Silent Visionaries: How a Forgotten Russian Epic Inspired Sci-Fi's Greatest Icons

A century ago, a groundbreaking silent film, Aelita: Queen of Mars, was released, sparking a chain reaction of creative influence that would echo through the decades. Born from the innovative minds of Russian filmmakers, this masterpiece has silently inspired some of the most iconic sci-fi movies of all time. Starting with Fritz Lang's Metropolis and culminating in Roland Emmerich's Independence Day, Aelita's impact on the genre is undeniable. Aelita tells the story of a group of people in post-civil war Soviet Russia struggling to rebuild their society. The film's protagonist, Los, is an engineer obsessed with going to Mars, where he becomes entangled in a fantasy world filled with constructivist sets and extravagant costumes. These visuals would later influence the works of Lang, including Metropolis and Woman in the Moon, both produced at Germany's UFA Studios, where Protazanov had worked before returning to Russia after the revolution. As the Soviet Union grappled with the reconstruction of its society, Aelita used science fiction as a lens to explore the motivations behind socialist uprisings. Los joins forces with the enigmatic Aelita to lead a rebellion against the Martian Elders, who live in luxury above the surface while keeping the workers enslaved underground. This framework of the oppressed rising against their oppressors has continued to resonate throughout the sci-fi genre, appearing in films like George Lucas's THX 1138 and Michael Bay's The Island. Aelita's influence spilled over to the United States, inspiring the look of the popular Flash Gordon serials in the 1930s. Even as the film's political message was often lost on American audiences, its aesthetics continued to shape the genre. By the mid-century, films about Mars became linked to the Red Scare, but Aelita's visual style and themes continued to influence the genre. From the 1951 low-budget film Flight to Mars to the 1980s space opera revival of Flash Gordon, Aelita's unique style has continued to shape the sci-fi storytelling landscape. Even queer sci-fi films like Liquid Sky, with its Constructivist-inspired aesthetic, owe a debt to Aelita's innovative vision.