Aelita (1924)

Director:

Yakov Protazanov

Writers:

Aleksei Fajko (writer)
Fyodor Otsep (writer)

Release Date:

25 September 1924 (Soviet Union)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama | Fantasy | Romance | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Plot:

This is called the first Soviet science fiction film because of its "futuristic" sets on Mars, although most of it takes place in Moscow...

Plot Keywords:

Mars | Spaceship | Radio | Propaganda | Epic

Cast

Yuliya Solntseva	...	Queen Aelita
Igor Ilyinsky	...	Kravtsov, amateur sleuth)
Nikolai Tsereteli	...	Los & Spiridinov, 2 engineers
Nikolai Batalov	...	Gusev, ex-soldier
Vera Orlova	...	Masha, nurse, Gusev's fiancee
Valentina Kuindzhi	...	Natasha Los (as Vera Kuindzhi)
Pavel Pol	...	Ehrlich
Konstantin Eggert	...	Tuskub - ruler of Mars
Yuri Zavadsky	...	Gor, guardian of the energy
Aleksandra Peregonets	...	Ihoshka, Aelita's maidservant maid of mars
Sofya Levitina
Varvara Massalitinova
Mikhail Zharov
Tamara Adelheim
Iosif Tolchanov	...	Bearded astronomer on Mars

Also Known As:

Аэлита (Soviet Union: Russian title)
Aelita: Queen of Mars (International: English title)
Revolt of the Robots (International: English title)

Runtime:

Netherlands:67 min | 100 min (video version) | Soviet Union:120 min | Argentina:111 min

Country:

Soviet Union

Language:

Russian

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

Argentina:Atp

Company:

Mezhrabpom-Rus

Trivia:

This was director Yakov Protazanov's first film after returning to the Soviet Union from his exile in Paris.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When the spaceship takes off, the ascent is vertical, but the footage shown afterwards, which represents the velocity of the ship, is that of a horizontal motion.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Fejezetek a film történetéböl: Az orosz és a szovjet némafilm (#1.4)" (1989)

A futurist masterpiece

A remarkable film from 1924, of immense historical interest. See the turbulence of Russia as it was just a few years after the 1917 revolution and the subsequent war 1918-21 against the foreign-backed White Army. But see it all in the context of a most amazing futurist film, at least the equal of the other two equivalent futurist greats from Germany and Britain - Metropolis (1927) and High Treason (1928), respectively. Arguably it is the best of the three, with avant garde sets and costumes that could have come straight out of the Bauhaus' choreography workshop. The version shown on Australian TV had a presumably later added music score that was just so perfect and integrated to the film's plot and visuals that it could not possibly have been better had it been original. It had a mesmerising robotic, minimalist, mechanical and repetitive character that was simply made for a futurist and surreal film like this. The cyrillic characters of the silent narration only add (for us Westerners, at least) to the mystery and surreality of the whole story, and one can only feel sorry for those who, after all this tour-de-force, feel shortchanged from an unfulfilled need for a more banal storyline. Or aggrieved by the perception of the film as mere propaganda. There's always reruns of Rambo and The Green Berets for you, fellers! It's a pity most cinephiles are oblivious to the existence of this film, as wider availability and screening would ensure its fame as one of the greatest silent, futurist and early modern films.