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The Death of Stalin, Armando Iannucci

Started by MoonDust, August 11, 2017, 01:14:30 PM

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the ouch cube

For a man neurotically obsessed with trying to prove in public that he's the only sensible grown-up in the room, Peter Hitchens ain't half thick sometimes.

alan nagsworth

I really enjoyed how unapologetically brutal it is at times. A number of moments had me uttering an exasperated "christ!" while the audience howled in likeminded shock. Very unexpected and compliments the otherwise hilarious tone of the film very nicely. Great film.

I was at a screening with a Q&A with Iannucci afterwards, and someone behind me asked "If you could make the film again now, knowing what you know, would you change anything about it?" Iannucci was a bit miffed and asked if he meant anything to do with the current political climate and events that have since unfolded, but the guy just said "No, I mean, now you've finished it and you know how it looks, do you want to change anything?" so yer man had to be polite and give as uch of an elaborate and interesting "no" he could muster.

THINK NEXT TIME BEFORE YOU OPEN YOUR TRAP YOU GIBBERING APE

Anyway yes, very good stuff. Go see it.

buzby

Quote from: alan nagsworth on October 23, 2017, 10:17:14 PM
I really enjoyed how unapologetically brutal it is at times. A number of moments had me uttering an exasperated "christ!" while the audience howled in likeminded shock. Very unexpected and compliments the otherwise hilarious tone of the film very nicely. Great film.
One moment in particular where that happened in the showing I went to was when Stalin's dacha staff are being shot or herded onto the trucks by the NKVD, in particular the last shot from the back of the truck of the NKVD officer that's just loaded the last people onto the truck and closed the tailgate then getting shot in the head by his superior

touchingcloth

Jeffrey Tambor completely stole the show in that film - a terrific performance, and one that it feels like years of playing George Bluth was deliberately leading up to somehow. A personal highlight for me was the moment where the original girl who had been photographed with Stalin had been tracked down and presented to him, and shocked at the amount she had grown his response is just "she's the size of an ostrich". The man has some fantastic delivery.

MoonDust

There was an interesting interview with Jason Isaacs where he explained at one point why he decided to give his Zhukov character a Yorkshire accent. Researching the real Zhuvok, he found that he was one of the only people with the balls to speak bluntly to Stalin and give him a piece of mind (probably why Stalin demoted him after the war) and Isaacs thought "who are the most blunt people I've come across in the UK? People from Yorkshire", so thus he gave Zhukov a Yorkshire accent.

I've yet to see it. Can't wait to though.

touchingcloth

Quote from: MoonDust on October 24, 2017, 11:57:22 AM
There was an interesting interview with Jason Isaacs where he explained at one point why he decided to give his Zhukov character a Yorkshire accent. Researching the real Zhuvok, he found that he was one of the only people with the balls to speak bluntly to Stalin and give him a piece of mind (probably why Stalin demoted him after the war) and Isaacs thought "who are the most blunt people I've come across in the UK? People from Yorkshire", so thus he gave Zhukov a Yorkshire accent.

I've yet to see it. Can't wait to though.

That's interesting. I'm not familiar with Isaacs, so when I saw him on screen I spent a few moments trying to work out if it was Sean Bean, and then the rest of the film wondering if Bean himself had been unavailable hence the SmartPrice equivalent.

The accents across the board are great, and really convey the kinds of characters you're watching in a way that Doe Hard baddie cod Ruskie would not. Paul Whitehouse as the East End woodenly, Buscemi by turns obsequious and cynical, Russell-Beale as creepy and establishment.

You'll love it.

popcorn

Quote from: alan nagsworth on October 23, 2017, 10:17:14 PM
I was at a screening with a Q&A with Iannucci afterwards, and someone behind me asked "If you could make the film again now, knowing what you know, would you change anything about it?" Iannucci was a bit miffed and asked if he meant anything to do with the current political climate and events that have since unfolded, but the guy just said "No, I mean, now you've finished it and you know how it looks, do you want to change anything?" so yer man had to be polite and give as uch of an elaborate and interesting "no" he could muster.

Why was Iannucci annoyed by that question, or at least the question he thought the guy was asking?

Cuellar

Quote from: touchingcloth on October 24, 2017, 09:00:12 AM
Jeffrey Tambor completely stole the show in that film

Yeah he was also good.

Perhaps the duffest line in the film was his though, sadly: "All of you can kiss my Russian ass". Hmmmm nah. (It's in a trailer so it's not a Spoiler and it's not really a Spoiler anyway)

Shoulders?-Stomach!

Simon Russell Beale stole the show for me, though Palin's scene where he sways between justifying one view and the next was a fantastic piece of comedy and Stalin as a sort of hard-nosed cockney mafia lord was fucking hilarious. Simon Russell Beale however was just awesome, an unforgettable performance, seamlessly going from light farce to banality, to grim psychosis and terror. He embodied everything the film was trying to portray. It was largely engrossing because of him.

As for the film itself more widely, I would have liked to have seen more of the outside scenes and crowds which were shot very nicely and added to the atmosphere, as did the music. I thought the ending was a bit slight as Malenkov was too broad-brush and Krushchev hadn't done enough during the film to show his will and authority on proceedings. The sway from the rest of the committee towards Krushchev was poorly justified, poorly narrated and I guess by extension directed poorly too, I thought. The character introduction 'announcements' with the slow-mo and musical stings were a bit last-gen and hacky, I thought. Isaacs was either quite poor or I've just seen enough wisecracking northerners on TV and film recently to last me a long time.

On the upside, a terrific script and the cast while on paper seeming over-stuffed with names worked in the respect that there were so many big characters to play. I laughed ooh twenty or thirty times which is pretty good going for any film for me these days and I could have watched hours of that lot at work.

So, ooh somewhere between 7.5-8/10 for me, an enjoyable film.




TrenterPercenter

Very surprisingly for me I was expecting it to be funnier.  I did however take some friends whom I wasn't sure if it would be their cup of tea and they absolutely loved it - me on the other hand felt the comedy suffered a little with the pacing (as in the awkward comedy aspect didn't have enough time to fester).

It's a film i think I would enjoy more on the second viewing and it pissed little Hitchens off so it deserves the credit for that.

touchingcloth

^^I thought the slowmo bits were some of the best of the film, especially with Zukhov where he shed his overcoat and allowed us an extended view of his ridiculous array of medals.

Shoulders?-Stomach!

Quote from: touchingcloth on October 24, 2017, 11:26:00 PM
^^I thought the slowmo bits were some of the best of the film, especially with Zukhov where he shed his overcoat and allowed us an extended view of his ridiculous array of medals.

Wasn't in keeping with the contents of the film in my opinion, and has become an overused and frankly hackneyed directorial device, but hey, you liked it and good.

Shoulders?-Stomach!

Also the "no.... problem" joke is a steal from The Simpsons "no.....money down".

touchingcloth

Quote from: Shoulders?-Stomach! on October 24, 2017, 11:47:46 PM
Wasn't in keeping with the contents of the film in my opinion, and has become an overused and frankly hackneyed directorial device, but hey, you liked it and good.

So on the four point scale, you're a 2 of "don't, but could see why other people do" to my 3 of "do, but could see why other people don't".

Fight?

Phil_A

Quote from: asids on October 23, 2017, 03:14:47 PM
He's not taken the criticism in response to his comments about the film too well:

http://hitchensblog.mailonsunday.co.uk/2017/10/why-i-still-say-that-the-death-of-stalin-is-a-bad-film-.html

Blimey, what a snowflake.

"The film got a few laughs[...] But it wasn't very much, and I would judge that the f-word (the failed comedian's standby when all else has failed) was the thing that got most of the laughter. We're still just a bit shocked by it, but I wonder what will happen when that wears off, as it must, and when the shock possibilities of the c-word are exhausted too. By that time we'll probably be clubbing each other to death in a world without cinemas, or electricity, for that matter."

I also enjoy the bit where he says he must have a sense of humour because he likes Calvin and Hobbes and laughed at a book he read once.

"Well, the only question you need to ask is whether anyone would think the final days of Hitler, the other great European mass-killer, torturer and tyrant, would make a good comedy, with Goebbels, Himmler and the rest of the Nazi elite played for laughs. No, of course not."

Er, clearly they would, Chris. They've been doing almost since the day WW2 ended. Jesus Christ.

touchingcloth

Quote from: Phil_A on October 25, 2017, 08:23:58 AM
Er, clearly they would, Chris. They've been doing almost since the day WW2 ended. Jesus Christ.

Pete. The even worse (and even aliver) one.

Cuellar

I liked the slow-mo introductions if only because of Kaganovich bursting into Stalin's study shouting "Out of my way you faaaaaanniiiiies"

'Fannies' is such an Armando Iannucci word.

touchingcloth

Ha, or Vasily at hockey training with "clattering fannies".

Shoulders?-Stomach!

Quote from: Cuellar on October 25, 2017, 09:26:48 AM
I liked the slow-mo introductions if only because of Kaganovich bursting into Stalin's study shouting "Out of my way you faaaaaanniiiiies"

'Fannies' is such an Armando Iannucci word.

That one was funny, elevated it

DrGreggles


grassbath

I really, thoroughly enjoyed it, but also didn't find it THAT funny. Far fewer proper laughs than your average episode of the Thick of It.

Cuellar


Serge

Just back from seeing it, thought it was excellent. Buscemi was the standout for me, he really should do more comedy. But Beale, Whitehouse, Isaacs and Tambor weren't far behind. Well, everybody, really. I was also pleased because the Great Tom Brooke was in the opening scene with Paddy Considine. Loved the way it swung between comedy and the brutal realism of what was going on (as somebody mentions above, the scene where they're clearing Stalin's dacha where the last guy gets shot in the head made quite a few people gasp.) The biggest laugh for me was Mikoyan getting trapped under Stalin's piss-stained body as they tried to get him onto the bed.

I'm sure my eyes were deceiving me, but I became convinced that one of the non-speaking doctors was Chris Langham. I think it was just somebody who looked like him, and I can't find anything to contradict this online.

Steven

Quote from: Serge on October 26, 2017, 07:13:10 PM
Just back from seeing it, thought it was excellent. Buscemi was the standout for me, he really should do more comedy. But Beale, Whitehouse, Isaacs and Tambor weren't far behind. Well, everybody, really.

Are you trying to say the cast were terrific?

Serge

In a word, I'd have to say the cast were indeed terrific.

Mark Steels Stockbroker

Quote from: Serge on October 26, 2017, 07:13:10 PM
Im sure my eyes were deceiving me, but I became convinced that one of the non-speaking doctors was Chris Langham. I think it was just somebody who looked like him, and I can't find anything to contradict this online.

I thought the guy directing the funeral looked very Langham, but of course was too young to be the man himself.

Serge

It took me half the film to realise that it was another favourite actor of mine, Jonathan Aris, playing that character. But I can see what you mean about his similarity to Langham.

Twit 2


DrGreggles

Quote from: Twit 2 on October 26, 2017, 10:16:19 PM
How was the cast?

Fine, but a bit sweaty.

You were referring to the one on my broken ankle, right?

Serge

I had a quick look at the graphic novel that inspired the film today, and, other than the title and the fact that it covers the same events, it looks like the film departs from it in nearly every aspect. As far as I could see - and bearing in mind this was quickly looking through it in a shop, not immersing myself in it - the book is basically a straight retelling of the story, with no swearing and no comedy. So it's interesting that the film is 'based on' the graphic novel rather than on the real life events.

It also struck me today that there was one thing that could have made the film even better - if they'd got Alan Ford to play Stalin. Imagine him delivering the "What did you do, fucking walk here?" line.