Aelita: Queen of Mars

Name: Aelita: Queen of Mars
Genre: Science Fiction, Drama, Fantasy
Released: 1924-09-24
Duration: 1 h 51 min
Rating: 6.7
Cast: Yuliya Solntseva, Igor Ilyinsky, Nikolai Tseretelli, Nikolai Batalov, Vera Orlova

Аэлита (1924)

1:51 (111 min)

Science Fiction, Drama, Fantasy

Soviet Union

6.7/10
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6/10
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All about film

Video 1

Photo 15

Actors and characters

Watch film Aelita: Queen of Mars — Aelita: Queen of Mars Trailer

1:23

Photo 15

Production

Mezhrabpomfilm

Release date

24 September 1924

Director

Yakov Protazanov

Scenario

Aleksei Tolstoy

Author

Producer

Moisey Aleynikov

All team (17)

Actors

Yuliya Solntseva

Aelita, Queen of Mars

Igor Ilyinsky

Kravtsov - amateur sleuth

Nikolai Tseretelli

Evguieni Spiridinov

Nikolai Batalov

Gusev, Red Army Soldier

Vera Orlova

Nurse Masha, Gusev's Wife

Valentina Kuindzhi

Natasha, Los' Wife (as Vera Kuindzhi)

Pavel Pol

Viktor Ehrlich, Sugar Profiteer

Konstantin Eggert

Tuskub, Ruler of Mars

All actors and roles (10)

Short description

A young man travels to Mars in a rocket ship, where he leads a popular uprising against the ruling group with the support of Queen Aelita, who has fallen in love with him after watching him through a telescope.

What's left behind the scenes

On October 15, 1924, a debate about the film took place at the GAKhN film commission, featuring an introductory report by V. K. Turkin. On December 3, at a meeting of the commission of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) for the political leadership of cinema organizations, Mezhrabpom-Rus's petition to export "Aelita" abroad for screening was denied.
The film is based on the novel 'Aelita' (1923) by Aleksey Tolstoy.
The Martian sets were created by Viktor Simov in the spirit of Constructivism, while the costume design was developed by Moscow Art Theatre costume designers Isaac Rabinovich and Alexandra Exter, with the participation of Nadezhda Lamanova.
The film's release was preceded by an unprecedented newspaper advertising campaign that began approximately six months before the premiere—on February 26, 1924, in "Kino-Gazeta" (published by the Mezhrabpom-Rus film company itself), where intriguing advertisements initially appeared with the text "ANTA… ODELI… UTA…" without any explanation (though in some cases, several such ads appeared on a single page). From April 15, the ads were accompanied by explanatory text: "For some time, radio stations around the world have been receiving mysterious signals…" Closer to the premiere (September 19), the newspaper "Pravda" joined the campaign, presenting the mysterious signal in a more "transparent" form: "Anta… odELI… uTA," and in an advertisement published on September 24, the intriguing inscription was directly included in the announcement for the film's premiere screening at the ARS cinema.
"Aelita" was Yakov Protazanov's first film after returning from emigration.
Nikolai Khodataev, Zenon Komissarenko, and Yuri Merkulov—organizers of the USSR's first experimental animation workshop at the State Cinema Technical School—suggested that Protazanov incorporate animated episodes into the film, but the director declined the experiment. Ultimately, the prepared sketches were used to create the science-fiction animated film "Interplanetary Revolution" (1924).