The Death of Stalin
Rent/Purchase
When dictator Joseph Stalin dies, his parasitic cronies square off in a frantic power struggle to become the next Soviet leader. As they bumble, brawl and back-stab their way to the top, the question remains — just who is running the government?
What critics thought
Armando Iannucci's coal-black comedy about the power scramble following Stalin's death was nearly universally praised for its ferocity, its ensemble performances, and its unsettling timeliness — the horror and the farce are so tightly braided that critics debated whether the film was primarily a political satire or something closer to a genuine horror film. The few dissenters felt the premise was sharper than the execution, and that the laughter didn't land as consistently as Iannucci's earlier work.
“fear rises like gas from a corpse in Armando Iannucci's brilliant horror-satire”
Peter Bradshaw·The Guardian
“Depending on your point of view, The Death of Stalin is either a sly, wintry satire on Armando Iannucci's usual theme of squawking political idiocy, or an insidious attempt to destabilise the Russian establishment with relentless dagger-blows.”
Tim Robey·The Daily Telegraph
“ten times funnier, by my reckoning, than it has any right to be, and more riddled with risk than anything that Iannucci has done before, because it dares to meet outrage with outrage.”
Anthony Lane·The New Yorker
“For all [Iannucci's] dream-team cast and assured direction, despite capturing the laughable sycophancy of the apparatchik the film isn't that funny.”
Matthew Norman·Evening Standard
“If only the end result were as funny as the idea that anyone would undertake a film about the turmoil surrounding the Soviet despot's demise.”
Peter Debruge·Variety
Genres
Comedy, Drama, History
Cast & Crew
DirectorArmando Iannucci
StarringSteve Buscemi, Simon Russell Beale, Jeffrey Tambor, Jason Isaacs, Michael Palin
ComposerChristopher Willis
The Death of Stalin
When dictator Joseph Stalin dies, his parasitic cronies square off in a frantic power struggle to become the next Soviet leader. As they bumble, brawl and back-stab their way to the top, the question remains — just who is running the government?
What critics thought
Armando Iannucci's coal-black comedy about the power scramble following Stalin's death was nearly universally praised for its ferocity, its ensemble performances, and its unsettling timeliness — the horror and the farce are so tightly braided that critics debated whether the film was primarily a political satire or something closer to a genuine horror film. The few dissenters felt the premise was sharper than the execution, and that the laughter didn't land as consistently as Iannucci's earlier work.
“fear rises like gas from a corpse in Armando Iannucci's brilliant horror-satire”
Peter Bradshaw·The Guardian
“Depending on your point of view, The Death of Stalin is either a sly, wintry satire on Armando Iannucci's usual theme of squawking political idiocy, or an insidious attempt to destabilise the Russian establishment with relentless dagger-blows.”
Tim Robey·The Daily Telegraph
“ten times funnier, by my reckoning, than it has any right to be, and more riddled with risk than anything that Iannucci has done before, because it dares to meet outrage with outrage.”
Anthony Lane·The New Yorker
“For all [Iannucci's] dream-team cast and assured direction, despite capturing the laughable sycophancy of the apparatchik the film isn't that funny.”
Matthew Norman·Evening Standard
“If only the end result were as funny as the idea that anyone would undertake a film about the turmoil surrounding the Soviet despot's demise.”
Peter Debruge·Variety
Genres
Comedy, Drama, History
Cast & Crew
DirectorArmando Iannucci
StarringSteve Buscemi, Simon Russell Beale, Jeffrey Tambor, Jason Isaacs, Michael Palin
ComposerChristopher Willis
Rent/Purchase