"There are countless horrible things happening all over the world and horrible people prospering, but we must never allow them to disturb our equanimity or deflect us from our sacred duty to sabotage and annoy them whenever possible." -Auberon Waugh
Wednesday, June 25, 2025
Something I stumbled across on YouTube
One of the most evil monsters of the 20th century: Beria's last speech.
And behind Beria, you can see Khrushchev, who has already determined Beria's fate.
I assume that you've seen The Death of Stalin. If not, rectify that immediately. Some of the casting might seem counterintuitive (Steve Buscemi as Khruschev? Michael Palin as Molotov?) but it works very well. And it is darkly funny. And for the most part, accurate, although it does compress a couple years events into a couple days.
And some of the most outlandish parts (the symphony frantically repeating a performance because Stalin asked for a recording, for example) are true.
Yes, I believe I put up a post when it came out. It's one of the best movies I've seen in many years. The casting might initially seem a little unconventional, but having seen, for example, Steve Buscemi as Khrushchev, I can't imagine anybody else in the role. And Jason Isaacs was outstanding as Field Marshal Zhukov. All the performances were excellent.
I assume that you've seen The Death of Stalin. If not, rectify that immediately. Some of the casting might seem counterintuitive (Steve Buscemi as Khruschev? Michael Palin as Molotov?) but it works very well. And it is darkly funny. And for the most part, accurate, although it does compress a couple years events into a couple days.
ReplyDeleteAnd some of the most outlandish parts (the symphony frantically repeating a performance because Stalin asked for a recording, for example) are true.
Yes, I believe I put up a post when it came out. It's one of the best movies I've seen in many years. The casting might initially seem a little unconventional, but having seen, for example, Steve Buscemi as Khrushchev, I can't imagine anybody else in the role. And Jason Isaacs was outstanding as Field Marshal Zhukov. All the performances were excellent.
DeleteI daresay that Beria wasn't the only one on the balcony who died suddenly, Soviet-style.
ReplyDelete