film and architecture section: Aelita: Queen of Mars by Yakov Protazanov, Architecture and Film appreciation

category: Architecture and Film (The waterloo University syllabus) (click HERE for syllabus)
film index: 42

film: Aelita: Queen of Mars
director: Yakov Protazanov
writers: Fedor Ozep
production: USSR
release: September 25, 1924
playtime: 113 mins
visual: BnW
Language: silent
Subtitles:
Genre: sci fi, adventure
Cast: Yulia Solntseva, Igor Ilyinsky, Nikolai Tsereteli, Nikolai Batalov, Vera Orlova
size: 734 mb

reference: www.taringa.net, www.otkaceni-forum.com

Description and download:

This is called the first Soviet science fiction film because of its "futuristic" sets on Mars, although most of it takes place in Moscow. The movie is set at the beginning of the NEP (New Economic Policy) in December, 1921. A mysterious radio message is beamed around the world, and among the engineers who receive it are Los, the hero, and his colleague Spiridonov. Los is an individualist dreamer. Aelita is the daughter of Tuskub, the ruler of a totalitarian state on Mars in which the working classe are put into cold storage when they are not needed. With a telescope, Aelita is able to watch Los. As if by telepathy, Los obsesses about being watched by her. After some hugger-mugger involving the murder of his wife and a pursuing detective, Los takes the identity of Spiridonov and builds a spaceship. With the revolutionary Gusev, he travels to Mars, but the Earthlings and Aelita are thrown into prison by the dictator. Gusev and Los begin a proletarian uprising, and Aelita offers to lead the revolution, but she then establishes her own totalitarian regime. Los is shocked by this development and attempts to stop Aelita, and then reality and fantasy become confused, and Los discovers what has really happened.

Probably the first full-length movie about space travel, the most notable part of the film remains its remarkable constructivist Martian sets and costumes designed by Aleksandra Ekster. Their influence can be seen in a number of later films, including the Flash Gordon serials and probably Fritz Lang's Metropolis. Parts of the plot were also loosely adapted for the 1951 film Flight to Mars.

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.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0014646/
Wikipedia link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aelita:_Queen_of_Mars

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Saturday, November 14, 2009

Aelita: Queen of Mars by Yakov Protazanov, Architecture and Film appreciation

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