Movies Like The Cranes Are Flying (1957)

The Cranes Are Flying is a 1957 drama, romance, war film from Mikhail Kalatozov with a MovieMagicScore of 7.9/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with All Quiet on the Western Front and Johnny Got His Gun.

Drama Romance War

All Quiet on the Western Front

1930

When a group of idealistic young men join the German Army during the Great War, they are assigned to the Western Front, where their patriotism is destroyed by the harsh realities of combat.

7.8

MagicScore

Johnny Got His Gun

1971

A young American soldier, rendered in pseudocoma from an artillery shell from WWI, recalls his life leading up to that point.

7.5

MagicScore

The Great Dictator

1940

Dictator Adenoid Hynkel tries to expand his empire while a poor Jewish barber tries to avoid persecution from Hynkel's regime.

8.3

MagicScore

The Lovers

2017

The separation of a long married couple goes awry when they fall for each other again.

5.4

MagicScore

Twenty Days Without War

1976

War correspondent Lopatin takes a 20-day-leave from his hard work at the front in 1942. He travels to faraway Tashkent to meet the family of the killed soldier and visit the film set of the screen adaptation of his war-time stories. Lopatin also manages to walk the streets of Tashkent, take part in a factory workers' meeting and have a short-lived love affair. Although with no bombings and fighting, the city dwellers breathe the atmosphere of the ongoing war.

6.5

MagicScore

London Can Take It!

1940

A tribute to the courage and resiliency of Britons during the darkest days of the London Blitz.

6.6

MagicScore

When the Wind Blows

1986

With the help of government-issued pamphlets, an elderly British couple build a shelter and prepare for an impending nuclear attack, unaware that times and the nature of war have changed from their romantic memories of World War II.

7.4

MagicScore

Waterloo Bridge

1940

On the eve of World War II, a British officer revisits Waterloo Bridge and recalls the young man he was at the beginning of World War I and the young ballerina he met just before he left for the front.

7.5

MagicScore

Twelve O'Clock High

1949

In the early days of daylight bombing raids over Germany, General Frank Savage must take command of a 'hard luck' bomber group. Much of the story deals with his struggle to whip his group into a disciplined fighting unit in spite of heavy losses, and withering attacks by German fighters over their targets.

7.1

MagicScore

#10

The North Star

1943

A Ukrainian village must suddenly contend with the Nazi invasion of June 1941. Later re-edited and released as "Armored Attack."

6.1

MagicScore

#11

Wings

1927

Two young men, one rich, one middle class, both in love with the same woman, become US Air Corps fighter pilots and, eventually, heroic flying aces during World War I. Devoted best friends, their mutual love of the girl eventually threatens their bond. Meanwhile, a hometown girl who's the lovestruck lifelong next door neighbor of one of them pines away.

7.2

MagicScore

#12

Between Two Worlds

1944

Passengers on an ocean liner can't recall how they got onboard or where they are going. Soon it becomes apparent that they all have something in common.

7.0

MagicScore

#13

Le Bal

1983

In a French nightclub, choreographed song and dance routines are performed, rather than a streamlined narrative. They tell the story of Parisian culture and politics from the 1920s—1980s. A disparate, anachronistic series of characters, including an ordinary waiter, a Nazi collaborator, resistance fighters, and 1960s student protestors gather to celebrate and satirize 20th century France's icons, demons, and social changes.

7.0

MagicScore

#14

Zoo

2018

Young Tom and his misfit friends fight to save 'Buster' the baby elephant during the German air raid bombings of Belfast in 1941.

6.7

MagicScore

#15

The Cold Blue

2018

A meditation on youth, war and stunning bravery, featuring footage, taken from the National Archives, from the documentary filmed in 1943 by legendary Hollywood director William Wyler about the famous Memphis Belle flying fortress and the gripping narration from some of the last surviving B-17 pilots.

6.6

MagicScore

#16

Halls of Montezuma

1951

Richard Widmark leads an all star cast of marine leathernecks including Jack Palance, Robert Wagner, Karl Malden, Richard Boone and Jack Webb into battle on a heavily fortified island. This action-packed story follows the squad as they pick their way through enemy-infested jungles on a time sensitive mission to find the source of the enemy rockets. As the mission progresses, the squad and leader overcome many challenges as they are transformed into an effective and efficient fighting unit.

5.9

MagicScore

#17

Leningrad

2009

When in 1941 Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union, their troops quickly besieged Leningrad. Foreign journalists are evacuated but one of them, Kate Davies, is presumed dead and misses the plane. Alone in the city she is helped by Nina Tsvetnova a young and idealist police officer and together they will fight for their own survival and the survival of the people in the besieged Leningrad.

5.4

MagicScore

#18

Paths of Glory

1957

A commanding officer defends three scapegoats on trial for a failed offensive that occurred within the French Army in 1916.

8.3

MagicScore

#19

Hiroshima Mon Amour

1959

The deep conversation between a Japanese architect and a French actress forms the basis of this celebrated French film, considered one of the vanguard productions of the French New Wave. Set in Hiroshima after the end of World War II, the couple -- lovers turned friends -- recount, over many hours, previous romances and life experiences. The two intertwine their stories about the past with pondering the devastation wrought by the atomic bomb dropped on the city.

7.7

MagicScore

#20

Grave of the Fireflies

1988

In the final months of World War II, 14-year-old Seita and his sister Setsuko are orphaned when their mother is killed during an air raid in Kobe, Japan. After a falling out with their aunt, they move into an abandoned bomb shelter. With no surviving relatives and their emergency rations depleted, Seita and Setsuko struggle to survive.

8.4

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like The Cranes Are Flying?

The top films similar to The Cranes Are Flying by MovieMagicScore are All Quiet on the Western Front (7.8), Johnny Got His Gun (7.5), The Great Dictator (8.3). Each shares drama/romance/war themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is The Cranes Are Flying worth watching?

The Cranes Are Flying holds a MovieMagicScore of 7.9/10 from 425 viewer ratings, putting it among the better-reviewed titles in its genre.

What kind of movie is The Cranes Are Flying?

The Cranes Are Flying (1957) is a drama, romance, war film directed by Mikhail Kalatozov, starring Tatyana Samoylova, Aleksey Batalov, Vasili Merkuryev.

Where can I find more recommendations like The Cranes Are Flying?

Browse the full ranked list above, or explore more drama recommendations on MovieMagicScore, where every list is ordered by genuine viewer ratings.

Keep exploring

Movies like All Quiet on the Western Front Movies like Johnny Got His Gun Movies like The Great Dictator Movies like The Lovers Movies like Twenty Days Without War Movies like London Can Take It!

About movies like The Cranes Are Flying

This ranked list pairs The Cranes Are Flying (1957), a drama and romance and war film from Mikhail Kalatozov, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Tatyana Samoylova take note). Unlike critic-driven sites, every position here is ordered by MovieMagicScore — a rating built only from real viewers, with no studio marketing or paid placement. Scores update as more people rate, so the list stays current.

← Back to The Cranes Are Flying