Cheap Cranes Are Flying (Video) (Tatyana Samojlova, Aleksei Batalov, Vasili Merkuryev) (Mikheil Kalatozishvili) Price

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Customer Reviews of Cranes Are Flying

A beautiful, well acted movie.
This is one of my favorite movies. It's quality is typical of what I have come to expect of a Criterion reconstruction. Something along the lines of HDTV black and white. It's that good. The story itself is situated at the begining of Russia's Great Patriotic War (WWII). The story covers every inch of human behaviour including happiness, love, sorrow, deceit, manipulation, and heroism against all odds. The last quarter of the movie is a stunning surprise, as it builds to an ending scene that is nothing less than a grand tribute to the best of what makes us human. Even hardcore war movie fans (like me) can expect blurred vision at the end of this film. Not sappy at all, this film will strike a chord with viewers of any country, and most generations. It is not a single view disk.

I don't even know if it has an English language soundtrack, as the tonality of the Russian soundtrack combined with the very well produced English subtitles offers a great connection to the film even for non Russian speaking people. Buy this disk, you wil enjoy it over and over.

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Lyrical, poignant, and beautiful story.
This is one of those few Russian films that truly has to be seen to be believed. Words simply do not do it justice. The story is simple enough. Boris and Veronika are in love with each other but when war breaks Boris volunteers for the fighting, leaving her to the care of his deceitful cousin. Now, the film itself was made during the 'Soviet Thaw' when film makers were given a bit more freedom with which to work, and it shows in the realism of The Cranes are Flying. There is no glorification of war here as it is shown for what it is, a brutal event that seperates loved ones and inevitably leads to death and sorrow for most. There is very little, if any, political propaganda to sift through and the camerawork is absolutely next level. Perhaps the only thing better than the cinematography in this movie are the performances. In fact, it could be said that the only thing more beautiful than Tatyana Samoilova herself, is the performance she gives. An incredible portrayal of a love that triumphs against all odds.

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Untimely Affection¿
Veronica and Boris are in love and they are planning their next meeting. When Boris wakes up the next day he finds out that war has been declared and World War II is about to commence. Boris has thought of enlisting with his best friend to help his country. However, he also knows it would hurt Veronica's feelings if he left for the war. Can he make a decision that could hurt his only love's heart? Knowing that this film was filmed during the Soviet era when film was closely supervised and censored by the Soviet government, fed propaganda lines can be understood. Nevertheless, the film is a sublime experience.