The Death of Stalin (2017)
Genre: Comedy / Drama
Duration: 106 minuten
Country:
United Kingdom / France / Belgium / Canada / United States
Directed by: Armando Iannucci
Stars: Steve Buscemi, Simon Russell Beale and Paddy Considine
IMDb score:
7,3 (129.066)
Releasedate: 20 October 2017
The Death of Stalin plot
"In the Kremlin, no one can hear you scheme"
On March 2, 1953, in the middle of the night, Joseph Stalin suffered a stroke. Stalin, "the father of the people", ruled with absolute power over the people of Russia. He was pronounced dead two days later. In these two days there is a fierce competition for the acquisition of the highest power. His ministers squabble over control; some want positive changes in the Soviet Union, others have more sinister motives. What follows are two days of madness, perversity and inhumanity.
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Actors and actresses
Nikita Khrushchev
Lavrenti Beria
Georgy Malenkov
Vyacheslav Molotov
Nicolai Bulganin
Field Marshal Zhukov
Svetlana Stalin
Lazar Kaganovich
Anastas Mikoyan
Vasily Stalin
Reviews & comments
De filosoof
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- 2613 messages
- 1791 votes
My goodness, what a setback and a bad movie! I've had before that I found a movie very disappointing which then meant that I found the movie extremely boring but this movie is even worse than I was bored: I watched this movie with crooked toes and vicarious shame the whole time because of its low level.
The historical or biography part of the film is just a small piece of history surrounding Stalin's death, contains the expected elements of fear due to Stalin's terror and the power struggle after his death, but does not contain any interesting insights: the film has to tell it all. have a 'humour'. And what kind of humor: the film is actually a farce, a genre that is not already known for its refined or high-quality humor, but I did not know a farce could be as silly as this film. Maybe toddlers or demented elderly people can laugh at the incredibly lame jokes that make up the entire movie, but I can't imagine that there are any grown people who still enjoy these jokes. It is therefore a mystery to me why cinemas have bought this film (probably because the critics are praising it, which again shows that I sometimes completely disagree with the critics: see How do you select the films from the range? - MovieMeter.nl).
Two stars for the effort (because the film is professional and must have cost a lot of time and money), but then I'm still very nice. Or one star for the film plus one star for Mozart's 23rd piano concerto with which the film begins, because just like Stalin I am an idol of Mozart's piano concertos (fun fact 
: just like Stalin, I think Mozart's 20th piano concerto is the most beautiful ever made).
Translated from Dutch · View original
Woland
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- 4899 messages
- 3925 votes
Opinions vary quite a bit here, I see, and that doesn't really surprise me. The Death of Stalin is part historical reconstruction of the political scheming immediately after Stalin's death, and part comedy/farce/satire where this struggle is followed with absurdity and black humor. But this is done in a very British way, and that should suit you - and from other films here on MM I know that proves to be quite polarizing. The tone of the film didn't really surprise me either, since it's by Armando Iannucci - the man behind the very similar The Thick of It and In The Loop. Although In The Loop was perhaps just a little better. Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed the intrigue, and the black (and sometimes lame) jokes that I think are closer to the truth than the pomposity some seem to expect in a situation like this. Good acting too, especially Simon Russell Beale was impressive in his portrayal of one of the bigger nasties of the last century, Lavrenti Beria. But the rest of the cast also did a great job, Tambor as the somewhat dodgy Malenkov and Buscemi were also very nice. Towards the end the film became a bit more predictable, but nevertheless a very successful cinema visit. I'm still a bit dubious about my final verdict, but let's keep it conservative at 4.0* for now.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Fisico
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- 10039 messages
- 5398 votes
At times an absurd satire of how things went during the dictatorial regime of Stalin. You can sometimes laugh about the concert that has to be played again, but the pure reign of terror is well in it and everyone tries to keep in step, as best they can. Even the bodyguards at the door hardly dare to move at a suspicious noise in Stalin's room. When an assignment or order comes to you, it is all hands on deck to be able to fulfill the wishes. Despite the light-heartedness of the film, this is sufficiently apparent. And it doesn't just end after Stalin's death, on the contrary...
It also focuses on what had to happen after Stalin's death. These power developments are also interesting to follow. Too bad we don't hear Russian in the film, but many people have already been stressed about that. A fine film in itself that mixes humor and satire with the bitter reality of that period.
Translated from Dutch · View original
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