Aelita (Russian: Аэлита), also known as Aelita: Queen of Mars, is a silent movie directed by Soviet filmmaker Yakov Protazanov and released in 1924. It was based on Alexei Tolstoy's novel of the same name. Mikhail Zharov and Igor Ilyinsky were cast in leading roles. For other uses see film (disambiguation) Film refers to the celluliod media on which movies are printed Film — also called movies, the cinema, the silver screen, moving pictures, photoplays, picture shows, flicks, or motion pictures, — is a field that encompasses motion pictures as an art form or as part of... State motto (Russian): Пролетарии всех стран, соединяйтесь! (Transliterated: Proletarii vsekh stran, soedinyaytes!) (Translated: Workers of the world, unite!) Capital Moscow Official language None; Russian (de facto) Government Federation of Socialist republics/ Communist state Area  - Total  - % water Largest on the planet 22,402,200 km² ?% Population  - Total  - Density 3rd before collapse 293,047,571 (July... Yakov A. Protazanov Yakov Alexandrovich Protazanov (1881-1945) was one of the founding fathers of cinema of Russia. ... 1924 (MCMXXIV) was a leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Aleksei Nikolaevich Tolstoi (Russian: Алексей Николаевич Толстой) (January 10, 1883 (December 29 1882 (O.S.)) - February 23, 1945), nicknamed the Comrade Count, was a Soviet Russian writer who was most famous for science fiction and historical novels. ... Mikhail Ivanovich Zharov (1900-1981) was one of the most celebrated Soviet actors, Peoples Artist of the USSR (1949) and Hero of Socialist Labour (1974). ... Igor V. Ilyinsky Igor Vladimirovich Ilyinsky (1901-1987) was the favorite comic actor of Vsevolod Meyerhold who starred in a number of his world-famous productions, including Magnificent Cuckold (1922), Vladimir Mayakovskys Bedbug (1928), and Nikolai Gogols Inspector General (1926). ...

A 1927 poster advertising the movie.

Though the main focus of the story is the daily lives of a small group of people during the post-war Soviet Union, the enduring importance of the film comes from its early science fiction elements. It primarily tells of a young man, Loss, traveling to Mars in a rocket ship, where he leads a popular uprising against the king, with the support of Queen Aelita who has fallen in love with him after watching him through a telescope. Probably the first full-length movie about space travel, the most notable part of the film remains its remarkable constructivist Martian sets and costumes. Their influence can be seen in a number of later films, including the Flash Gordon serials and probably Fritz Lang's Metropolis. While very popular at first, the film later fell out of favor with the Soviet government and was thus very difficult to see until after the Cold War. ImageMetadata File history File links Aelita. ... ImageMetadata File history File links Aelita. ... Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the solar system, named after the Roman god of war (the counterpart of the Greek Ares), on account of its blood red color as viewed in the night sky. ... A Redstone rocket, part of the Mercury program A rocket is a vehicle, missile or aircraft which obtains thrust by the reaction to the ejection of fast moving exhaust gas from within a rocket engine. ... 50 cm refracting telescope at Nice Observatory. ... Space exploration is the physical exploration of outer-Earth objects and generally anything that involves the technologies, science, and politics regarding space endeavors. ... In art and architecture, constructivism was an artistic movement in Russia from 1914 onward, which dismissed pure art in favour of art used as an instrument for social purposes (namedly, the construction of the socialist system). ... Flash Gordon is a science fiction comic strip originally drawn by Alex Raymond, first published on January 7, 1934. ... Fritz Lang Friedrich Anton Christian Lang (December 5, 1890 - August 2, 1976) was an Austrian film director, screenwriter and occasional film producer, one of the best known emigrés from Germanys school of expressionism to work in Hollywood. ... Metropolis Metropolis is a science fiction film produced in Germany set in a futuristic urban dystopia. ...

Ideological Significance

During the climax of the film, Gusev (the Bolshevik revolutionary soldier) stages a proletariat revolution with Queen Aelita's help. While these scenes may seem propagandistic, in some ways the movie is anti-revolutionary. Both Gusev and Loss escape to Mars because of their dissatisfaction with domestic life; Gusev's wife is over-protective and he longs for revolution, and Loss seemingly kills his wife in passionate anger. Furthermore, Aelita allows the revolution to happen only so that she can overthrow the dictatorship that keeps her from ruling. After the army falls under the sway of the revolutionaries, Aelita commands the soldiers to force the worker slaves back underground. Loss kills Aelita to stop her from taking over, seeing her as his wife - he then wakes up, aware that the scenes on Mars were entirely fantasy, and goes home to find that his wife is still alive. Leaders of the Bolshevik Party and the Communist International, a painting by Malcolm McAllister on the Pathfinder Mural in New York City and on the cover of the book Lenin’s Final Fight published by Pathfinder. ... The proletariat (from Latin proles, offspring) is a term used to identify a lower social class; a member of such a class is proletarian. ... In modern usage, Dictator refers to an absolutist or autocratic ruler who governs outside the rule of law. ...

Aelita's manipulation is directly opposed to what she represents to Loss, and serves as a stunning reminder of how revolution can go wrong. The not-so-subtle implications of Aelita's manipulation of the revolution obviously point towards Lenin's own revolution. While Natasha (Loss' wife) is presented as a symbol of communism and the movie has a decidedly pro-communist stance, revolution is carried out by flawed characters, all of whom are opposed to the domestic life the director so lovingly presents. Indeed, Protazanov's film points not to revolution as a tool for growth, but rather rebuilding - the Russian Revolution isn't the backdrop for the film, but rather Lenin's New Economic Policy period of mild capitalism used for rebuilding after World War I. Vladimir Ilyich Lenin ( Russian: Влади́мир Ильи́ч Ле́нин  listen?), original surname Ulyanov (Улья́нов) ( April 22 (April 10 ( O.S.)), 1870 – January 21, 1924), was a Russian revolutionary, the leader of the Bolshevik party, the first Premier of the Soviet Union, and the founder of the ideology of Leninism. ... The New Economic Policy (NEP) was officially decided in the course of the 10th Congress of the Russian Communist Party. ... Clockwise from top: Trenches in frontline, a British Mark I Tank crossing a trench, the Royal Navy battleship HMS Irresistible sinking after striking a mine at the battle of the Dardanelles, a Vickers machine gun crew with gas masks and a Sopwith Camel biplane. ...

See also

• Mars in fiction

Fictional representations of Mars have been popular for over a century. ...

External links

• Aelita on IMDB
• "Science Fiction of the Domestic" by Andrew J. Horton