Aelita, the Queen of Mars (1924)
Aelita, the Queen of Mars (1924)
„Aelita, the Queen of Mars“ (Aelita) is a 1924 Black & White silent science fiction film by Yakov Protazanov.
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, an engineer who is obsessed with the idea of going to Mars. This inspires him to daydream about Mars and a strange civilization there. Among them are Aelita, the queen; Tuskub, the actual ruler; and Ikhoshka, 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 is pestered by Erlikh, 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, an intellectual engineer and friend of Los’s, is being quietly swindled by Erlikh. He disappears; a would-be detective, Kratsov (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, 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.
A 1924 Soviet Black & White silent science fiction film (Russian: Аэли́та) directed by Yakov Protazanov, written by Fedor Ozep, based on Alexei Tolstoy’s 1923 play of the same name, cinematography by Emil Schünemann and Yuri Zhelyabuzhsky, starring Nikolai Tseretelli, Valentina Kuindzhi, Pavel Pol, Igor Ilyinsky, Nikolai Batalov, Vera Orlova, Konstantin Eggert, Yuri Zavadsky, and Aleksandra Peregonets. Screen debut appearances of Yuliya Solntseva and Sofya Levitina. Produced at the Mezhrabpom-Rus film studio.
This was director Yakov Protazanov’s first film after returning to the Soviet Union from his exile in Paris. At the international exhibition of decorative arts, 1925 Paris Expo, Yakov Protazanov was given an award for this film.
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. Their influence can be seen in a number of later films, including the Flash Gordon serials, Fritz Lang’s „Metropolis“ (1927) and „Woman in the Moon“ (1929) and „Liquid Sky“ (1982).
Parts of the plot were loosely adapted for „Flight to Mars“ (1951).
This movie became such a hit in the Soviet Union that many new parents named their little girls „Aelita“. While popular with the public, it was out of favor with Soviet critics.
In the United States, Aelita was edited and titled by Benjamin De Casseres for release as „Aelita: Revolt of the Robots“ (1929).
Cast:
- Yuliya Solntseva – Aelita, Queen of Mars
- Igor Ilyinsky – Kravtsov, amateur sleuth
- Nikolai Tsereteli – Engineer Los / Evguieni Spiridinov
- Nikolay Batalov – Gusev, Red Army Soldier
- Vera Orlova – Nurse Masha, Gusev’s Wife
- Valentina Kuindzhi – Natasha, Los’ Wife
- Pavel Pol – Viktor Ehrlich, Sugar Profiteer
- Konstantin Eggert – Tuskub, Ruler of Mars
- Yuri Zavadsky – Gol, Radiant Energy Tower Guardian
- Aleksandra Peregonets – Ihoshka, Aelita’s Maidservant
- Sofya Levitina – President House Committee
- Varvara Massalitinova – Neighbour at funeral
- Mikhail Zharov – Actor in Play
- Tamara Adelgeym – Neighbour at funeral
- Iosif Tolchanov – Mars Astronomer with Ihoshka
- Vladimir Uralskiy – Soldier
- N. Tretyakova – Yelena, Ehrlich’s Wife
- Ivan Chuvelyov – Actor in Play
- Vera Drutskaya – Guest at Illegal Bal
- Galina Kravchenko – Neighbout at Illegal Bal
- Viktor Latyshevskiy – Guest at Illegal Bal
- Elena Lenskaya – Guest at Illegal Bal
- Boris Lifanov – Guest at Illegal Bal
- Leonid Obolensky – Guest at Illegal Bal
- Naum Rogozhin – British Officer
- Mark Tsibulsky – Host at Illegal Bal
- Lev Tumanov – Radio Station Engineer
- Nikolay Vishnyak – Appearing
- G.K. Volkonskaya – Guest at Illegal Bal
