Soviet science fiction. Through thorns - to the viewer

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Soviet science fiction is an unprecedented phenomenon in world cinema. In the golden fund of the film industry, she is adequately represented by Stalker and Solaris.

Post-revolutionary cinema fiction in the RSFSR

It's no secret that the cinema in the USSR was mainly propaganda. Soviet science fiction was aimed at popularizing the idea of world revolution. Vivid examples of ideological paintings are:

• "Iron Heel" (1919) - adaptation of the novel by D. London. In the film, archaeologists of the future examine documents that describe the death of capitalism.
• A Ghost Walks Europe (1923) - adapted "anti-capitalist" adaptation of Poe's The Masque of the Red Death.

Fantasy about a future war

Soviet science fiction of the 1920s is characterized by an aggressive direction, fantasy films appear on the theme of the military confrontation between the capitalist world and the young Soviet Republic:

1. "Aero NT-54". According to the storyline, the main character, an outstanding engineer, invented the most powerful engine for an airplane, and bourgeois spies immediately hunted him.
2. "Communist"("Russian gas"). The film is about the Soviet discovery of a paralyzing gas that would help win the war against capitalism.
3. Death Ray. A cardinal film for that time, it tells that beam weapons are invented in the USSR and transferred to foreign proletarians who, using the invention, overthrow the power of tyrant capitalists.
4. "Napoleon-gas". In this tape, the plot idea was inverted, i.e. the vile bourgeois created a deadly gas and tried to overthrow Leningrad with it.
5. Miss Mend. Deprived of connection with the literary original, the film adaptation of the Soviet fantasy-adventure novel of the same name by Marietta Shaginyan tells only about another failed attempt by capitalism to destroy the USSR.

Look for Aelita

Soviet science fiction in 1924 was replenished with an outstanding masterpiece, recognized by the world community as a classic of cinema. The film "Aelita" by Yakov Protazanov is based on the work of the same name by A. N. Tolstoy. The picture pays closer attention to showing the life of the post-revolutionary RSFSR. And the so-called "Martian" part of the cinema is staged in the spirit of expressionism. The main character - the daughter of the ruler of Mars Aelita - decides to overthrow the dictatorship of her father Tuskub. At this time, two earthlings arrive on Mars - engineer Los and Red Army soldier Gusev. They actively support the rebellion, which, after several failures, is crowned with success. But, to the soon disappointment of the representatives of mankind, having become the ruler of the planet, Aelitaestablishes the same tyranny.

Film tales and adaptations of literature

Due to the tightening of the party's requirements for culture, post-war Soviet science fiction is delving into folklore, movie fairy tales and screen adaptations of works by classics of Soviet, Russian and world literature are being released:

• folklore movie tales - "Morozko", "Barbara-beauty, long braid";
• literary - "The Tale of Lost Time", "The Kingdom of Crooked Mirrors",
• film adaptations of literary classics - The Deer King, The Man from Nowhere, Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka, Wake Mukhin.

Soviet science fiction was considered an "ideologically ambiguous" direction, so it rarely received state financial support.

Political thaw

Compared to the 20-30s, the 60s became a period of political "thaw", and filmmakers got more freedom. Hopes for the renewal of Soviet society were embodied in the stage of "romantic" adaptations of literary primary sources of the 20-30s. This is how the best Soviet science fiction appeared:

1. Scarlet Sails (1961).
2. Amphibian Man (1961).
3. "Hyperboloid engineer Garin".
4. Three Fat Men (1966).
5. Wave Runner (1967).
6. Cain XVIII (1963).
7. The Ordinary Miracle (1964).

In space for a dream

Soviet science fiction about space, along with Aelita, Planet of Storms, NebulaAndromeda” and “Alien”, is represented by several films, which are unanimously called important breakthroughs in Soviet cinematography. These films are:

1. "Guest from the future".
2. "Alien Ship".
3. "Kin-dza-dza!".
4. "Third Planet".
5. "Charming Aliens".
6. "Don't fly away, earthling!".
7. Witch Dungeon.

New destinations

New directions in the cinematic fiction of the Soviet era are represented by the horror film Viy (1967), the romantic comedy His Name Was Robert, the adventure drama Stalker (1979) and the adapted action movie The Conjuring of the Snake Valley. The Soviet film industry after the 70s often resorted to the fantasy genre. Directors of the USSR found in it the most successful expression of their feelings and thoughts.