The Death of Stalin - wikipedia The Death of Stalin For other uses, see death and state funeral 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 La mort de Staline by Fabien Nury and Thierry Robin Starring Steve Buscemi Simon Russell Beale Jeffrey Tambor Andrea Riseborough Rupert Friend Jason Isaacs Michael Palin Paddy Considine Olga Kurylenko 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 ) Running time 107 minutes Country United Kingdom France Language English Box office $12.7 million The Death of Stalin is a 2017 political satire comedy film directed and co-written by Armando Iannucci. It stars Steve Buscemi, Simon Russell Beale, Paddy Considine, Rupert Friend, Jason Isaacs, Michael Palin, Andrea Riseborough and Jeffrey Tambor. Based on the French graphic novel La mort de Staline, the film depicts the Soviet power struggles following the death of Soviet revolutionary and politician Joseph Stalin ( Adrian McLoughlin ) in 1953. It was released by eOne Films in the United Kingdom on 20 October 2017 and was released in the United States by IFC Films on 9 March 2018. The Death of Stalin was screened in the Platform section at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival and received critical acclaim. It caused controversy in Russia and many other former members of the Soviet Union and was banned in Russia, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan. Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Production 4 Release 4.1 Critical response 5 Historical accuracy 6 References 7 External links Plot After a live Radio Moscow broadcast of a Mozart recital, Joseph Stalin orders a recording of the performance. Having not recorded the recital, the station rapidly restages the concert, going to farcical lengths to do so ; these include bringing in passersby to replicate the acoustics, replacing the passed - out conductor with another, and bribing the disgruntled lead pianist Maria Yudina. Yudina hides a note in the pressing of the recording telling Stalin he has ruined the country. As Stalin reads it in his dacha, he is paralysed by a cerebral haemorrhage. He is discovered the next day and the members of the Central Committee are alerted. The first to arrive are NKVD head Lavrentiy Beria, who discovers Yudina 's note, and Deputy General Secretary Georgy Malenkov. As Malenkov panics, Beria guides him to take leadership, hoping to use him as a puppet. Moscow Party Head Nikita Khrushchev arrives with the rest of the Committee, except for Foreign Minister Vyacheslav Molotov, whom Stalin added to one of his lists of enemies the night previously. Beria closes off Moscow, has the NKVD take over city security duties from the Soviet Army, and replaces Stalin 's enemy lists with his own, reprieving Molotov. Khrushchev and Beria struggle for symbolic victories such as control over Stalin 's unstable son Vasily and daughter Svetlana. When Stalin dies, the Committee members 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, a true believer in Stalinism, opposes any factionalism within the Party. Beria buys his loyalty by releasing his wife Polina Molotova from confinement. Malenkov is named as nominal Premier while being largely controlled by Beria. At the first Committee meeting following Stalin 's death, Beria sidelines Khrushchev by putting him in charge of Stalin 's funeral and suggesting many of the liberal reforms which Khrushchev had planned to introduce. Stalin 's body is laid in state in the Hall of Columns, while many political prisoners are released and restrictions on the Russian Orthodox Church are loosened, earning Beria more popular support. Field Marshal Georgy Zhukov arrives and demands to know why the Soviet Army troops have been confined to barracks within Moscow. Beria learns that Khrushchev has a passing acquaintance with Yudina, who was hired to play at the funeral, and threatens them both with the note. Khrushchev approaches Zhukov, who agrees to provide the Army 's support in a coup to overthrow Beria, but only if the Committee agrees. To undermine Beria 's popularity, Khrushchev orders the trains into Moscow to resume, allowing thousands of mourners into the city. As he planned, the NKVD guards around the Hall fire on the crowd, killing 1,500 people. The Committee suggests scapegoating low - level NKVD officers ; as Beria believes blame attached to security services will tarnish him, he angrily threatens the Committee with incriminating documents he has collected on them. Molotov secretly tells Khrushchev and Kaganovich he will support the coup if they can enlist the support of the others, including Malenkov. On the day of Stalin 's funeral, Khrushchev lies to the Committee and Zhukov that he has Malenkov 's support. The Soviet Army overwhelms the NKVD and takes up positions outside the conference room. Zhukov and his men arrest Beria, and Khrushchev coerces Malenkov into signing the papers for Beria 's trial. Khrushchev and his allies find Beria guilty of treason and of sexual assault in a kangaroo court and execute him. As Beria 's body is burnt, Khrushchev gives Svetlana a ticket to Vienna and assures her that her brother will be cared for. Several years later, Khrushchev, now Supreme Leader of the Soviet Union after removing his co-conspirators, attends a concert given by Yudina, while future leader Leonid Brezhnev 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 Anatoly Tarasov Jonathan Aris as Mezhnikov Roger Ashton - Griffiths as Musician James Barriscale as The General Production Hitler is poison. Hitler is toxic. You would n't get any portraits of Hitler in any hotels in Germany, but the hotel we were staying at in Moscow had a portrait of Stalin up. He 's gotten away with it, really. We 've quietly drawn a veil over him and not really concerned ourselves too much about him. -- Armando Iannucci, describing Stalin 's status in Russia. 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 and ended 6 August. Filming locations included Kyiv, Ukraine ( for exteriors scenes and exterior of Public Enemies building and NKVD building ), and UK ( at Blythe House, Freemason 's Hall and Alexandra Palace in London, Mongewell Park in Oxford ). Release The Death of Stalin was released by eOne Films in the United Kingdom on 20 October 2017 and IFC Films in the United States on 9 March 2018. The film was screened in the Platform section at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival. Nikolai Starikov, head of the Russian Great Fatherland Party, said The Death of Stalin was an `` unfriendly act by the British intellectual class '' and part of an `` anti-Russian information war ''. In September 2017, the head of the Public Council of the Russian Ministry of Culture said 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 in Russia, a screening was attended by State Duma MPs, representatives of the Russian Historical Society, members of the Culture Ministry 's Public Board, and film industry members. Two days later, the Ministry of Culture withdrew the film 's distribution certificate. However, several movie theaters screened the film in late January, claiming that by then they did n't receive any information that the movie 's exhibition license was revoked. Russia 's culture ministry filed a lawsuit against these theaters. Russian Culture Ministry 's lawyers, including the daughter of Marshal Zhukov, Era Zhukova, cinematographers Nikita Mikhalkov, Vladimir Bortko, Sergei Miroshnichenko, Igor Ugolnikov, Alexander Galibin, and Head of the Russian State Historical Museum Alexey Levykin, 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 said the film denigrated the memory of Russian World War II fighters. They pointed out that the National Anthem was accompanied with obscene expressions and offensive attitude, decorations were historically inaccurate, and that the planned release on the eve of the 75th Anniversary of the Battle of Stalingrad was `` a spit in the face of all those who died there, and all those who are still alive ''. The film was banned in Russia and Kyrgyzstan. Armenia, Belarus and Kazakhstan are the only members of the Eurasian Economic Union to show it. In Armenia, the film premiered in two theaters in Yerevan on 25 January 2018. In Kazakhstan, the film was screened only in the Clique festival. Critical response On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 95 % based on 194 reviews, with an average rating of 8.2 / 10. The website 's critical consensus reads, `` 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 weighted average score of 89 out of 100, based on 32 critics, indicating `` 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 ''. Bradshaw says it `` is superbly cast, and acted with icy and ruthless force by an A-list lineup. There are no weak links. Each has a plum role ; each squeezes every gorgeous horrible drop. '' Raphael Abraham, writing for Financial Times, wrote that `` As this coven of vampiric apparatchiks feasts on the remains of Stalinism, the unremitting blackness of the situation at times threatens a full comedy eclipse. But the discomfiting balancing act of humour and horror is precisely Iannucci 's game -- and only he could pull it off with such skill. '' 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 honor those who died during Stalin 's leadership. 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, while admitting that the film ′ s numerous historical discrepancies could be justified inasmuch as they helped focus the drama, found the grotesque way `` Beria and the NKVD '' are portrayed in the film less forgivable. Contrary to what both the film and Goff 's essay say, the NKVD did not exist in early 1953, the secret police being a separate ministry headed by Semyon Ignatyev, while Lavrentiy Beria was appointed the Minister of the Interior on 5 March 1953, on the day of Stalin 's death. Goff believed that Iannucci 's approach to satire was not transferable to something like Stalinism, and the film is `` fundamentally ill - equipped to locate the comedy inherent to Stalinism, missing marks it does n't know it should be aiming for ''. References ^ Jump up to : `` THE DEATH OF STALIN ''. British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved 3 September 2017. Jump up ^ `` The Death of Stalin ( 2017 ) ''. The Numbers. Retrieved 4 April 2018. Jump up ^ Tobias, Scott ( 10 March 2018 ). `` Armando Iannucci on ' Death of Stalin, ' Political Satire and Trump 's Funeral ''. Rolling Stone. Retrieved 26 March 2018. 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 ( 20 June 2016 ). `` Armando Iannucci 's ' The Death Of Stalin ' Starts Shoot, Rupert Friend Joins Cast, Closes Deals ''. Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 3 April 2017. Jump up ^ The Death of Stalin ( 2017 ) Filming & Production IMDb Jump up ^ Hipes, Patrick ( 11 February 2017 ). `` Armando Iannucci 's ' The Death Of Stalin ' Acquired By IFC Films -- Berlin ''. Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 3 April 2017. Jump up ^ Evans, Greg ( 5 October 2017 ). `` ' Death Of Stalin ' Author Says Trumpian Comedies Must Wait For Final Tweet -- NY Comic - Con ''. Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 26 November 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 ^ 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 ^ Kozlov, Vladimir ( 23 February 2018 ). `` Russia 's Culture Ministry Sues Movie Theater for Screening Armando Iannucci 's ' The Death of Stalin ' ''. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2 March 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 ^ `` Armenia only EEU - member to screen ' The Death of Stalin ' ''. PanARMENIAN Network. 29 January 2018. Retrieved 2 March 2018. Jump up ^ `` The Death of Stalin ( 2018 ) ''. Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 4 April 2018. Jump up ^ `` The Death of Stalin Reviews ''. Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 15 March 2018. Jump up ^ Clarke, Donald ( 20 October 2017 ). `` The Death of Stalin : Mortal panic with a ghastly conclusion ''. The Irish Times. Retrieved 15 March 2018. Jump up ^ Bradshaw, Peter ( 9 September 2017 ). `` The Death of Stalin review -- Armando Iannucci has us tremblin ' in the Kremlin ''. The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. Retrieved 15 March 2018. Jump up ^ Abraham, Raphael ( 16 February 2018 ). `` The Death of Stalin -- ' balancing act of humour and horror ' ''. Financial Times. The Nikkei. Retrieved 2 March 2018. Jump up ^ Overy, Richard ( 18 October 2017 ). `` Carry on up the Kremlin : how The Death of Stalin plays Russian roulette with the truth ''. The Guardian. Retrieved 31 December 2017. Jump up ^ White, Adam ( 19 October 2017 ). `` The Death of Stalin : what really happened on the night that forever changed Soviet history ? ''. The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 31 December 2017. ^ Jump up to : Goff, Samuel ( 23 October 2017 ). `` The Death of Stalin : a black comic masterpiece ? Do n't make me laugh ''. The Calvert Journal. London. Retrieved 31 December 2017. External links The Death of Stalin on IMDb The Death of Stalin at Rotten Tomatoes 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=834477209 '' 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 based on French comics Films set in 1953 Films set in Moscow Films set in Russia Films shot in London Films set in the Soviet Union Live - action films based on comics Political films based on actual events Hidden categories : CS1 Russian - language sources ( ru ) Wikipedia articles needing clarification from March 2018 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Azərbaycanca Български Čeština Deutsch Español Euskara فارسی Français Հայերեն Italiano 日本 語 Português Română Русский Suomi Svenska Türkçe Українська 粵語 中文 11 more Edit links This page was last edited on 5 April 2018, at 22 : 53. 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Question: the death of stalin cast who plays stalin
Answer: Adrian McLoughlin