The Cranes Are Flying

1957 [RUSSIAN]

Action / Drama / Romance / War

21
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 93% · 26 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 93% · 5K ratings
IMDb Rating 8.3/10 10 22104 22.1K

wwii world war ii siege lovers marriage of convenience battlefield

Plot summary

Veronika and Boris come together in Moscow shortly before World War II. Walking along the river, they watch cranes fly overhead, and promise to rendezvous before Boris leaves to fight. Boris misses the meeting and is off to the front lines, while Veronika waits patiently, sending letters faithfully. After her house is bombed, Veronika moves in with Boris' family, into the company of a cousin with his own intentions.

Director

Mikhail Kalatozov Photo
Mikhail Kalatozov

Top cast

Valentina Ananina Photo
Valentina Ananina as (as V. Ananina)
Pyotr Merkurev Photo
Pyotr Merkurev as (uncredited)
Daniil Netrebin Photo
Daniil Netrebin as (as D. Netrebin)
Valentin Zubkov Photo
Valentin Zubkov as Stepan
720p.BluRay 1080p.BluRay
888.15 MB
988*720
Russian 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 36 min
Seeds 7
1.61 GB
1472*1072
Russian 2.0
NR
Subtitles us  
23.976 fps
1 hr 36 min
Seeds 24

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by jaredmobarak 9 / 10

I am always waiting … The Cranes are Flying

Reviewed by ian959 9 / 10

Superb film!

One of those films that I happened across through The Criterion Collection and as usual indulged as a change of pace. That turned out to be a great decision. I was almost mesmerised by the quality of the film, the story it told and the way it was told. The almost minimalist feel to the film with sparse dialogue and almost constant music just added a whole evocative level to the film. This really is a superb film to spend some time with and enjoy.
Reviewed by Felonious-Punk 8 / 10

This is what lovers of movie-history dream of. Be blown away by the advanced quality and content!

I had seen director Kalatozov's "I am Cuba" before I saw this movie. I loved the camera work in "I am Cuba", but I felt that the story was too rigid, too much of a propaganda piece, too much of an advertisement for my taste. The characters weren't real enough, not fully developed. It felt as if I were watching types of people rather than actual people. In "The Cranes are Flying", which Kalatozov made prior to "I am Cuba", I didn't find the same problem. The story is thoroughly engaging, and I felt a whole range of emotions. The lead character, specifically is so real, I think she will haunt my dreams. She is played by Tatyana Samojlova who deserves special acclaim. She is dazzling. Her sweet charm reminded me of Audrey Hepburn, and yet Samojlova's acting seems to have a broader range. Hers is more realistic in a way that feels ahead of its time in 1957. Her wild despair is in a league with the best emoter actresses, such as Natalie Wood, Isabelle Adjani, Juliette Binoche. I must mention, also, that the cinematography is so crisp, it seems to be 4 decades ahead of its time. As far as composition and movement of the camera, I'd say it has strains of several styles, including German Expressionism of the 20's and 30's, and the stormy noir melodramas of the '40s, like "Out of the Past" (1947). This is a romantic, dramatic movie that looks long and hard at the repercussions of war, and yes, it does have a message and it certainly hammers it home, but still I think it stays more clearly in the realm of universal themes, rather than falling into the propagandist ditch.In summary, I don't think I have ever seen better acting, better camera work, better editing, or better direction in any movie made previous to it. There were some scenes made with such planning and precision that I had to press "PAUSE" just to catch my breath. Lovers of movie history, enjoy!
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