FILMMAKER MOVIE REACTION!! The Death of Stalin (2017) FIRST TIME REACTION!!

[@JamesVSCinema]

All the petty is available here in this film lmaooo! Want to vote on what I should watch next? Click here! www.patreon.com/jamesvscinema OBLIVION FIRST TIME WATCHING will be uploaded Wednesday! Enjoy the day!

[@BlackbirdSJ]

Very ironic that you're watching Oblivion seeing as that the two lead actresses are in this too

[@JamesVSCinema]

Oh snap really?

[@phoenixcross6481]

So to answer the question....yes all the Actors spoke in their normal accent. they didn't want the actors to have in Russian accents, there's a channel called History Buffs they do an analysis video on this film

[@welovecheshirecats4557]

Olga Konstiantinivna Kurylenko......yep!

[@francisdufreak915]

YES! I just rewatched this movie recently. You have a keen eye for the classics.

[@alexa.english174]

Jason Isaacs made the movie for me. As a History student, the film offers a fun alternative to the grim reality.

[@JamesVSCinema]

I agree, which means a new form of educating history truthfully

[@Tinman452]

If you watch history buffs, this is amazingly almost all true as well. Its insane lol

[@dyskordian]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/iniQpXpjjNRjetE

[@dannydethanos6994]

There’s comedy everywhere in the world even when it’s too dark to see it’s brightness there were silly parts in the real events, As they involved adult humans scrambling like children and throwing tantrums those parts just don’t get talked about as much and aren’t as important in the long run.

[@SVTDI]

@@Tinman452 Some things are some things are not

[@nocturnalcove9736]

Not so fun fact: Beria was so terrifying that Stalin wouldn't leave his daughter alone with him. Apparently people who were remodeling his house years later found skeletons in his garden of missing children and young women. Not sure if it's true or a rumour but...yeah.

[@JamesVSCinema]

I hope to everything that’s just a rumor..yikes

[@TheJrr71]

Beria certainly has an awful reputation, so much so that it can't all be put down to Soviet propaganda.

[@roytore5062]

They found five bodies of girls in the pipes. People said they were seeing ghosts of screaming girls there for forty-fifty years before they found them.

[@brandonlyon730]

Apparently in one story one time when word got out that Stalin’s daughter and Beria we're in the same house that together, Stalin himself order troops to watch the two from afar and if they saw Beria so as much as touches his daughter, they were ordered to gun him down without mercy or hesitation. So even Stalin himself knew much about the evil bastard, Beria himself was smart enough to know to not mess with his own boss's daughter.

[@bobkilla430]

In a deleted scene a girl tries to escape and gets blown up my a mine. Beria just goes on about his way. Another party deleted scene is Beria goes into a room with a girl and you see her on a bed. It's really depressing. where I think in the movie he just opens the door then a quick cut, but it's implied.

[@rikkilleen3169]

The events portrayed in the movie: redoing the concert, Stalin's guards being too terrified to check in on him, the "trial" of Beria are all true; they're just retold in a deeply sarcastic manner. Also, the director told all the actors to speak in their native accents.

[@Crissy_the_wonder]

Totally the right directorial call to have the actors use their own accents rather than mess up a generic Russian accent

[@mysticsaxophone4181]

The yorkshirey accent of Jason Isaacs was absolutely fucking top idea. Can't imagine him without it

[@matthewhearn9910]

The timing of the events is the biggest fiction in the movie: they all happened, but mostly over the course of months, not days (though the days around Stalin's death were certainly chaotic about half the events portrayed in that timespan happened significantly earlier or later).

[@monkeymox2544]

@Krister L Which Scottish accent? I don't remember one of those

[@cutthr0atjake]

@@mysticsaxophone4181 Isaacs was told the cast were to use their own accents and he asked Iannucci if he could play Zhukov with a Yorkshire accent as the he was very blunt and the bluntest people Isaacs could think of were Yorkshireman. :-D

[@drnerdrage2535]

General Zhukov was one of the few people that would openly argue and contradict Stalin. He knew Stalin very well due to his position as a general in the Soviet Army and had to meet with Stalin on multiple occasions. Zhukov also became something of a national hero and Stalin supposedly was envious of Zhukov in that regard. The man did not give a flying fuck and the actor really nailed that in this film.

[@jarhead21100]

Apparently Zhukov was the only person in stalins inner circle who wasn't afraid of dying in a gunfight. Therefore he was dangerous to all the cowardly yes men.

[@graceskerp]

Also helped he had the Red Army at his back.

[@frankgesuele6298]

@@graceskerp The NKVD was not gonna win that fight & they knew it😱

[@JoshSweetvale]

Zhukov also didn't fuck with Stalin's domestic policy as long as Stalin kept the army supplied. Having a competent, _neutral_ army appealed to both men.

[@CopiousDoinksLLC]

Apparently Zhukov had _waaay_ more medals on his tunic from his extensive history as a soldier but the director toned it down because they felt it would be unbelievable to the viewer.

[@baronnishi641]

Zhukov was, in fact, a badass. A ruthless badass, but a badass nonetheless. Beria was probably one of the most loathsome men in history, one might get some satisfaction from the fact that he allegedly died crying and pleading for his own life. The only character here that feels slightly off is Maria Yudina, the real Yudina was no stunner (and Olga is, as you say, breathtaking) but she remained stubbornly open in her Orthodox faith in the face of considerable risk and is very highly regarded in the Orthodox Church. One story is that, on being awarded the Stalin Prize, she donated the money to the church to prayers for Stalin's sins.

[@JoshSweetvale]

Zhukov was also on good terms with Kruschev IRL.

[@edubvb5193]

@@TamaCinema69 soviet* Beria was from Georgia, just like Stalin

[@samconner2011]

Beria was a pedophile and used his position to force himself on any number of women. Stalin told his daughter never to be alone with Beria, and never to stay at Beria's home. After Beria's death numerous unmarked graves were found on his estate that were apparently the corpses of women he abducted, had sex with , and then had killed. All true. Beria was several steps beyond loathesome.

[@edubvb5193]

@@samconner2011 on of the most despicable men in the Soviet Union for sure, if not the most

[@RenegadeSamurai]

Zhukov was friends with Eisenhower too and he was basically invulnerable. He could say anything even "no" to Stalin, Stalin was scared of him^^

[@Autechltd]

Zhukov was not just A general, he was *THE * general. He rolled the Japanese army so hard in Mongolia that it made a Japanese invasion into Russia impossible, he then turned around and pushed the German army back to Berlin after Barbarossa. He was so well respected in the Soviet Union that Stalin could not outright kill him, and the NKVD could not reach him since they had to literally get through the entire Red Army to get to him. Notice that when the coup happened, it wasn't just Zhukov and some random soldiers. It was him and the entire general staff.

[@lavrentivs9891]

While he was a good general, he gets too much credit. While he won the battle of Khalkin Gol, his units suffered very high losses in the process and he was generally a ruthless leader that would sacrifice his men without a second thought, the Rhzev "meat grinder" being the best/worst example, not to mention how he sacrificed his men to try and reach Berlin before Konev. In my opinion he wasn't the best soviet general, that would most likely fall on Rokossovsky (who had polish ancestry and spent time in a "gulag", so was not the kind of person Stalin wanted to show off as the premier soviet hero), but Zhukov managed to be at the right place at the right time and serving with men like Rokossovsky who knew how to use Zhukov's strengths for the best effect.

[@ravenhull]

In the movie, one of the ones next to him was Brezhnev, who would replace Khrushchev in 10 years, though don’t know if he was really there personally.

[@sultankebab1587]

@@lavrentivs9891 I mean, it worked.

[@lavrentivs9891]

@@sultankebab1587 Doesn't mean that it couldn't have worked better with a different commander.

[@sultankebab1587]

@@lavrentivs9891 yes, my point is that most great leaders and generals werent exactly the best people at anytime in history, and its sad to admit but thats exactly what made them capable. They all scrificied "lesser" men for their purposes and for what they believed was best for the people.

[@darthjarjar511]

Didn't realise the actor for Marshall Zhukov was Lucius Malfoy first time I watched this.

[@EDTGO1]

To a lot of people he is Lucius, but to me he will always be the bad guy from The Patriot, one of the all time movie villains

[@grizzlygamer8891]

Zhukov... Definitely the best character "You should see your fucking face" 😂

[@eduardokarusky7210]

i didn't realise until i read your comment.

[@SSgtJ0hns0n]

From Avada Kedavra to Avtomat Kalashnikov

[@brandonlyon730]

He was also the voice of Admiral Zhao from Avatar the last Airbender, the evil general guy from the Patriot, and even played as Captain Hook in the 2003 live action Peter Pan movie,

[@corvus4350]

Beria truly was as much of a monster as the film makes him out to be, probably even more so in real life. Stalin did not want his daughter anywhere near the man. There was actually an incident where Stalin realized that his daughter Svetlana was alone with Beria in his house. Stalin freaked out and ordered an NKVD kill squad to Beria's house to collect Svetlana with the orders to shoot Beria if he so much as looked like he had laid a hand on her. Beria of course knew how bad for his health messing with Stalin's daughter would be so he kept his hands to himself. It is theorized by some historians that Beria himself was behind Stalin's death, using his vast spy network to poison him. When Stalin died Beria supposedly began to bad mouth him immediately and spat on the corpse. In the end, Beria died crying demanding his rights, and was gagged, a fate just like the ones he dished out to many of the regular populace.

[@MagusMirificus]

That "It never ends" note that the film ends on is especially chilling considering that *it never did*. With the possible exception of a brief window in the 90s, Russia has without respite continued to be grabbed for power by one snake after another, all the way up to Putin himself.

[@1998Cebola]

@@Pobeda-Budet-Za-Nami get payed good at the troll farm? Beat any gay people up lately? Maybe asked the political opposition about their "freedom"? Looked at the status of the russian economy? Neoliberalism is shit, I agree, but Putin and his likes are definetly not a better alternative.

[@AaronHatcher]

@@Pobeda-Budet-Za-Nami that is a insane way to think about that. How did the west allow yall to be able to set up a democracy but at the same time mad yall become a authoritarian dictatorship again? Yall let the wrong person get the power. Take his fucking power from him now cuz yall are the only ones that can do it now. And right now he's weak. Strike while the animal is wounded. It's the perfect time for yall to organize an stand in unity and March on the Kremlin and take his ass out of the seat of power along with all the oligarchs who are all hoarding theory they steal from you every single day. Then have a real and fair election and pick the right person (do NOT pick a Russian nationalist candidate though that's exactly what putin was and it would end up the exact same.

[@nikolaicccp3972]

Soviet Union would've been greatest economic powerhouse if it wasn't for the USA strategically destroying and murdering all of the Soviet Unions allied nations and their people all because USA wasnt making money from those allied countries labor.

[@MagusMirificus]

@@nikolaicccp3972 Comrade, I'm an anarchist. You don't want to do this here.

[@goldboy150]

There are degrees though - it’s difficult in a society not accustomed to liberal democracy to move from a single man centralising power to anything resembling western democracy. So while I agree with your “it never ended” notion, I think it’s important to recognise, for example, Khrushchev and Gorbachev for making steps in a better direction. Basically, the reformers deserve their recognition even if they didn’t force permanent change.

[@PeterEvansPeteTakesPictures]

To be fair to Kruschev, he was basically the first Soviet leader to not kill his rivals and just demote them. Er, as far as I'm aware anyway. Beria was indeed a monster, a sadist responsible for the deaths of millions. Ironically he wanted to avert a Cold War with the US and planned on easing tensions upon gaining power. The others were right to move to get rid of him, had they not they would have been picked off one by one. It was a time of genuine madness. If you were in charge of the department of postage stamps you'd have to denounce and sign death warrants because the best way to perpetuate such a system with all its terror was by ensuring that you were complicit in it. Everybody had to bloody their hands to a degree in a position of power, or you'd be labelled a counter-revolutionary and killed yourself. The only thing I think that didn't happen was the execution of the staff of Stalin's manor out in the country - or dacha. This may have been put in to reinforce to the viewer the murderous habits of the system, but I don't think that particular killing happened. Anyway, tremendous film. Buscemi kills it and it's a lot of fun to see Paul Whitehouse as the 'wideboy' aparatchik as well. Oh and yes, Zhukov was pretty much a bad-ass. He's the one who conquered Berlin. As much as it's fashionable to say that power corrupts yadda yadda nothing in democracy even remotely compares to the surreal Terror of the Soviet system under Stalin.And now I'm trying to imagine the period coming of age children's story Little Women as a murderous backstabbing court-intrigue retelling. Excellent. Laters!

[@JamesVSCinema]

Hahaha that last line gave me a good laugh haha

[@PeterEvansPeteTakesPictures]

@Krister L Not denying that. If I had to list everything it'd be a Wikipedia article. His farms collectivisation policy led to the deaths of many.

[@Ailurophile1984]

#NotRealCommunists /s

[@lavrentivs9891]

Should add that Zhukov was one of the two generals who conquered Berlin, Konev was the other and both their fronts combined conquered Berlin. Zhukov became the most famous soviet general though, so tends to get all the credit for any victories he was involved in (even if he was subordinate someone else, such as Rokossovsky, or working with several fronts, like with Konev). I think this film has solidified that position and made him something of a meme too =)

[@saagabragi6938]

​@@JamesVSCinema I'd pay to see that

[@spencerhanni6984]

The reason Beria had roses in all the scenes where young girls were present was that he would kidnap young girls and obviously do horrible things. When released, accepting the rose meant it was mutual (obviously not) but refusing it basically meant you were taken away and killed or sent to a gulag. Also, the real Marshal Zuhkov had way more medals in real life but the director thought the audience would think it was unreasonable so he toned it down haha

[@matrixv01]

Completely underrated film. So glad to see this here.

[@JamesVSCinema]

Happy to have it here too!

[@matrixv01]

@@JamesVSCinema awesome reaction. The way it handles the balance between dark comedy and seriousness of the history is masterful. Nice comparison between the vibe of this and The Favourite. I totally agree with you about Olga Kurylenko. She's a real presence. She was kind of blowing up in the mid 2000s being a Bond girl in 'Quantum of Solace', Natasha in the Mark Wahlberg "Max Payne" movie, in the first Hitman movie, in the Tom Cruise movie 'Oblivion'. She stars in a new French Netflix movie called "Sentinelle" .

[@EDTGO1]

History Buffs made a review of this movie and it’s crazy how accurate it actually is to real events. From the way Stalin died and the guards too scared to check up on him, to the orchestra having to redo the set because they did not record it originally and brining in people from the street. It’s freaking crazy. In the words of Charlie Murphy: “Who the fuck could make up that shit”

[@danjudex2475]

Or as Mark Twain said. “Truth is stranger than fiction because fiction has to make sense.”

[@LordDaret]

The movie is very accurate, and where it isn’t accurate it is very plausible. A small glimpse into the Soviet Union’s politics reveals the insanity and strangeness of it all.

[@twohorsesinamancostume7606]

Field Marshal Zhukov was an absolute badass and totally deserved that entrance. He oversaw some of the Red Army's most decisive victories during WWII. Battle of Moscow, Stalingrad, Kurks and Berlin were all his.

[@lawrencegillies]

Armando Iannucci said in an interview that they toned down the absurdity from real life as no one would believe it. You can see an example of this in Zhukov's medals - in real life he wore many, many more than he does in the movie.

[@karlmortoniv2951]

Yeah, and I think the guy who ended up conducting the re-recording in real life was the THIRD guy they tried rather than the second. That incident didn’t happen the night Stalin died, but it did happen.

[@saagabragi6938]

No, the medals were because the actor's chest wasn't as wide as the real Zhukov's - there was no space

[@grontelp77]

Stalin's daughter actually immigrated to the U.S. after his death in real life. She lived the rest of her life here in relative obscurity.

[@metetural9140]

And Stalin's granddaughter is an Antiquarian living in Portland iirc

[@VsevolodSidorenko]

Yep and her grandchildren live in US now

[@saagabragi6938]

She got a lot of money at one point, a memoir i think, but then people lost interest. She changed her name at some point. I saw a documentary on Netflix(?) where Svetlana's daughter or granddaughter was interviewed, but she stayed anonymous.

[@slowerthinker]

This film does a great job of simultaneously being hilarious whilst not making light of how unpleasant living in Stalin's USSR could be (although there are a few liberties taken with historical accuracy). Armando Iannucci's work eg- The Day Today, The Thick of It, & In the Loop, are invariably great satires and very close to the bone.

[@JamesVSCinema]

It’s pretty excellent in that regard!

[@Mocsk]

a few liberties? that's putting it mildly

[@NeilLewis77]

@@Mocsk most of the events are accurate, the forced re performance of the concert on the radio happened. Stalin lay dying of a stroke while people were to scared to go in. The backstabbing. The plotting. The monsters of men. Obviously the conversations weren't as funny.

[@VideoMask93]

@@NeilLewis77 Probably the biggest liberty was of timeline--The coup against Beria took six months or so.

[@hukama6911]

in the loop isn't as good as the thick of it

[@tigqc]

Jason Isaacs stole the show for me lol. Wish they had given him more scenes.

[@slowerthinker]

They certainly shouldn't have cut out any of the extra lines he had: "urgh where did you get that [vodka] from? A Polish flamethrower? "

[@JamesVSCinema]

Hahaha the performances were really damn great

[@streaky81]

Jason Isaacs is such a legend, I wasn't really aware of him until The OA, but he's such a talent. He was also amazing in Discovery.

[@schmuck.on.wheels]

Honestly one of the most underrated Harry Potter cast members too, such a legend

[@lavrentivs9891]

@@schmuck.on.wheelsThe almost constant bad guy in everything from Harry Potter to the Patriot to the old Highlander TV-series =P

[@BlackbirdSJ]

Yes!!! This movie is honestly one of the most disturbing I've ever watched because the real events were just as messed up but minus the comedy

[@JamesVSCinema]

Exactly!

[@zombiesingularity]

"real" events

[@jayclean5653]

@@zombiesingularity ?

[@zombiesingularity]

@@jayclean5653 The movie isn't exactly historically accurate.

[@christucker7655]

@@zombiesingularity its somewhat accurate in many ways

[@Cynicism101]

Jason Isaacs as a Yorkshire Zhukov was absolutely hilarious.

[@mattg6574]

Simon Russell Beale steals the show for me. His portrayal of Beria was so spot on and terrifying.

[@NiteOfTheWorld]

Did anyone else notice the pun at the end when Steve Buscemi says "I will bury you (bury ya/Beria) in history." It's almost like a pun that's not supposed to be a pun because the humor of the film at that moment (when Beria is shot) has completely drained away and all we're left with is the dark, ugly aftermath.

[@JamesVSCinema]

That scene was oddly grim haha

[@kevinbaconwasntinfootloose1742]

That was the funniest part though.

[@brandonlyon730]

The original, “We will bury you” quote was actually somewhat mistranslated. The original meaning of the line was that U.S/capitalism will eventually die out on its own while the Union lives on to witness it, like going to a relatives funeral as you watch the body being buried and after that's done you move on with your life. Course ironically the exact opposite happened in 1991.

[@TheArkTheArkTheArk]

To expand “We will bury you” is a famous Khrushchev quote from a speech he gave in front of the UN. Buscemi’s line was not meant to be a bury ya/Beria pun, but a reference to one of the real life political figure’s most famous quotes.

[@brettcraigie6976]

i feel like philip seymour hoffman would have been in this movie, were he still alive in 2017. RIP the god

[@JamesVSCinema]

That would’ve been perfect wow.

[@choomah]

"... Look at your fuckin' face!" hahaha gets me Every. Single. Time. Jason and Steve absolutely killed it in these roles, everyone in this film did.

[@HarborLockRoad]

Exactly. Id love for this cast to parody all the american presidential administrations from roosevelt to biden in successive movies. I can only imagine ford, the bushes, carter....

[@tornoutlaw]

Funny, when I saw Olga Kurylenko in this, I had the same reaction: Didn't recognize her, but was stunned!

[@JamesVSCinema]

she’s like..way too damn beautiful.

[@kildogery]

@@JamesVSCinema Bond girl in quantum of solace.

[@eldeano9964]

Check her out in hitman

[@jackbylsma1816]

My 2 favorite movies with her are oblivion and the November man

[@tombaxter6228]

Great choice, James. The craziest thing about this film, is actually how accurate it actually is. The film compresses the timescale greatly. Beria was actually denounced and arrested some months after Stalin's death, and interrogated for some time after that, before his execution. If anything, the film plays down, just how terrifying a person he was. It's a period of history, that I'm darkly fascinated with, and this film does it justice, I feel.

[@JamesVSCinema]

Hey thanks Tom!!

[@richieclean]

Paddy Considine in the opening scene is fantastic, and hilarious. A world away from his frightening performance in Dead Man's Shoes, which you must watch at some point.

[@ComradeCommissarYuri]

Ah yeah dead mans shoes

[@scd3987]

Hes terrifying in dead mans shoes.

[@idhunepijl2398]

The irony is so beautiful. His paranoia and strategy of "being feared is better than being loved" is what ultimately killed him. PS Shoutout to the Blazing Sandals. Love that band.

[@JamesVSCinema]

Lmfaooooo

[@idhunepijl2398]

@@JamesVSCinema Oh btw the girl was in Oblivion with Tom Cruis I think.

[@ericmarley7060]

As the great Russian writer and prison camp survivor Alexander Solzhenitsyn said: *"I suppose, if you live in a graveyard, you can't weep for everyone."* Black comedy is necessary to explain the horrors of the Soviet Union, from Lenin to Gorbachev.

[@Ale-mv3gr]

That last scene with Brezhen eyeing Kruschev is simply magnificent.

[@usamazahid3882]

Brezhnev.

[@dmtry9359]

The craziest thing about this movie is how historically aqurate it is. There are a few cinematic licences taken but in general this is pretty much how it all went down.

[@TheM16NdPregnant]

Field Marshal Zhukov was by all definition, a badass. He was a war hero in WWI and WW2. He was one of the only few that legitimately had the best interests of the Soviet people at heart.

[@cassu6]

Yeah I think he is the only not bad person in the main cast.

[@lavrentivs9891]

He was a ruthless leader though and responsible for the bloodiest battle of the eastern front, the Rzhev 'meat grinder'. So his humanitarian side is greatly exagerated.

[@YorkshireLen]

The reality of the regime starts off-camera, then moves to the edge of frame, before ending front & centre. You laugh a lot, then question why you're laughing at all. The director, Armando Iannucci, is probably the most respected man working in British comedy today. His track record over the last 30 years is truly impressive. Incidentally, one of the writing team, Ian Martin, has worked with Iannucci for years and was initially employed because of his ability to think up inventive insults, some of which you enjoyed during your reaction.

[@tristanhandley1622]

The actress is Olga Kurylenko, and you're right about her screen presence. You should watch Quantum of Solace or Oblivion for great watches with her in them.

[@minsapint8007]

She co-stars again with Angela Riseborough in Oblivion.

[@MadBoyChes]

So Zhukov was actually on Stalin's kill list but he could never go through with it because pretty much the entire army would not stand his death and more than likely try to overthrow him if he actually had him killed also Beria was such a monster Stalin straight up refused to have him alone for any reason with his daughter

[@keeperofthecheese]

I was surprised by how great Michael Palins acting was in this film. I mean hes an old fella now, not in films very often, but he actually outshines most of the actors in the film in just a few lines.

[@ollihro82]

in reality zhukov had even more medals but the director decided to cut the number down or people wouldnt believe it.

[@sesfilmsllc]

Stalin alledgedly Refered to Beria as “My Himmler” for how ruthless he was with prisoners and “enemies of the state.”

[@taylordinney1484]

I love the scene when Vasily fights the guard for his gun and everyone just stands around waiting for him to lose the struggle since hes Stalin's fuck up son.

[@deanprowell7947]

Fun fact about Zhukov, *he had more medals*

[@JH-lo9ut]

Shoutout to Andrea Riseborough who plays Svetlana. She is absolutely amazing in her performance. The range of emotions she can express in a single scene...

[@OaktownPirate510]

True fact: the REAL Marshal Zukhov had EVEN MORE MEDALS on his coat than Jason Isaacs wore on his costume. They had to dial it back for the movie because they thought the real thing would be too unbelievable.

[@SpiderandMosquito]

The one moment in this movie that made me laugh out loud like as in not just out loud but like actually caved in ribs laughing... was when Stalin's kid comes in with the gun and then there's a pitiful struggle with him as it's wrestled out of his hands and everyone just stands their idly watching at best looking mildly embarrassed. I don't know why but that is like just so fucking funny to me just there was no music no tension no ambience to the scene the like I don't know it's just Stalin's son is about to go postal on the other politicians and just the lack of any seriousness or threat in the moment. It's like watching a badly performed bit of middle school stage combat it's so awkward the struggle they had. And again nobody jumps in they just let it happen XD

[@JamesVSCinema]

That was done so perfectly xD

[@JellothePallascat]

I love the fact of the accents as the Soviet Union was a large place of many different regions with their own accents from around Russia and it’s satellites (Stalin came from Georgia and had a thick peasant accent hence his why they went with what they chose for him) and that letting actors use their own accent I think can better represent this fact then generic shitty Russian accent. It’s also one of my favourite historical flicks as the biggest in-factual parts that where not for “Hollywood” where for moments that the producers thought would be to ridiculous for audiences to take seriously. So they toned it down for them. Edit: Baria would give the young girls he raped a bouquet of flowers to the family afterwards. As if they took it with them it made it “Consensual” if you didn’t well there was always more room for the lists…. And Zhoukov “won” the WW2 for the Red Army. And he was such a chad, he had Eisenhower set up a deal with Coke Cola to smuggle in crystal clear Coke disguised as Vodka behind Stalin’s back

[@adamwarlock1]

Yes, I've loved films that just let people have their own accents ever since Amadeus and Last Temptation Of Christ.

[@theemperormoth5089]

I am half-Russian and my dad defected from the Soviet Union practically just before it fell, and I was raised on C&C Red Alert. When I asked why no one had any accents my dad pretty much said "Well, they're not actually speaking Russian" and it just completely wiped away an entire lifetime of funny Russian accents. Now I think Death of Stalin's approach should be more mainstream, especially for serious works.

[@JellothePallascat]

​@@theemperormoth5089 Absolutely Right!! silly fake accents have there time and place. I hope in other cases as well too. Not just Russian. Focus the Legitimacy on other areas then accents if they don't hold any key part of the story.

[@brandonlyon730]

@AB Wasn’t Pepsi a big thing in late Soviet times? One of the few things that was sold from the West to the Union.

[@davidwright7193]

The women who didn’t take the flowers ended up in his flower beds.

[@IMOReviews]

I love how hilarious this film is and how accurate it is at the same time 👌 The chemistry between the cast is electric and really makes the witty dialogue jump out at you 🙌

[@JamesVSCinema]

They blend the line really well with the screen writing and smart cinematography

[@edm240b9]

16:19 fun fact, the real life Zhukov had more medals than was portrayed in the film. This man recieved over 30 medals from the Soviet Union and 20 from foreign nations, including the Legion of Merit from the USA. I’ve heard that they had to reduce the number of medals, even though they wanted to put all of them on, because Jason Isaacs chest wasn’t big enough and that they did it because the audience would think it’s satire.

[@scottlette]

“I think something dark just happened there.” - A concise History of the Soviet Union; 1918 - 1989. “Wealth inequality now is greater than during the Gilded Age.” - Chris Hedges.

[@ballache5171]

"you're not a person , you're a testicle" God damn I love language. Also, t-shirt.

[@Rob_Fordd]

You have to understand that to many, many Russians at the time, Stalin was genuinely loved, not just feared. There were still many alive who remembered life under the Czar, when things were even worse, when they were literal peasants. Stalin had been a major player in the revolution and the Russian civil war fighting Monarchists trying to take back power with aid and literal armies from the US, Britain, and others. And they had all lived through a war under him (which claimed the life of one of his sons) against Nazis literally bent on their extermination (Himmler casually estimated 30 MILLION people would be killed in the east for Generalplan Ost on top of the 25 million killed in the war, with the survivors becoming chattel slaves on plantations to feed the Third Reich). There was good reason many saw Stalin as a rock, misguided as that was in many ways.

[@lawrencegough]

"Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely" (Acton). So no. No one should ever have that much power. I could write a lot, as my degrees are on Soviet history, and I've lived in the former Soviet Union. But I'll limit it to saying this is one of my favourite films. And I wholeheartedly appreciate all your Olga Kurylenko love! You're so right.

[@JamesVSCinema]

Hahaha she’s so beautiful!

[@lalitthapa101]

True. Thats why in a modern democracy the judiciary does the job of keeping the people in power in check. But once the judiciary is corrupted,then the entire system falls to one man rule.

[@louisc.gasper7588]

Let's get it right: "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."

[@mojobag01]

General Zhukov? Marshal to you son! Another great one James.

[@toddkindron8506]

Stalin quote is: "the death of one person is a tragedy, the death of a million is a statistic". Careful who you relate with. But I hope we are all cool. Peace.

[@slowerthinker]

For a *dark* comedy set during the cold war, then you want to see _Dr Strangelove: Or How I yadda yadda yadda_ . Comedy doesn't get much darker than a nuclear WW3, and film doesn't get much better than Stanley Kubrick.

[@rollingstoneworks3183]

Oh, yes…oh, please, yes…

[@GremlinHunter]

I know I'm a year overdue for this comment but Zhukov was the ONLY commander for the most part to not get purged during the interwar purging by Stalin. Not to mention he ran the entire Red Army through the "Great Patriotic War" (WW2's name in Russia) and was the only man Stalin actively FEARED. So...its an understatement to say he was a badass and could get away with whatever he felt like lol.

[@brettcoster4781]

Glad you liked this movie (and Olga Kurylenko, who's in your next movie reaction/review, Oblivion). As others have said, its history is basically accurate for a movie although on a condensed timescale, and has plenty of humourous parts that immediately bite back -- hard. Keep up the great work, I'm enjoying your journey through all these movies.

[@durzoblint6532]

History buff here and in regards to this bit here ( 16:15 ) all of those medal, unlike other leaders of dictatorships, are all well earned. If there was anyone you could call a true honest to god hero in the Soviet Union, it was him. Being the lead general who led the red army on the push to Germany, even taking part personally in several battles, he earned every medal on his uniform. In fact, the film had to cut down on how many medals were on him cause in reality, there were so many that people wouldn't have believed it. Also as shown later, he had a personal hatred towards how the nation he bled for was run to the point where kruschev suggested the Coup, he more or less took personal charge of the whole affair.

[@ethanperreault7470]

Great Soundtrack as well. The funeral for Stalin plays Tchaikovsky's 6th Symphony, 4th Movement. Its known with some controversy as Tchaikovsky's "Suicide Note." After the premiere of the symphony, he died 9 days later in 1893.

[@SSgtJ0hns0n]

More people need to watch and react to this movie. It's so hilariously dark yet true to the spirit of the historical context about the power struggle that occured in the wake of Stalin's (well deserved) passing. On the topic on Zhukov and why he can get away with so much, he was one of Russia's most formidable generals who had the honor of helping push Germany back from Moscow to Berlin; even Stalin couldn't really touch him. He did get demoted fir a bit, but then rose back up the ranks shortly after Stalin's death. And yes, there were A LOT more medals on his chest IRL then what we saw in the film.

[@wermagst]

5:15 that's Olga Kurylenko who among other roles played the "Bond Girl" in Quantum of Solace

[@vioozie]

He actually died like that. From a stroke, in a puddle of his own piss. Karma gets everyone. Also that "I'll make it up to you, fetch the mattress, get her washed" line refers to Beria being a sexual predator, which they mention during the "trial". Occasionally he would ask to fetch some random girl for him from the streets while driving around the city.

[@f0rth3l0v30fchr15t]

Jason Isaacs is the only actor who puts on an accent for the movie.

[@scriptos9698]

Unfortunately, the really dark stuff that the movie portrays Beria doing are true to life, he had hundreds of victims from what we know of and many were killed after he'd used them.

[@dylanbollinger6872]

Olga is beyond gorgeous. She has been a Bond girl once for DC

[@thebag1981]

This film perfectly captures the madness of a regime where doing the wrong thing will get you killed, but no one knows what the right thing is.

[@dansmart3182]

Every high ranking member was caused a lot of death, but Lavrentiy Beria was truly a fucking monster. They found a bunch of unmarked graves when his house was renovated to be used as an embassy.

[@jcraigie]

James commented that people "respected" Stalin out of fear. While there was definitely a lot of that, especially in the upper echelons of society, many genuinely appreciated Stalin because he improved their lives so much. Going from serf like poverty to having an apartment and some stability will do that.

[@saagabragi6938]

Also they left Stalin lying for hours, still alive, because nobody wanted to do anything and doctors were too scared he'd kill them if they couldn't heal him perfectly

[@bgdancer100]

The crazy thing about this movie is that they TONED DOWN how bad Beria was. Armando Ianucci thought that if they showed just how cartoonishly evil he was, no one would think it was real. Also, Zhukov really was that big a badass. Those medals he wears in his intro? THAT'S NOT ALL THE MEDALS HE WAS ENTITLED TO WEAR.

[@saagabragi6938]

In real life Beria openly gloated over Stalin's body and claimed to have killed him, but most propably he didn't. Every involved person's story about how Stalin died varies beyond the stroke and piss details.

[@andtheneverythingchangedwh5234]

If you like dark comedies you might like "Gross Pointe Blank" 1997. Admittedly it's not nearly as dark as this, but still a fantastic film

[@russzolti6825]

Maybe the best John Cusack film.

[@harrywhittingham7753]

One of the most intelligently written comedies ever with a stellar cast to execute and interpret the script.

[@JamesVSCinema]

Agreed!

[@augu345]

Finally you are the first One to react this movie, I was literally waiting in 3 years for a reaction video but there was no one to react in you tube

[@RabidNemo]

21:38 is in fact the same place they were opening up his head and in about 5 minutes they're going to open up Berria's head too

[@Protoman85]

"You're Moscow's finest and nearest conductor"

[@GhostEye31]

Always found the funniest thing about Jason Isaacs is that they actually toned down the amount of medals that he wore.

[@luke33luke]

16:23 Marshall Zhukov was a BADASS. He survived the civil war, he survived Stalin's purges, he defeated the Nazis, and he defeated Beria. BADASS XXL

[@ecusss]

Film got banned in Russia, cus commies were malding. Watched it anyways with my friends, and it was hilarious, especially if you somewhat know the history

[@JamesVSCinema]

Hahaha perfect example to why this film is great

[@Mocsk]

It was banned in Russia because it's not just historically inaccurate, but it mocks and makes fun of the most tragic part of Russian history. Satire is one thing, but this alternative history steaming pile of ideological garbage is simply insulting. That's why it's banned. Modern Russia is quite strongly anti-communist, so "commies" have nothing to do with it.

[@deathtoraiden2080]

@@Mocsk Settle down Vladimir

[@KSEOUT]

@@Mocsk "Modern Russian dictator bans movie making fun of Old Russian dictator"

[@elenavorobeva6747]

@@KSEOUT you absolutely right

[@SebastianForal]

Zhukov was such a chad that even stalin was scared of him

[@Doodsrsly]

When Buscemi tried to switch positions during the funeral, I was howling.

[@freebornjohn2687]

It didn't go down well in Russia, Putin is a Stalin fan and doesn't like criticism of the Soviet Union / Stalin. The film had a great script and outstanding acting. It was made for adults which makes a change as a lot of films are aimed at adolescents. Simon Russell Beale who played Beria is an exceptional actor - I saw him in The Lehman Trilogy. I think it was the best live performance I have ever seen. Sadly, the play has had its final performance.

[@GooMoo-Yippee]

There are at least 3 minutes of him just simping over her lmao 🤣

[@JamesVSCinema]

I’d gladly go for 30 😭

[@GooMoo-Yippee]

@@JamesVSCinema lmao understandable mate,great reaction and thoughts as always, was very fun to watch

[@twohorsesinamancostume7606]

Baria was an absolute monster. He used to roll around Moscow having his goons kidnap women off the street. He'd rape them and then gift them a bunch of roses as if they were supposed to be thankful for what he did. Those that talked vanished, likely into the steam heating system that was being built under his mansion. Funny thing about that mansion, it was turned into an embassy after Baria's death. Urban legend has it that in the 80s, that steam system started having leaks and the people working in the building started seeing young bloody women wearing late 40s to early 50s soviet era clothing screaming silently at them in the hallways. When work crews opened up the steam system to do repairs, they found the remains of a few dozen young women who had been sealed in there since Baria had them murdered and hidden away down there.

[@GKinslayer]

Man James opening up "The Death of Stalin" - I was looking for something dark, but then I see it's a comedy. Oh you are in for a surprise....

[@jackmclean7792]

I imagine you get an insane amount of recommendations, but I need to see you react to The Leftovers. One of HBO’s best and most overlooked series, and one of my favourites alongside Dark

[@EzioHanitore]

The best thing about this movie is that despite it being a comedy and having a couple of liberties taken with the timeline, it's pretty damn accurate to the actual historical events

[@jinchoung]

zhukov was the guy that was largely responsible for beating hitler out of the soviet union and then chasing the wehrmacht back to germany so yeah, he has a LOT of cache. olga kurylenko - she's in that tom cruise sci fi movie and also a quantum of solace. yes. she's beautiful.

[@VonRichtburg]

And the first reaction on the movie, released on youtube, had to be yours! Oh! My! Goodness!

[@JamesVSCinema]

Hahaha happy to have been the first! (That I know of haha)

[@ShaDHP23]

One of the funniest, darkest comedies I've ever loved. If only Robin Williams was still alive so he could have played Joseph Stalin, that would have made this movie an immortal piece of cinema. Nikita Khrushchev would go on to be pivotal in the de-Stalinization of Russia, but his popularity as premiere of the Soviet Union would ultimately falter, especially after the Cuban Missile Crisis. The failure of Operation: Virtuous Mission and the forced collaboration with America in Operation: Snake Eater would prove to be the final nail in the coffin of his tenure.

[@ЕгорПещерский]

Hey James. Guy from putlerland here. Watched the movie, laughed my arse of it. But here's the point. Me and me' dad watched together two movies this year, first is "Fall of Berlin" from 1940's, made by Stalin's order and cringe as heck. Even my dad called it a propaganda and he's born and raised in USSR. And slept through half of that movie because it was crap despite everything was crashing and blowing up, only Hitler and his cronies were actually fun to watch there. The second movie we watched is "Death of Stalin". My dad, a soviet man, said he didn't liked it. But *he watched it whole* . Cheers.

[@Knowingspy]

Apparently they had to TONE DOWN the amount of medals Jason Isaac's character wore because they thought the audience wouldn't believe the realistic number. By far my favourite character in the film.

[@TheCulturalBomb]

Olga Kurylenko was the Bond girl in Quantum of Solace.

[@DJhinckley]

Where to start? First a vastly underrated film mainly due to many people not watching it in the first place due to it's title and not realising it's actually a very dark comedy. It obviously dramatises and satires the actual events of Stalins death and the struggle for power in the Politburo following that. The cast is superb with US giants Steve Buscemi and Jeffey Tambor alongside UK comedy greats of Michael Palin (a Python!) and Paul Whitehouse (probably not well known in the US but massive in the UK), and excellent UK character actors in Jason Isaacs and Simon Beale. The lass you was perving over is Olga Kurylenko and 'Svetlana' was played by Andrea Riseborough, who both interestingly acted side by side in Tom Hanks 2013 film Oblivion. Obviously Isaacs steals the film with his lines which sound so much better when delivered in the Yorkshire accent (he's actually from Merseyside but doesn't really speak with a scouse accent anymore) and even though you know they're coming every time I watch this film, still has me rolling around. Interesting filming fact the amount of medals Isaacs wore on his chest were actually reduced from what Zhukov actually wore as it would look too ridiculous.

[@russelljackson2818]

One of my favorite lines in the movie is right at the end, as Beria is burning. I'm not sure who it was, but you can hear someone say "It's been a busy ol' week, ha'n't it?"

[@C00kiesAplenty]

Also the "Fuck off back to Georgia dead boy" in the background too.

[@thecaptain9590]

Awesome reaction. This is probably my favourite film of the last 15 years or more.

[@riffler24]

Marshall Zhukov annihilated the Nazis, that man was hard as diamond

[@anothercat1300]

The way they show and not tell in this film is outstanding.

[@REVAN2338]

This movie totally gets the vibe of stalin era Soviet life. Look up Cannibal island/ The Nazino Tragedy if you don't want to sleep for a night.

[@גוליהגוטליב]

I don’t comment on KZbin vids very often but this movie is so underrated and it puts a smile on my face whenever I see you reacting to such a cool verity of films , keep up the good work ! ♥️

[@JamesVSCinema]

Cheers! I dig your profile too!

[@גוליהגוטליב]

@@JamesVSCinema great minds think alike 😉😎

[@steveandme63]

I have thoroughly enjoyed your insightful comments! I loved the genius comedy and loved the way the dark historical reality suddenly slips in. Even knowing the historical events, I was caught off guard by the end.. suddenly all the humor was gone.