Too much of everything

This movie is the proof that the world is becoming a sick and dumb place

Good concept, poorly executed.

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

It could have been better. So why the 10? Stalin is sort of human. People like him, like Hitler, like so many other embodiments of evil are exceedingly easy to dehumanize, to make them a devil and not a man.Stalin does a pretty decent job of showing the blindingly evil side of the man and still giving him a human feel. It makes him accessible.So why could it have been better? Stalin was a revolutionary. He was active from the start and played a major role on the Bolshevik side. He was the Soviet premier and he forced a backwards nation to industrialize in a single generation and that is a global record in itself. He fought WWII and crippled the Nazi war machine at the battle of Kursk.The movie should have been an epic. There is a much greater story to tell there. Instead it is tourniqueted. It is cut short and anyone with even a simple enough grasp of Stalin to vaguely know who he is gets the feeling that they are missing out.They made Che, years later, into two epic films. A life as important--and evil--of Stalin deserved more than a made-for-TV movie despite the quality.

delicate subject. for the survivors or their heirs. for the West people for who all is only far story. the virtue - confession of Svetlana Alilueva as frame. so, result is a drawing of a time, a man, an accident of history. not spectacular, not very precise , out of great accuracy but impressive for translation of realities. Robert Duval is remarkable for the search of nuance. Julia Ormond - good choice to define the line between dark and light. it is a difficult mission to present Djugashvili world. so, the central virtue of movie is courage. and fight against temptations. so, it is not a picture. only drawing in which pencil and hand are just unique instrument to open a heavy door, to remember painful period of a space in which people are just shadows, numbers and dead bodies. in which life is only convention and ration is empty word. a film like a cry. or only map of huge cemetery who cover so many memories yet. because Stalin is only symbol of a way to control the others in each dictatorship, in Russia, China, Belarus, Romania or Myanmar.

Ivan Passer made a very good job directing this "Docudrama", and everybody actress and actors give us a masterpiece. Those that do not agree shall remember that each one choose the role they want to play... They have the freedom to reject it also, so I must say "Thank you" to all the crew, you were really great. Great casting indeed. There is only one thing that is regrettable, I would like this "mini" much longer, I shall say 9 or 12 hours, maybe more. That will give much more precision in all sense in many many details in the story. And making a review of the sound, light, locations, make up, wardrobe etc. They were very good. I had a very good time seeing this movie. Duval performance is really extraordinary and unforgettable as Stalin, and Julia Ormond (Nadya), M. Schell(Lenin),J. Carter(Sergo), M.Ewan(Khrushchev),C. Jeavons (Yagoda) were most excellent.10/10

Robert Duvall is a marvelous actor and he delivers an extraordinary performance as Stalin, one of the most bloody dictators of the 20th century. Stalin killed 50 million of people, twice as Hitler, and it has called my attention the fact that we have many movies depicting the cruelty of the Nazis (which I think is good because the victims deserve that tribute and I identify with their suffering), and just a few films depicting the cruelty of the Communists. After living 35 years in the United States, watching this movie brought back all the sad memories of my childhood and adolescence under the Communist dictatorship of Fidel Castro. This realistic movie really touched my heart. This film is a gem.