The Death of Stalin (2017)

Moscow, 1953. After being in power for nearly 30 years, Soviet dictator Josef Stalin takes ill and quickly dies. Now the members of the Council of Ministers scramble for power.

Director:

Armando Iannucci

Writers:

Armando Iannucci, David Schneider

Stars:

Steve Buscemi, Simon Russell Beale, Jeffrey Tambor

Nominated for 2 BAFTA Film Awards. Another 18 wins & 35 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Olga Kurylenko	...	Maria Veniaminovna Yudina
Tom Brooke	...	Sergei
Paddy Considine	...	Andreyev
Justin Edwards	...	Spartak Sokolov - Conductor 1
Adrian McLoughlin	...	Josef Stalin
Simon Russell Beale	...	Lavrenti Beria
Jeffrey Tambor	...	Georgy Malenkov
Steve Buscemi	...	Nikita Khrushchev
Michael Palin	...	Vyacheslav Molotov
Paul Ready	...	NKVD Officer Delov
Yulya Muhrygina	...	Woman in Layers of Clothes
Andrey Korzhenevskiy	...	Man in Layers of Clothes
Roger Ashton-Griffiths	...	Musician 1 (as Roger Ashton Griffiths)
Jeremy Limb	...	Musician 2
Andy Gathergood	...	Citizen Bundled into Car

Storyline

In early-1953 Moscow, under the Great Terror's heavy cloak of state paranoia, the ever-watchful Soviet leader, Joseph Stalin, collapses unexpectedly of a brain hemorrhage. Inevitably, when his body is discovered the following morning, a frenetic surge of raw panic spreads like a virus among the senior members of the Council of Ministers as they scramble to maintain order, weed out the competition, and, ultimately, take power. But in the middle of a gut-wrenching roller-coaster of incessant plotting, tireless machinations, and frail allegiances, absolutely no one is safe; not even the feared chief of the secret police, Lavrenti Beria. In the end, who will prevail after the death of Stalin?

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Plot Keywords:

satire | black comedy | soviet union | nikita khrushchev character | based on comic book | 

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Taglines:

Russia 1953. A nation in fear of one man.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | History

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

rated R for language throughout, violence and some sexual references

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Germany] Official website (au)

Country:

UK France Belgium Canada USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 March 2018 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Death of Stalin

Filming Locations:

Blythe House, 23 Blythe Road, West Kensington, London, England, UK

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$184,805, 11 March 2018

Gross USA:

$8,047,856

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$24,646,055

Company Credits

Production Co:

Quad Productions, Main Journey, Gaumont

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Stalin collapses from a stroke, one guard, hearing his collapse from outside, asks if they should investigate. The other guard replies that he should shut up before Stalin kills both of them for entering without permission. Stalin left explicit standing orders not to disturb him while he was sleeping under any circumstances, with disobedience punishable by death. It's one reason why no one tried to investigate when he didn't wake up at his usual time.

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Goofs

Svetlana asks Beria to release Aleksei Kapler, her first love who is imprisoned in the gulag. Beria tells her that Kapler is dead. However, Kapler was released in 1953, soon after Stalin's death, and lived to 1979. There doesn't seem to be any reason for Beria to lie, since he is supposed to be ingratiating himself to Svetlana, and as the head of the NKVD he certainly would have known that Kapler was still alive.

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Quotes

Svetlana Stalin: [re: Vasily] He's not bad, he's just ill.

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Crazy Credits

Black-and-white photographs of the main characters appear over the end credits, but various figures are airbrushed out, have their faces defaced, or have other people superimposed over them, as per Soviet photos of Trotsky and purge victims.

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Connections

Referenced in Breakfast: Episode dated 19 October 2017 (2017)

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Soundtracks

Prelude Op. 28, No. 4
Written by Frédéric Chopin

User Reviews

A great political satire

Watched this at the cinema last night and although I was looking forward to it and was expecting it to be good I was still pleasantly surprised.

Firstly: the actors all put in very believable and impressive performances. A joy to behold. Secondly: the plot is as intruiging as it is funny and really keeps you glued to the screen. Thirdly: this made me laugh out loud at least five times during it's run-time. You know: the sort of laughs you just can't hold back even if you try.

In essence this is a very dark film that makes light of the crimes against humanity all these people were actually guilty of comitting. Some people might find it offensive that they are portrayed as quite funny and engaging characters. But I think Iannucci does such a good job reminding the audience of the nature of these people that he keeps a balance and really succeeds with this movie.

Very enjoyable. One of the best movies of the year. I really enjoyed this - and if you like whitty dialogue, good acting and an intelligently unfolded plot - you will too.