The Death of Stalin (2017)

Follows the Soviet dictator's last days and depicts the chaos of the regime after his death.

Director:

Armando Iannucci

Writers:

Armando Iannucci, David Schneider

Stars:

Steve Buscemi, Simon Russell Beale, Jeffrey Tambor

Nominated for 2 BAFTA Film Awards. Another 11 wins & 20 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 haemorrhage. Inevitably, when his body is discovered in the following morning, a frenetic surge of raw panic spreads like a virus in 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:

based on comic book | satire | russia | death | black comedy | 

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Taglines:

It's every comrade for himself.

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Genres:

Comedy | 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:

France UK Belgium Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 March 2018 (USA)

Also Known As:

La mort de Staline

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$184,805, 11 March 2018, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$8,037,203, 17 July 2018

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

In the scene where Stalin collapses from a stroke, one guard, having heard his collapse from outside, asks if they should investigate, with the other guard bluntly refusing by shooting back that he should shut up before they are both killed by Stalin for entering without permission. This was a reference to the fact that Stalin left explicit orders to not disturb him while he was sleeping under any circumstances, with the penalty of disobeying being the death penalty, which was one of the reasons why no one attempted to investigate when he did not wake up at his usual time.

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Goofs

Faced with Stalin's imminent death, Svetlana says that she knows "doctors in Stalingrad". Stalingrad is an industrial city far away in Southern Russia. Surely, the writers meant Leningrad (St Petersburg) which would indeed have many distinguished doctors. Svetlana doesn't seem to have spent any time in Stalingrad, so there's no reason to think that she would have known doctors there.

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Quotes

Georgy Zhukov: Right, what's a war hero got to do to get some lubrication around here?

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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

References An Audience with Kenneth Williams (1983)

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Soundtracks

Symphony No. 6, Op. 74 in B Minor
Written by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Performed by Galaxy Symphonic Orchestra

User Reviews

Imagine if the world's greatest mass murderer had a comedic puppet master in his court.

Steve Buscemi leads an all star cast of characters in a keystone cop-esque replication of the confusion and anarchy that followed the death of Stalin.

Very dark and witty, but to those with knowledge of these events, so very intuitive.

This is about the steps taken by Stalin's court (The Central Committee) to secure power rather than have another strongman come in, and like Stalin did, clean house.

Listen for some very understated yet powerful lines of dialog here.

I can't wait to see it again. I am afraid of misquoting the lines that i liked so much. Many having to deal with revenge.