The Death of Stalin - wikipedia The Death of Stalin For other uses, see Death of Joseph Stalin. The Death of Stalin British theatrical release poster Directed by Armando Iannucci Produced by Yann Zenou Laurent Zeitoun Nicolas Duval Adassovsky Kevin Loader Screenplay by Armando Iannucci David Schneider Ian Martin Peter Fellows Based on The Death of Stalin by Fabien Nury and Thierry Robin Starring Steve Buscemi Simon Russell Beale Paddy Considine Rupert Friend Jason Isaacs Michael Palin Andrea Riseborough Jeffrey Tambor Music by Chris Willis Cinematography Zac Nicholson Edited by Peter Lambert Production company Main Journey Quad Productions Distributed by eOne Films ( United Kingdom ) Gaumont ( France ) Release date 8 September 2017 ( 2017 - 09 - 08 ) ( TIFF ) 20 October 2017 ( 2017 - 10 - 20 ) ( United Kingdom ) 9 March 2018 ( 2018 - 03 - 09 ) ( United States ) Running time 107 minutes Country United Kingdom France Language English The Death of Stalin is a 2017 political satire film directed by Armando Iannucci. It chronicles the Soviet power struggles occasioned by the death of dictator Joseph Stalin in 1953. The film is based on the graphic novel of the same name, translated from the French original La mort de Staline. It was released by eOne Films in the United Kingdom on 20 October 2017 and is set to be released in the United States by IFC Films on 9 March 2018. The film was screened in the Platform section at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival and received critical acclaim. The film 's release caused controversy in Russia and many other former members of the USSR, and it was banned in Russia, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 4 Release and reception 4.1 Ban in Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, and Kazakhstan 5 Critical response 6 Historical accuracy 7 References 8 External links Plot The film begins with Radio Moscow broadcasting an orchestral performance of Mozart. Once the performance is complete Joseph Stalin ( Adrian Mcloughlin ) personally calls the head of the radio station ( Paddy Considine ) to tell him he wants a recording. Since the performance had not been recorded, the radio station head re-stages it, going to such lengths as bringing in people off the street to replicate the acoustics, bribing the disgruntled lead pianist Maria Yudina ( Olga Kurylenko ) and pressing into service a nearby conductor, after the original, Spartak Sokolov ( Justin Edwards ) faints and knocks himself unconscious on a fire bucket. When the recording is complete, Maria hides a note to Stalin, telling him that he has ruined the country. Stalin receives the recording, and as he reads the note, he begins laughing but then suffers a cerebral haemorrhage. The next day, Stalin is discovered and the members of the Central Committee are alerted. The first to arrive are rapacious NKVD head Lavrentiy Beria ( Simon Russell Beale ), who discovers Maria 's note, and Deputy General Secretary Georgy Malenkov ( Jeffrey Tambor ). As Malenkov panics, Beria begins subtly guiding him to take command in Stalin 's absence, hoping to use the weak - willed Malenkov as a puppet. Nikita Khrushchev ( Steve Buscemi ) arrives, followed by the rest of the Committee except for Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov ( Michael Palin ), who had been unknowingly added to one of Stalin 's enemy lists the night before. Two factions swiftly emerge, Beria and Malenkov, and Khrushchev and Minister of Labour Lazar Kaganovich ( Dermot Crowley ), with the other Committee members remaining neutral but leaning towards Malenkov as his position seems strongest. Beria begins exerting his influence, closing off Moscow and having the NKVD take over all security duties in the city from the Red Army, as well as replacing Stalin 's NKVD enemy lists with his own, reprieving Molotov. The two sides struggle for symbolic victories such as control over Stalin 's children ( Rupert Friend and Andrea Riseborough ), until Stalin finally expires. The Committee members all desperately rush back to Moscow, as the NKVD loot Stalin 's dacha and execute witnesses. Khrushchev goes to Molotov 's home and attempts to enlist his support, but Molotov, as a true believer in Stalinism, opposes any factionalism within the Party, as Beria predicted he would when he chose to spare him. Beria further buys Molotov 's loyalty by releasing his wife ( Diana Quick ) from confinement. Malenkov is named as nominal Premier while being largely controlled by Beria. At the first Committee meeting following Stalin 's death, Beria strengthens his own position and sidelines Khrushchev by putting him in charge of Stalin 's funeral. He also unexpectedly suggests many of the liberal reforms which Khrushchev himself had planned to introduce. Khrushchev feels compelled to argue against the reforms, but Beria and Malenkov railroad them through. Stalin 's body is laid in state in the Hall of Columns for three days, while many political prisoners are released and restrictions on the Russian Orthodox Church are loosened, earning Beria more popular support. Meanwhile, Field Marshal Georgy Zhukov ( Jason Isaacs ), the leader of the Red Army, arrives and demands to know why the Army has been confined to barracks within Moscow. On the third night, Beria learns that Khrushchev has a passing acquaintance with Maria, who was hired to play at the funeral, and threatens her with the note. Realising that Beria could potentially tie him to treasonous activities, Khrushchev approaches Zhukov, who agrees to provide the Army 's support in a coup to overthrow Beria, but only if he has the entire Committee with him. In an attempt to undermine Beria 's popularity, Khrushchev orders the trains into Moscow to resume, allowing the thousands of mourners who wish to see Stalin 's body into the city, hoping to provoke the NKVD. Sure enough, the NKVD guards manning the barricades around the Hall fire on the crowd, killing 1,500 people. The Committee suggests pinning the blame on some low - level NKVD officers, causing Beria to break down and indirectly threaten the Committee by revealing the incriminating documents he has collected on all of them, as he believes any blame attached to the security services will ultimately tarnish him. Beria is able to calm himself and agrees to the plan, but the other members are visibly shaken, except Malenkov, who remains convinced that Beria is his ally. The next day, Molotov secretly meets Khrushchev and Kaganovich, and tells them he will support them but only if they can enlist the support of the others, including Malenkov, as he still opposes any factionalism and desires the Committee to be united. The day of the funeral, Khrushchev fails to gain Malenkov 's support, but tells the others and Zhukov that he has, winning the support of the Committee and the Army. The Red Army overwhelms the NKVD and takes up positions in the toilets next to the conference room the Committee will meet in after the funeral. At the meeting, Zhukov and his men take Beria into custody and Khrushchev coerces Malenkov into signing the necessary papers for Beria 's arrest and trial. Krushchev and his allies find Beria guilty of treason and hundreds of sex crimes in a kangaroo court, and summarily execute him. As Beria 's body is burnt, Khrushchev gives Stalina a one - way plane ticket to Vienna and assurances that her brother will be cared for ( as it would be dangerous for him to spread his wild conspiracy theories ). Several years later, Khrushchev, now supreme leader of the Soviet Union after removing his co-conspirators, attends a concert given by Maria, while Leonid Brezhnev ( Gerald Lepkowski ) meaningfully watches him. Cast Steve Buscemi as Nikita Khrushchev Simon Russell Beale as Lavrentiy Beria Paddy Considine as Comrade Andreyev Rupert Friend as Vasily Stalin Jason Isaacs as Georgy Zhukov Michael Palin as Vyacheslav Molotov Andrea Riseborough as Svetlana Stalina Jeffrey Tambor as Georgy Malenkov Adrian Mcloughlin as Joseph Stalin Olga Kurylenko as Maria Yudina Paul Whitehouse as Anastas Mikoyan Paul Chahidi as Nikolai Bulganin Dermot Crowley as Lazar Kaganovich Justin Edwards as Spartak Sokolov, conductor Richard Brake as Tarasov Jonathan Aris as Mezhnikov Roger Ashton - Griffiths as Musician James Barriscale as The General Production The project began development during the 2016 Cannes Film Festival. Armando Iannucci was set as director and co-writer, alongside regular collaborators David Schneider, The Thick of It co-writer Ian Martin, and Peter Fellows. Production began 20 June 2016, with Jeffrey Tambor, Steve Buscemi, Olga Kurylenko, Michael Palin, Simon Russell Beale, Paddy Considine, Andrea Riseborough, Adrian Mcloughlin, Rupert Friend, Jason Isaacs, and Paul Whitehouse in the cast. Release and reception the film was released by eOne Films in the United Kingdom on 20 October 2017 and is set to be released in the United States by IFC Films on 9 March 2018. The film was screened in the Platform section at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival. The film received critical acclaim. Ban in Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, and Kazakhstan Nikolai Starikov, head of the Russian Great Fatherland Party, said the film was an `` unfriendly act by the British intellectual class '', and said it was very clear that the film was part of an `` anti-Russian information war '' aimed at discrediting the figure of Stalin. In September 2017, the head of the Public Council of the Russian Ministry of Culture said the Russian authorities were considering a ban on the film which, they alleged, could be part of a `` western plot to destabilise Russia by causing rifts in society ''. On 23 January 2018, two days before film 's scheduled release, Russia 's Ministry of Culture withdrew the film 's distribution certificate, following a screening of the film, attended by film industry figures, State Duma ( lower house of Parliament ) MPs, representatives of the Russian Historical Society together with members of the Culture Ministry 's Public Board. Russian Culture Ministry 's lawyers, such as the daughter of Marshal Zhukov, Era Zhukova, cinematographers Nikita Mikhalkov, Vladimir Bortko, Sergei Miroshnichenko, Igor Ugolnikov, Alexander Galibin, Head of the Russian State Historical Museum Alexey Levykin and others, petitioned Culture Minister Vladimir Medinsky to withdraw the film 's certification, saying `` The Death of Stalin is aimed at inciting hatred and enmity, violating the dignity of the Russian ( Soviet ) people, promoting ethnic and social inferiority, which points to the movie 's extremist nature. We are confident that the movie was made to distort our country 's past so that the thought of the 1950s Soviet Union makes people feel only terror and disgust. '' The authors defined the movie as insulting, parodying the history of Russia, and denigrating the memory of Russian citizens who fought in World War II. They also pointed out that the National Anthem was accompanied with obscene expressions and offensive attitude, decorations were historically inaccurate, `` and the release of the film on the eve of the 75th Anniversary of the Battle of Stalingrad is a spit in the face of all those who died there, and all those who are still alive ''. The movie was banned in Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, and Kazakhstan. Armenia is the only member of the Eurasian Economic Union to show the comedy. Critical response The Death of Stalin received critical acclaim. The review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a 97 % rating with an average score of 8.3 / 10 sampled from 66 reviews, saying : `` The Death of Stalin finds director / co-writer Arnando Iannucci in riotous form, bringing his scabrous political humor to bear on a chapter in history with painfully timely parallels ''. On Metacritic, the film has a score of 88 out of 100, calculated from 13 critics ' reviews, signifying `` universal acclaim ''. Donald Clarke, writing for The Irish Times, wrote that the film `` starts in a state of mortal panic and continues in that mode towards its inevitably ghastly conclusion ''. In The Guardian, Peter Bradshaw wrote that `` fear rises like gas from a corpse in Armando Iannucci 's brilliant horror - satire ''. Historical accuracy A number of academics commented on the historical accuracy of The Death of Stalin. Historian Richard Overy noted in The Guardian that the film `` is littered with historical errors '', which can be `` viewed as cinematic licence '', but was most critical that the film did not appropriately honour Stalin 's victims. Director Iannucci stated that he `` chose to tone down real - life absurdity '' to make the work more believable. Samuel Goff, at the Department of Slavonic Studies, University of Cambridge, cited several justifiable historical inaccuracies with the ranks and roles of Stalin 's inner circle, but found the film missed the overall point and was unable to locate any of the inherent humour contained in Stalinism. References ^ Jump up to : `` THE DEATH OF STALIN ''. British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved 3 September 2017. Jump up ^ Calvario, Liz ( 11 February 2017 ). `` ' The Death of Stalin ' : IFC Films Buys Armando Iannucci 's Upcoming Drama ''. IndieWire. Retrieved 15 October 2017. Jump up ^ Jaafar, Ali ( 2016 - 05 - 12 ). `` All - Star Cast Boards Armando Iannucci 's ' The Death Of Stalin ' -- Cannes ''. Deadline. Retrieved 2017 - 04 - 03. Jump up ^ Jaafar, Ali ( 2016 - 06 - 20 ). `` Armando Iannucci 's ' The Death Of Stalin ' Starts Shoot, Rupert Friend Joins Cast, Closes Deals ''. Deadline. Retrieved 2017 - 04 - 03. Jump up ^ Hipes, Patrick ( 2017 - 02 - 11 ). `` Armando Iannucci 's ' The Death Of Stalin ' Acquired By IFC Films -- Berlin ''. Deadline. Retrieved 2017 - 04 - 03. Jump up ^ Evans, Greg ( October 5, 2017 ). `` ' Death Of Stalin ' Author Says Trumpian Comedies Must Wait For Final Tweet -- NY Comic - Con ''. Deadline. Retrieved November 26, 2017. Jump up ^ Kay, Jeremy ( 3 August 2017 ). `` ' The Death Of Stalin ' to open Toronto Film Festival Platform programme ''. ScreenDaily. Retrieved 3 August 2017. Jump up ^ `` Russia bars The Death of Stalin ''. 29 January 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2018 -- via www.bbc.com. Jump up ^ Walker, Shaun ( 14 October 2017 ). `` In Russia, nobody 's laughing at Iannucci 's The Death of Stalin ''. The Guardian. Retrieved 19 November 2017. Jump up ^ Bennetts, Marc ( 20 September 2017 ). `` Russia considers ban on Armando Iannucci 's film The Death of Stalin ''. The Guardian. Retrieved 20 September 2017. Jump up ^ Kozlov, Vladimir ( 16 November 2017 ). `` Russian ' Death of Stalin ' Distributor Plans January Release ''. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 23 January 2018. Jump up ^ `` Russian Culture Ministry yanks distribution certificate for The Death of Stalin ''. TASS Russian News Agency. 23 January 2018. Retrieved 23 January 2018. Jump up ^ `` Деятели культуры обратились в министерство с просьбой провести экспертизу фильма `` Смерть Сталина '' ( на предмет соответствия законодательству РФ ) '' ( Cultural figures appealed to the Ministry with a request to conduct an examination of the film `` The Death of Stalin '' ) ( in Russian ). Official website of the Russian Ministry of Culture. 23 January 2018. ^ Jump up to : `` Армения ударила по России `` смертью Сталина '' ( Armenia struck Russia over the `` Death of Stalin '' ) ( in Russian ). Sputnik News. Jump up ^ `` The Death of Stalin ''. rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved 5 November 2017. Jump up ^ `` The Death of Stalin ''. Metacritic. Retrieved 12 November 2017. Jump up ^ Overy, Richard ( 2017 - 10 - 18 ). `` Carry on up the Kremlin : how The Death of Stalin plays Russian roulette with the truth ''. The Guardian. Retrieved 2017 - 12 - 31. Jump up ^ White, Adam ( 2017 - 10 - 19 ). `` The Death of Stalin : what really happened on the night that forever changed Soviet history ? ''. The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2017 - 12 - 31. Jump up ^ Goff, Samuel ( 2017 - 10 - 23 ). `` The Death of Stalin : a black comic masterpiece ? Do n't make me laugh ''. The Calvert Journal. London. Retrieved 2017 - 12 - 31. External links The Death of Stalin on IMDb Armando Iannucci TV series The Day Today Knowing Me Knowing You with Alan Partridge The Saturday Night Armistice I 'm Alan Partridge The Armando Iannucci Shows Gash The Thick of It Time Trumpet Mid Morning Matters with Alan Partridge Veep Films Clinton : His Struggle with Dirt Tube Tales ( segment `` Mouth '' ) 2004 : The Stupid Version In the Loop Alan Partridge : Alpha Papa The Death of Stalin Other work On the Hour ( radio ) Knowing Me Knowing You with Alan Partridge ( radio ) I, Partridge : We Need to Talk About Alan ( novel ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Death_of_Stalin&oldid=825440420 '' Categories : 2017 films English - language films 2010s black comedy films Black comedy films British comedy films British political satire films French comedy films French political satire films Cold War films Cultural depictions of Nikita Khrushchev Cultural depictions of Georgy Zhukov Cultural depictions of Leonid Brezhnev Cultural depictions of Joseph Stalin Films about Joseph Stalin Films set in 1953 Films set in Moscow Political films based on actual events Films based on French comics Live - action films based on comics Hidden categories : CS1 Russian - language sources ( ru ) Talk Contents About Wikipedia Azərbaycanca Čeština Deutsch Español Français Հայերեն Italiano 日本 語 Português Русский Suomi Türkçe Українська Edit links This page was last edited on 13 February 2018, at 12 : 13. 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Question: who played georgy zhukov in the death of stalin
Answer: Jason Isaacs