The Death of Stalin

2017
R
1h 47m

IMDb RATING

7.3/10

117K

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POPULARITY

2,673

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

Dark Comedy Satire Comedy Drama History

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 po... 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.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.3/10

117K

YOUR RATING

POPULARITY

2,673

See production info at IMDbPro

Nominated for 2 BAFTA Awards
- 18 wins & 40 nominations total

Videos4

Photos119

111

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
Vyacheslav Molotov's (Sir Michael Palin) wife Polina's (Diana Quick) arrest and release is more or less consistent with the real events. Polina was arrested in 1949 on bogus charges and sentenced to five years of hard labor and got her freedom only after the death of Joseph Stalin. Molotov was forced to divorce her by Stalin during that time. She was used as a tool by Lavrenti Beria as depicted in this movie to secure Molotov's loyalty. They got remarried and lived together until her death in 1970. Even though their relationship seems sincere and lovely, Molotov never blamed Stalin or criticized him for the purges that led to the hardships his wife faced.

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 reviews437

Review

Featured review

8/10

A communist plot

You might think The Death of Stalin was a parody or a black comedy or a farce. We know that the actors are playing actual people some of whom lived until the late 1980s. The weird thing is the actual events depicted in the movie happened in some form.

In real life, when Stalin was lying on the floor in his soiled pajamas after he suffered a stroke. They needed to call a meeting to decide whether to call a doctor. Stalin's personal physician was unavailable as he was being tortured at the time for suggesting Stalin needed more bed rest.

Armando Iannucci mines comedy gold in an absurd, surreal, darkly violent tale of who wants to be the next leader of the Soviet Union. It is not a historical tale, it is a story of what can happen in any society where dogma and the bullet become the main currencies.