The Death of Stalin

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Directed by Armando Iannucci
Produced by Kevin Loader, Nicolas Duval Adassovsky, Laurent Zeitoun, and Yann Zenou

Written by Armando Iannucci, David Schneider, Ian Martin, and Peter Fellows Original Screenplay by Fabien Nury Based on the comic book La mort de Staline by Fabien Nury and Thierry Robin

With: Steve Buscemi, Simon Russell Beale, Jeffrey Tambor, Andrea Riseborough, Rupert Friend, Jason Isaacs, Michael Palin, Paddy Considine, and Olga Kurylenko

Cinematography: Zac Nicholson
Editing: Peter Lambert
Music: Christopher Willis

Runtime: 107 min
Release Date: 09 March 2018
Aspect Ratio: 1.85 : 1
Color: Color

Armando Iannucci's distinctive deadpan mockumentary approach to contemporary political satire (TV's shows like The Thick of It and Veep, and his brilliant début feature In the Loop) works almost as well when applied to historical political farce.

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How I Rate Films



An All-timer. One of the 5000 greatest films. Usually only awarded after repeat viewings.



One of the year's best. An excellent film. Possibly one of the 5000 greatest and certainly worthy of repeated viewing.



A very good film. Most films I see fall in the two- or three-star ranking. I give an extra half-star to three-star films that could end up on the list of the 5000 greatest.



A good film that fully succeeds at what it sets out to accomplish. Well worth seeing, but less effective than a three-and-a-half stars films and often less consequential than a two-and-a-half star film.



A noteworthy or enjoyable film that I can’t fully recommend. Still, two-and-a-half star films are often some of the most memorable films of a year.



A disappointment, an interesting failure, or just a bad movie. But still worth seeing if you’ve got the time.



A bad, rant-worthy film. Should be avoided regardless of hype or talent involved.



One of the worst films.