Name : Dave Kehr / Alias : Chicago Reader
Griffith's later films are unquestionably superior. But here, in a very real sense, is where the movies began, both as an art and as a business.

Name : Bilge Ebiri / Alias : New York Magazine/Vulture
More than a movie about a slave rebellion, it's about the difficulty of reconciling the great moral chasms between thought, vision, and deed.

Name : Alison Willmore / Alias : BuzzFeed News
Turner deserves this treatment; he deserves a film that doesn't soften the era or apologize in any way for his anger; and he deserves a salute for making it happen.

Name : Justin Chang / Alias : Variety
Debuting writer-director Nate Parker stars in this searingly impressive account of the Nat Turner slave rebellion.

Name : Variety Staff / Alias : Variety
Birth of a Nation is a great epoch in picture making; it's great for pictures and it's great for the name and fame of David Wark Griffith. When a man like Griffith in a new field can do what he has done, he may as well be hailed while he is living.

Name : Richard Brody / Alias : New Yorker
Problematically, Birth of a Nation wasn't just a seminal commercial spectacle but also a decisively original work of art - in effect, the founding work of cinematic realism, albeit a work that was developed to pass lies off as reality.

Name : Todd McCarthy / Alias : Hollywood Reporter
The film offers up more than enough in terms of intelligence, insight, historical research and religious nuance as to not at all be considered a missed opportunity .

Name : Joe Neumaier / Alias : New York Daily News
Some very special aspects of New York City hide in plain sight. A case in point is Seymour Bernstein, the subject of actor Ethan Hawke's assured, meditative debut as a documentary director.

Name : Mike D'Angelo / Alias : AV Club
The film claims to be an introduction, but it's really a long series of conclusions.

Name : Joe Williams / Alias : St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Hawke's cinematic etude may not unlock all the mysteries of music, but "Seymour: An Introduction" is universal enough to be understood by a bananafish.

Name : Justin Chang / Alias : Variety
In his calm defense of beauty, craftsmanship, intellectual curiosity and emotional connection as vital human needs, this is one artist who knows he doesn't have to raise his voice to speak volumes.

Name : Peter Keough / Alias : Boston Globe
Whether or not Hawke got any answers to his questions about the purpose of being artist, seeking them under the guidance of a teacher like Bernstein resulted in this work of art.

Name : Peter Travers / Alias : Rolling Stone
Ethan Hawke's remarkable documentary puts us in close proximity to 80-something classical pianist Seymour Bernstein, whose funny, touching and vital presence is something you don't want to miss.

Name : Steven Rea / Alias : Philadelphia Inquirer
Seymour: An Introduction is just that - not too much biography, or history. And one needn't be a music aficionado, or a musician, to appreciate the modest erudition coming from this man.

Name : Brad Wheeler / Alias : Globe and Mail
It's hard to find much wrong with this film, itself a meditation on art and the practice of craft.

Name : Stephen Farber / Alias : Hollywood Reporter
Hawke's film is very well crafted, tightly edited and elegantly photographed. The acute musical selections only add to our appreciation of Seymour's selfless devotion to his art.

Name : Linda Barnard / Alias : Toronto Star
A fondly made portrait . of a gentle philosopher with a wicked wit, a superbly talented pianist who intellectually challenges and charms in equal parts.

Name : Joe Morgenstern / Alias : Wall Street Journal
More than a musical offering, it's a study in boundless passion, plus a wellspring of wisdom about art and life from a man who sees no dividing line between the one and the other.

Name : Inkoo Kang / Alias : TheWrap
"Seymour: An Introduction" is a compendium of tutorial anecdotes and poetic aphorisms he's collected over the years. Hawke's approach is apostolic, as if he's recording for posterity the sublime wisdom of a philosophical master.

Name : Colin Covert / Alias : Minneapolis Star Tribune
Like a touching master class on living correctly, listening to the charming Bernstein will have you changing keys.

Name : Joe McGovern / Alias : Entertainment Weekly
Hawke's gaze is too adoring, but the solitary sight of Bernstein putting together his foldout couch/bed in his one-room apartment is as poignant as his recital of the "Moonlight" Sonata.

Name : Peter Rainer / Alias : Christian Science Monitor
The unfortunate disconnect between great artistry and great commercial success runs throughout history. But Bernstein is a special case because, unlike so many great musicians who fell unwillingly by the wayside, he chose his own path.

Name : Stephanie Zacharek / Alias : Village Voice
Works both as a celebration of Bernstein, whose spirit is at once gentle and boldly generous, and as a way of exploring creativity and the meaning it can have in our lives.

Name : John Anderson / Alias : Newsday
Unusual, intelligent documentary whose subject is a pleasure to spend time with.

Name : David Ehrlich / Alias : Time Out
Hawke's first documentary is a perfect movie for a gray Sunday afternoon, a gentle and loving tribute to a man . anachronistically convinced that talent is its own reward.

Name : Leba Hertz / Alias : San Francisco Chronicle
Bernstein in action is a study of what a teacher should be: kind but with a steely resolve. He analyzes the music and figures how to overcome its obstacles.

Name : Anthony Lane / Alias : New Yorker
The sweetness of the subject's nature and the gentle modulations of his speaking voice are so potent that it would seem not just uncivil but futile to contradict him; yet Hawke is too alert and too inquiring to let the movie subside into worship.

Name : J. R. Jones / Alias : Chicago Reader
The movie's real subject is the difficulty - and the critical importance - of bringing into harmony one's personal and artistic lives, of being not only a good artist but a joyful one.

Name : Bill Goodykoontz / Alias : Arizona Republic
His playing is beautiful - he was a gifted concert pianist who gave up the stage at 50 to concentrate on teaching and composing. His stories are tremendous. And his voice, clear and strong, is magnetic.

Name : Bruce Ingram / Alias : Chicago Sun-Times
Coming off of his superb one-two performances for Richard Linklater in Before Midnight and Boyhood, Hawke continues to work at a creative high level. He demonstrates a rapport and openness with his subject that proves exceptionally affecting.

Name : Ann Hornaday / Alias : Washington Post
"Seymour: An Introduction" gives viewers a soaring, sublime and enduringly meaningful glimpse of a man who is undoubtedly the real thing.

Name : Manohla Dargis / Alias : New York Times
So effective does it close the distance between you and Mr. Bernstein that afterward you may find yourself scanning the streets, hoping to catch sight of him, as if for an old friend.

Name : Tom Long / Alias : Detroit News
The great joy of the film, whether you know piano or not, is watching Bernstein teach.