Soviet science fiction. Through thorns - to the viewer

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

Post-revolutionary film fiction in the RSFSR

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

• “The Iron Heel” (1919) - film adaptation of the novel by D. London. In the film, archaeologists of the future examine documents that describe the death of capitalism.
• “A Ghost Roams Europe” (1923) —adapted “anti-capitalist” film adaptation of the novel “The Mask of the Red Death” by Edgar Allan Poe.
  

Fantasies about the future war

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

1. Aero NT-54. According to the storyline, the protagonist, an outstanding engineer, invented the most powerful engine for an airplane, and bourgeois spies immediately hunted him.
2. "Communist" ("Russian gas"). The film tells about the Soviet discovery of a certain paralyzing gas that would help to win the war against capitalism.
3. "Death ray". A cardinal film for that time, it tells us that in the USSR, radiation weapons were invented and transferred to foreign proletarians who, using the invention, overthrow the power of tyrannical capitalists.
4. "Napoleon gas." In this tape, the plot idea was inverted, i.e., the vile bourgeois created a deadly gas and tried to plunge Leningrad with it.
5. Miss Mend. Deprived of connection with the literary original, the film adaptation of the Soviet eponymous science-fiction adventure novel by Marietta Shaginyan tells only about another failed attempt of 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 was shot 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 movie is set in the spirit of expressionism. The main character - the daughter of the lord of Mars Aelit - decides to overthrow the dictatorship of her father Tuskub. At this time, two earthlings fly to Mars - engineer Elk and Red Army soldier Gusev. They actively support the uprising, 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, Aelita establishes the same tyranny.

Cinema Tales and Films

In connection with the tightening of the party's requirements for culture, post-war Soviet science fiction goes deeper into folklore, movie shorts and film adaptations of the works of the classics of Soviet, Russian and world literature come out:

• folklore movie tales - “Frost”, “Barbarian Beauty, a long braid”;
• literary - “The Tale of Lost Time”, “Kingdom of Crooked Mirrors”,
• adaptations of literary classics - “The Deer King”, “A Man from Nowhere”, “Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka”, “Wake Mukhin”.

Soviet science fiction was considered an “ideologically ambiguous” direction, and therefore it was rarely awarded 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 the literary primary sources of the 20-30s. So the best Soviet science fiction appeared:

1. Scarlet Sails (1961).
2. Amphibian Man (1961).
3. "Hyperboloid engineer Garin."
4. Three Fat Men (1966).
5. “Running along the waves” (1967).
6. "Cain XVIII" (1963).
7. “Ordinary Miracle” (1964).

To space for a dream

Soviet science fiction about space, along with Aelita, Planet of the Storms, Andromeda Nebula and Alien, is represented by several films, which are unanimously called important breakthroughs in Soviet cinema. These films are:

1. "Guest from the future."
2. "The alien ship."
3. "Kin-Dza-Dza!".
4. The Third Planet.
5. "Charming aliens."
6. "Do not fly away, earthling!"
7. "Dungeon of the Witches."

New directions

New directions in the science fiction of the USSR era are represented by the horror film “Wii” (1967), the romantic comedy “His Name was Robert”, the adventure drama “Stalker” (1979) and the adapted action movie “The Curse of the Serpent of Snakes”. After the 70s, the Soviet film industry often resorted to the genre of fiction. The directors of the USSR found in it the most successful expression of their feelings and thoughts.