Stalker

1980 • 161 minutes

About this movie

In a future world that has been seemingly ravaged by war and poverty there exists a myth of hope amongst the people – a forbidden place known only as the Zone, the heart of which, if reached, grants one’s innermost desires. Two men, a writer and professor, hire someone known as a Stalker, a guide who can navigate the treacherous and confounding path that leads them to the Zone. Stalker is a film that has captured the essence of human desire so astutely that it is considered by many to be Tarkovsky’s magnum opus.

Ratings and reviews

I don't feel it's a perfect film but there's a dialogue about the weak and hard which i found inspirational and i guess there's parts here and there which other viewers will take and cherish from this movie. The nature is raw, almost physically embodied (similar to Tarkovskys other films) and the sets and colour deeply rich. I love the camera spans. The contrast between the artist and the scientist is a longing for the Stalkers faith i felt, and there's an industrial/ Chernobyl forewarning or theme which does remind of films such as Eraserhead.

Great film. Appalling restoration. If you want to see this film in all its glory don't buy this. It looks awful..

One of the best of Soviet cinema and the best of Tarkovsky. 5/5+.