Known for Directing
Mikhail Kalatozov (28 December 1903 – 27 March 1973; born Mikheil Kalatozishvili) was a Soviet film director of Georgian origin who contributed to both Georgian and Russian cinema film director best known for his films The Cranes Are Flying (1957) and Soy Cuba (1964). The former won the Palme d'Or at the 1958 Cannes Film Festival. In 1969, he received the People's Artist of the USSR accolade. Kalatozov studied economics and changed many professions before starting his career as an actor and later — as a cinematographer. He directed several documentaries, including Their Kingdom (1928, with Nutsa Gogoberidze, the first Georgian female director) and Salt for Svanetia (1930). In 1933, Kalatozov enrolled to the Russian State Institute of Performing Arts. Three years later, he oversaw Kartuli Pilmi, then he was suggested a place at the USSR State Committee for Cinematography. In 1939, he moved to Leningrad to work at Lenfilm as a director. During World War II, he made several propaganda films and worked as a cultural attaché at the Soviet embassy in the United States.
Born
December 28, 1903
Died
March 27, 1973 (age 69)
Birthplace
Tiflis, Russian Empire [now Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia]
Filmography
37 films


The Red Tent
1969 · 2h 38m
country: Italy
Torn by personal guilt, Italian General Umberto Nobile reminisces about his 1928 failed Arctic expedition aboard the airship Italia.


I Am Cuba
1964 · 2h 21m
country: Cuba
A study in contrasts set in and around Havana that explores Cuba's 1959 revolution: a young woman's fascination with the excess of an American-owned casino leads to her downfall in the eyes of her street vendor boyfriend; a tenant farmer revolts the only way he knows how, attacking the land he works; university students gain first-hand knowledge of political upheaval; and, in the hills outside the city, the members of a poor peasant family are patriotically swept up into the burgeoning revolt.


Letter Never Sent
1960 · 1h 37m
country: Soviet Union
Four geologists are searching for diamonds in the wilderness of Siberia. After a long and tiresome journey they manage to find their luck and put the diamond mine on the map. The map must be delivered back to Moscow. But on the day of their departure a terrible forest fire wreaks havoc, and the geologists get trapped in the woods.


The Cranes Are Flying
1957 · 1h 37m
country: Soviet Union
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.


Hostile Whirlwinds
1956 · 1h 37m
country: Soviet Union
Observing the first years of the formation of Soviet power, about the life and work of Feliks Dzerzhinsky from 1918-1925; in July 1918, as a result of a revolt of the Left Socialist Revolutionaries, German ambassador Mirbach is killed. Feliks Dzerzhinsky alone goes to the headquarters of the Left Socialist Revolutionaries and Anarchists, he manages to persuade ordinary soldiers and sailors, participants in the rebellion, who are now cracking down on their leaders.


The First Echelon
1955 · 1h 54m
country: Soviet Union
In one of the steppe regions of Kazakhstan arrives on Komsomol youth squad. Severe frosts, spring mud flows, exhausting work than their specialty - the development of virgin land does not come easy. But the young are young - they work, enjoy life, fall in love. In the center of the story - the touching romance secretary of the Komsomol organization and tractor driver Anne.


True Friends
1954 · 1h 42m
country: Soviet Union
Alexander, Boris and Vasily are old friends, who now rarely see each other as they're busy with their professional life. They embark on long-planned voyage on a raft down the Volga river, which turns into a series of comical accidents but also strengthens their friendship.


Conspiracy of the Doomed
1950 · 1h 37m
country: Soviet Union
In an Eastern European country, a strong political struggle breaks out over the possibility of accepting aid from the Marshall Plan or signing a cooperation treaty with the Soviet Union.
Moscow Music Hall
Moscow Music Hall
1946 · 31m
country: Soviet Union
A variety of Russian stars are presented in a revue that includes many traditional songs and dances


The Invincible
1943 · 1h 28m
country: Soviet Union
The autumn of 1941. Leningrad is besieged by the Nazis. A new model of tank is being developed at a large defense plant. Built in the shortest possible time combat vehicles are tested directly on battlefields, fighting with fascists in the outskirts of the city. The first feature film about the heroic everyday life of city defenders was shot directly in assembly shops of plants and in the streets of Leningrad when the city was fighting against the enemy


Wings of Victory
1941 · 1h 29m
country: Soviet Union
Based on the true story of Russian pilot Valeri Chkalov (1904 - 1938), who set several long-distance flight records. Chkalov and co-pilots Baidukov and Belyakov altogether had accomplished several nonstop long-distance flights. In June 1937, Chkalov set the world record, covering 12,000 kilometers in 63 hours of nonstop flight from Moscow to Vancouver, Washington, flying over the North Pole.


Courage
1939 · 1h 5m
country: Soviet Union
The airborne trickster - Aleksei Tomylin, civil aviation pilot - one day decides to stop tempting fate and only flies directly. The airport where Tomylin works is near the border with Afghanistan. One day he receives the task to fly across the border and transfer a package with an order to catch a notorious saboteur. On his way back, Tomylin crash lands near an abandoned settlement - and soon finds himself taken hostage by a gang. The hero pretends to agree to take the saboteur abroad, and relies only on his expertise as a flying ace.....


The Nail in the Boot
1931 · 53m
country: Soviet Union
Banned in the Soviet Union for its "negative" content and never released, Kalatozov was forced to retreat from filmmaking for seven years because of this film. The film sets out to illustrate the old adage, "For want of a nail, the battle was lost," showing how the inferior quality of something so trivial as a nail in a soldier's boot leads inexorably to the capture of an armored train. Kalatozov had intended to demonstrate the crucial and universal importance of efficiency in Soviet industry, but the government decided that his fable gave a negative impression of the Red Army's capabilities.
The Blind Woman
The Blind Woman
1930 · 1h
country: Soviet Union
Everyday drama from the life of the Svans.


Salt for Svanetia
1930 · 1h 3m
country: Soviet Union
An ethnographic treasure that documents with visual bravado the harsh conditions of life in the isolated mountain village of Ushkul.
Moscow MXAT Theatre in Tbilisi
Moscow MXAT Theatre in Tbilisi
1929
country: Unknown
Film directed by Mikhail Kalatozov


Their Kingdom
1928 · 20m
country: Soviet Union
The documentary Their Kingdom, co-directed in 1928 by Nutsa Gogoberidze and Mikhail Kalatozishvili (Kalatozov) for Soviet Georgia’s Cinema Trust, was considered lost until 2008, when there appeared a possibility that this important film – Georgia’s first documentary feature and Kalatozov’s directorial debut – had not disappeared irretrievably.
Afghan Khan in Tbilisi
Afghan Khan in Tbilisi
1928
country: Unknown
Film directed by Mikhail Kalatozov
Opening of the First Turbine of Zahesi
Opening of the First Turbine of Zahesi
1927
country: Soviet Union
Film directed by Mikhail Kalatozov.
Horse Factory
Horse Factory
1927
country: Soviet Union
Film directed by Mikhail Kalatozov.