Wings

Wings

1966 · 85 min · ★ 6.8 · Drama

Former fighter pilot turned provincial schoolmistress Nadezhda Petrovna struggles to adapt to peacetime, having internalised military ideals of service and obedience.

Directed by Larisa Shepitko · Written by Natalya Ryazantseva

Your Rating

Where to Watch

Streaming

Criterion Channel

Rent or Buy

Amazon VideoApple TV Store

Cast

Make it a double feature

3h 15m together

Wings

The Ascent

Both from Larisa Shepitko.

More from Larisa ShepitkoSee all →

The AscentThe Ascent · 1977
The Ascent
★ 7.91977
MovieDramaWar
During a freezing WWII winter, two Soviet partisans on a mission to gather food contend with the temperature, the occupying Germans, and their own psyches.
Ordinary StoryOrdinary Story · 1962
Ordinary Story
★ 7.01962
MovieDrama
Anya, finding herself in unfamiliar Kyiv, meets casual acquaintances who help her adapt to the new city. One of them, engineer Sasha, accompanies her to the train station and later comes to her city. He persuades Anya to enroll in a Kyiv institute, which she agrees to do.
Carnival NightCarnival Night · 1956
Carnival Night
★ 7.01956
MovieMusicComedy
It is the New Year's Eve and the employees of an Economics Institute are ready with their annual New Year's entertainment program. It includes a lot of dancing and singing, jazz band performance and even magic tricks. Suddenly, an announcement is made that a new director has been elected and that he is arriving shortly. Comrade Ogurtsov arrives in time to review and disapprove of the scheduled entertainment. To him, holiday fun has a different meaning. He imagines speakers reading annual reports to show the Institute's progress over the year, and, perhaps, a bit of serious music, something from the Classics, played by the Veterans' Orchestra. Obviously, no one wants to change the program a few hours before the show, much less to replace it with something so boring! Now everyone has to team up in order to prevent Ogurtsov from getting to the stage. As some of them trap Ogurtsov one way or another, others perform their scheduled pieces and celebrate New Year's Eve.
Agony: The Life and Death of RasputinAgony: The Life and Death of Rasputin · 1981
Agony: The Life and Death of Rasputin
★ 6.81981
MovieHistoryDrama
As an adviser to the emperor Nicholas II, mystic Grigori Rasputin holds great influence over the empire. However, many in St Petersburg begin to regard Rasputin, with his strange practices and mesmerizing qualities, as a liability and plot his assassination. When Rasputin, known to many as the 'Mad Monk', leads Nicholas to embrace an ill-conceived military strategy, a group of determined conspirators set down a plan to eliminate him.
Byelorussian StationByelorussian Station · 1971
Byelorussian Station
★ 6.71971
MovieDrama
Four former soldiers reunite 25 years after the war. Last time they saw each other on the Byelorussian railway station in the summer of 1945. Now they've come together to mourn the death of a friend.
FarewellFarewell · 1983
Farewell
★ 6.31983
MovieDrama
Matyora is a small village on a beautiful island with the same name. The existence of the village is threatened with flooding by the construction of a dam. This is the story of the inhabitants of Matyora and their farewell to their homeland.
You and MeYou and Me · 1971
You and Me
★ 6.31971
MovieDrama
Pyotr, a once-promising neurosurgeon who left his groundbreaking research and career abroad, returns home years later in search of fulfillment. Encountering old friends, strained relationships, and the realities of his choices, Pyotr grapples with regret, identity, and the value of his work.
Sport, Sport, SportSport, Sport, Sport · 1970
Sport, Sport, Sport
★ 5.91970
MovieDocumentaryComedy
Combining staged scenes, newsreel footage, and documentary episodes, the history of the development of sports is presented, showing the stadiums of Moscow, Philadelphia, Stockholm and Mexico City in the past and future.
Beginning of an Unknown EraBeginning of an Unknown Era · 1967
Beginning of an Unknown Era
★ 5.81967
MovieWarDrama
Two young directors adapted the short stories of two Russian authors whose works had been banned for decades, and so their film ended up in the censor’s vault as well – for twenty years. Both tales look back to the post-revolutionary era: 'Angel' (Olesha) speaks tragically of the brutality and destruction of the time, and 'The Homeland of Electricity' (Platonov) captures its haunting grotesquery.
In the Thirteenth Hour of the NightIn the Thirteenth Hour of the Night · 1969
In the Thirteenth Hour of the Night
★ 5.81969
MovieDramaFantasy
New Year's Eve 1969: A variety of Russian folklore characters gather in the hut of Baga Yaga to await the arrival of the New Year, amid much foolery, snippets of popular artists of the day, satirical views of the west via a magical kaleidoscope, and other hijinks.
Poem of the SeaPoem of the Sea · 1958
Poem of the Sea
★ 5.21958
MovieDrama
A Soviet dam project means that many old Ukrainian villages will end up under water. There are conflicts between the dam engineers and villagers who don't want to move.
HeatHeat · 1963
Heat
★ 4.91963
MovieDrama
An idealistic high school graduate goes to work on a state farm on the Kyrgyz steppe, only to clash with its authoritarian leader.
Living WaterLiving Water · 1957
Living Water
★ 4.61957
MovieDocumentary
The second graduation work from Larisa Shepitko.
TavriaTavria · 1960
Tavria
★ 2.01960
MovieDrama
1914, Imperial Russia. A group of Ukrainian peasants searching for a better life in the Taurida steppe end up working at the landholding of the aristocratic Falz-Fein family. Friends Vustya and Hanna are courted by a revolutionary and the landowner's son, both rising their hopes and dreams.
VasylVasyl · 1955
Vasyl
1955
MovieDrama
Two lovers cannot be together—the girl’s authoritarian father refuses to approve the marriage. When the young man kills him, a third figure—the couple’s childhood best friend—rushes to take revenge. He is faced with a difficult choice.

More Like This

The Greatest Story Ever ToldThe Greatest Story Ever Told · 1965
The Greatest Story Ever Told
★ 6.41965
MovieDramaHistory
From his birth in Bethlehem to his death and eventual resurrection, the life of Jesus Christ is given the all-star treatment in this epic retelling. Major aspects of Christ's life are touched upon, including the execution of all the newborn males in Egypt by King Herod; Christ's baptism by John the Baptist; and the betrayal by Judas after the Last Supper that eventually leads to Christ's crucifixion and miraculous return.
The Nativity StoryThe Nativity Story · 2006
The Nativity Story
★ 7.02006
MovieDrama
Mary and Joseph make the hard journey to Bethlehem for a blessed event in this retelling of the Nativity story. This meticulously researched and visually lush adaptation of the biblical tale follows the pair on their arduous path to their arrival in a small village, where they find shelter in a quiet manger and Jesus is born.
The Elephant ManThe Elephant Man · 1980
The Elephant Man
★ 8.11980
MovieDramaHistory
A Victorian surgeon rescues a heavily disfigured man being mistreated by his "owner" as a side-show freak. Behind his monstrous façade, there is revealed a person of great intelligence and sensitivity.
Swept from the SeaSwept from the Sea · 1998
Swept from the Sea
★ 6.41998
MovieDramaRomance
The film tells the story of Russian emigree and the only survivor from ship crash Yanko Goorall and servant Amy Foster in the end of 19th century. When Yanko enters a farm sick and hungry after the shipwreck, everyone is afraid of him, except for Amy, who is very kind and helps him. Soon he becomes like a son for Dr. James Kennedy and romance between Yanko and Amy follows.
Live and BecomeLive and Become · 2005
Live and Become
★ 7.42005
MovieDrama
In 1980, the black Falashas in Ethiopia are recognised as genuine Jews and are secretly carried to Israel. The day before the transport the son of a Jewish mother dies. In his place and with his name (Schlomo) she takes a Christian 9-year-old boy.
The Last MistressThe Last Mistress · 2007
The Last Mistress
★ 5.82007
MovieDramaRomance
Secrets, rumors and betrayals surround the upcoming marriage between a young dissolute man and virtuous woman of the French aristocracy.
DeliciousDelicious · 2025
Delicious
★ 4.82025
MovieThrillerDrama
During their vacation in the French countryside, a wealthy German family becomes entangled with a young hotel worker harboring sinister intentions.
Liberty Stands StillLiberty Stands Still · 2002
Liberty Stands Still
★ 5.32002
MovieThrillerAction
As the heir and current marketing director for one of the nation's biggest gun manufacturers, Liberty Wallace is indifferent to the atrocities made possible through her business and her CEO husband, Victor. On her way to see her actor lover, Liberty ends up chained to a food cart full of explosives -- all at the insistence of "Joe", a sniper whose young daughter was a victim of gun violence, and who now has Liberty in his sights.

Rate this film

Your ratings make Midnight smarter