@@Southern_Crusader this comparison is absurd, considering the presence of clear coercion presented by literal Nazi occupation in all countries it looted. Seriously, how can one even make such an absurd claim?
@@emaadkhan3031 Because there was coercion in this case as well "give us your gold reserves, or you won't get any guns or volunteers", in addition the Spanish had to allow soviet agents to meddle in their internal affairs (that is, execute those trotskyists and other ideological rivals of Stalin's regime, who went to fight for the republic).
Kruschev: "You are not auditioning for the Bolshoi, who are you? Nijinski? Malenkov: "I have a bad back" Kaganovich:"Too much social climbing I expect."
Well like someone else said: "Stalin would actually play games like that to test his inner circle's loyalty. He'd swap places with his own body doubles, and circulate false rumors about his health. Those who fell for it and said a false word would disappear forever.."
@@CommanderLongJohn It happened. Once in 1943, well after stalingrad, stalin acted as unhealthy with a body double while he went somewhere in east without much info. He was waiting for someone to do something and supposedly had many generals killed. This is just a rumor tho.
@@boppob1343 he actually lived for quite a while after his stroke and even woke up at one point (although he lost consciousness again within minutes. He was also unable to talk)
I like how Mikoyan and Bulganin are portrayed as two aloof jokers who sort of just go along with everything that happens. They ended up outlasting the others when Kruschev took over because they were perfectly fine with de-Stalinization while Molotov and Kaganovich wouldn't have it.
@@snafuthegreat The fact that he lived for nearly 98 years being born in 1893, guess that those forced retirments in 1947 and 1961 must have been good for his health
@@ezefinkielman4672 i mean i think they're drawing attention to the fact that the last of the Old Bolsheviks nearly outlived the state he helped create
Mikoyan is kinda accurate. He was a bit of a dandy who enjoyed the good life and was the first to volunteer for foreign visits (shopping trips). He actually attended the funeral of JFK and Jackie gave him a message to take back to Khrushchev. Paul Whitehouse nailed it, in my opinion. Malenkov was portrayed as the social climber but Mikoyan was the real smooth criminal. To quote one Soviet legislator, “He could walk around raindrops without an umbrella.”
The thick diverse British accents are supposed to represent the huge diversity within the Soviet Union. Beria was Georgian and so would’ve been a lot different to e.g Zhukov who was from near Moscow
@@markocoles6739 Exactly right. And Khrischev was Ukrainian with a distinct accent. Its an old trick to use different English accents in a play or film to portray different accents in a foreign language. Sometimes done for Ze Chermans in war films.
@@markocoles6739 Yeah, in the movie you'll notice all the Ukranians are represented by actors who have American accents and Russian ones are British actors, its a nice little touch.
This film has many subtle moments as well. When the ministers are lifting Stalin's body, Kruschev stops his count and notices that everyone's following along with Beria's count. That tells him that everyone's more likely to follow Beria after Stalin's death and that he (Kruschev) had better do something about it before he gets killed or sent to the gulag.
Actually, it was Kruschev and Malenkov doing that bit and I believe it was actually because Malenkov wanted to be the guy in charge doing the counting and made a pathetic attempt to take that away from Kruschev (right before this clip he had said he was supposed to be acting head of the committee) you can see Kruschev look at him like "Dude really?"
Nah, Beria didn't even say anything in that moment. It's a comedic moment, there was no deeper meaning there. They're all old, fat men terrified of the circumstances. Nobody wants to lift first and it becomes awkward as a consequence. ^^
Kaganovich had the best response IMO. No overly dramatic crocodile tears just a simple “Oh sh*t” that was sincere because he sees Stalin’s state and probably recognizes the sh*t show coming down the road
@@Mister_Kourkoutas Not necessarily. He died of July 1991, just five months before the collapse of the USSR. So, while he did not live to see the Soviet Union collapse, there's no doubt that he saw the signs of its impending doom.
@@samzorn4656 the collapse was a process, ultimate dissolution was just a formality, but it was already underway and practically unstoppable by mid-1991. although obviously it doesn't mean Kaganovich was able to realize that at that point; maybe not.
Lazar Kaganovich lived for a while, he was around when the Soviet Union was formed and all the way to its end in 1991, but he died few months before the flag was taken down
Mainly because Crustchev actually changed policy from demotion by bullet or gulag to demotion by actual real demoting or early retirement. He was lucky he didnt fuck up before Crustchev got in charge.
Yeah, Kaganovich lived from 1893-1991. A long life. He was a criminal, too. They were all criminals, including Khruschev. You had to be complicit in alot of murdering to get to the inner circle.
The real Stalin would actually play games like that to test his inner circle's loyalty. He'd swap places with his own body doubles, and circulate false rumors about his health. Those who fell for it and said a false word would disappear forever. No wonder they're all terrified...
@@alext4758 Sounds outlandish, right? I can recommend the Stalin biography of Stephen Kotkin, gripping stuff. Montefiore is good, too, bit more pop-history though.
He would also get them drunk every night to see if they were keeping any secrets from him that alcohol might make them reveal. The late-night dinners prompted Khrushchev to take mid-day naps to ensure he didn't fall asleep during these gatherings.
@@alext4758 I agree, the last biography I read about Stalin was based mostly on personal recollections and never was once mentionned such a trick. It's in fact dangerous for a dictator to do this because you might scare your opponents but losing the trust of your men has dire consequences.
"Out of my way, you FANNIES!!". That was "Iron" Lazar Kaganovich all over. The most tempestuous, yet pusillanimous of all the magnates. Outlived everyone to be 94 years old, before dying in summer 1991. I am surprised there was almost no mention of Klim Voroshilov, who was made Chairman of the Presidium, and was one of the most influential of the magnates.
Is it though? Stalin as General Secretary of the CPSU (third most powerful office) is supposed to be a deadbeat job compared to the Chairman of the Presidium. And yet he was able to scare the first two most powerful people in the Soviet Government through the NKVD...
Cruel and vile? Who of them? Maybe Beria who gave amnesty to many prisoners after WW2? Maybe Kaganovich and Mikoyan who has nothing to do with repressions and deportations? Maybe Malenkov who began the semi-liberal reforms after stalin's death? I can only call Khrushchev cruel and vile. Very hardly.
@Wilson the one who ignorant is you. Yes he was, and? As i said he gave amnesty to many prisoners who was imprisoned in 30-s. And in 30-s he wasn't the head of NKVD.
@@MidgeCat It's beautiful how a simple line of sarcasm delivered with utmost snark is a thousand times more scorching than a vulgar cuss word insult lol
Fun fact about that, he never served actually, he was strictly there so that the generals and the military didn't have too much power. He was a political officer first and foremost.
@@merox1751 And he was universally despised for it, at least within the Red Army. It’s pretty weird because western defence ministers/secretaries are politicians through and through, whereas to the Soviets it was not only a strange decision, but a disgusting one.
Shelia Fitzpatrick, acclaimed Soviet historian who wrote arguably the best autobiographical work on Beria, called Bulganin "bland" and "easy to forget."
@@lewiskazinsky7334 I guess to the Soviet leadership a politically savvy, militarily experienced man with public popularity is nothing more than a dangerous threat.
“you would know, you’ve looted enough of it, you saucy little pirate.” LMFAO Mikoyan and the actor portraying him were hilarious in this movie. He was my favorite member of the Presidium in this movie
I read Mikoyan "was able to walk through Red Square in rain and avoid every single drop and not get wet" as in he could survive any political heat. Also he introduced ice cream to the Soviet union.
Kagonovich: Outta my way you fffannnnies! Shit. Mikoyan: Wheeeere's theeee biiiiiiig feeeellaaaaa? Bulganin: Arrrreee weeeee laaaate? Sooooorrrry. No! He can't go, not like this!
I love when Kaganovich enters the first thing when he sees Stalin all he says is.. “Shit…” He doesn’t put up some fake mourning act, he knows that this shit is real and no time for political theatre.
“You have a nice long sleep old man, I’ll take it from here.” That line right there sold me on the rest of the movie. I wanted to see more of Stalin in action but seeing the political musical chairs after was a real treat.
"You take the head" "Why?" "You're acting General Secretary" "I would be honored" small, not attention-grabbing jokes like that is what makes this movie great.
Soviet Union was a melting pot of different nationalities under the Soviet banner. Stalin himself was Georgian and spoke Russian with a heavy Georgian accent. Beria was also Georgian, whereas Khrushchev was Ukranian.
The movie follows the play closely. And the amazing thing is the play follows several of the character's memoirs fairly closely - it really did happen like that.
No, that was Kruschev noticing that everyone is counting down with Beria instead of him so it became obvious to him that he needed to do something about Beria before Beria did something about him.
There was far less to make fun of after/during Hitlers death because there was basically no gouvernment in Berlin left. They could propably make a movie of the "follow up " gouvernment under Dönitz that was still around for 2 weeks afte rthe surrender and had ALL kinds of weird things going on :D
@@noobster4779 Have you seen the movie Downfall. Someone needs to write a really smart sarcastic and yet funny make of that movie (or centred around the last days of Hitler.) With a clever script, I think it will be a jolly good fun (Maybe even more so than Stalins')
In a parallel universe, Stalin lived on for a few more years tied to his bed - falling unconcious over and over again. In that universe, we got the Death of Stalin Series with this Dream Team of Comrades snapping at each other day for day only to rally up whenever fear binds them to a common goal. I can't imagine the political fallout of it, but trading in 30-40 half-hour episodes of this would be killer.
That sort of happened in Portugal, their dictator, Antonio Salazar, had a cerebral haemorrhage and fell into a coma. His inner circle thought he wasn't going to wake up, so they moved on and set up a new government. But after a month he woke up and recovered lucidity, so for the next two years they went through this elaborate charade where they pretended he was still in charge but made sure he had no actual power. And then a few years later there was a revolution because I guess people were sick of how silly things had gotten.
Such an unique way of introducing characters. Make them do something (sometimes something that describes them well) and slow down, showing the name and their meaning in this room.
Actually the guards were so terrified of checking in on Stalin, because they were specifically instructed to not enter that room. Had that thud turned out to be a false alarm they would’ve been either executed or sent to the Gulag.
Lazar Kaganovich (who was the principle architect of the Holodomor) stuck around for quite a while after Stalins death, after Khrushchev forced him out he ended up as the very last of the Old Bolsheviks and died in July 1991, five months before the USSR fell apart. He was there with Lenin, survived Stalin and got to see the state he'd helped create and do unspeakable things to preserve fall to pieces around him
@IntrepidTit delusional commie…everything he said is objectively verifiable using countless sources. Kaganovich himself, were he with us, wouldn’t deny it. Acolytes of the most murderous ideology in human history were typically proud of their killing. Easily 100 million victims. Easily.
@@krashd Millions dead and starving won't change that guy's mind. Some people just LOVE communism and will die / kill to fruitlessly preserve their fantasies.
It was so awesome seeing Steve Buscemi, Paul Whitehouse & Michael Palin. In the same film though. They where each in pretty much every film/TV show. I liked as a kid 😆
Nikita Kruschev was played by both Steve Buscemi (Death of Stalin) and Bob Hoskins (Enemy at the Gates). Both actors owned the role and made it their own in their own unique ways.
"well all the best doctors are in the gulag.....or dead" "Well yeah they tried to kill the boss" "What are anyone's thoughts on getting a bad doctor?" This movie was way ahead of it's time.
I mean...this type of bullshit happens in nearly every country behind locked doors. Politicians are still humans after all and dumb stuff is also part of their life.
The fact that Anastas Mikoyan moaning about the suit is hilarious. Paul Whitehouse was one of the tailors who used to say "suit you sir" in a BBC sketch show during the 90s.
Mikoyan was stationed in the US earlier at his career where he started wearing fancy suites. He was always the best dressed of the Stalin circle. It was usually him who was subject to Berias pranks of putting soft potatoes or tomatoes in his pockets.
Notice how the others come up with the solution but Malenkov is the one laying his arms around their shoulders and saying "see, we're stronger together" making it seem like it was his idea from the start. Most of them nod their heads in agreement, probably not noticing the manipulation attempt, and proceed to go with him while only Khrushchev and Beriya stay behind. This already distinguishes those three from the rest of the ministers and foreshadows how they will behave during the rest of the movie.
Brilliant Comedy! - AND, a sad, pathetic drama! ... MIKOYAN (Trade Minister): 'He's is heavier than I'd thought he'd be ...' ... BERIA (Chief Secret Police!!): 'You think Stalin is too heavy? ... ' MIKOYAN: 'No, no, no! ... its a compliment, gold is heavy' ... BERIA: 'For you, no! ... you've looted enough of it!' ... 🤣😂🤣
"if he recover we got a good doctor
And if he do not recover then we got a bad doctor but he won't know"
brilliant
if, if is good :)
This legitimately reminded me of Miracle Max in The Princess Bride
Sound logic
I THINK YOUR READING wrong , “HE WONT NOW “ Meaning either way he won’t have a good doctor only bad doctor
@@dogtownoon9791 don't think so. The point is that Stalin wouldn't know they had got a bad doctor, because he'd be dead
"You think Stalin's too heavy?"
"No, it's a compliment. Gold is heavy."
"You'd know, you've looted enough of it, you saucy little pirate."
During the Spanish Civil War, Spanish gold was stolen by Stalin.
@@TheFaveteLinguis Nice excuse on paper. The Nazis must’ve used the same on a few nations they looted.
Saucy more like sussy
@@Southern_Crusader this comparison is absurd, considering the presence of clear coercion presented by literal Nazi occupation in all countries it looted. Seriously, how can one even make such an absurd claim?
@@emaadkhan3031 Because there was coercion in this case as well "give us your gold reserves, or you won't get any guns or volunteers", in addition the Spanish had to allow soviet agents to meddle in their internal affairs (that is, execute those trotskyists and other ideological rivals of Stalin's regime, who went to fight for the republic).
Kruschev: "You are not auditioning for the Bolshoi, who are you? Nijinski?
Malenkov: "I have a bad back"
Kaganovich:"Too much social climbing I expect."
Haha laughed so hard haha
*"The head is the heaviest part."*
Good writing
@@s3c0nd1mpact Alright, ready? 3... 2... 1? Lift, Jesus.
@@michaellynes3540 "Are you wearing pajamas?"
"Oh, can we just stop twittering like fishwives at the market and concentrate?"
“I have a bad back.”
“Too much social climbing.”
Fucking brilliant
Should be socialist climbing. :D
The actor who played Stalin is terrific for not laughing while they were carrying him.
You can see him smile as they put him on the bed though.
@@comicfan8350 Adds to the fact that he got a stroke while laughing
Shades of Terry Kiser in "Weekend at Bernie's."
Agreed.
Because he screwed Mikoyan by soaking his suit in piss.
"Let's get him into bed, Alright you take the head."
"Why?"
"You're acting general secretary."
"I would be honored."
Lmaoo 🤣🤣🤣🤣
That’s one of my favorite lines in the movie
lol then he starts stretching like it’s some humongous feat of strength.
when they get him in the bed, you can see the actor of Stalin smiling
Guess he couldn't hold it back either
Falling into inappropriate laughter, on the stage, is referred to as “corpsing” for this very reason!
@@michaeljames4904 oh well played!
I think he was smiling because he became unconscious in the previous scene from laughing.
Death throes
Which second?
The smarmy self-satisfied look on Malenkov’s face when he says “See, we’re better as a committee” in this clip is hilarious 😂
I love how all them are too scare of Stalin and each others that they refuse to make fun of him eventhough he's unconscious
Well like someone else said: "Stalin would actually play games like that to test his inner circle's loyalty. He'd swap places with his own body doubles, and circulate false rumors about his health. Those who fell for it and said a false word would disappear forever.."
he didnt even have a pulse by the time of the scene in the movie lol
@@CommanderLongJohn It happened. Once in 1943, well after stalingrad, stalin acted as unhealthy with a body double while he went somewhere in east without much info. He was waiting for someone to do something and supposedly had many generals killed. This is just a rumor tho.
Good reason, he killed millions of people.
Lol
@@boppob1343 he actually lived for quite a while after his stroke and even woke up at one point (although he lost consciousness again within minutes. He was also unable to talk)
I like how Mikoyan and Bulganin are portrayed as two aloof jokers who sort of just go along with everything that happens. They ended up outlasting the others when Kruschev took over because they were perfectly fine with de-Stalinization while Molotov and Kaganovich wouldn't have it.
Ironically enough, Kaganovitch was the last of the Old Bolsheviks to go. He died five months before the Soviet Union collapsed.
@@snafuthegreat The fact that he lived for nearly 98 years being born in 1893, guess that those forced retirments in 1947 and 1961 must have been good for his health
You think that’s impressive? There was a cartoonist named Boris Yefimov who lived to the age of 108 (1900-2008).
@@ezefinkielman4672 i mean i think they're drawing attention to the fact that the last of the Old Bolsheviks nearly outlived the state he helped create
Mikoyan is kinda accurate. He was a bit of a dandy who enjoyed the good life and was the first to volunteer for foreign visits (shopping trips).
He actually attended the funeral of JFK and Jackie gave him a message to take back to Khrushchev.
Paul Whitehouse nailed it, in my opinion. Malenkov was portrayed as the social climber but Mikoyan was the real smooth criminal.
To quote one Soviet legislator, “He could walk around raindrops without an umbrella.”
Steve: "How do you do fellow comrades?"
I like how Steve Buscemi didn’t even try and cop a different accent
True, Marshall Zhukov was also well known as having the thickest Yorkshire accent in the Red Army.
That helps the film. It would've been too much for them to fake Russian, Georgian, Ukrainian accents.
The thick diverse British accents are supposed to represent the huge diversity within the Soviet Union. Beria was Georgian and so would’ve been a lot different to e.g Zhukov who was from near Moscow
@@markocoles6739 Exactly right. And Khrischev was Ukrainian with a distinct accent.
Its an old trick to use different English accents in a play or film to portray different accents in a foreign language. Sometimes done for Ze Chermans in war films.
@@markocoles6739 Yeah, in the movie you'll notice all the Ukranians are represented by actors who have American accents and Russian ones are British actors, its a nice little touch.
“and if it goes badly, we pin it all on Lady Suck Suck.” 😭💀
“And then we shoot her.”
What is Lady Suck Suck??
@@aniketyadav7147 one of the chief doctors.
@@johnbennett7628 ok 😅
@@johnbennett7628 See, we're better as a committee.
So this is what politicians do in their spare time. Interesting.
indeed, social climbing games.
this is what they do on the clock!
This is exactly what happened when Boris Johnson went down with Covid
Dejan Jankovic. Chelsea. North Macedonia. Skopje...
Behind the scenes, they're all like the rest of us. Just a bunch of idiots. That they have that much power when they're idiots is the scary thing.
This film has many subtle moments as well. When the ministers are lifting Stalin's body, Kruschev stops his count and notices that everyone's following along with Beria's count. That tells him that everyone's more likely to follow Beria after Stalin's death and that he (Kruschev) had better do something about it before he gets killed or sent to the gulag.
Eh, no? Malenkov is the one who starts counting at the same time as Kruschev.
Actually, it was Kruschev and Malenkov doing that bit and I believe it was actually because Malenkov wanted to be the guy in charge doing the counting and made a pathetic attempt to take that away from Kruschev (right before this clip he had said he was supposed to be acting head of the committee) you can see Kruschev look at him like "Dude really?"
Nah, Beria didn't even say anything in that moment. It's a comedic moment, there was no deeper meaning there.
They're all old, fat men terrified of the circumstances. Nobody wants to lift first and it becomes awkward as a consequence. ^^
@@NtoTheM yeah, you missed the point
@@雪底下 Nah, you're seeing what isn't there.
Kaganovich had the best response IMO. No overly dramatic crocodile tears just a simple “Oh sh*t” that was sincere because he sees Stalin’s state and probably recognizes the sh*t show coming down the road
Kaganovich was a wily old survivor. He lived long enough to see the USSR collapse.
@@Mister_Kourkoutas Not necessarily. He died of July 1991, just five months before the collapse of the USSR. So, while he did not live to see the Soviet Union collapse, there's no doubt that he saw the signs of its impending doom.
@@samzorn4656 the collapse was a process, ultimate dissolution was just a formality, but it was already underway and practically unstoppable by mid-1991. although obviously it doesn't mean Kaganovich was able to realize that at that point; maybe not.
His reaction was genuine too. He was the only one who was loyal to Stalin, rather than scared of him.
@@harroldinab At least from the movie, it seems like Molotov was even more loyal than him, if not as loyal as him.
Lazar Kaganovich lived for a while, he was around when the Soviet Union was formed and all the way to its end in 1991, but he died few months before the flag was taken down
Mainly because Crustchev actually changed policy from demotion by bullet or gulag to demotion by actual real demoting or early retirement.
He was lucky he didnt fuck up before Crustchev got in charge.
@@noobster4779 To be fair, he only "fucked up" cos him, Bulganin and Malenkov didn't want Krushchev in charge and we're all subsequently demoted
Iron Lazar
Yeah, Kaganovich lived from 1893-1991. A long life.
He was a criminal, too. They were all criminals, including Khruschev. You had to be complicit in alot of murdering to get to the inner circle.
The real Stalin would actually play games like that to test his inner circle's loyalty. He'd swap places with his own body doubles, and circulate false rumors about his health. Those who fell for it and said a false word would disappear forever. No wonder they're all terrified...
That sounds like BS to me.
@@alext4758 Sounds outlandish, right? I can recommend the Stalin biography of Stephen Kotkin, gripping stuff. Montefiore is good, too, bit more pop-history though.
He would also get them drunk every night to see if they were keeping any secrets from him that alcohol might make them reveal. The late-night dinners prompted Khrushchev to take mid-day naps to ensure he didn't fall asleep during these gatherings.
@@kenoliver8913 any credible source proving that Stalin faked his own death? We are talking about Stalin, not saddam or mao.
@@alext4758 I agree, the last biography I read about Stalin was based mostly on personal recollections and never was once mentionned such a trick. It's in fact dangerous for a dictator to do this because you might scare your opponents but losing the trust of your men has dire consequences.
"its just me kneeling in the piss yeah?" lmaooo
"Out of my way, you FANNIES!!". That was "Iron" Lazar Kaganovich all over. The most tempestuous, yet pusillanimous of all the magnates. Outlived everyone to be 94 years old, before dying in summer 1991.
I am surprised there was almost no mention of Klim Voroshilov, who was made Chairman of the Presidium, and was one of the most influential of the magnates.
Best line honestly
Kaganovich died at 97 years old though :) At even an older age than 94 years old.
@@mimimara2041 - you’re quite right - my bad!
Is it though? Stalin as General Secretary of the CPSU (third most powerful office) is supposed to be a deadbeat job compared to the Chairman of the Presidium. And yet he was able to scare the first two most powerful people in the Soviet Government through the NKVD...
You have to give credit to the filmmakers. They somehow managed to turn probably cruel and vile men into loveable goofs.
That is one of the best comedies you can make. Turning something horrible and making you laugh. It’s also healthy to find humor in dark things.
Not probably.
Cruel and vile? Who of them?
Maybe Beria who gave amnesty to many prisoners after WW2?
Maybe Kaganovich and Mikoyan who has nothing to do with repressions and deportations?
Maybe Malenkov who began the semi-liberal reforms after stalin's death?
I can only call Khrushchev cruel and vile. Very hardly.
@@Песквикснивом-к8ю what?
@Wilson the one who ignorant is you. Yes he was, and? As i said he gave amnesty to many prisoners who was imprisoned in 30-s. And in 30-s he wasn't the head of NKVD.
“...I still have fucking tomato in my pocket.” has me wheeze laughing.
it's still funny
Yes, total Khrushchev - others made jokes on him like hidind tomatoes in his pockets, ironic.
"It's still funny" gets me every time, masterfully done
@@MidgeCat It's beautiful how a simple line of sarcasm delivered with utmost snark is a thousand times more scorching than a vulgar cuss word insult lol
*its still funny*
“WHERE’S THE BIG FELLOOO?”
“ARE WE LATE? SORRYYYEEEE”
😂😂😂
Poor Khrushchev. All he wanted was the other Politburo members to act like professionals.
ahhh... I see what you did there.
This is sincerely underappreciated
Ah the irony
Are you gonna bark all day, little comrade, or are gonna bite?
@@dying101666Huh?
0:40 "Compelling drama, gentlemen." Love how Beria calls out their fake crying and ass-kissing🤣🤣
0:01 When you volunteer to fix it.
0:07 When you realize the problem is beyond repair.
Lmao
This was me trying to fix the TV at my old apartment some years ago.
0:10
The other co-workers coming in behind you pretending to care.
I love Bulganin "are we late? Sorry"
He's minister of defense but he's quite a pansy here lol
Fun fact about that, he never served actually, he was strictly there so that the generals and the military didn't have too much power. He was a political officer first and foremost.
@@merox1751 And he was universally despised for it, at least within the Red Army. It’s pretty weird because western defence ministers/secretaries are politicians through and through, whereas to the Soviets it was not only a strange decision, but a disgusting one.
He looks like a cross between the real Bulganin and Colonel Sanders.
Shelia Fitzpatrick, acclaimed Soviet historian who wrote arguably the best autobiographical work on Beria, called Bulganin "bland" and "easy to forget."
@@lewiskazinsky7334 I guess to the Soviet leadership a politically savvy, militarily experienced man with public popularity is nothing more than a dangerous threat.
Other than all of Zhukov's moments, this is my favorite part of the movie. Its hilarious!
"its just me here kneeling in the piss yea?"
gets me every time
🤣🤣
The guy who played Beria was so disgusting and sinister, he deserved the award he won.
Sir Simon Russel Beale is considered by many the most talented actor of his generation.
“you would know, you’ve looted enough of it, you saucy little pirate.” LMFAO
Mikoyan and the actor portraying him were hilarious in this movie. He was my favorite member of the Presidium in this movie
He threw mad shade at everybody everywhere. His sass was legendary.
I read Mikoyan "was able to walk through Red Square in rain and avoid every single drop and not get wet" as in he could survive any political heat. Also he introduced ice cream to the Soviet union.
@@szarvaskoppany and cooking book, I still have a copy
Paul Whitehouse was the actor, famous UK TV comedy actor. Very funny guy.
Beria: "Is this magisterial enough for you gentlemen? This is a lavatory!"
Mikoyan: "You should feel right at home then you little coil of shit" 🤣
Kagonovich: Outta my way you fffannnnies! Shit.
Mikoyan: Wheeeere's theeee biiiiiiig feeeellaaaaa?
Bulganin: Arrrreee weeeee laaaate? Sooooorrrry. No! He can't go, not like this!
My favorite moment (with also every Jason Isaacs’ appearances)
"w h e r e ' s t h e b i g f e l l a ?"
" a r e w e l a t e ? s o r r y !"
"o u t o f m y w a y y o u f a n n i e s"
That would be Kim Jong Un's corpse
"Well we didn't drop him"
"Well done us"
"Stop using his feet!"
"I'm sorry!" **shrugs with Stalin's corpse's feet**
I love when Kaganovich enters the first thing when he sees Stalin all he says is.. “Shit…” He doesn’t put up some fake mourning act, he knows that this shit is real and no time for political theatre.
Kaganovich was an old school Bolshevik. He knew the game.
well, he one of the old bolsheviks who actually knows most of Politbiro not from Lenin Era, even from beginning of February revolution.
He also immediately asks Khrushchev if Beria was there first, immediately going into power vacuum mode, mainly to prevent Beria from taking over
“You have a nice long sleep old man, I’ll take it from here.” That line right there sold me on the rest of the movie. I wanted to see more of Stalin in action but seeing the political musical chairs after was a real treat.
"You take the head"
"Why?"
"You're acting General Secretary"
"I would be honored"
small, not attention-grabbing jokes like that is what makes this movie great.
That explains why my brother didn’t enjoy it. He has a real shitty attention span.
This is probably one of the most quoteworthy scenes in the whole film, comedy gold! I lost it at "Wheeeeeere's the big fffellaaaa?"
Everyone talking in their own accents just makes the movie better.
Soviet Union was a melting pot of different nationalities under the Soviet banner. Stalin himself was Georgian and spoke Russian with a heavy Georgian accent. Beria was also Georgian, whereas Khrushchev was Ukranian.
And Mikoyan was Armenian.
I love how everyone else was crying and carrying on and Kaganovich just says "shit,".
Kaganovitch knew that with Stalin dead, all bets were off.
Fun fact, Kaganovitch was the only one who's grief was actually genuine.
The dude lived to see a general secretary dying and the chaos after it. He probably having brief flashbacks when he sees Stalin died
Kaganovich knew there was no time for genuine or bullshit grief, first thing he asked was "Was Beria here first?"
"Out of my way you fannies!" I love that quote
Fanny means cunt 😘😘😘😘
This movie is nothing short of genius
The movie follows the play closely. And the amazing thing is the play follows several of the character's memoirs fairly closely - it really did happen like that.
1:09 they trust each other so little they can't even lift at the same time
No, that was Kruschev noticing that everyone is counting down with Beria instead of him so it became obvious to him that he needed to do something about Beria before Beria did something about him.
@@krashd Wait, but Beria doesn't count down, does he?
@@estebansins Yeah, that was Malenkov, not Beria
I love how they developed this horrific plot to pin any potential blame on another person. “You see? We’re better as a committee” 😂
Waiting for the sequel:
The Death of Hitler
Best we got it JoJo rabbit
There was far less to make fun of after/during Hitlers death because there was basically no gouvernment in Berlin left. They could propably make a movie of the "follow up " gouvernment under Dönitz that was still around for 2 weeks afte rthe surrender and had ALL kinds of weird things going on :D
@@noobster4779 Have you seen the movie Downfall.
Someone needs to write a really smart sarcastic and yet funny make of that movie (or centred around the last days of Hitler.) With a clever script, I think it will be a jolly good fun (Maybe even more so than Stalins')
"The Death of Mao" would be better
@@blackpowderuser373
Yeah why not..
In a parallel universe, Stalin lived on for a few more years tied to his bed - falling unconcious over and over again.
In that universe, we got the Death of Stalin Series with this Dream Team of Comrades snapping at each other day for day only to rally up whenever fear binds them to a common goal.
I can't imagine the political fallout of it, but trading in 30-40 half-hour episodes of this would be killer.
He didn't live long. I'd say he was dead within a Week or maybe even less post his Stroke.
That sort of happened in Portugal, their dictator, Antonio Salazar, had a cerebral haemorrhage and fell into a coma. His inner circle thought he wasn't going to wake up, so they moved on and set up a new government. But after a month he woke up and recovered lucidity, so for the next two years they went through this elaborate charade where they pretended he was still in charge but made sure he had no actual power. And then a few years later there was a revolution because I guess people were sick of how silly things had gotten.
Such an unique way of introducing characters. Make them do something (sometimes something that describes them well) and slow down, showing the name and their meaning in this room.
Those two poor Red Army guard been there without relief
Not really, at least in the movie they were part of the plot to send Stalin to the other side.
Actually the guards were so terrified of checking in on Stalin, because they were specifically instructed to not enter that room. Had that thud turned out to be a false alarm they would’ve been either executed or sent to the Gulag.
0:43 - "Right, you take the head"
"Why?"
"You're Acting General Secretary."
"I would be honoured."
Such a brilliant film with brilliant actors. I love how Paul Whitehouse gets kinda trapped under Stalin when they're rolling him into bed.
Fuck me! Three fittings I had for this suit. Three!
Amazing job by actors. Buscemi perfectly nailed it as Khrushev. Great film.
"There's still a fucking tomato in my pocket"
”It still funny”
It was Stalin's blood
@@Perririri I didn’t know Stalin was Italian.
0:09 Where’s the big fella ? Are we late? sorry!
Out of my way you *FFFFFFANNIES*
3:20 Teamwork makes the dream work jesus *christ.*
I thought all those Commies were atheists
@@Perririri That's me saying it.
Also Stalinism is a growing sect of Orthodox Christianity.
@@JoshSweetvale I'm not sure if that would have Stalin turning in his grave or roaring with laughter.
Lazar Kaganovich (who was the principle architect of the Holodomor) stuck around for quite a while after Stalins death, after Khrushchev forced him out he ended up as the very last of the Old Bolsheviks and died in July 1991, five months before the USSR fell apart. He was there with Lenin, survived Stalin and got to see the state he'd helped create and do unspeakable things to preserve fall to pieces around him
@IntrepidTit Everything he said was documented fact. Maybe you should remove the tinfoil from around your own brain and give it some air.
@IntrepidTit delusional commie…everything he said is objectively verifiable using countless sources. Kaganovich himself, were he with us, wouldn’t deny it. Acolytes of the most murderous ideology in human history were typically proud of their killing. Easily 100 million victims. Easily.
@@krashd Millions dead and starving won't change that guy's mind. Some people just LOVE communism and will die / kill to fruitlessly preserve their fantasies.
@IntrepidTit Give me all of your things.
"Outta my way you fannies" is an underrated quote
Mikoyan is the most underrated character in this film. So many hilarious quips and one-liners.
It was so awesome seeing Steve Buscemi, Paul Whitehouse & Michael Palin. In the same film though. They where each in pretty much every film/TV show. I liked as a kid 😆
It feels like they were all just given a broad outline of the script and they just all improvised the entire dialogue. So natural in their delivery.
Nikita Kruschev was played by both Steve Buscemi (Death of Stalin) and Bob Hoskins (Enemy at the Gates). Both actors owned the role and made it their own in their own unique ways.
The amount of one-liners in this scene alone is enough to make an entire Tim Vine performance
This man struck so much fear that even after his death his iron fist was still in play
That Fukken BOSS ENTRANCE by Lazar Kaganovich..... "Out of My way You Fannies!"
"well all the best doctors are in the gulag.....or dead"
"Well yeah they tried to kill the boss"
"What are anyone's thoughts on getting a bad doctor?"
This movie was way ahead of it's time.
More like modern Russian politics are stuck way further in the past than most of us thought or hoped.
One of the best comedies of the last 10 years and although all scenes were hilarious, this one gets my vote for the best
Man I've got to watch this again. What a great film.
“What are peoples thoughts on getting a bad doctor?”
"the head is the heaviest part"
I love how it just mocks the USSR fucking amazing 😂😂
I mean...this type of bullshit happens in nearly every country behind locked doors. Politicians are still humans after all and dumb stuff is also part of their life.
I think it mocks politicians
@@phantom66games45 it mocks Stalin’s boys lmfao even Stalin hated them
@@arkanstigers6007 and everyone hated Stalin.
@@arkanstigers6007 everybody hates everybody in the ussr. A country of corruption and an ideology that's a perversion of the natural order.
3:24 I love how Bulganin is grinning like the cat that ate the canary.
1:48
"Stop using his feet!"
"I'm sorry!"
The fact that Anastas Mikoyan moaning about the suit is hilarious.
Paul Whitehouse was one of the tailors who used to say "suit you sir" in a BBC sketch show during the 90s.
Mikoyan was stationed in the US earlier at his career where he started wearing fancy suites. He was always the best dressed of the Stalin circle. It was usually him who was subject to Berias pranks of putting soft potatoes or tomatoes in his pockets.
@@galshaine2018 That makes the whole thing even funnier xD
The fast show
It's so funny when Khrushchev was using Stalin's feet to point where they need to go
He should have cut off Stalin's hair and tailored it to be a toupée
*"We're better as a committee."*
They couldn't even count to three in unison.
Notice how the others come up with the solution but Malenkov is the one laying his arms around their shoulders and saying "see, we're stronger together" making it seem like it was his idea from the start. Most of them nod their heads in agreement, probably not noticing the manipulation attempt, and proceed to go with him while only Khrushchev and Beriya stay behind. This already distinguishes those three from the rest of the ministers and foreshadows how they will behave during the rest of the movie.
2:00 way too funny! 🤣😂
"What uh... people's thoughts on getting a... _bad_ doctor?"
Goddamn the delivery of this is fucking brilliant!
Churchill said it best “there animals”. Lmfao 🤣
1:49 lol he used his feet to point the direction 😂😂
Watched this again the other day just to remind myself what a national treasure Paul Whitehouse is
"...pin it all on lady suck suck" has to be one of the best lines of all times.
The writing in this movie is brilliant. Hallmark of British comedies to have snappy lines every second.
Everytime I see this scene, I’m reminded of a RussianBadger line: “It’s like watching six raccoons in a tank trying to go forward.”
The head is the heaviest part 🤣🤣🤣
It is
Apparently a head is about the same size and weight as a bowling ball.
Lol, these guy were like a hardcore communist but still yelled, "Jesus!"
Many of the Old Guard came from Conservative Eastern Orthodox backgrounds
@@jeambeam3173 Stalin studied to be a priest
Maybe the chef was a Latino Jesús!
Probably old habits before joining the party.
I didn’t really laugh at this film when I first watched it but looking back it’s got quality lines 😂😂😂
Buscemi's a really enjoyable actor. Just a regular guy.
Imagine James Gandolfini suddenly entering LOL.
“I have a bad back.” “Too much social climbing…” lmao 😂
This movie was both insightful and hilarious
I want to see them make another one based on Khruschev starring Buscemi playing Khrushchev.
Brilliant Comedy! - AND, a sad, pathetic drama! ...
MIKOYAN (Trade Minister): 'He's is heavier than I'd thought he'd be ...'
... BERIA (Chief Secret Police!!): 'You think Stalin is too heavy? ... '
MIKOYAN: 'No, no, no! ... its a compliment, gold is heavy'
... BERIA: 'For you, no! ... you've looted enough of it!' ... 🤣😂🤣
It’s not a drama it’s a tragedy
So the same as a comedy
“Still a fucking tomato in my pocket”
“Still funny”
Lol Beria.
It feels both like a comedy and a satire. Delightful
1:48 "Stop using his feet"
**shrugs with his feet** "I'm sorry!"
It's just me here kneeling in the piss
🤣
Also Steve Buscemi is a comedy god always makes me laugh 🤣
You see? We’re better as a committee.
Best dark-comedy genre movie ever
The actor who played Beria sounds and looks like he'd play the role of Winston Churchill pretty well.
He did that pretty recently
I swear I was thinking that. He certainly has the voice for it
@@turkishjanitor3666 Really? Where?