Stalker (1979)

A guide leads two men through an area known as the Zone to find a room that grants wishes.

Director:

Andrei Tarkovsky

Writers:

Arkadiy Strugatskiy (novel), Boris Strugatskiy (novel)

Stars:

Alisa Freyndlikh, Aleksandr Kaydanovskiy, Anatoliy Solonitsyn

Top Rated Movies #192 | 2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Alisa Freyndlikh	...	Zhena Stalkera
Aleksandr Kaydanovskiy	...	Stalker
Anatoliy Solonitsyn	...	Pisatel
Nikolay Grinko	...	Professor
Natalya Abramova	...	Marta, doch Stalkera (as Natasha Abramova)
Faime Jurno	...	Sobesednitsa Pisatelya (as F. Yurna)
E. Kostin	...	Lyuger, khozyain kafe
Raymo Rendi	...	Patrulnyy politseyskiy (as R. Rendi)

Storyline

In a small, unnamed country there is an area called the Zone. It is apparently inhabited by aliens and contains the Room, where in it is believed wishes are granted. The government has declared The Zone a no-go area and have sealed off the area with barbed wire and border guards. However, this has not stopped people from attempting to enter the Zone. We follow one such party, made up of a writer, who wants to use the experience as inspiration for his writing, and a professor, who wants to research the Zone for scientific purposes. Their guide is a man to whom the Zone is everything, the Stalker.

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Plot Keywords:

guide | writer | ringing phone | phone ringing | telephone conversation | 

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Genres:

Drama | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Soviet Union

Language:

Russian

Release Date:

17 April 1980 (Netherlands)

Also Known As:

Stalker

Filming Locations:

Dolgopa, Russia

Box Office

Budget:

RUR 6,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$20,540, 5 May 2017, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$234,723, 14 July 2017

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mosfilm, Vtoroe Tvorcheskoe Obedinenie

Technical Specs

Runtime:

162 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Sovcolor) Black and White Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When the Stalker is referred to as 'Chingachgook' and 'Leatherstocking,' these are references to characters in James Fenimore Cooper's novel "The Last of the Mohicans."

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Quotes

[first lines]
Stalker's Wife: [sub-titled from Russian] Why did you take my watch?

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Connections

Referenced in Play It Again, Hristo (2007)

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Soundtracks

La Marseillaise
Written by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle

User Reviews

Mesmerizing, intelligent and haunting …yet overlong and inconsistent

Stalker (1979)***½ Stalker is rich, spiritual and contemplative journey through the fantastic inner world of human's hope, desire, disillusions and believes. Main characters, Writer (as incarnation of irrational, imaginative and emotional aspects of our nature or subconsciousness) and Scientist (rational, logic forces or consciousness) are guided by Stalker (symbolizing our desire, will and everlasting search of meaning) to the mysterious Zone (which may represent all our spiritual goals, meanings, struggles to achieve them and barriers in our path). Breathtaking and mesmerizing images and sounds, witty dialog and strong concept are the major virtues of this feature. Writer's monologues are among the most meaningful, thought-provoking and spiritual moments I ever experienced in any art. But the movie is overlong losing its powerful initial momentum and becoming inconsistent in it's final message (by final I don't mean last in chronology but overall). Tarkovsky's earlier SF drama "Solaris" is more structured and fully developed. Nevertheless, Stalker is an outstanding piece of art movie that puts its director among the few true cinema masters. Rating: 8.5/10