The Death of Stalin: Armando Iannucci's new comedy looks hilarious

Scottish writer, director and actor Armando Iannucci has proved himself the modern master of political satire, from his riotous look at British politics with The Thick of It to Veep, his barbed comic take on American government. For his new project, The Death of Stalin, he brings ridicule to the upper echelons of the Soviet Union.

Based on Fabien Nury’s graphic novel of the same name, The Death of Stalin concerns the chaos and political machinations of the Soviet Union government following the death of Joseph Stalin in 1953. The cast is made up of an eclectic selection of British and American actors sending up prominent real life Soviet politicians.

Steve Buscemi stars as Nikita Khrushchev alongside Michael Palin as Vyacheslav Molotov and Jeffrey Tambor as Georgy Malenkov. Jason Isaacs, meanwhile, plays Red Army general Georgy Zhukov and Rupert Friend looks to be having fun playing Stalin’s son Vasily. Curiously, no one attempts a comic Russian accent, and the effect is quite surreal watching these intimidating Soviet icons squabbling in various British and American vernacular.

Iannucci’s last film project, the brilliant In The Loop, was eight years ago, so this new big screen comedy is much anticipated. The film has its world premiere at Toronto International Film Festival in September, and is due for release in the UK on 20 Oct via Entertainment One. Check out the trailer in the player above, or on YouTube.