Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: The Death of Stalin (2017 international, 2018 USA)

This is topic The Death of Stalin (2017 international, 2018 USA) in forum Film Handlers' Movie Reviews at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Sam Graham (Member # 2889) on 03-25-2018, 08:10 PM:

CINEMA: Glenwood Arts, Overland Park, KS
AUDITORIUM: 1
PRESENTATION: Mystery Meat Digital in ancient shoebox slope auditorium
PRESENTATION PROBLEMS: None [Cool]

RATING: Three stars (out of four)

THE PLOT: Stalin dies. Wackiness ensues.

I heard somebody call this a "historically accurate satire." That sounds like something the Monty Python group would say, and that's what this feels like...a Monty Python skit. Indeed, Michael Palin is among the cast, which also includes Steve Buscemi, Tom Brooke, the newly disgraced Jeffrey Tambor, and a host of British and American actors who are making no effort whatsoever to sound like Russians or anything other than themselves. The script doesn't try either. Lots of proper British and Buscemi is channeling every angry Buscemi character he's ever done, F-bombs and all. It just adds to the silliness, and this movie overflows with silliness.

All of it is set to a backdrop of really nice looking period sets and music.

Pretty good and funny dark comedy overall. Highly recommended in particular to Python fans.

Posted by Mike Croaro (Member # 3123) on 03-25-2018, 10:21 PM:

I just saw this today (at UA Stonestown). I enjoyed the movie but did not really find it funny. I laughed a couple of times but that was about it. Regardless, I recommend it.

Mike

Posted by Martin Brooks (Member # 1269) on 04-03-2018, 03:48 PM:

I laughed a lot until I thought about the fact that all those murders actually happened. It's one thing to make a comedy about Hitler (in this case Stalin and his minions), but it's quite another to make a comedy about a concentration camp (in this case the prisons and gulags). So I enjoyed it and found it quite funny, but felt guilty about doing so.