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 The Runestone (1990)

Aelita as missing-link to Metropolis

Although it gets billed as a front for Soviet propaganda, this film seems to be outstanding in relationship to the time it was made and its phenomenal use of set design and production values. As just a piece of visual decoration it stands as a far advanced

futuristic film in comparison to that hot-pants junker

METROPOLIS -- which owes a deeper, (or at least equal) debt to

Russian constructivist design then to its German Expressionist

roots. AELITA is one of the most seductive and rich films in silent

cinema --if you can get past the storyline and plot development--

which should never interrupt WATCHING a film.