The Cranes Are Flying (1957)

Have you seen this??

Yes. My review: Masterfully directed by Mikhail Kalatozov, this excellent film is about two young lovers separated by war. The cinematography is very beautiful and the performances are great, especially by the lovely Tatyana Samoylova. The Cranes Are Flying is a must see film and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who has not yet seen it. 9/10 is my rating.

Yes, and the imagery alone makes it worthwhile - Mikhail Kalatozov and his cinematographer Sergei Urusevsky, who collaborated on another visual winner, Soy Cuba, simply takes the breath from your lungs in that area.

And Tatyana Samoylova is a standout as the multifaceted female lead.

I'd rank it among the top films of 1957 (in a crowded field of superb pictures)

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it absolutely slaps but i do think its starts stronger than it ends

Agree.
Until they move away to wherever it is, it's absolute knockout.
Thereafter it's largely tepid.

Yes..

My favorite Russian movie.

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It's one of the greatest! In my top 100

As everyone has said, it's a great film, with absolutely beautiful imagery. I was really blown away by it the first time I watched it and look forward to revisiting it.

I have to find it somewhere.

1957 was a great year for movies.

I went and had a look at my Blog, and I nominated a lot that year, a lot of actors as well. I usually try to keep it to 10 and under but couldn't do that for 1957, and wound up with 14...

The Seventh Seal, Wild Strawberries, Kanal, Pyaasa, Paths of Glory, Nights of Cabiria, Throne of Blood, Sweet Smell of Success, 12 Angry Men, Witness for the Prosecution, A Face in the Crowd, Le Notti Bianche, La Casa del Angel, The Cranes are Flying

And there's more beyond that, a lot of fantastic genre films - westerns like the Tall T or 3:10 to Yuma, sci-fi (The Incredible Shrinking Man) and Hammer horror established itself as the new leader in frights with The Curse of Frankenstein.

And I know I'm forgetting something (oh yeah, River Kwai, and Kon Ichikawa's The Crowded Train... what else?)

Criterion, it's also playing at their channel. But it's one that I wish like hell I could see in a theater; it would be even more of a stunner on the big screen.

my review

Love to find movies I never heard of a few days ago. A Russian/Soviet War movie from 1957 which is considered a bit of a classic. I agree with everyone about filming. It is sublime in places. Loved the scene at the end when the war is over and the celebration with the train and all the extras. Hollywood couldn't have done it any better.

The best part is the young girl in the movie and how she is left alone and then taken advantage of and finds peace at the end with the memory of her lost love. She is both resilient and vulnerable at the same time. The young couple spend very little onscreen time together but we get their love for each other. Other characters are not so well developed like the sister (what was her problem?) or the cad and rapist husband, Mark.

A beautifully shot and told love story about the horrors of war. Sadly, there will be more of these stories. A great use of imagery. 8/10

Note: The lead actress got screwed by the Soviet government as they wouldn't let her act in the West. I have no idea if she would have been successful or not but she should have been free to try. She died broke in 2014.

Have you seen Ivan's Childhood (1962)?

I have. Not a fan of Tarkovsky, though, and seen all his movies except his last 3.

It's great, but as far as Kalatazov goes, I Am Cuba is his best film.

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Have you seen Salt for Svanetia? Up there imo.

Not yet.

In terms of former Soviet Union, I think I'd go:

1. Salt for Svanetia 1930 Kalatozov
2. Man With a Movie Camera (doc) 1929
3. Soy Cuba 1964 Kalatozov
4. The Color of Pomegranates 1969
5. The Mirror 1975 Tarkovsky
6. The Cranes are Flying 1957 Kalatozov
7. The First Echelon 1955 Kalatozov
8. Leviathan 2014