Stalker (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray]

It'd been many years since I had seen Stalker, Andrei Tarkovsky's excellent science fiction film, and I watched it last night. For a science fiction movie, Stalker is certainly an oddity. Released in 1979, loosely based on the short novel Roadside Picnic by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, and directed by Tarkovsky, the masterful Russian director who lived too short a life, it tells the tale of a part of Russia that has been visited by an odd event. It may have been a meteorite that fell, or it may have been an alien visitation. But the event created the Zone, a dangerous area which was cordoned off by the police, and where few could go. A Stalker - a sort of guide who takes people through the traps in the Zone - meets up with two men who want to visit the Room, a place where wishes come true. One is a Professor, a man of reason, and the other a writer, a man of inspiration. The Stalker is a man of belief. Very little happens in the movie, which lasts more than 2 1/2 hours, except for their trip to the Room, and their discovery of what they want from it. Stalker is science fiction only in its premise; there are no aliens, no magic, nothing that would be noticed as science fiction. It is a slow movie; very little happens, and some of the shots are several minutes long. It's a science fiction movie as it would have been written by Samuel Beckett. Yet it's a brilliant existential examination of the desires of men and women. At first, the film begins in sepia-toned black-and-white, but once the three characters reach the Zone, the film changes to color. Just as Oz was in color, so was the Zone. The Zone is located outside an industrialized city, and is full of the detritus of modernity. Yet Tarkovsky films these banal, cast-off items with the plastic beauty that he showed in all his films. Some of the shots are breathtakingly haunting, yet there is nothing special in them. In a prescient shot, near the end of the movie, the Stalker can be seen returning to his home with his wife and daughter, and, across the river, a nuclear power plant is seen. The Zone could be the area surrounding Chernobyl. There is no devastation, simply signs of nature taking over some human artefacts. According to an interview with the production designer, the film took two years to shoot. The first year's footage was lost, apparently because it was an experimental film stock that couldn't be developed. (Though that suggests that it was only sent for development after the entire film was shot, which seems at odds with the way movies were created at the time.) Tarkovsky then started over, reshooting the entire movie, over another year. The DVD is decently produced, though the English subtitles are a bit clunky. It contains the original mono soundtrack, and also a recent 5.1 mix, which, in my opinion, ruins the movie. It is merely the mono soundtrack with added environmental sounds, trying to create "atmosphere," yet Tarkovsky used a lot of silence in this film, and the surround mix is never quiet. I first saw Stalker in the early 1980s at a retrospective of movies by Wim Wenders in New York. Wenders had made a selection of films to be shown with his movies, and, preceding his Kings of the Road (In the Course of Time), was Stalker and John Ford's The Searchers. All three of these movies are quests, searches for people or ideas, and the very long program that day (more than 7 hours) was an extraordinary example of three different approaches to the quest movie. Since then, it has been one of my favorite films. It's an odd movie, more like a Beckett play than science fiction, yet it is unforgettable. If you've never seen Stalker, you should by all means watch it. It is a truly unforgettable movie by one of the great directors of the 20th century. His life and career were too short, but his films are all masterpieces.

This is my updated review -- for the Criterion Blu-ray edition: The Blu-ray is crystal clear and a huge improvement on the DVD that I bought years ago (by KINO). The sound is also vastly better. It is like seeing the film for the 1st time again. Criterion did an awesome job on this, Thank-You! If you like journeys into abandoned places and landscapes, and also philosophical 'meaning of Life' tales, and a sprinkle of lovely spoken poetry... not to mention fantastic, mesmerizing scenery that lingers in your mind - then this is a film experience that you should enjoy. But it is a slow-paced film (but that is its charm as well, for me). When I watch this, it gives me a 'mind-break vacation' from the daily world of our often crazy reality... 'Stalker' was adapted from the Strugatsky brothers novel ' Roadside Picnic', and is that rare film that takes time to watch and understand the story, but it is well worth the effort. It is a surreal road trip... like 'The Wizard of Oz' crossed with an extended episode of 'The X-Files'! (but in Russian - with English subtitles). And it has humor too. Basically, this is about a 'stalker' - a guide that illegally takes people into a forbidden place called 'The Zone', where it is suggested that something unusual landed years ago, changing the area forever. The Zone is very dangerous and mysterious, and many that go in there never return, but will vanish or die without the stalker. Stalker (a nickname) has an almost spiritual relationship with the Zone. It is like a holy and sacred place for him, even with all its known and hidden dangers. Much of the dialog between him and the two people he guides (Professor and Writer) is a big part of the enjoyment of the story, and all of the visuals and cinematography in many scenes make for some very magical and breathtaking film watching! After 2 viewings I was hooked. This is now one of my favorite films (next to '2001' and 'Blade Runner'). I also read the book this was adapted from, and though there are differences, both are satisfying adventures that should not be missed! Along with 'Solaris' (1972), this is one of my favorite films by Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky. He was a real poet of filmmaking , and this might be his masterpiece - a real 'mind trip' of a movie! Thank-You for reading... but go watch 'Stalker' today!

A slightly odd film. Cold, paced, mystical, odd, slightly fearful. Searching for answers, it arrives back with none but the experience. Not to everyone's taste.

Tout est dans le titre. Ce serait dommage de gâcher certaines surprises en lisant trop de commentaires par avance. Il y aura assez de questions ou de détails pour le revoir une seconde fois... L'atmosphère de ce film est simplement unique.

Jetzt soll er also auch im August 2016 auf BluRay erscheinen. Besonders sorgfältig geht man mit solchen künstlerischen Filmen leider nicht um - vor allem im Verkauf. Leider auch nicht hier, denn wie heißt es auf der entsprechenden Amazon Seite in Deutschland im Moment: "Nicht verfügbar, wann und ob der Titel WIEDER verfügbar sein wird...usw." - Naja auf der britischen Seite von Amazon wird man da schlauer und dort kann man sogar schon vorbestellen. Über Jahre war die Artificial Eye DVD Version die beste verfügbare Abtastung des Filmes. Teuer aber lohnenswert. Ich hatte das Vergnügen beides im direkten Vergleich sehen zu dürfen (Artificial Eye Abtastung vs. Icestorm / Rote Version) und da lagen nicht nur Welten, sondern Universen dazwischen*. Allerdings war und ist der Nachteil, dass Artificial Eye keine deutsche Tonspur/Synchro anbietet. Selbst einer Licht-Kinokopie war und ist die Artificial Version DVD praktisch ebenbürtig. Das ist insofern kein Wunder weil von Stalker haben praktisch keine "echten" Kinokopien das Jahr 2003 in Deutschland überlebt (damals gab es meines Wissens gerade noch 2 in einem sehr abgerockten Zustand und nur eine mit deutscher (DDR) Synchro, die WDR/ARD Synchro war nicht mehr verfügbar). Demgegenüber hatte Artificial Eye für die DVD wohl sehr aufwendig in Russland eine Neuabtastung von einer noch recht "frischen" bzw. gut erhaltenen Originalkopie machen lassen. Nun kommt Stalker also endlich auf BluRay - für mich weiterhin der Nonplusultrafilm. Tatsächlich und ohne wenn und aber: Mit Sicherheit kein "Unterhaltungsfilm". Langatmig, schwer und dennoch für mich - DER Film, sowohl optisch wie auch thematisch. Allerdings gibt es da doch einen Wermutstropfen: Stalker war, wie hier jemand anderes bereits schrieb, Tarkovskys letzter Film in der damaligen Sowjetunion. Produziert unter schwierigsten Bedingungen und teilweise Widerständen. Tatsächlich ist der Film auf 1,37:1 Filmmaterial gedreht worden (sozusagen 4:3) und nicht 16:9, also 1,78 : 1 bzw. 1,85 :1 oder gar cinemascope. Und das Ursprungsfilmmaterial war nicht das Beste**. Tatsächlich konnte man das auch schon im Kino bemerken und die DVD Version erreicht deshalb bereits annähernd die Auflösungsgrenzen des Originals. Insofern darf man gespannt sein ob die BluRay hier noch eine Verbesserung des Bildes bringt und ob Artificial Eye bei der Produktion 2002 schon so weit gedacht hat, das damalige (gute) Original bereits in HD abtasten zu lassen, oder sich auf DVD Auflösungen beschränkte, und jetzt nur einen "Neuaufguss" im Neuen Gewand verkauft. *Das zeigte sich schon daran, dass der 155 Minuten Film bei Artificial Eye auf 2(!) DVDs gesplittet wurde - um die Datenrate bei der MPEG Kodierung nicht zu weit reduzieren zu müssen. - Also "Rollenwechsel" - fast wie im Kino. ** Große Teile des Originalfimmaterials der Urversion wurden bei der Filmentwicklung zerstört

Consigliata la visione. Un film da vedere e rivedere per poter essere apprezzato in quanto non di chiara e immediata interpretazione. Da avere nella propria cineteca.

The Stalker is quite simply the best movie ever made. In this as in other Tarkovsky movies, the imagery will linger and stay with you for the rest of your lives.This movie is about what really matters, the most important questions that humankind has struggled to answer....the question of faith. This movie is about hope, about faith, the innate philosophical and metaphysical questions that stalk us. It is about God, the mystery, the awe inspiring mystery of God.It is also perhaps about the loss of these very things.I feel there is nothing vague or deliberately mysterious about the movie. The narrative has an urgency unlike Andrei Rublev for instance.The movie is cloaked in religious symbols and the imagery, so surreal but real, is set against a background of waste, dirt, disuse and decay. Perhaps in this too, the allegory is not difficult to follow.The tunnel or pipe scene is a heart stopper and are not all Tarkovsky scenes like paintings?There is something inhuman, frightening, mysterious and detached and distanced about this imagery and that perhaps is the meaning of the the journey in this movie.Some images make you stop and not want to go on seeing the movie further, lest you lose the delirious heartache of that moment.But each image is followed by another devastating image and one soon finds it wiser to assume silence. Tarkovsky's stalker character, I felt, is a medieval mystic guide, given to philosophical sololiquies and reveries.He recites poetry and lies down, like an epileptic. The other two characters, the writer and the professor represent philosophical cynicism and scientific empiricism. The imagery is kafkaesque and viewers might be reminded of The Castle and Before the Law.However, Tarkovsky is not vague and defines the stalker with the strength of religious fervour but not zealous prejudice. As to the Dog.....Vladimir Nabokov cautioned against over analysis, and that surely should be left for each one to decide.