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The Death of Stalin
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The Death of Stalin
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- 2017
- Armando Iannucci
- 102 mins
- 15
Summary
Historical satire starring Steve Buscemi and Simon Russell Beale. In the immediate aftermath of Joseph Stalin's death in 1953, his cabinet jockey for position in the hope of becoming the next Soviet leader. As they argue over everything from funeral arrangements to the fate of the dictator's offspring, the divided government struggles to maintain order.
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Review
A star rating of 4 out of 5.
Dave Aldridge
Don't be fooled by the title, this clever and decidedly different "horrible history" chronicles the immediate before, during and aftermath of the demise of the Soviet dictator, and is written and directed by Armando Iannucci, the man behind hit TV series The Thick of It and Veep. But if it is history, it's not history as we know it, as it's played as broad comedy, and in an array of English and US accents. Yet it still manages to convey a real sense of what Soviet life must have been like during Stalin's paranoid "Great Terror" and the Kremlin power struggle that followed his death. The crack cast includes Jason Isaacs, Jeffrey Tambor, Michael Palin and Andrea Riseborough, but it's Simon Russell Beale (as secret police boss Beria) and Steve Buscemi (as future party leader Khrushchev) who stand out from an outstanding crowd. Indeed, kudos are deserved everywhere for a well-written, beautifully played and offbeat piece of re-imagined history that's always funny despite humour sometimes stemming from a distinct sense of unease.
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7.3/10
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Credits
Cast
rolenameNikita KhrushchevSteve BuscemiBeriaSimon Russell BealeAndreyevPaddy ConsidineVasily StalinRupert FriendGeorgy ZhukovJason IsaacsMaria YudinaOlga KurylenkoVyacheslav MolotovMichael PalinSvetlana StalinAndrea RiseboroughKaganovichDermot CrowleyJoseph StalinAdrian McLoughlinAnastas MikoyanPaul WhitehouseGeorgy MalenkovJeffrey TamborTarasovRichard Brake
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Crew
rolenameDirectorArmando Iannucci
Details
Theatrical distributor
Entertainment One
Released on
2017-10-20
Languages
English
Guidance
Swearing, violence.
Available on
DVD and Blu-ray
Formats
Colour
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