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A greater argument for music education in our secondary school curriculum can’t be made than Mark Landsman’s doc about a Texas high school funk band that tore up the music scene from 1968 to 1977.

- Kirk Honeycutt, The Hollywood Reporter

Landsman’s documentary flips the script to become a film of unflinching heart that will have you cheering with adulation and tearing up when things turn to heartbreak.

- Travis Leamons, Inside Pulse

This is one of those rare, beautiful movies that takes you everywhere you want it to. You’ll cheer, you’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and most importantly, you’ll want to dance… Easily one of the best movies I’m going to see this year.

- Josh Olson, Ain’t It Cool News

You couldn’t ask for more dramatic and entertaining material. Landsman edits between period clips of benevolently demanding father-figure Prof and the band in its prime—unexpectedly beating all the white bands in competition—and contemporary footage of the 90ish prof, who was kicked to the curb by misguided school officials, and the grateful 50ish students whose lives he changed… I wouldn’t be surprised if this movie wound up in the Oscar race. It has the right elements to appeal to warm-hearted Academy voters.

- Anne Thompson, IndieWire

Mark Landsman’s spirited “Thunder Soul” offers a heaping helping of uplift while documenting the past triumphs and recent reunion of a predominantly black Houston high school’s singularly accomplished jazz stage band. Pic is a celebration of that ensemble, a group of African- American teens from a high-risk neighborhood who, during the 1970s, won nationwide competitions — and even released popular records, including a top seller titled “Texas Thunder Soul” — under the guidance of their indefatigably inspiring teacher/bandleader.

- Joe Leydon, Variety