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Stalker: A Film by Andrei Tarkovsky
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Additional DVD options | Edition | Discs | Price | New from | Used from |
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July 18, 2017 "Please retry" | DVD | 2 |
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| $17.53 | $18.89 |
DVD
October 15, 2002 "Please retry" | — | 2 |
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| — | $26.99 |
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August 22, 2016 "Please retry" | — | 1 |
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| — | $39.98 |
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Product Description
Product description
Stalker
Amazon.com
Challenging, provocative, and ultimately rewarding, Andrei Tarkovsky's Stalker is a mind-bending experience that defies explanation. Like Tarkovsky's earlier and similarly enigmatic science fiction classic Solaris, this long, slow, meditative masterpiece demands patience and total attention; anyone accustomed to faster pacing is likely to abandon the nearly three-hour film before its first hour is over. On the other hand, those who approach Tarkovsky's work in a properly receptive (and wide awake) frame of mind are likely to appreciate the film's seductive depth of theme and hypnotic imagery. Set in what appears to be a post-apocalyptic future (although the time-frame is never specified), the eerie and unsettling story focuses on the title character, Stalker (Aleksandr Kajdanovsky), who leads characters known only as the Writer (Anatoli Solonitsyn) and the Scientist (or Professor, played by Nikolai Grinko) into a mysterious region called The Zone. Tarkovsky films their journey as a long odyssey, or religious pilgrimage, and center of The Zone--said to be under an alien influence--is where each of these men hopes to find a kind of personal transcendence. Despite obvious parallels to The Wizard of Oz, Tarkovsky's film is devoid of special effects or any fantastical elements typically associated with science fiction or fantasy. Instead, Stalker makes astonishing use of sound and bleak-but-beautiful imagery to envelope the viewer into the eerie atmosphere of The Zone and the dank, colorless landscape that surrounds it. And while the film's glacial pacing may be off-putting to some viewers, there's no denying that Stalker has a mesmerizing power of its own, including a thought-provoking and highly debatable ending that propels the film to a higher level of meaning and significance. --Jeff Shannon
Additional Features
Kino's DVD release of Stalker is impressive for a number of reasons. The superb image quality accurately preserves Tarkovsky's stark contrast of a dreary future with the colors of The Zone. Even more impressive is the surround-sound mix, which is nearly three-dimensional in its 5.1-channel clarity (allowing the film's dank, dripping environment to literally come alive on the soundtrack). Disc 2 offers new (2006) interviews with three of Tarkovsky's surviving collaborators (music composer Eduard Artemyev, cinematographer Aleksandr Knyazhinsky, and set decorator Rashit Safiullin), each providing their own unique and reverent perspective on Tarkovsky's creative process. A five-minute excerpt from "The Steamroller and the Violin" (Tarkovsky's 1960 diploma film from the Soviet film school VGIK) shows the young director already in admirable control of his craft, and "Memory" is a five-minute short from 1997 (directed by Serghei Minenok) that combines images of Tarkovsky's abandoned home in Russia with images from Stalker. Also included: A photo album of production images and behind-the-scenes stills, and language options including the original Russian, dubbed English, dubbed French, and optional English, French, or Spanish subtitles. --Jeff Shannon
Product details
- Aspect Ratio : 1.33:1
- Is Discontinued By Manufacturer : No
- MPAA rating : Unrated (Not Rated)
- Product Dimensions : 0.7 x 7.5 x 5.4 inches; 4 ounces
- Item model number : 2254931
- Director : Andrei Tarkovsky
- Media Format : Dolby, Multiple Formats, NTSC, Black & White, Subtitled, Color, AC-3, Closed-captioned, Dubbed
- Run time : 2 hours and 43 minutes
- Actors : Aleksandr Kaidanovsky, Alisa Frejndlikh, Anatoli Solonitsyn, Nikolai Grinko, Natasha Abramova
- Dubbed: : English, French
- Subtitles: : English, Spanish, French
- Language : English, Russian (Dolby Digital 5.1), French
- Studio : Kino Lorber films
- ASIN : B000I8OOG0
- Writers : Andrei Tarkovsky, Arkadi Strugatsky, Boris Strugatsky
- Number of discs : 2
- Best Sellers Rank: #113,081 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
- #1,393 in Foreign Films (Movies & TV)
- #2,513 in Science Fiction DVDs
- #18,724 in Drama DVDs
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Stalker is a 1979 Soviet science fiction art drama film directed by Andrei Tarkovsky with a screenplay written by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky.
The film tells the story of an expedition led by a figure known as the "Stalker", who takes his two clients—a melancholic writer seeking inspiration, and a professor seeking scientific discovery—to a mysterious restricted site known simply as the "Zone", where there supposedly exists a room which grants a person's innermost desires.
It has been pondered at in length as to why 𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒌𝒆𝒓 from its source material in the capacity at which it does: a book entitled 𝑹𝒐𝒂𝒅𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝑷𝒊𝒄𝒏𝒊𝒄 by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky that were published in 1972. With a screenplay written by the Strugatsky duo, it may be difficult at first to infer the reasons for differences between the two: with there being major contrasts in the setting, narrative spectacle, and overarching character development.
For starters, what is affectionately noted as ‘The Zone’ in 𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒌𝒆𝒓 is actually a collection of 6 different zones in 𝑹𝒐𝒂𝒅𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝑷𝒊𝒄𝒏𝒊𝒄; each of these 6 zones are isolated from one one another and under constant surveillance by governing officials (As they are in 𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒌𝒆𝒓) with entrance being denied by anyone not given special privilege or clearance to do so. This restriction on its own precedes the mystification of each Zones’ inhabitants (or, rather, contents), with time needed to fabricate its walls (which, is specified in 𝑹𝒐𝒂𝒅𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝑷𝒊𝒄𝒏𝒊𝒄) mirroring the erection of historically significant borders (IE: The Berlin Wall) either by design or total coincidence. Acting as an ideological separation from Socialism (and the like, as politics aren’t explicitly discussed, but alluded to in Strugatskys’ novel) the ‘Stalkers’ in both materials - cinematic and written - are conjoined by a commonality of goals (IE: Some semblance of psychological wealth secondary to rebellious survival) despite differences in their method or particular set of objectives over time.
Presence within these Zones - residential or otherwise - is not without consequence, however, which brings us to the potential influence of an event known as the Kyshtym Disaster; ranking as the second worst nuclear event to occur after Chernobyl, this was a radioactive contamination incident which occurred on September, 29th, 1957 at a Plutonium production site in Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union. Having been built in haste with little ability to judge the safety of many decisions, an improperly stored tank of waste exploded: leading to a delayed (but forced) evacuation of the surrounding areas and little clarity regarding the full scale of destruction and damage done until as recently as 1989. Exiled from their homes and denied re-entry for no plausible or obvious reason, surrounding residents regularly conspired amongst themselves with the goal of obtaining more information: with some of the consequences linked to this radiation exposure being a rise in cancer diagnosis and a collection of potentially debilitating birth defects.
Returning to the main attraction, however, it is in the pacing that 𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒌𝒆𝒓 deviates from 𝑹𝒐𝒂𝒅𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝑷𝒊𝒄𝒏𝒊𝒄 the most: And this is also the attributes likely to divide audience members between those that watch movies for the ride versus those that watch movies for the wonder.
𝑹𝒐𝒂𝒅𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝑷𝒊𝒄𝒏𝒊𝒄 distinguishes itself as being centered around the nuances that plague Redrick (This fiction’s ‘Stalker’, who more-or-less smuggles artifacts out of the zones as opposed to leading people into to them as a guide), and to a further extent paints a clearer picture of his life as it evolves over the course of approximately 8 years. Redrick is described as an ‘On again, Off again’ stalker, whos choice of occupation is largely tied to a responsibility to his family: A need that comes to justify his personal search for the ‘Golden sphere’, or the item in question (as opposed to location) that is believed to fulfill any one person’s deepest desires.
This cinematic stalker is more altruistic - in spirit, anyway - who acts as a liaison between the zones people are from and the zones they actively pursue. Consequently, his cohorts are naturally combative, with the combination in this context (A writer and a Scientist) being a natural pull between objective and observable measures of truth or success. Moreover, their conflicts are further inspissated by conversations with intermittently nonsensical transitions (As the tone is subject to turning one a dime), shots that differ in the amount of space between viewers and the characters on screen, and periods of silence that seem to go on forever.
(A quick note on the cinematography: Having been originally filmed on Kodak 5247, this stock was newer to Society laboratories at the time, with some of the original negatives being destroyed by a processing error. Part of the film had to be shot again, and having experienced a falling out with the original cinematographer on board (Georgy Rerberg), Alexander Knyazhinsky was hired in his place to replace the entirety of the shot material. This is one of many reasons why 𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒌𝒆𝒓 is divided into two parts, and further reason as to why 𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒌𝒆𝒓 strays further from 𝑹𝒐𝒂𝒅𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝑷𝒊𝒄𝒏𝒊𝒄 than most might expect)
Whereas silence may torture some it can be a comfort to others, and being in the latter camp comes with its own set of advantages. The malleability of this mysterious zone (As it contorts to its ‘users’, if we can call them that) as if its an active antagonist personifies the space between the things people know and the things they have yet to discover: About themselves, about their place in the world, and about their relationship with other people outside of obvious or mundane obligations.
Moreover, there is something powerful about the conviction in which its characters simply talk out loud, because even when their speech is without a clear target it is far from meaningless in terms of phrases that audience members may pick up on or relate more to than others.
Even more powerful than that, though, is attentiveness with which characters listen without talking out of turn: who don’t obsess with fixing one another and simply moving on, and find ways to stew in their own misery without stirring up trouble for others.
These characteristics parallel in a complimentary fashion with films that are notably philosophical to some and potentially patronizing to others - like 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑩𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒐𝒇 𝑳𝒊𝒇𝒆, 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒉 𝑺𝒆𝒂𝒍, and 𝑾𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑳𝒊𝒇𝒆 - with a bold rejection of nihilism in favor of of maintaining a level of curiosity about the world or environments that we are endlessly surrounded in addition to the ones that consume us.
A scientist, a writer, and a stalker walk into a bar…
Its a set-up that sounds like a joke that seems equally desperate for a punchline, bur 𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒍𝒌𝒆𝒓 succeeds as anything but. As with any piece of art inspired by tragedy it's a venue for extraordinary extrapolations: which, frustrating as this may be, is a worthy advisory for those that seem stunted or stagnate with little hope of reprieve. Leaning on intangible goals that are still worth pursuing, audience members can expect to be left with a collection of characters who are isolated in part by a sense of contempt while simultaneously maintaining a meaningful connection with others. Lonely as they - or anyone watching may be, for that matter - it’s no secret that misery loves company: And the least we can be is alone in all of this, together.
As you probably know, Stalker is a film about a sort of guide, called a stalker, who guides people through a surreal landscape sectioned off by the government due to its unpredictability called "The Zone," which was supposedly the sight of an alien crash landing some thirty years prior in this film set some time in the indefinite future. The stalker's job is to navigate the Zone because of its ever-changing nature and lead his clients to a place called "The Room," which supposedly grants wishes, or rather, makes whatever someone's deepest desire, whatever wish that has caused them the most pain-- make that dream a reality. As a result of this, no one leaves the Zone or the Room the same. The stalker in this movie guides two men going by the aliases of the Professor and the Writer through the Zone and to the Room in what becomes over a series of heated debates between the men leading up to the climax a stunning meditation on the nature of belief.
The movie was filmed in the old USSR, where religion was banned. I'm not the most religious person in the world, I'll be the first to admit that, but the stalker seems to be a man of some faith, and is ultimately dismayed at the results of what he says at the end of the film will be the last time he guides anyone through the Zone. He swears he'll never take anyone to the Room again based on the end of his latest adventure because the people he guided there lacked the necessary belief to have their wishes granted, or maybe even the basic belief to even want to have their wishes granted. It's a stunning conclusion, and I'm trying to write it out with as few spoilers as possible, here, but I've already said too much.
The film is beautifully restored in a 2K restoration and it was apparently filmed in 4:3 ratio, which I found a little confusing at first, but that's the way it's supposed to look-- if you have a widescreen TV, the black bars on the sides of your screen are normal. I was actually a little taken aback by this at first considering that "Solaris" was filmed in 2:39:1 or at least 16:9 and filled all or most of my television screen. But back in the 1970s and 80s it was not unheard of to film a movie in the 4:3 ratio because that's the same ratio that old TVs were back then. A good example of this is "The Shining," which was filmed in 4:3 and cropped to a more theatrical ratio, which is precisely why I haven't bought "The Shining" on Blu-Ray because all the Blu-Ray versions of "The Shining" are cropped to a 16:9 format from the original 4:3, but in the case of "Stalker" the original aspect ratio is retained and restored in beautiful 2K.
The special features didn't speak a whole lot, which is sad considering this is a Criterion Collection Blu-Ray, there were a few interesting interviews from 2002 with some of the people who worked on some of the more technical aspects of the film, but nothing with any of the actors which I assume is because many people involved with direct production of this film got sick from the heavy pollution surrounding the outdoor sets, some of whom even died, including the director. But there's also an interview Geoff Dyer, who's like a superfan of the movie and wrote an entire book about it, but nothing in particular that I found extremely enlightening. This was also the case with the Solaris Blu-Ray-- which I also found sad, aside from the great restoration done on the film itself. So this Blu-Ray is really more about the feature itself than the supplements which are usually the highlights of a Criterion Blu-Ray.
All in all, this is a thinking man's movie. I wouldn't recommend it to the casual moviegoer because they're likely not to "get" it. If you liked "Solaris" chances are you'll like "Stalker" even more. It's soft sci-fi bordering on fantasy but sci-fi nonetheless. It was made in a world where all direct talk of gods or God was strictly forbidden and does a great job at getting around that by having several discourses on the nature of God, faith and belief or lack of belief. I watched this film back to back with "Solaris" and that makes for an excellent double feature and if you buy this Blu-Ray, you should probably also buy Solaris on Blu-Ray because as I said, they go well together. But to sum up this review, "Stalker" is a stunning meditation on the nature of belief and what it meant to be a believer in a world that had outlawed believing.
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Reviewed in Mexico on April 25, 2022