History Film / TheDeathOfStalin

* [[ColourCodedForYourConvenience Color-Coded for Your Convenience]]: All of the NKVD agents wear peaked caps with blue brims while regular Soviet Army soldiers have caps with green brims.

** The problem with finding any qualified doctors to treat him in time was true: the government was in the middle of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctors%27_plot The Doctors Plot]], and as a result, there were few physicians on hand to take immediate control of the situation. However, the film glosses over the Plot itself (a Jewish progrom that also might have been grounds for Stalin to have Beria purged).

** Khrushchev runs to Stalin's dacha wearing a suit over his pajamas. It doesn't take long for Beria to mock him for that.

* BecomingTheMask: Everyone to an extent when it comes to grieving Stalin's death and supporting his tyranny. While some of the overwrought displays of grief are clearly intended for those around them, for some, like Malenkov and especially Molotov, there seems to be a genuine sense of something like StockholmSyndrome driving them to emotion far beyond what they should feel towards a monster that terrorized them and killed people they loved.

* OminousAdversarialAmusement: The movie closes on a small, smirk shot at an oblivious Khrushchev by [[UsefulNotes/LeonidBrezhnev a certain opera attendee]].

* IncomingHam: Zhukov's arrival is marked with a bellowed "Right, what’s a war hero got to do to get some ''lubrication'' around here?" This is followed by an epic coat throw and slow-mo. Also when he bursts into the Presidium meeting wielding a rifle and threatening to shoot anyone who moves in the "fuckin' face".

* DecadentCourt: Even before Stalin's death, the circle that made up his regime has been known to betray and eliminate any rivals for their own cause. Of course, with his death, it got turned UpToEleven.

** Zhukov's ChestOfMedals is already pretty extreme, until you see [[https://78.media.tumblr.com/3e0c49d8b2985d7dc3fe17c946ccf0aa/tumblr_p7p9q91RHP1rk0k4co1_1280.jpg this real life portrait]], and it gets better when you realize the real man wore [[UpToEleven nearly twice as many.]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjelaagmvSk According to Jason Isaacs]], [[PragmaticAdaptation this was the maximum amount of medals they could fit on his chest – Zhukov actually was slightly wider up top, giving him the space to fit all his awards]].

** In real life, there were actually ''three'' conductors at the Radio Moscow concert, not two. After the first one knocked himself out, the second conductor also had to be replaced because he came to the concert hall [[IntoxicationEnsues absolutely stinking drunk]].

** Subverted a little with Jason Isaacs, who chose a Yorkshire accent for a reason.

UsefulNotes/{{Moscow}}, 1953. UsefulNotes/JosefStalin has ruled the [[UsefulNotes/SovietRussiaUkraineAndSoOn Soviet union]] with an iron fist for three decades. The people live in constant fear of his state apparatus, which routinely arrests them in the middle of the night. His minions are [[ProfessionalButtKisser ass-kissers]] out to save their own skin, turning against anyone they need to in order to survive. [[SurprisinglySuddenDeath And then,]] he dies. In the aftermath, a power vacuum opens up and the remaining members of the Presidium (the governing body) aggressively manipulate, backstab, and plot against each other to figure out the SuccessionCrisis. This includes:

* {{Corpsing}}: After the committee members have moved Stalin to his bedroom but are struggling to arrange him on the bed, Adrian [=McLoughlin=] (Stalin) has a visible smirk on his face in several angles of the scene.

* {{Bathos}}: Weirdly inverted on many occasions. Normal Bathos is amusing because an attempt at drama or action fails and becomes extremely funny. In this movie, rather bleak black comedy moments that are supposed to be funny are so bleak, they instead fall short and turn into emotionally-compelling dramatic moments.

* {{Bathos}}: Weirdly inverted on many occasions. Normal Bathos is amusing because an attempt at drama or action fails and becomes extremely funny. In this movie, rather bleak black comedy moments that are supposed to be funny are so bleak, they instead fall short and turn into emotionally-compelling dramatic moments.

* ALighterShadeOfGrey / ALighterShadeOfBlack: While Khrushchev and basically everyone ''except'' for Beria are still tyrannical power-grubbing jerks who cynically want reforms after the man who wouldn't allow them is dead, they ''genuinely'' believe in the reforms... and they're not sadistic rapists like Beria. Notable during Beria's trial and execution — Khrushchev and everyone [[TooDumbToFool but Malenkov]] are ''furious'' when Khrushchev announces evidence of Beria having raped hundreds of children. In any case, it should be pointed out that as per real life, most of the central committee members in the film are still Stalinists, but merely lacked his will to carry out purges in the name of pragmatism or power. Khrushchev was a full-on reformist, but still an authoritarian. Mikoyan, by contrast, went with whoever was clearly in power. Zhukov, however, is pretty much the TokenGoodTeammate of Khrushchev's crew, having not that much baggage on him aside from a few personality quirks and questionable actions in the war.

* AllThereInTheManual: The credits reveal that some extras with no lines are also playing historical characters. For example, the bald guy that helps Zhukov arrest Beria is General [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Konev Ivan Konev]], the Chinese representative at Stalin's funeral is [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhou_Enlai Zhou Enlai]], and the man with the impressive eyebrows who was also helping Zhukov, requests the 'tall blonde' and is seated behind Khrushchev (and eyeing him darkly) in the final shot, is [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leonid_Brezhnev Leonid Brezhnev]], who would later stage a coup against Khrushchev and replace him as General Secretary.

* BlackmailBackfire: Beria. He basically had ''everyone'' on the purge lists, and kept incriminating files on everyone in power, assuming that would protect him. Instead, [[HeKnowsTooMuch it made him too dangerous to be left alive]]. That, plus his [[EvenEvilHasStandards personal depravity]] made it easy to unite the Presidium against him.

Also appearing in the film are Andrea Riseborough as Stalin's daughter Svetlana, Rupert Friend as his son Vasily, Creator/OlgaKurylenko as a pianist with a grudge against the dictator, Creator/PaddyConsidine as the director of Radio Moscow, and Creator/JasonIsaacs as Georgy Zhukov, Stalin's most victorious general and the man who [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII took Germany]].

Russia, 1953. [[UsefulNotes/JosefStalin Josef Stalin]] has ruled the USSR with an iron fist for three decades. The people live in constant fear of his state apparatus, which routinely arrests them in the middle of the night. His minions are [[ProfessionalButtKisser ass-kissers]] out to save their own skin, turning against anyone they need to in order to survive. [[SurprisinglySuddenDeath And then,]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_and_state_funeral_of_Joseph_Stalin he dies.]] In the aftermath, a power vacuum opens up and the remaining members of the Presidium (the governing body) aggressively manipulate, backstab, and plot against each other to figure out the SuccessionCrisis. This includes:

* ALighterShadeOfGrey / ALighterShadeOfBlack: While Khrushchev and basically everyone ''except'' for Beria are still power-grubbing jerks who cynically want reforms after the man who wouldn't allow them is dead, they ''genuinely'' believe in the reforms... and they're not sadistic rapists like Beria. Notable during Beria's trial and execution — Khrushchev and everyone [[TooDumbToFool but Malenkov]] are ''furious'' when Khrushchev announces evidence of Beria having raped hundreds of children. In any case, it should be pointed out that as per real life, most of the central committee members in the film are still Stalinists, but merely lacked his will to carry out purges in the name of pragmatism or power. Khrushchev was a full-on reformist, but still an authoritarian. Mikoyan, by contrast, went with whoever was clearly in power. Zhukov, however, is pretty much the TokenGoodTeammate of Khrushchev's crew, having not that much baggage on him aside from a few personality quirks and questionable actions in the war.

** In real life, Beria's rape habits were so notorious that Stalin flat-out ''[[OOCIsSeriousBusiness panicked]]'' when he realised that his [[MoralityPet beloved daughter]] Svetlana was [[AdultFear alone in a house with Beria]], and sent an NKVD hit squad to the house with orders to [[PapaWolf shoot Beria on sight]] if they even suspected he'd laid a finger on Svetlana. Stalin's fears were unfounded, since as awful as he was, Beria was also [[PragmaticVillainy smart enough]] to realise exactly what would happen to someone who [[TooDumbToLive tried to rape Comrade Stalin's daughter]].

** Everyone's reaction to Stalin's death. Beria, however, has one when Stalin momentarily recovers, as he's already begun plotting to take his place.

* ShutUpHannibal: When Zhukov confiscates Beria's knife, Beria tells Zhukov how much he's going to enjoy peeling the the skin off of his face. Zhukov's unfazed response? "Not with that, you're not."