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mysteryowl

(8,370 posts)
Fri Jan 23, 2026, 10:38 AM 14 hrs ago

"The Death of Stalin" - a dark comedy

It is very funny.

I recently watched this movie. The library had a copy I could borrow.

There is a scene where heads of state are standing around Stalin's body as the public are paraded past for a viewing.
They discuss if they should have a voucher system for the people to give him one kick each.

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EYESORE 9001

(29,478 posts)
1. A great movie
Fri Jan 23, 2026, 10:40 AM
14 hrs ago

I found it very difficult to suspend disbelief long enough to buy Steve Buscemi as Nikita Khrushchev.

mysteryowl

(8,370 posts)
2. I don't know any of the people real or dead.
Fri Jan 23, 2026, 10:45 AM
14 hrs ago

Yes, it is a great movie, plus, I could dream...

EYESORE 9001

(29,478 posts)
3. I grew up seeing Khrushchev on the tee vee
Fri Jan 23, 2026, 10:48 AM
14 hrs ago

Hence my incredulity. I guess the teeth pass muster from a believability standpoint.

NNadir

(37,391 posts)
9. I remember him well. I was taught to hate him. He looked like Mr. Potatohead. Once I understood history though...
Fri Jan 23, 2026, 05:45 PM
7 hrs ago

...in many ways he was a great man given the fact he lived a terrible system.

It was not an easy thing to take down the Stalin cult.

In other ways, he risked the world, but in the end he handled that boy Kennedy pretty well after testing him. He had the courage, and let's be clear, it was courage, to back down. It cost him his career, but what was notable was that he was allowed to live afterwards.

I actually believe that the Cuban Missile Crisis (for which I largely hold Kennedy, not Khrushchev, responsible) set the world on a path to an unsettled peace, but peace all the same. There were no other world wars, only a cold war, which happily was just that, cold.

NNadir

(37,391 posts)
4. After the first time I saw it, I ordered the DVD.
Fri Jan 23, 2026, 02:36 PM
10 hrs ago

It is the essence of historical wit, albeit very black humor.

As history, it's inaccurate in the details; Beria did not die quite that way; but as capturing the zeitgeist, it is magnificent.

I've probably watched it four or five times, as in a way it's uplifting.

Steve Buscemi steals the show.

generalbetrayus

(1,555 posts)
5. I bought the DVD on Ebay a while ago, but haven't got around to watching it yet. Glad to see a good review.
Fri Jan 23, 2026, 02:38 PM
10 hrs ago

mysteryowl

(8,370 posts)
6. I did not know it was a dark-comedy and found myself laughing from the beginning.
Fri Jan 23, 2026, 02:43 PM
10 hrs ago

I kept laughing throughout and decided either I was twisted or they intended it that way, so I looked up.
Sure enough they planned it.

There are some true gem moments! Plus, I can't help but think about some day the criminal will die.
I am of an age that I will be alive when it happens. That will be a moment! We need a Mel Brooks style movie when that happens.


SWBTATTReg

(26,108 posts)
7. It was / it is a good movie. Surprising enough, when I watched it years ago, I was pleasantly surprised,
Fri Jan 23, 2026, 02:57 PM
10 hrs ago

and intrigued by the Russian partisanship portrayed in the movie. I would recommend this movie to others too.

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