A year and a half in the making, it was intended as ideologically correct mass entertainment. The queen of mars has the distinction of being the first big budget movie made in soviet russia. One of the earliest fulllength films about space travel, the most notable part of the film remains its remarkable constructivist martian sets by isaac. It was based on alexei tolstoys novel of the same name. I do recommend downloading the original avi file for a complete viewing experience. Watch the first russian science fiction film, aelita. In this silent russian film, a loner engineer builds his own rocket and flies to the planet mars. Aelita, queen of mars just when you thought it was safe to return to mars. Despite a cool reaction from critics, the film was such a hit with the soviet public that. In a way, this film could be an equal criticism of both.
Queen of mars, is a silent film directed by soviet. With the revolutionary gusev, he travels to mars, but the earthlings and. National film and sound archive of australia nfsa 498 views. Queen of mars, is a silent film directed by soviet filmmaker yakov protazanov made at the mezhrabpomrus film studio and released in 1924. A similar fate almost befell the first russian science fiction film, aelita. Said to be the first fulllength science fiction movie ever made, this influential film about space travel by the. Queen of mars was one of the first science fiction films in 1924. Russian author aleksey tolstoys 1923 science fiction novel brought to the silver screen by soviet filmmaker yakov protazanov in this 1924 scifi film classic whose influence can be seen in other cinema greats like fritz langs woman in the moon and metropolis, flash gordon and.
Aelita queen of mars, 1924 live soundtrack by galina ozeran aka chikiss duration. Queen of mars 1924, one of the earliest and most rarely seen of the silent cinemas sciencefiction fantasies, screens today and saturday at 8 p. Aelita this is called the first soviet science fiction film, because of its futuristic. It is 1921, as the russian civil war is winding down. The queen of mars, like so many of the lowbudget sciencefiction movies that would follow it years later, remains earthbound for the majority of the film, only occasionally teasing the viewer with the mars stuff. Russian and soviet republic director and screenwriter yakov protazanov directed one of the worlds first sciencefiction features, aelita. Mars comes up towards the end of the film, when a rocket sends a crew to mars. The novel was adapted in the soviet union to silent film under the same title shot by yakov protazanov in 1924, and by hungarian director andras rajnai in 1980. Queen of mars, a legendary soviet russian film from 1924 one of those oddball movies that everybody whos into the history of film, and especially the history of science fiction on film, has heard of but few people have actually seen. Nikolai tseretelli and valentina kuindzhi were cast in leading roles. Although this film is quite comic, it exemplifies the shift from humor to realism in science fiction film that was happening throughout the 1920s, as it also conveys a serious tone. Based upon alexei tolstois novel production began in february, 1923, and took over a year to complete.
Aelita, the queen of mars is a socialist science fiction spectacle and in 1924 was the first bigbudget movie from soviet russia. An iris revealing a set of powerlines is followed by a quick cut to an image of an electric current dancing between two wires. Aelita 1924 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. Directed by yakov protazanov released in 1924 complete print, runtime 111. My memory is a little hazy, but im pretty certain it was released to laserdisc soon after, which is how i remember pal charlie ziarko and i watching it a year or two after that. Although most of the movie is earthbound, it is re. Rarely seen, its known mostly from photos featuring oddlygarbed women posing amid disorienting geometric shapes. The film displays the humorous exploits of the bourgeoise zie, and the stark poverty the proletariat suffered in 1924 russia. Aelita is the daughter of tuskub, the ruler of a totalitarian state on mars in which the working.
This is the framebyframe restored version of aelita the original title of the film and play by aleksei tolstoy on which it was based, the added title queen of mars is obviously for international markets. Yakov protazanovs 1924 film, aelita, begins in december of 1921 with the worldwide transmission of a cryptic message. It has sequences on mars and iconic alien designs but most of the film is actually about an embezzlement scheme in the soviet union. Aelita queen of mars 1924 this groundbreaking work of science fiction is not really science fiction.
Jun 24, 2012 aelita1924,english subtitles embedded. Nov 27, 2016 aelita queen of mars 1924 open culture. Queen of mars is a 1924 soviet scifi film directed by yakov protazanov. Jun 17, 2018 aelita, queen of mars 810 ostensibly russiasussrs first scifi film, this political 1924 space fantasy lays down a surprisingly intelligent criticism of the communist revolution, once you look past the clunky, propagandistic symbolism on the surface. Aelita, aka aelita, queen of mars, is a 1924 film from the soviet union, directed by yakov protazanov. Queen of mars, a silent from 1924 that inspired such indispensable classics as flash gordon and fritz langs metropolis. Aelita is the daughter of tuskub, the ruler of a totalitarian state on mars in which the working class are put into. Queen of mars 1924 landmark ussr scifi dvd, mp4, usb. Said to be the first fulllength science fiction movie ever made, this influential film about space travel by the soviet filmmaker yakov protazanov is reimagined by avant guitarist marc ribot with a new score premiered at londons meltdown festival, royal festival hall and recorded live and released on the composer. One of the first fulllength films about space travel, it enabled ordinary. Queen of mars is a stunning portrayel of an interplanetary future.
This highly visually influential 1924 scifi classic from the soviet union is not at all the socialist propaganda it is sometimes lambasted as, but rather a daringly critical and multilayered satire on the concept of the popular revolution. Aelita, queen of mars earthlings arrive in mars 1924 duration. A silent film spectacle, it added jealousy, larceny, murder, farce, and a. The film is based on the eponymous novel by alexi tolstoy. The four hoursemen of the apocalypse full version silent movie.
The director, yakov protazanov, was a prerevolutionary russian film giant. With yuliya solntseva, igor ilyinsky, nikolai tsereteli, nikolay batalov. Aelita, the queen of mars is a socialist science fiction spectacle and in 1924 was. Science fiction movies i 1895 1938 complete films youtube. It was most likely the first feature film to depict space flight and an alien society, and so holds a special place in the history of science fiction. Russian author aleksey tolstoys 1923 science fiction novel brought to the silver screen by soviet filmmaker yakov protazanov in this 1924 scifi film classic whose influence can be seen in other cinema greats like fritz langs woman in the moon and metropolis, flash gordon and flight to mars in the highest dvd quality mpg video. Reddit gives you the best of the internet in one place. Science fiction movies i 1895 1938 complete films, including serials.
New film score movie musical aelita queen of mars with live actors new live silent movie musical. Aelita queen of mars russian sciencefiction film english. Said to be the first full length science fiction movie ever made, this influential film about space travel by the soviet filmmaker yakov protazanov is reimagined by avant guitarist marc ribot with a new score premiered at londons meltdown festival, royal festival hall and recorded live and released on the composer. Aelita is the daughter of tuskub, the ruler of a totalitarian state on mars in. A year and a half in the making, it was intended as ideologically correct mass entertainment which could compete both in russia and abroad with the hollywood films that dominated soviet and world screens while also earning plaudits for artistic innovation such as. It takes an inordinately long time for the main character to reach mars, although mars is shown throughout the film, following aelita, queen of mars as she goes about. Finally though, aelita here called aelita, the queen of mars on the box but not the movie did appear, in a 1991 kino international vhs release. Bfilm science fiction movies of the 1950s had a tradition of standingaroundthelab talkiness and not enough of the good stuff. Jan 10, 2003 the film displays the humorous exploits of the bourgeoise zie, and the stark poverty the proletariat suffered in 1924 russia. Aelita, queen of mars 1924 produced by mezhrabpomrus directed by yakov protazanov, premiered september 30, 1924, at the ars cinema in moscow with a special musical score composed by valentin kruchinin. Queen of mars or simply aelita was a hit but it wasnt the picture that made the reputation of the soviet film industry abroadthe honor of being most famous soviet silent goes to a little picture called battleship potemkin. Queen of mars digitised nfsa national film and sound.