''Aelita'' (russian: Аэли́та, ), also known as ''Aelita: Queen of Mars'', is a 1924 Soviet silent science fiction film directed by

Yakov Protazanov Yakov Alexandrovich Protazanov (russian: Яков Александрович Протазанов; 4 February ( O.S. 23 January ) 1881 – 8 August 1945) was a Russian and Soviet film director and screenwriter, and one of the founding fathers of ...

and produced at the Mezhrabpom-Rus film studio. It was based on Alexei Tolstoy's 1923 novel of the same name. Nikolai Tseretelli and Valentina Kuindzhi were cast in leading roles. Though the main focus of the story are the daily lives of a small group of people during the post-war Soviet Union, the film's enduring importance comes from its early sci-fi elements. It primarily tells of an engineer Mstislav Sergeyevich Los (russian: Лось) traveling to

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin at ...

in a rocket ship, where he leads a popular uprising against the ruling group of Elders, with the support of Queen Aelita who has fallen in love with him after watching him through a

telescope A telescope is a device used to observe distant objects by their emission, absorption, or reflection of electromagnetic radiation. Originally meaning only an optical instrument using lenses, curved mirrors, or a combination of both to observ ...

. In its performances in the cinemas in

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, Dmitri Shostakovich played on the piano the music he provided for the film. In the United States, ''Aelita'' was edited and titled by

Benjamin De Casseres Benjamin De Casseres (April 3, 1873 – December 7, 1945) (often DeCasseres) was an American journalist, critic, essayist and poet. He was born in Philadelphia and began working at the Philadelphia Press at an early age, but spent most of his p ...

for release in 1929 as ''Aelita: Revolt of the Robots''.

Plot

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

, 1921. A mysterious wireless message is received by various stations: its text is 'Anta Odeli Uta'. Someone facetiously suggests it has come from Mars, in order to tease Los (Nikolai Tseretelli), an engineer who is obsessed with the idea of going to Mars. This inspires him to daydream about Mars and a strange civilization there. We see Aelita (Yuliya Solntseva), the queen; Tuskub (Konstantin Eggert), the actual ruler; and Ikhoshka (Aleksandra Peregonets), Aelita's mischievous maid. They live in a society where aristocrats rule over slaves who are confined underground and put into cold storage when not required. Los's wife Natasha (Valentina Kuindzhi) is pestered by Erlikh (Pavel Pol), a bourgeois playboy before the revolution who is now a dishonest minor official. He uses his connections to steal a large amount of sugar with the intention of selling it on the black market. Los, who has seen Erlikh making up to Natasha but has not seen her rejecting him, becomes jealous. Los continues to daydream: he imagines that Aelita has access to a telescope by which she can see people on Earth and has become attracted to him. Spiridonov (Nikolai Tseretelli again), an intellectual engineer and friend of Los's, is being quietly swindled by Erlikh. He disappears; a would-be detective, Kratsov (Igor Ilyinsky) (who has been rejected by the police) suspects Spiridonov to be guilty of the theft of the sugar, because of his disappearance. Los's jealousy gets out of control and he shoots Natasha: disguising himself as Spiridonov with a wig, false beard and glasses, he goes into hiding and makes plan to escape to Mars in a rocketship he has been constructing. A friend of his, Gusev (Nikolai Batalov), an ex-soldier, agrees to go with him. They take off, not knowing at first that Kratsov has stowed away (thinking he has been following Spiridonov and not realizing he's on a spaceship). Los confuses Kratsov by removing the disguise. They land on Mars. Tuskub orders them killed, ignoring Aelita's pleas for their safety. Kratsov is taken before Tuskub and demands that the soldiers arrest the other two: he is promptly arrested. The chief astronomer comes to Aeilta and tells her where Los's ship has landed; she instructs her maid to kill him. The maid is arrested and sent to the slaves' caves - Gusev, who has taken a fancy to her, follows. Aelita and Los meet and fall in love, though Los occasionally sees her as Natasha (so do we). They are arrested and sent to the caves. Gusev tells the slaves of his own country's revolution and foments a revolt, which Aelita takes command of. Tuskub is overthrown and the army sides with Aelita - she commands them to fire on the workers and herd them back to the caves - she intends to rule Mars herself. Disgusted, Los kills Aelita (seeing her as Natasha as he does so). Suddenly back on Earth, it's clear that all this is a daydream. Erlikh is arrested for theft. A poster on a wall advertises a maker of tires - 'Anta Odeli Uta': the wireless message had been an advertisement. Los had not injured or killed Natasha and they make up: he burns his spaceship plans and promises to stop daydreaming.

Cast

Yuliya Solntseva Yuliya Ippolitovna Solntseva (russian: Ю́лия Ипполи́товна Со́лнцева; born Yuliya Ippolitovna Peresvetova, 7 August 1901 – 28 October 1989) was a Soviet actress and film director. As an actress, she is known for s ...

as Aelita, Queen of Mars *

Igor Ilyinsky Igor Vladimirovich Ilyinsky (russian: И́горь Влади́мирович Ильи́нский; 24 July 1901 – 13 January 1987) was a Soviet and Russian stage and film actor, director and comedian. Hero of Socialist Labour (1974) and People ...

as Kravtsov – amateur sleuth * Nikolai Tseretelli as Engineer Los / Evgeni Spiridonov * Nikolay Batalov as Gusev, Red Army Soldier * Vera Orlova as Nurse Masha, Gusev's Wife * Valentina Kuindzhi as Natasha, Los' Wife (as Vera Kuindzhi) * Pavel Pol as Viktor Erlich, Sugar Profiteer *

Konstantin Eggert Konstantin Vladimorovich Eggert (russian: Константин Владимирович Эггерт; 9 October 1883 – 24 October 1955) was a Russian actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The acto ...

as Tuskub, Ruler of Mars *

Yuri Zavadsky Yuri Aleksandrovich Zavadsky (russian: Юрий Александрович Завадский; 12 July 1894, Moscow — 5 April 1977, Moscow) was a Soviet and Russian theater director, actor and pedagogue. People's Artist of the USSR (1948) and ...

as Gol, Radiant Energy Tower Guardian * Aleksandra Peregonets as Ikhoshka, Aelita's Maidservant *

Sofya Levitina Sofya Levitina (russian: link=no, София Левитина) was a Soviet actress. Selected filmography * 1924 — ''Aelita'' * 1934 — ''Boule de Suif Boule may refer to: ;Ball games * Boules, a collective term for games involving player ...

as President House Committee

Influences

One of the earliest full-length films about space travel, the most notable segment remains its remarkable constructivist Martian sets by Isaac Rabinovich and

Victor Simov Viktor Andreyevich Simov (Russian: Виктор Андреевич Симов, 14 April 1858, Moscow - 21 August 1935, Moscow) was a Russian painter and scenographer. Biography He graduated from the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Ar ...

and costumes designed by

Aleksandra Ekster Alexandra () is the feminine form of the given name Alexander (, ). Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb (; meaning 'to defend') and (; GEN , ; meaning 'man'). Thus it may be roughly translated as "defender of man" or "pr ...

. Their influence can be seen in a number of later films, including the ''Flash Gordon'' serials and probably

Fritz Lang Friedrich Christian Anton Lang (; December 5, 1890 – August 2, 1976), known as Fritz Lang, was an Austrian film director, screenwriter, and producer who worked in Germany and later the United States.Obituary ''Variety'', August 4, 1976, p. 6 ...

's ''

Metropolis A metropolis () is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications. A big ci ...

'' and ''

Woman in the Moon ''Woman in the Moon'' ( German ''Frau im Mond'') is a German science fiction silent film that premiered 15 October 1929 at the UFA-Palast am Zoo cinema in Berlin to an audience of 2,000. It is often considered to be one of the first "serious" ...

'' and the more recent ''

Liquid Sky ''Liquid Sky'' is a 1982 American independent science fiction film directed by Slava Tsukerman and starring Anne Carlisle and Paula E. Sheppard. It debuted at the Montreal Film festival in August 1982 and was well received at several film festiv ...

''. Parts of the plot were loosely adapted for the 1951 film '' Flight to Mars''.

J. Hoberman James Lewis Hoberman (born March 14, 1949) is an American film critic, journalist, author and academic. He began working at ''The Village Voice'' in the 1970s, became a full-time staff writer in 1983, and was the newspaper's senior film critic ...

of ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, th ...

'' wrote that the 1960 American film ''

Beyond the Time Barrier ''Beyond the Time Barrier'' is a 1960 American science fiction film. It was released in September 1960 on a double bill with '' The Angry Red Planet''.Warren, Bill (1986). "Keep Watching The Skies Volume 2". McFarland & Co., Inc. . Page 730 It sta ...

'' "suggests an impoverished remake" of ''Aelita''. While initially very popular, it later fell out of favor with the Soviet government and was thus very difficult to see until after the Cold War.

Reception

In a retrospective on Soviet science fiction film, British filmmaker

Alex Cox Alexander B. H. Cox (born 15 December 1954) is an English film director, screenwriter, actor, non-fiction author and broadcaster. Cox experienced success early in his career with '' Repo Man'' and ''Sid and Nancy'', but since the release and co ...

remarking on

BFI Southbank BFI Southbank (from 1951 to 2007, known as the National Film Theatre) is the leading repertory cinema in the UK, specialising in seasons of classic, independent and non-English language films. It is operated by the British Film Institute. His ...

's celebration of "Eastern Bloc science fiction" called ''Aelita'' "Strangest of these ..in which the human pastime of kissing creates turmoil on the red planet."

Home media

The 2004 Ruscico DVD from runs 104 minutes, and has a musical score based on the music of

Scriabin Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin (; russian: Александр Николаевич Скрябин ; – ) was a Russian composer and virtuoso pianist. Before 1903, Scriabin was greatly influenced by the music of Frédéric Chopin and compos ...

, Stravinsky and

Glazunov Glazunov (; feminine: Glazunova) is a Russian surname that may refer to: *Alexander Glazunov (1865–1936), Russian composer ** Glazunov Glacier in Antarctica named after Alexander * Andrei Glazunov, 19th-century Russian trade expedition leader * An ...

References

External links

* *
"Science Fiction of the Domestic" by Andrew J. Horton
*
Multi-language DVD released by RUSCICO
* * {{Authority control 1924 films Soviet black-and-white films Films about extraterrestrial life Films based on science fiction novels Films directed by Yakov Protazanov Films set in 1921 Films set in Moscow Films shot in Moscow Gorky Film Studio films Mars in film Planetary romances Soviet science fiction films Soviet silent feature films Articles containing video clips 1920s science fiction films Silent horror films Silent science fiction films