The Cranes Are Flying
One of the most famous films to emerge from Russia, Mikhail Kalatozov's gorgeous 1957 love story (here presented in a new restoration) takes place in Moscow on the night of Operation Barbarossa, the Third Reich's invasion of the Soviet Union. It's a simple plot filmed with Kalatozov and cinematographer Sergei Urusevsky (I Am Cuba)'s daring camerawork: dizzying crane and handheld shots abound.