Should have been bald though, like Zhukov irl. I admit that grated me a bit in the movie. He did his role of badass general all right, but that wasn't Zhukov. That guy was built like a brick shithouse and had pretty much the same graces (though extremely intelligent and cultured - it was this contradiction that made him so scary and imposing, a bit like Patton but even more so). Isaacs comes off as cavalier, one-dimensional even. I mean, he does it really, really well and the character has to be a bit simplified with such limited screen-time but even so...
Funny fact: Issacs wears much fewer medals in his uniform than there should be. Zhukov had so many medals in his uniform that they thought it would look silly and unbelievable in the film so they had to tone it down.
That's actually for historical accuracy. This is Zhukov in 1953. He lived for another 20 years and got more medals. Some medals are wrong but for the most part pretty accurate.
Zhukov was as ruthless to Germans as he was to his own troops. He wasted them like there was no tomorrow. I wouldn't call him a brilliant commander. He was too brutal to his own for that. Some of it was on Stalin, who was a true psychopath, but a lot Zhukov's success is attributed to him pleasing a psychopath with his cruelty.
I thought it was a brilliant idea for the actors NOT to try and speak with Russian accents, or even in a softer English type accent, but to speak in their own accents, hearing Khrushchev and other members of the Polit-bureau speaking with American accents was hilarious, and Jason Isaacs using a Yorkshire accent as Zhukov was incredibly funny.
He reminds me the Russian actor who ofyen played the character in almost all of the Soviet era war movies. In my childhood these movies were part of our patriotic education and upbringing. Zhukov was played by Mickhail Ulyanov. Look for Ulyanov as Zhukov in the the Russina war movies.
Excellent movie, and cast. Never heard of Simon Russell Beale prior to this movie. I'm not Brittish, maybe he's well known in his country, I don't think he is across the pond. I have to say, this man's acting is the most pleasant surprise for me. I don't wanna judge by one performance tho, but if I were to... I would assume he's one of the best actors alive.
He's well-known in the UK mainly for theatre - I think. It's my first experience of him in a big film role and he nails Beria so well. That oily menace, without a shred of compassion. I hate him (the role and not him as an actor :)
The BBC did a series called The Hollow Crown using the Shakespeare Histories where he played Falstaff. Definitely worth finding as he's brilliant in Henry IV and Henry V
I freakin loved the characterization of Zhukov in the movie. I love reading books on the Nazis invasion of Russia and he portrayed him perfectly. I know it's supposed to be hyperbolic but man, if the real Zhukov was like that, it'd make me an even bigger fan. Acting was fantastic as well
Everybody kbow Marshal Zhukov as great general who won Germany but nobody knows how he fought and won the war with brutal Odessian mafia after WW2. Even Stalin was shocked with his methods of dealing with bloody street criminals.
He obviously loved playing the part. He practically gets free reign to speak as he likes, wears 10lbs of medals and has a personal entourage of extras.
Dude, I love how deep he dives into character and says "my boys" and "we go back a long time" it's so hilarious and stunning and... Somehow wholesome :)
When I saw this movie not long after it came out, I predicted it was going to become a cult classic. A rare case where one of my predictions is actually looking good years later.
The funny thing is that they reduced the amount of medals on his uniform for the movie because they thought no one would believe that Zhukov actually won as many medals as he did.
Damn was he fucking amazing in this movie my favorite part that made me laugh for 10 minutes straight was when they were all pointing guns in the bathroom towards the door and that blonde guy walked in and then Zhukov whispered “shoot him” And then immediately said that he was fucking around
I am sure that Grand Marshal Zhukov would have liked this interpretation above all his entries and dialogues. Jason was the one to play even in the middle of a comedy.
THE most badass character and also the best performance in the movie. I tried to imagine Alec Baldwin as a possible better choice for this role but nah, Isaacs just nailed it...
Nah, there were several scenes that required wielding and aiming about an AK-47. If Alec had been doing that work, literally everyone else in the room would have died.
Fun fact, when zhukov visited the united states for eisenhowers funeral, he got to try coca cola for the first time. He liked it so much he asked if he could take a crate home. Of course it was illegal in ussr so he asked if they could make it clear and pass it as vodka. They developed a clear coke formula for him and decided to put it on the market.
I like how he only wears three "hero of the soviet union" medal (the highest distinction) because he didn't get the fourth one until after Stalin's death in 1956.
I'm tired of reading about "they had to tone down the medals on his uniform" cause when you look up pictures of the real man he wears the exact same collection of medals shown in this movie. Starting to think it's one of those things that randomly started in some comment section and ever since you freaks keep repeating it, thinking it's an original fun fact.
first time thru - i didn't understand this film. given some time and deeper study of history (which I actually thought I knew pretty well, but didn't) I've come to appreciate this film as a true masterpiece.... far ahead of it's time
Like most totalitarian states the army's the most important element. The armed forces are always the most important element in any government. Period. Never forget that. It's only ever through the consent of a country's military that a civilian government exists.
what's interesting, it was NOT the case for USSR for most of its existence. Communists never trusted the Army historically, because most of the officers were White officers that they forced into their service by holding their families hostage. So, they always had a commisar next to a general who would vet all his decisions. This practice was abandoned only in the middle of WW2 because, well it was very very ineffective. Political second-guessing was terrible. So, late 1940s to early 1950s, was the only time the Army had more power in Russia. Before 1940s and after 1950s, it was always the KGB. They had multiple divisions within KGB stationed next to Moscow. They didn't trust the Army to have too much presence there.
The historical photos they're showing in this video are Zhukov. No, they look nothing alike. Zhukov was a thick-set man. Bald, wider head. But that's part of the fun of the movie. Some of them look alike, some don't. All are doing basically whatever accent. It's a bit mad and a pretty fun.
I watched The Death of Stalin. And it was a great movie. Even many parts are comedian, it is at some points very dramatic. The best and worst part of the movie is the end that portray the amount of lives that were eradicated by communism. It just shows what is current today. That dictators live in fear. Back then it were every uprising communist party member, today it is Vladimir Putin. Who lives in fear of every guy that is able to estable power beyond him. If you compare this to democracies...look at Bush. Who murdered thousands of Americans by lying to start the Iraq War. Look at Donald Trump, who even asked the Russians for help in elections. Look at Barack Obama...who was black(?) None faced any thread of life or freedom, while Putin and everyone before him was scared of a death sentence in a back alley. Or in words that are claimed to be Churchill: Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others (think he said it in some other was...but it's still what he meant)
They made him into bloody Patton. Zhukov had an ego, yes, and Rokossovsky has once said that the man put his own self above the honour of an officer, but at the same time, the man was still a Soviet officer. And while swearing is how they speak in the military (I served, I can vouch for that) there are still certain standards. But then, the film was made for a Western audience. They appreciate brash assholes like Patton.
