicago Reader

Aug 23, 2016

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.

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Vickie Ong

Honolulu Advertiser

Apr 5, 2024

The tension soon engulfs you: the suspense is so skillfully manipulated that you scarcely dare breathe. And when the movie's over, you'll find yourself overcharged with adrenaline and exhausted at the same time.

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Steve Warren

The Barb (Atlanta)

May 9, 2023

Even with John Frankenheimer at the helm, Black Sunday will keep you pretty close to the edge of your seat.

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Apr 1, 2023

3/4

The junky Two-Minute Warning arrived first, which largely doomed the box office chances of the far more complicated -- and far superior -- Black Sunday.

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Robert P

@Superbad Oct 5, 2026

Black Sunday is a 3.5 star Movie!

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thiago S

@Thiagostone May 28, 2026

Filme fraco, o roteiro é fraco, as cenas são fracas, a história é fraca, o elenco é fraco, e ninguém ajuda a melhorar o filme, os personagens são fracos, e o filme deveria ter cenas bem melhores e relevantes, para fazer o filme ser bom

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Stephen C

@bob25009 Jun 27, 2025

Success in 2 hours and 23 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Brad S. R

@RT07389644 Mar 23, 2025

An interesting thriller with especially engaging performances by Bruce Dern and Robert Shaw, but plagued by some shoddy editing and cost-cutting special effects. Its finale involving an exploding blimp should be an exhilarating set-piece; instead, it lands with all the impact of a deflating balloon.

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CodyZamboni Z

@CodyZamboni Aug 13, 2024

Solid movie, intense , exciting, memorable performances, With some shocking violence for a PG film, And nice seeing 1970's NFL players, Only demerit, movie is way too long,

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Carlos I

@carlosFibarra Dec 3, 2022

Plodding. I saw a review with this in it and I don't think a movie can be more perfectly summed up with one word than this movie is. It's strange, since it has a solid cast and director, with an interesting premise for a disaster movie, but ultimately it just drags out on thriller autopilot. Which didn't keep me engaged in the slightest.

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John Frankenheimer

Director

Robert Shaw

Ma. David Kabakov

Bruce Dern

Michael Lander

Marthe Keller

Dahlia Iyad

Fritz Weaver

FBI Agent Sam Corley

Steven Keats

Moshevsky

Black Sunday: Official Clip - Mossad Commando Raid

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Black Sunday: Official Clip - Sometimes It's Better to Let This Out

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Black Sunday: Official Clip - Stealing the Blimp

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Black Sunday: Official Clip - Testing the Weapon

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Black Sunday: Official Clip - Crashing the Super Bowl

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Black Sunday: Official Clip - What Exactly Is This Super Bowl?

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Black Sunday: Official Clip - The Shadow in the Picture

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Synopsis

Blimp pilot Michael Lander (Bruce Dern), who has endured the horrors of the Vietnam War, is now psychotic. Hoping to kill himself in grand fashion, he teams with Palestinian terrorist Dahlia (Marthe Keller), who plans on using Lander to set off a bomb at the Super Bowl by crashing his aircraft into the crowded stands. With thousands of lives at stake, Israeli military agent Kabakov (Robert Shaw) teams with the F.B.I. in an attempt to stop Lander's mass murder-suicide.

Director: John Frankenheimer
Producer: Robert Evans
Screenwriter: Ernest Lehman, Kenneth Ross, Ivan Moffat
Production Co: Paramount Pictures, Robert Evans Company
Rating: R
Genre: Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): May 1, 2012
Runtime: 2h 23m

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