The Cranes Are Flying

Movie

1957

1h 37m

Not Rated

Russian

Drama, Romance, War

User Score:

8.1

Critic Score:

Watch on The Criterion Channel

The Cranes Are Flying

Not Rated

Movie

1957

1h 37m

Russian

Drama, Romance, War

Watch on The Criterion Channel

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.

WATCHMODE

8.1

IMDB

CRITIC SCORE

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Cast

Full Cast & Crew

Tatyana Samoylova

Veronika

Aleksey Batalov

Boris Fyodorovich Borozdin

Vasili Merkuryev

Fyodor Ivanovich Borozdin

Aleksandr Shvorin

Mark Aleksandrovich Borozdin

Svetlana Kharitonova

Irina Fyodorovna Borozdina

Konstantin Kadochnikov

Volodya

Valentin Zubkov

Stepan

Antonina Bogdanova

Varvara Kapitanova, Boris and Irina...

Boris Kokovkin

Nikolay Nikolayevich Chernov

Ekaterina Kupriyanova

Anna Mikhaylovna Lebedeva

Valentina Ananina

Lyuba

Valentina Vladimirova

Woman Soldier

Olga Dzisko

Dasha

Leonid Knyazev

Sachkov

Georgiy Kulikov

Anatoliy Aleksandrovich Kuzmin

Daniil Netrebin

Wounded Man

Aleksandr Popov

Borya

Irina Preis

Antonina Nikolayevna Monastyrskaya

Nikolay Smorchkov

Zakharov

Galina Stepanova

Veronika's Mother

Klarina Frolova-Vorontsova

Guest at Party

Georgiy Shamshurin

Aleksey, Veronika's Father

Leonid Alekseyev

Old Man (uncredited)

Valentina Berezutskaya

Lyusya, Snub-Nosed Girl on Wires (u...

Maya Bulgakova

Greeter Woman on Station (uncredite...

Directed By: Mikhail Kalatozov

Written By: Viktor Rozov

Featured Comments/Tips

Maarten Delfgou says...

2 years ago

The original title of the film is Letyat Zhuravli.

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nutmac says...

3 years ago

One of the earliest anti-war productions from Russia is a technically triumph, filled with intricately choreographed long continuous shots and jaw dropping lighting and cinematography by **Sergey Urusevsky••. The story by **Viktor Rozov** is cliched by today's standard, but it wisely avoids being overly sentimental. Although Director **Mikhail Kalatozov** focuses more of psychological sufferings of war, not poverty and violence. **Tatiana Samoilova** plays Veronika, a perky and charismatic fiancé of would-be drafted Boris (played by **Aleksey Batalov••). Tatiana totally sells otherwise predictable story. The story is ultimately pro Russia, showing USSR in as positive light as possible.

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Burtonious25 says...

11 years ago

A great example of the early "Soviet thaw," but still plenty of Soviet nationalism remains. A true Soviet classic, permeated with symbolism.

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Featured User Reviews

badelf

8 months ago

Everything in this movie is technically perfect. In spite of that, the idea that a woman must pick the best man available really dates this movie for me.

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talisencrw

6 years ago

This was an equally outstanding and heartbreaking film. I haven't watched a lot of Soviet cinema, but from what I have seen thus far, it's terrific. It makes me want to investigate their oeuvre ever more diligently. Essential if you're interested either in Soviet films or war films in general, from More

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