Sheila Norman-Culp Associated Press Jan 23, 2019

In the right hands, a docudrama can deliver all the excitement, emotion and storytelling of the very best feature films -- and director Kevin Macdonald has done that with startling clarity in the mountaineering adventure Touching the Void.

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Nell Minow Common Sense Media Dec 29, 2010 4/5

Excruciatingly tense story of a terrible accident.

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Nick Rogers Midwest Film Journal Nov 4, 2010 4/4

"Void" plummets into the nucleus of instinct and consciousness - survival a near-primordial pursuit beyond bravery or weakness. It concocts no comfort about what was gained, but stares in transfixed, unforgettable awe at the horror of all that was lost.

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Cole Smithey ColeSmithey.com Aug 9, 2009 A+

"Touching the Void" towers above the rest of that rarest of all film genres, the docudrama.

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Mark Halverson Sacramento News & Review Aug 7, 2008 5/5

This harrowing, white-knuckle tale of human endurance and gut-wrenching dilemma mingles the dramatization of these events and interviews with both climbers into an unforgettable, sometimes comically deadpan nightmare.

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David Ansen Newsweek Mar 26, 2007

Touching the Void leaves you emotionally and physically spent, and grateful it was only a movie, not a mountain, you had to endure.

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Todd McCarthy Variety Mar 26, 2007

Awesome and harrowing.

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Ed Halliwell Empire Magazine Apr 1, 2006 4/5

A slow starter which builds into a chilling depiction of the agonising disintegration of body and mind as they are exposed to the elements.

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Wally Hammond Time Out Feb 9, 2006

As a meditation on extreme human endeavour, character, friendship and the mysteries revealed by facing death, it provides much food for thought.

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Nick Schager Lessons of Darkness May 4, 2005 B+

About a primal war waged by man against both himself and the natural world that surrounds him.

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Ethan Alter NYC Film Critic Mar 5, 2005 4/5

It's certainly a far better thriller than anything Hollywood has churned out lately.

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Tony Medley tonymedley.com Oct 7, 2004 9/10

This is a gripping tale of courage and survival with gorgeous cinematography.

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Jeffrey M. Anderson SPLICEDWire Oct 6, 2004 4/4

With his new film Macdonald has achieved, if not physical elevation, then at least spiritual soaring.

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Peter Rainer New York Magazine/Vulture Aug 7, 2004

Most movies of this type re-create the action far from the actual scene of the crime, but Macdonald has invented a new subgenre: a docudrama in which the docu and the drama are equally authentic.

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Anthony Lane The New Yorker Aug 1, 2004

The facts drop away, and it becomes impossible not to read the movie symbolically -- as a journey to the center of the earth, or farther still.

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Jeffrey Chen Window to the Movies Jun 28, 2004 8/10

Illustrates the inherent human instinct to self-preserve.

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Judith Egerton Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) Jun 22, 2004 4/4

Forget those Hollywood movies about extreme sports. MacDonald...has created a thrilling picture about a high-risk sport based on a true story.

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Pablo Villaça Cinema em Cena Jun 21, 2004 4/5

A combinação de depoimentos e reencenações extremamente realistas transformam este "docudrama" em um filme tenso, emocionante e inspirador.

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James Sanford Kalamazoo Gazette May 22, 2004

if you've considered heading for the high ground, the movie might steer you toward a less taxing hobby -- perhaps chainsaw-juggling or organizing piranha water ballets.

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Linda Cook Quad City Times (Davenport, IA) May 18, 2004 4/4

If I said this is about the adventures of three guys on a mountain, you'd probably go to the next page. But if I said it will have you on the edge of your seat, you might go.

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