Moscow Skies (1944): cast, story & where to watch

Released in 1944, Moscow Skies is a drama, adventure, war and history film directed by Yuli Raizman, running about 81 minutes. “Blazing With Glory...Glowing with Love!” — that tagline sets the tone.

What it’s about. Based on the play of the same name by Georgi Mdivani. In September 1941, lieutenant Ilya Streltsov, who graduated from the flight school, was assigned to the fighter aviation regiment guarding the sky of Moscow. He meets in part the nurse Zoya, with whom he grew up in the same yard and with whom he has long been in love. During the first training flight on the "Seagull", lieutenant Streltsov shot down a German plane and received the nickname "Lucky." Streltsov is jealous of the squadron commander to nurse Zoya, believes that he is finding fault with him. For a whole month he is not allowed to fly sorties. In October 1941, lieutenant Streltsov made his first sortie, he shot down one plane and rams the second. For this battle, he is awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union.

Who’s in it. Moscow Skies stars Pyotr Aleynikov as lieutenant Ilya Streltsov, Nina Mazayeva as nurse Zoya, Nikolai Bogolyubov as lieutenant colonel Balashov and Pyotr Sobolevsky as captain Goncharov, among others.

How it landed. With an audience score of 6.8/10, Moscow Skies has drawn a solid, mixed-to-positive response.

Where to watch. Streaming options change often. See the full, country-by-country breakdown on our where to watch Moscow Skies page.

If you liked it. Fans of Moscow Skies tend to enjoy The Shawshank Redemption, The Godfather, Schindler's List and The Godfather Part II.