Aelita - Queen of Mars (1924)

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Cinema School Cycle

The RUSCICO Company

Presents a new project.

The first in national history films

in a Science Fiction and Fantasy genre.

"AELITA"
by Yakov Protazanov

Based upon Alexei Tolstoy's novel
of the same name.

The film is released after a
frame-by-frame restoration of the image

and with a new musical arrangement

using the works of composers

Alexander Skryabin,
Igor Stravinsky

and Alexander Glazunov.

On December th , at :
European Standard Time,

all the radio stations on Earth
received a strange message.

Anta... Odeli... Uta...

Anta... Odeli... Uta...

Anta... Odeli... Uta...

In charge of the Moscow radio station
was Engineer Los.

Pass it immediately to the Bureau
of Deciphering.

At the Evacuation Center of the Kursky
Railway Station.

Among the employees of the center
was Natasha, Engineer Los' wife.

Red Army soldier Gusev arrived
from the front for recuperation.

The Deciphering Bureau failed to
make out the mysterious message.

- Couldn't it be a radio transmission
from Mars to our scientists and inventors?

Los' close friend and colleague -
Engineer Spiridonov.

Anything is possible!
Perhaps --

...they on Mars got worried
about you and I!

Come here, happy newlywed.
Your wife is calling again.

I can leave early today.
Come and meet me.

Anta... Odeli... Uta... :

All of Los' brain power and energy
has been devoted to one task...

-the trip to Mars, and in his
imagination he often pictures...

Aelita the Queen.

Ihoshka, Aelita's favorite maidservant.

Tuskub the Ruler.

Gol, Radiant Energy Tower Guardian.

A model of the apparatus built by Gol

for observing life
on other planets.

It's a great discovery, but let it
remain a secret... for everybody!

Show me other worlds...
No one will know about it.

All right... In the evening I'll meet
you at the tower of radiant energy...

Later... that evening...

Only to you, do I show life
on a neighboring planet.

Time to go back.
Tuskub may come and see us.

Touch my lips with yours,
like humans do... on Earth.

Spiridonov spent his evenings
at his friend's place,

working with him to build
a spaceship to fly to Mars.

If only we could find
a source of energy

that would overcome
Earth's gravity!

From the first day, Gusev had
become the infirmary's favorite.

Nurse Masha

"Love me or not, honey!"
"A soldier got no money!"

In the railways
had no lack of passengers.

Comrade Erlich and his wife, Yelena

We don't provide quarters.
Go to the women's section.

You're so...

Get out of here!
What the cheek!

Viktor, I have the address of an old
acquaintance... Let's give it a try!

That day they were distributing food
rations at the Evacuation Center.

I'm not angry... about the past,
Yelena.

Introduce me to him
as your brother.

White Bread...

Viktor Karlovich Erlich

Who's this character writing to you?

You're so charming
that I cannot believe

you would be so cruel to me...

You're jealous, aren't you?

The food Erlich brought
made it possible to have

a feast that was rare for Moscow,
and remember "the beautiful past".

What the hell! It's sour, this wine!
I remember the wine we had before...

Oh ! Before, all human relationships
were so sensitive, delicate...

Yes... Before we had order...

The days went on... Los stubbornly
continued his experiments.

After each failed experiment,
Los went on dreaming...

Anta, Odeli, Uta

Excuse me! I'm the Chairman of
the House Committee, I serve you notice.

You'll have to vacate your
laboratory for a new tenant.

You know, we have met before.
Do you remember?

This is Erlich,
our new tenant.

At the Evacuation Center, people
were actively preparing for a show.

Join us... We're having such fun!

Yelena was successfully carrying out
her husband's instructions.

On the day of the show, Natasha
received a food ration at the club.

As a Soviet functionary,
Erlich was doing fine.

To Mr. Pavlov - one sack of sugar.

I've brought sugar... We must hide it!
Hurry!

I told you we could pluck
that goose.

The Evacuation Center's people decided
to outdo the academic theaters.

Comrade Gusev is our chief
assistant director.

The chocolate is real!

I have to go home.
I got a lot of work.

At the distribution center,
an unpleasant discovery was made.

The center's manager contacted the
Chief of Criminal Investigation for help.

Investigate it and, if necessary,
search Erlich's apartment.

I've got talent. By God, I've got it...
I'll prove it to you!

Citizen Kravtsov,
I repeat again:

I am not hiring you.
I believe you're incompetent.

For the Indian ink, it was necessary
to go to Spiridonov.

Got tired, comrade? I sympathize.
I sympathize with you very much.

I know everything... I found it
in your coat pocket...

You're lying. You're lying all the time!

The night seemed agonizingly
long after that first quarrel.

Would you like to go to a Ball and
have fun in spite of all the comrades?

To Engineer M.S. Los,
The administration of Volkhovstroi

thanks you for almost
a year of dedicated work...

Will you go?

Kravtsov decided to investigate on
his own the case of the lost sugar.

The meeting place of "Businessmen"...

All tickets are sold out.
You'll make good money!

What a miser! In a whole
week, just one medallion!

Each reminder of the
mysterious radio transmission

made his fantasy
grow that much stronger.

For many days now Aelita
was not permitted to see Earth...

Today is the meeting of the Elders.

No one will know if you
go to the tower.

How dare you hide from me
the apparatus built by Gol?

You're a queen, but we're the rulers.
The tower will remain closed.

So, by the decision of the Elders,

a third of the living workforce
is put into cold storage for keeping.

All the workers - the population
toiling for the "Elders",

never left
their dungeons.

The first third to the cold storage!
The first third!

Are you avoiding me, Aelita?
Your thoughts are occupied with an Earthman...

Wait for me here.
I'll come out to you.

Martians were not alien
to a feeling of jealousy...

You're in love with an Earthman.
You will never see him!

I'm leaving with you all the designs
of my "interplanetonef".

Save them.
This is my lifes work.

Are you going alone?
How about Natasha?

Natasha was impatiently waiting for
her husband...

Let's go to the Ball.
There'll be upper crust society there.

I'm sure your husband won't mind.

Let's go! To spite him!
Let's have fun!

Anta, Odeli, Uta

ill*gal Ball
of the "select society".

The Ball's organizers talked Natasha
into having supper with them.

I thought you were at the station
seeing off your husband going on a trip.

My ravishing, my dear.

Stay for at least half an hour.
Well, a quarter of an hour.

I have to leave today. I regret
I couldn't say goodbye to you.

I may be on this business trip
for a long time. Yours, L.

The only joy for Los was
the realization that he, too,

could take part in the great work
of building the new Russia.

Slowly, yet inevitably, life
was taking its normal course,

and there was less and less work
at the Evacuation Center...

Allow me to go and see off
this torturer...

Moscow. March , . It's been
over months since your departure,

and in this time you've sent me
only postcards. If it's the end...

SOVIET
Krasnopresnensky District

MARRIAGE REGISTRY OFFICE

With the Evacuation Center closed,
Natasha went to work in a Kindergarten.

Los' business trip
was coming to an end.

To Engineer M.S. Los.

The administration of "VOLKHOVSTROl"
thanks you for your -month work.

Dear friend! It's been months now
since I left Russia... -for good.

I feel ashamed to admit it,
but the ways and habits of the past

proved stronger than I...

I hid your designs in the fireplace
in your room, where...

And the dream took hold of him again.

In his dreams Los disguises
himself as Spiridonov.

It's strange... He hasn't showed up
for two months,

and today he appears as though
he fell from another planet.

The new crime was promising
new laurels for Kravtsov.

A suspicious character.
We must find out who he is.

At one of the out-of-the-way
outskirts of Moscow.

Kravtsov at his work.

Don't touch it! By this glove
I'll find the criminal.

The absence of foreign
and home fronts,

as well as the enforced inaction,
burdened Gusev.

I can't do nothing!

I've established four republics,
and now I'm going sour here...

Hot on the trail.

I'm arresting you on a charge of...

Do you have a warrant?

About the flight... I'll go
with my great pleasure!

Think it over, comrade. It's a lot
of risk and very little profit...

The heights I'm reaching!
I'm flying to Mars tomorrow!

On the eve of the flight, the last
workers were let to go home.

Next morning Moscow was celebrating
one of the great Revolution days.

Where a good detective cannot
ride, he will walk.

Five minutes before the flight.

- We're flying! We're flying!

Engineer Spiridonov, you're under
arrest for unauthorized return to the RSFSR

and m*rder of Engineer Los' wife.

Some Pinkerton! Couldn't tell
a false beard and a wig.

In that case... Engineer Los,
you're under arrest for...

Living under someone else's disguise.

This projectile is coming from Earth!

The observatory will fix the time
and location of the projectile's fall.

The aliens from Earth must be
destroyed.

You must not do harm
to the aliens from Earth.

They'll be destroyed! We won't let
the plague of Earth invade Mars!

I know when and where
the projectile landed.

The "Elders" did not leave,
waiting for the Observatory's report.

Hurry to meet the guests from
Earth and bring them to me.

The moment indicated by Chief
Astronomer was nearing.

Comrades, are you from the militia?
A man here must be arrested.

May I introduce myself? Commander
Gusev from the Budyonny Cavalry.

Tuskub! Tuskub!
This is an Earthman!

Comrade Tuskubov, allow me,
by my mandate,

to arrest the criminal Los
who arrived in your territory.

Touch my lips with yours,
like you do it on Earth...

Do you recognize this necklace,
Tuskub?

"Love me or not, honey!"
"A soldier got no money!"

You're mine! We'll be ruling
over everybody here together!

Never! Never will I forgive myself
for raising my hand against you!

Aelita, on the "Elders'" orders,
this Earthman is under arrest.

The free speech of free men has won over
the "Elders" thousand-year hypnosis.

Comrades! Only you
can help yourselves!

We had the same situation.
Everything began with...

October ,

...following our example, comrades,
form one working family

of the Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics of Mars.

I'm with you! I will lead you!

I don't believe her... It's not
for the masters to make revolutions!

You've got power.
Lay down your arms,

you will never need them
again on Mars.

Victory! The troops are on our side!

Open fire on the insurgents!
Drive them back to the dungeons!

I alone will reign
and rule now!

ANTA, ODELI, UTA

Buy tires by
ANTA, ODELI, UTA

Buy tires by
ANTA... ODELI... UTA!

We're exposing the mysterious radio -
it's our tires trademark.

We're going to the Far East Front.
Our train will be in an hour.

And I've been dreaming again...
Half an hour ago I k*lled my wife...

But I'm not running away, no...
I'll go back to her...

We can't leave the man like that.
He may need help!

I was insane
when I was sh**ting at you...

I'll be thanking providence all my
life for having missed.

Do you still have any doubts?

No, I believe you... Forgive me.

By the order of a court
investigator, you're under arrest.

Enough of dreaming. A different,
real work is awaiting all of us!

THE END