Contact: Tyler Powell
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Mississippi State’s Department of History has secured the rights to release the comedy film “The Death of Stalin” for a public viewing on campus next week.
On Thursday [April 26] at 6:30 p.m. in the Old Main Academic Center auditorium, the Institute for the Humanities is partnering with the history department to present a free screening of the movie, which was released to limited theaters nationwide in March.
MSU’s showing of “The Death of Stalin” offers an opportunity for students, faculty, staff and the community to enjoy “one of the leading comedy movies of the year,” said Julia Osman, director of MSU’s Institute for the Humanities. “Because of the limited theatrical release, there aren’t any other theaters in the local viewing area showing this film. We hope folks can take advantage of seeing this critically acclaimed history/comedy,” Osman said.
The film will be introduced by Stephen Brain, associate professor and leader of the history department’s Empire, Power, Identity and Conflict (EPIC) node. Brain also is the department’s Russian and Soviet Union historian.
Based on the death of infamous Soviet Union leader Joseph Stalin, the film provides a comedic spin on the frantic plotting, terror and fragile alliances defining the immediate aftermath of the tyrant’s death. Directed by Armando Iannucci, the “The Death of Stalin” stars Steve Buscemi.
Winner of the 2017 British Independent Film Award, “The Death of Stalin” received critical acclaim from The New York Times co-chief film critic Manohla Dargis. “The laughs come in jolts and waves in ‘The Death of Stalin,’ delivered in a brilliantly arranged mix of savage one-liners, lacerating dialogue and perfectly timed slapstick that wouldn’t be out of place in a Three Stooges bit,” Dargis wrote.
Organizers are advising that the R-rated film includes language, violence and some sexual references.
The Department of History and the Institute for the Humanities both are part of MSU’s College of Arts and Sciences, which includes more than 5,200 students, 300 full-time faculty members, nine doctoral programs and 25 academic majors offered in 14 departments. Complete details about the college is online at www.cas.msstate.edu. The Department of History and the Institute for the Humanities may be found, respectively, at www.history.msstate.edu or www.ih.msstate.edu.
MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.