Stalin (1992)

In spite of the many faults of this film, I have still given it three stars rating because it is important for people to become aware of what this monster did to so many millions of innocent people and who was supported by millions of otherwise good people, both inside and outside the USSR.


Excellent, but should have covered WWII a bit more!   August 14, 1999
7 out of 8 found this review helpful

I enjoyed this movie, and found it a very good portrayal of Stalin's reign, but some things bothered me; particularly, it seems to potray Lenin as sort of a "good guy" who lets a Revolutionary government on the right track fall into the hands of a madman. Since Lenin himself was a particularly vicious figure who killed more people in his brief rule than had been killed under the Czar in 40 years previous, I didn't think that was the right way to present him.

Even more importantly, though, they blow over the entire Great Patriotic War (i.e. World War II) in just a couple of scenes! I know the movie would have been very long if lots of extra scenes about the war were added, but I think a few other scenes from the movie could be cut to make room for arguably the most important part of Stalin's dictatorship. As it is, it goes from Stalin's cowardly reaction to the German invasion almost immediately to the end of the war.

Overall, though, don't let the criticisms above dissuade you from seeing it; the acting is excellent, and it shows quite well how rapidly post-revolutionary hopes were killed off under Stalin's madness. I especially liked the scene with the old woman chasing after the train yelling at Stalin's wife, trying to make sure the benevolent Stalin would learn about the starvation and brutality going on in the countryside and put a stop to it when in reality he was the very man who organized it. Nice....


Great   October 14, 1999
7 out of 8 found this review helpful

I've done a lot or reading about Stalin, the USSR and the history of the communist movement. This is an almost completely accurate movie. The acting is superb and you can almost forget that you are watching Robert Duvall and actually seeing Josef Stalin


nevermind the "purist" reviews - this is an excellent film   January 28, 2004
lou (Southern California)
7 out of 12 found this review helpful

This film is historically excellent. What most reviewers seem hung up on are accents, make-up and costumes. Most comment that it is historically inaccurate but give nothing very specific. The film is a broad overview of the life of Stalin and could never include every element of his life. All the important stuff is there: the Revolution, the power struggle between Trotsky and Stalin, Stalin's rise to power, The great famines, The Great Purges, WWII, etc. The film gives great insight into Stalin and the paranoia that he experienced and how that paranoia influenced the way he ruled over the Soviet Union. Sure, many of the other characters were somewhat glossed over, but the film is essentially about Stalin and what made him tick - not about the intricate backgrounds of other revolutionaries and supporters. If you don't come away from the film thinking what a bastard Stalin was, then you simply missed the point. The way that he treated his family, friends and so called counterrevolutionaries is illustrated correctly in this film.

The end of the film brings up a very important question that I think many previous reviewers had difficulty with. Fact: under Stalin the Soviet Union industrialized to levels never seen before. With industrialization, this could enable the USSR to compete in the world on par with the US. It would also lead to the development of a nuclear and hydrogen bomb, on par with the US. The film brings up the critical question of whether or not Stalin was necessary for the USSR. That is a powerful and thought provoking question that one carries away from this film. Any film that lingers and makes you think has merit.

The history channel put out a video on the parallels of Hitler and Stalin. As I was watching it I kept thinking, "Gee, everything in this documentary is in the film Stalin."

Is it a perfect film? No. Is it historically innaccurate to merit throwing it away? Absolutely not... Robert Duvall does an excellent and convincing job of portraying a monster.


Robert Duvall's Masterpiece as Stalin   September 6, 2001
Gary D. Thorington (toppenish, washington)
6 out of 7 found this review helpful

To tell the truth I would not have recognized Duvall in the role he played as Stalin. Nevertheless he did a masterful job even had the Russian/Georgian accent down to a certain degree. Ive seen this film several times which enabled me to know who all the major and minor characters were. Now I feel I have a better grasp of Russian history during this turbulent period of the revolution and Stalin's reign.
Of course as most films go its not 100 percent accurate but comes close and the viewer will get a lesson of Russian history during the first half of the 20th century. Like the other reviews it hurriedly moves over "The Great Patriotic War" in just a few scenes.
The film will also help reveal that Stalin was worst mass murderer in the 20th century or even of all time which most people assume that honor goes to Adolf Hitler. This is known as the other "holocaust" which is lot less known then the Jewish one of Nazi Germany.
I would highly reccomend the film to any enthusiast of Russian history and see how the Russian people suffered during Stalins reign.