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IMDbPro

The Death of Stalin

  • 20172017
  • RR
  • 1h 47m
IMDb RATING
7.2/10
105K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
2,330
341
The Death of Stalin (2017)
In the days following Stalin's collapse, his core team of ministers tussle for control; some want positive change in the Soviet Union, others have more sinister motives. Their one common trait? They're all just desperately trying to remain alive.
Play trailer2:22
4 Videos
99+ Photos
ComedyDramaHistory
Moscow, 1953. After being in power for nearly 30 years, Soviet dictator Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin takes ill and quickly dies. Now the members of the Council of Ministers scramble for powe... Read allMoscow, 1953. After being in power for nearly 30 years, Soviet dictator Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin takes ill and quickly dies. Now the members of the Council of Ministers scramble for power.Moscow, 1953. After being in power for nearly 30 years, Soviet dictator Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin takes ill and quickly dies. Now the members of the Council of Ministers scramble for power.
IMDb RATING
7.2/10
105K
YOUR RATING
POPULARITY
2,330
341
    • Armando Iannucci
  • Writers
    • Fabien Nury(based on the comic books by)
    • Thierry Robin(based on the comic books by)
    • Armando Iannucci
  • Stars
    • Steve Buscemi
    • Simon Russell Beale
    • Jeffrey Tambor
    • Armando Iannucci
  • Writers
    • Fabien Nury(based on the comic books by)
    • Thierry Robin(based on the comic books by)
    • Armando Iannucci
  • Stars
    • Steve Buscemi
    • Simon Russell Beale
    • Jeffrey Tambor
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 413User reviews
    • 278Critic reviews
    • 88Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 2 BAFTA Awards

    Videos4

    Official Trailer
    Trailer 2:22
    Watch Official Trailer
    Official Trailer #2
    Trailer 0:53
    Watch Official Trailer #2
    Official Trailer
    Trailer 2:28
    Watch Official Trailer
    The Death of Stalin
    Clip 0:48
    Watch The Death of Stalin

    Photos118

    Jason Isaacs at an event for The Death of Stalin (2017)
    Armando Iannucci and Andrea Riseborough at an event for The Death of Stalin (2017)
    Andrea Riseborough at an event for The Death of Stalin (2017)
    Jason Isaacs, Armando Iannucci, Hussain Currimbhoy, Andrea Riseborough, and Christopher Willis at an event for The Death of Stalin (2017)
    Jason Isaacs, Armando Iannucci, and Andrea Riseborough at an event for The Death of Stalin (2017)
    Steve Buscemi, Jason Isaacs, and Andrea Riseborough at an event for The Death of Stalin (2017)
    Steve Buscemi at an event for The Death of Stalin (2017)
    Jason Isaacs at an event for The Death of Stalin (2017)
    Andrea Riseborough at an event for The Death of Stalin (2017)
    Steve Buscemi at an event for The Death of Stalin (2017)
    The Death of Stalin (2017)
    Steve Buscemi, Michael Palin, Jeffrey Tambor, Jason Isaacs, Simon Russell Beale, Rupert Friend, and Andrea Riseborough in The Death of Stalin (2017)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Steve Buscemi
    Steve Buscemi
    • Nikita Khrushchev
    Simon Russell Beale
    Simon Russell Beale
    • Lavrenti Beria
    Jeffrey Tambor
    Jeffrey Tambor
    • Georgy Malenkov
    Andrea Riseborough
    Andrea Riseborough
    • Svetlana
    Olga Kurylenko
    Olga Kurylenko
    • Maria Veniaminovna Yudina
    Tom Brooke
    Tom Brooke
    • Sergei
    Paddy Considine
    Paddy Considine
    • Andreyev
    Justin Edwards
    Justin Edwards
    • Spartak Sokolov (Conductor 1)
    Adrian McLoughlin
    Adrian McLoughlin
    • Josef Stalin
    Michael Palin
    Michael Palin
    • Vyacheslav Molotov
    Paul Ready
    Paul Ready
    • NKVD Officer Delov
    Julia Mulligan
    • Woman in Layers of Clothes
    • (as Yulya Muhrygina)
    Andrei Korzhenevsky
    • Man in Layers of Clothes
    • (as Andrey Korzhenevskiy)
    Roger Ashton-Griffiths
    Roger Ashton-Griffiths
    • Musician 1
    • (as Roger Ashton Griffiths)
    Jeremy Limb
    • Musician 2
    Andy Gathergood
    Andy Gathergood
    • Citizen Bundled into Car
    Oleksandr Piskunov
    • Young Man Snitch
    • (as Alexandr Piskunov)
    Ruslan Neupokoev
    • Middle Aged Man
    • (as Ruslav Neupokoev)
      • Armando Iannucci
    • Writers
      • Fabien Nury(based on the comic books by) (original screenplay by)
      • Thierry Robin(based on the comic books by)
      • Armando Iannucci
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Writer and director Armando Iannucci insisted on not having the characters speak with Russian accents, for two reasons: he thought it would take audiences out of the movie, and he did not want the actors and actresses to worry about their accents when improvising. In a promotional interview on BBC Radio 5 for the U.K. release, Iannucci stated that Russian journalists who had previewed this movie praised the decision.
    • Goofs
      Malenkov did not become General Secretary of the Communist Party when Stalin died. He did, however, become Premier of the Soviet Union. The Soviet leadership was clearly in flux, and Malenkov never had the status of obvious successor to Stalin that the movie implies. He did not chair the Politburo meeting after Stalin died; Khrushchev did.
    • Quotes

      Nikita Khrushchev: I really need your help.

      Georgy Zhukov: To do what? There's bodies fucking piling up in the street, it's a bit late, isn't it?

      Nikita Khrushchev: What if we blame this on someone...

      Georgy Zhukov: Wait...

      Nikita Khrushchev: Who's out of control?

      Georgy Zhukov: Nicky, be very careful what you say next. Who?

      Nikita Khrushchev: Beria.

      Georgy Zhukov: I'm going to have to report this conversation. Threatening to do harm or obstruct any member of the Presidium in the process of...

      [grins]

      Georgy Zhukov: Look at your fucking face!

      [bursts out laughing]

    • 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.
    • Connections
      Featured in The Last Leg: Episode #13.3 (2017)
    • Soundtracks
      Piano Concerto No. 23 in A Major, K488
      Written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

      Performed by Galaxy Symphonic Orchestra

    User reviews413

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    8/10
    How difficult to make a parody built around the death of one of the worst men to ever live...
    ... and yet this film does just that. It revolves around the power struggle that occurs at the death of Stalin in 1953, a man who had an iron grip on Russia for 30 years and enforced his will with terror, often randomly.

    So when the sycophants who surround him are suddenly bereft of his soul, they are all jockeying for power while finding it very difficult to do the one thing that would get you tortured and killed as long as they can remember - independent thinking, or even making suggestions for that matter. A simple show of hands vote becomes a hilarious demonstration of group think. They all have a collective case of Stockholm Syndrome when it comes to Stalin, still afraid of a man who is dead.

    Jeffrey Tambor is doing his character Hank from the 90s sitcom "The Larry Sanders Show", and Steve Buschemi, as Nikita Khrushchev, doesn't look like any picture of Khrushchev that I ever saw at any point in his life. Plus he's basically doing his "funny looking guy" schtick from Fargo, and yet it all works.

    When Lavrenti Beria, head of the secret police and probably responsible for untold terrors, gently tells Stalin's daughter that she needs to leave Russia because people who are strange like she is don't live very long, it is practically a sweet intimate moment that runs counter to everything we know about the guy.

    This is a bleak yet hilarious comedy built around real events. I'd highly recommend it.
    helpful•80
    13
    • AlsExGal
    • Nov 2, 2019

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • March 9, 2018 (United States)
      • United Kingdom
      • France
      • Belgium
      • Canada
      • United States
    • Official sites
      • Official site (Germany)
      • Official website (au)
      • English
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • Olesya Honchara 45b, Kyiv, Ukraine
    • Production companies
      • Quad
      • Main Journey
      • Gaumont
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • 1 hour 47 minutes
      • Color

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