The Death of Stalin
Short description
Set in Moscow in early 1953, the film follows the scramble for power that begins when Joseph Stalin lies dying after a stroke. With the Soviet leader's position about to fall vacant, his inner circle turns on itself. Nikita Khrushchev, secret police chief Lavrenti Beria, deputy premier Georgy Malenkov and foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov manoeuvre, bargain and betray one another as the regime and the country slide toward disorder. Stalin's son Vasily becomes another complication in the contest.
Armando Iannucci directed, working from a screenplay he wrote with David Schneider and Fabien Nury; the film adapts a French graphic novel by Nury and Thierry Robin. It is the third feature Iannucci directed, following Tube Tales and In the Loop. The cast includes Steve Buscemi as Khrushchev, Simon Russell Beale as Beria, Jeffrey Tambor as Malenkov, Jason Isaacs as Marshal Zhukov, Michael Palin as Molotov and Rupert Friend as Vasily Stalin. Seventy-two performers and 84 crew members are credited.
Released in 2017, the film runs 107 minutes and blends comedy, drama and history. Made for about 13 million dollars, it took roughly 25 million dollars worldwide. On IMDb it holds 7.3 out of 10 from around 126,000 votes, and on TMDB 7 out of 10 from more than 2,200 votes. A critics' rating of 8 out of 10 from 254 reviews places it above both audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- Armando Iannucci did not want the actors to speak with a Russian accent because it could alienate viewers, and thoughts about the accent would hinder the actors from improvising on set.
- The film was shot in Moscow, Kyiv, London, and Oxfordshire. 1950s Russia was decided to be recreated in London. Interior scenes were filmed in the UK. Producers agreed to film at several London locations, in particular, filming took place at Shoreditch Town Hall, Freemasons’ Hall in Covent Garden, Goldsmiths’ Hall, and Hammersmith Town Hall in West London. The column hall of the House of Unions replaced Mansion House in the City of London. Kasali and her team had to build Stalin's country residence in a forest near the Pinewood Studios.
- The film was banned from theatrical release by the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation.
- The film is based on the comics "The Death of Stalin" by artists Fabien Nuri and Thierry Robin, about those incredible but true events. There is also a sequel – "Part Two – The Funeral". French producers Yann Zenou and Laurent Zeitoun bought the rights to adapt the comics from the artists and offered director Armando Iannucci to take on the unusual project.
- The film discusses the plane crash in Sverdlovsk in which the Air Force hockey team of the Moscow Military District perished. It should only be noted that this tragedy occurred in 1950, three years before the death of Joseph Stalin.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
