''Aelita'' (, ), also known as ''Aelita: Queen of Mars'', is a 1924 Soviet silent

science fiction film Science fiction (or sci-fi) is a film genre that uses Speculative fiction, speculative, fictional science-based depictions of phenomena that are not fully accepted by mainstream science, such as Extraterrestrial life in fiction, extraterrestria ...

directed by

Yakov Protazanov Yakov Alexandrovich Protazanov (; 4 February (Old Style, O.S. 23 January ) 1881 – 8 August 1945) was a Russian and USSR, Soviet film director and screenwriter, and one of the founding fathers of cinema of Russia. He was an Honored Artist of the ...

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-civil war

Soviet Russia The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (Russian SFSR or RSFSR), previously known as the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic and the Russian Soviet Republic, and unofficially as Soviet Russia,Declaration of Rights of the labo ...

, the film's enduring importance comes from its early sci-fi elements. It primarily tells of an engineer Mstislav Sergeyevich Los () traveling to

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...

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 (electromagnetic radiation), absorption, or Reflection (physics), reflection of electromagnetic radiation. Originally, it was an optical instrument using len ...

. In its performances in the cinemas in

Leningrad Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

Dmitri Shostakovich Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his First Symphony in 1926 and thereafter was regarded as a major composer. Shostak ...

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 prof ...

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

Plot

Moscow, 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. The martians include Queen Aelita (Yuliya Solntseva); 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 a 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 Aelita 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 does the audience). 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 as Aelita, Queen of Mars *

Igor Ilyinsky Igor Vladimirovich Ilyinsky (13 January 1987) was a Soviet and Russian stage and film actor, director and comedian. Hero of Socialist Labour (1974) and People's Artist of the USSR (1949). Early years Igor Ilyinsky was born on 24 July 1901 in Mo ...

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 Pavel Nikolaevich Pol () (born: Sinitsyn, 10 May 1887 – 26 April 1955) was a Russian and Soviet actor. People's Artist of the RSFSR (1947). Biography Pavel was born on May 10, 1887. In 1904, he began performing at the People’s Houses in ...

as Viktor Erlikh, Sugar Profiteer *

Konstantin Eggert Konstantin Vladimorovich Eggert (; 9 October 1883 – 24 October 1955) was a Russian actor and film director. He co-directed the 1925 film ''The Marriage of the Bear''. Selected filmography Director * Aelita (1924) * ''The Marriage of the Bear'' ( ...

as Tuskub, Ruler of Mars *

Yuri Zavadsky Yuri Aleksandrovich Zavadsky (; 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 Hero of Socialist Labour (1973). Zavadsky studied under Yevgeny ...

as Gol, Radiant Energy Tower Guardian * Aleksandra Peregonets as Ikhoshka, Aelita's Maidservant * Sofya Levitina as President House Committee

Aelita as the first Soviet blockbuster

In 2014 published the book ''Aelita as the First Attempt to Create a Blockbuster in Russia'' in which he describes a massive advertising campaign before the screening and argues that ''Aelita'' had all features of a blockbuster. About half a year before the screening of the film the newspaper ''Кино-Газета'' inema - Newspaperstarted publishing advertisements with a weird text "АНТА… ОДЭЛИ… УТА…" NTA… ODELI… UTA… Some time later these started to be accompanied with the "explanation" that the radio stations all over the world started receiving a mysterious signal. As the premiere neared the official Communist Party newspaper ''

Pravda ''Pravda'' ( rus, Правда, p=ˈpravdə, a=Ru-правда.ogg, 'Truth') is a Russian broadsheet newspaper, and was the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, when it was one of the most in ...

'' published the signal as a more transparent hint: Anta… odELI… uTA…, and finally it was incorporated into the advertisement of the premiere.

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 and costumes designed by

Aleksandra Ekster Aleksandra Aleksandrovna Ekster (née Grigorovich; ; ; 18 January 1882 – 17 March 1949), also known as Alexandra Exter, was a Russian and French painter and designer. As a young woman, her studio in Kiev attracted all the city's creative lum ...

. 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), better known as Fritz Lang (), was an Austrian-born film director, screenwriter, and producer who worked in Germany and later the United States.Obituary ''Variety Obituari ...

's ''

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

'' and ''

Woman in the Moon ''Woman in the Moon'' (German language, 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 f ...

'' 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 fes ...

''. 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 f ...

of ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...

'' 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 star ...

'' "suggests an impoverished remake" of ''Aelita''.

Reception

While popular with the public, ''Aelita'' was out of favor with critics, who declared it ideologically improper.

Frederik Pohl Frederik George Pohl Jr. (; November 26, 1919 – September 2, 2013) was an American list of science fiction authors, science-fiction writer, editor, and science fiction fandom, fan, with a career spanning nearly 75 years—from his first ...

noted that the sole Soviet space film worthy of ''Aelita'' appeared half a century later:

Andrei Tarkovsky Andrei Arsenyevich Tarkovsky (, ; 4 April 1932 – 29 December 1986) was a Soviet film director and screenwriter of Russian origin. He is widely considered one of the greatest directors in cinema history. Works by Andrei Tarkovsky, His films e ...

’s ''

Solaris Solaris is the Latin word for sun. It may refer to: Arts and entertainment Literature, television and film * ''Solaris'' (novel), a 1961 science fiction novel by Stanisław Lem ** ''Solaris'' (1968 film), directed by Boris Nirenburg ** ''Sol ...

''.Frederik Pohl, Frederik Pohl IV, ''Science Fiction. Studies in Film'', Ace Books, 1981 In a retrospective on Soviet science fiction, 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 (film), Repo Man'' (1984) and ''Sid and Nancy'' (1986 ...

remarking on

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

'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."

References

External links

* * *
Multi-language DVD released by RUSCICO
* * {{Authority control 1924 films 1920s Soviet films 1920s Russian-language films 1920s science fiction adventure 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 adventure films Soviet silent feature films Articles containing video clips Silent science fiction films Films about queens Films about rebellions Films about astronauts Science fiction about first contact 1924 science fiction films Films based on Russian novels Films based on works by Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy