Field marshal zhukov death of stalin movie

Roger Ebert once said that, if done right, any topic could be the subject of a comedy.

Liam aims to get his spec scripts produced and currently writes short films and stage plays. Although Zhukov does feel more than a little bit uncomfortable during the official proceedings, particularly in a hilarious scene where he attends Stalin’s funeral alongside Khrushchev, he is also a smart enough man to recognize that it is important to align with power.

Isaacs co-stars as Field Marshal Georgy Zhukov, the powerful head of the Soviet Army who finds himself forced to become allies with Khrushchev in order to avoid a coup by Lavrentiy Beria (Simon Russell Beale), the head of Security Forces.

Isaacs is hilarious as a military man unequipped for political backstabbing, as Zhukov had never been in a position in which he was forced to fight for his own ideals.

He has been writing film reviews and news coverage for ten years. The very real fear that a tiny misstep could result in a trip to a windowless cell or a bullet to the back of the head becomes a punchline for numerous scenes (including the hilarious opening sequence in which an entire concert has to be redone because the first performance wasn’t recorded for Stalin).

Even if Iannucci built the foundation of his reputation thanks to his work on television, he has proven to be an equally successful filmmaker. Because of this, Buscemi, Palin, Tambor, and a deliciously pompous and over-the-top Jason Isaacs (as Field Marshal Zhukov) shine.

The movie opens during the final days of the reign of Josef Stalin (Adrian McLoughlin), who is presented as a stiff, humorless, monosyllabic figure who rubber-stamps the enemies lists concocted by the head of the NKVD (the KGB’s predecessor), Lavrenti Beria (Simon Russell Beale).

So, with tongue in cheek and pen ready to skewer, Iannucci allows actors like Steve Buscemi, Michael Palin, and Jeffrey Tambor to explore the fatuous sides of some very famous, not-so-nice people.

At times, the screenplay feels influenced by Monty Python (not an unreasonable association considering Palin’s involvement) or the Coen Brothers.

While many of Iannucci’s projects feature stand-in characters meant to lampoon actual historical figures,The Death of Stalin is lifted from actual history, as it shows the leadership crisis that thwarted the Soviet Union following the death of the dictator Joseph Stalin (Adrian McLoughlin) in 1953.

Iannucci satirized one of the most climactic moments of the Cold War in his darkly comedic satire The Death of Stalin, a star-studded film that features a standout performance by Jason Isaacs.

What Is ‘The Death of Stalin' About? Make you feel better.

Vyacheslav Molotov: All in good time.

Lavrenti Beria: Oh, I'm gonna enjoy peeling the skin from your self-satisfied face.

Georgy Zhukov: [holds up the little knife and scoffs] Not with that, you won't.

• Georgy Zhukov: Everybody happy?

  If there’s a sense of uneasiness, it’s caused by the consideration that Iannucci isn’t exaggerating nearly as much as we might hope. Are you in?

• Georgy Zhukov: I'm in, I'm in. I mean, I'm smiling, but I am very fucking furious.

• Georgy Zhukov: [opens his overcoat to reveal two AK-47s strapped to his hips] All right, boys, meet your dates for tonight.
• Brezhnev: [points to one of the rifles] I'll take the tall blonde.

• Svetlana Stalin: [about Vasily's beating] Who did this?
• Georgy Zhukov: I did, and I enjoyed it.

  (He is also the creator of “Veep.”) For the most part, The Death of Stalin is more interested in quiet chuckles than full-bodied guffaws, although there are some laugh-aloud moments. Leading the pack is Nikita Khrushchev (Steve Buscemi), the First Secretary of the Communist Party, who sees himself as the only natural choice to lead the nation amidst a time of crisis.

  After suffering a cerebral hemorrhage, Stalin lingers for several days while key policy-makers, including Nikita Khrushchev (Buscemi), Vyacheslav Molotov (Palin), Beria, and Stalin’s protégé, Georgy Malenkov (Jeffrey Tambor), bicker about the path forward. Stalin’s demise, after all, had repercussions that shaped the Soviet Union and US/USSR relations for decades.

  Iannucci has a unique ability to take the most absurd aspects of politics and depict them in an entertaining yet informative way that gives his audience a greater understanding of the unusual systems that dictate their rights. Fuck off back to Georgia, dead boy!

• Georgy Zhukov: [about Beria's fleeing staffers] Go and kill them, will you?

• [Vasily is drunk at a reception for Chinese dignitaries; Zhukov storms in]
• Vasily Stalin: Medic!
• [Zhukov slugs him in the stomach and throws him to the floor]
• Georgy Zhukov: Not today!