Stalker (1979)

User Rating:

8.1/10   

Director:

Andrei Tarkovsky

Writers:

Arkadi Strugatsky (novel) &
Boris Strugatsky (novel) ...

Release Date:

17 April 1980 (Netherlands)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Fantasy | Mystery | Sci-Fi

Plot:

Near a gray and unnamed city is the Zone, an alien place guarded by barbed wire and soldiers. Over his wife's numerous objections...

Plot Keywords:

Stalker | Writer | Barbed Wire | Hope | Alien

Awards:

2 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Aleksandr Kaidanovsky	...	Stalker
Alisa Frejndlikh	...	Stalker's Wife
Anatoli Solonitsyn	...	Writer
Nikolai Grinko	...	Scientist
Natasha Abramova	...	Martha, Stalker's daughter
Faime Jurno
Ye. Kostin
R. Rendi

Also Known As:

Сталкер (Soviet Union: Russian title)
La zona (Argentina) [es]
Stalker (France) [fr]
Stalker (Poland) [pl]
Stalker (Sweden) [sv]
Stalker (Finland) [fi]
Stalker (Spain) [es]
Sztalker (Hungary) [hu]

Runtime:

163 min

Country:

West Germany | Soviet Union

Language:

Russian

Color:

Color (Sovcolor) | Black and White | Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Italy:T | Iceland:L | UK:A (1980) | UK:PG (1991) | Australia:M | Australia:PG (DVD rating) | South Korea:15 | Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | Finland:K-12 | Sweden:15 | West Germany:12 | Hong Kong:I | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Dolgopa, Russia

Company:

Gambaroff-Chemier Interallianz

Trivia:

The original negatives were destroyed (by a processing error at the laboratory) and the film had to be shot again from scratch with a new director of photography.

Quotes:

Stalker: The Zone wants to be respected. Otherwise it will punish.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Die Tochter (2008)

Soundtrack:

An die Freude

It is high art - pause anytime during viewing and enjoy

For me, it's, quite simply, the best film ever made; Don't you find you can pause any Tarkovsky film at any moment and the art on your screen is good enough to have as a poster on your wall for life ? With Stalker it is doubly true. The first time I experienced the tunnel scene my heart nearly stopped. This was in 1984 I watched the TV listings in England for 20 years waiting for a repeat - finally buying the DVD in 2004, though I couldn't really afford it. Proof that a SCI-FI film does not need tons of effects to work. In a science fiction film book I read years ago they rated Stalker as the only film ever made deserving full marks in all 3 sections. Imagine if Tarkovsky had made a film of one of PKD's novels ?! OK, I'm dreaming ?! We are lucky to have been blessed by his genius. The good die young. All the best, Rich (English, 38 yrs, Paris)