The Cranes Are Flying

The compelling story of a girl's impassioned search for happiness.
Летят журавли (1957)
Timing: 1:37 (97 min)

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Release date
Country
Production
Genre
Budget
$0
Revenue
$14 626
Website
Actors
Tatyana Samoylova, Aleksey Batalov, Vasili Merkuryev, Aleksandr Shvorin, Svetlana Kharitonova, Konstantin Kadochnikov, Valentin Zubkov, Antonina Bogdanova, Boris Kokovkin, Ekaterina Kupriyanova
All actors and roles (10)
Scenario
Viktor Rozov
Producer
Mikhail Kalatozov, Igor Vakar
Operator
Composer
Mieczysław Weinberg
Artist
Yevgeni Svidetelev, Yevgeni Svidetelev
Audition
Editing
Mariya Timofeyeva
All team (17)

Short description

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.

What's left behind the scenes

  • The film is based on the play 'The Eternally Alive' by Viktor Rozov.
  • During the filming of the movie, a young, unknown cinema enthusiast from France worked as an assistant cameraman for two days; he had come to Moscow with a tourist group and accidentally ended up at the Mosfilm studio. He later became a famous film director. His name is Claude Lelouch.
  • During the filming of the scene where Veronika runs up the stairs in the bombed-out house of her parents, Tatyana Samoylova, who was suffering from tuberculosis, fainted.
  • During the filming, a young, unknown French film enthusiast worked as a camera assistant for two days. He had arrived in Moscow with a tour group and accidentally ended up at the Mosfilm studio. He later became a famous film director. His name is Claude Lelouch.
  • Veronika was originally going to be played by Elena Dobronravova. Mikhail Kalatozov's assistant saw Tatyana Samoylova in the film "The Mexican," after which he recommended her to cinematographer Sergei Urusevsky, who then suggested her to director Kalatozov.
  • To film the scene of Boris's death, Sergei Urusevsky devised and first constructed circular camera rails.
  • During the filming of the scene where Veronika rushes up the stairs into her parents' bomb-damaged house, Tatyana Samoylova, who was suffering from tuberculosis, fainted.
  • At the Cannes Film Festival, the film's title was translated into French as "When the Storks Fly"... The reason is that the original title, in French slang, means "prostitutes steal."
  • The film is based on the play "Ever Living" by Viktor Rozov.
  • The working title of the film was "For Your Life."
  • Nikita Khrushchev angrily criticized the film after watching it, calling the main character a 'whore'.
  • The role of Veronika was originally intended for Elena Dobronravova. Mikhail Kalatozov's assistant saw Tatyana Samoylova in the film "The Mexican," after which he recommended her to cinematographer Sergei Urusevsky, who in turn recommended her to director Kalatozov.
  • The film's triumph at the 1958 Cannes Film Festival was reported with restraint in the USSR. A nameless article with no photographs in 'Izvestia' did not mention either the director or the film's screenwriter.
  • For the filming of Boris's death scene, Sergei Urusevsky conceived and constructed circular camera tracks for the first time.

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