Customer Reviews

Stalker

5 star:		(78)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Disappointing transfer by RUSCICO, butchered PAL to NTSC conversion. Tarkovsky deserves better! Buy the PAL version if possible.

This movie reminded me of a really long, really weird episode of the X-Files. It combined elements of psychic powers, religious iconography, government conspiracy, and aliens in a stark, post-apocalyptic setting. This is an interesting movie, but its not for everyone. I found myself very concerned about the dog that turns up in the Zone (which I think is some sort of ground zero region from a nuclear explosion) seemingly healthy. I couldn't figure out why it was there and why it seemed fine. I think anyone who sees this movie will interpret the symbols in their own way. Its very allegorical, but its personal. The people I talked to after watching this movie all had different interpretations of it that I did. Very slow, little action, little dialogue (in parts). A good pick for people who like symbolism, and weirdness.

Stalker (Full Screen) [2 Disc]
I found this to be an enlightening/thought-provoking film. I think the other 5 star reviews are accurate and I am not going to add more except to say this: the 2nd DVD contained excellent interviews with the composer, who revealed much about Tarkovsky's personality and intellect and his method of working; the cameraman (then, the last surviving crew member) and the set designer. They have certainly given me a greater understanding of, and appreciation for, Tarkovsky and his work. Subtitles were controllable, with options. The darkness at the beginning was effective, adding to the sense of deprivation and 'apocalypse': I have no idea if it was meant to look like this as I have not seen a film - but it was definitely atmospheric. This film is like walking around inside someone's [Tarkovsky's] soul. He and Sokurov are currently my 2 favourite directors.

I've only recently discovered Tarkovsky and what a revelation it has been! Stalker is definitely among the very few movies that truly moved me in both an artistic way and an intellectual way - I might even add: in a spiritual way.

The visual elements of Stalker are delicately beautiful. Every image is a poem in itself, a self-contained piece of art within the greater sum of the movie as a whole. The slow rythm and the haunting music make up for a very immersive experience. You forget you are watching a movie - you are, instead, living a surprisingly real experience.

Aside from the artistic aspect of Stalker, there is the philosophical/intellectual aspect. The movie asks questions on three main themes: the nature of art, the nature of knowledge, and the nature of life itself. Each one of these themes is personified by one of the three main characters, each character having, in turn, a moment where he expresses this questionning. This is done sometimes as a simple statement, other times as a calm opposition with another character, like a desperate war, against and along side with others, against and along side with oneself. They go into the Zone hoping to find answers. The Zone is, to me, a representation of our innermost self, the "machine room" of our Human existence, a place too few of us manage to reach, and even fewer manage to understand and use.

The ending leaves suspension marks, suggesting many things, maybe explaining some few things, but definitely asking many questions. Many, many questions.

And suggesting a great many things about our Human nature.

First of all, do not watch this film if you have ADD. There are long, drawn out shots of fields, three men walking, and quirky discussions which many will find boring. I didn't. While this film is about many things at once, I found on reflection that (at least to me) "Stalker" is essentially about the ethical/non-ethical nature of notions like hope, redemption. The 'Zone' as it is termed is really a metaphor for what a human has to reach in his/her life to find metaphysical hope. In the end, that hope is judged (by the most likeable character out of the three) to be invalid, even morally wrong.

The meditative shots of fields alternate with shots of decay, destruction, and a "1984ish" state. These men remind one of some of Beckett's characters, behaving in absurd ways. But, perhaps the point is, this is an absurd world. A masterpiece that demands full attentiveness.

Artificial Eye's presentation of Stalker is a bit higgledy piggledy, with the extras scattered across two discs. Perhaps the best way to describe them is "before" and "after".
On the first, we are presented with the first part of the film along with an excerpt from Tarkovsky's diploma offering, The Steamroller And The Violin, Tarkovsky's biography, a Tarkovsy-esque meander through the house he lived in as a child and in-production shots, leaving the post-production interviews and other cast and crew biographies for the second disc.
Aside from the slight quirk of positioning, the presentation is excellent. The animated menus are engaging and easy to navigate, with a good size of print which doesn't leave you squinting around to find the subtitle menu.
The colour and clarity is excellent for a film of its age, with no obvious scratching. The sepia portion is richly coloured and the colour sequences also well realised.
The sound is available in the original mono and in Russian 5.1. Beware, these two representations are distinctly different in places. Perhaps most notable is on the train trip into the Zone, where the original version relies on the rhythmic "music" of the train, travelling over the tracks, to carry the viewer, while the 5.1 version overlays some of Artemyev's ambient music.
Occasionally the music in the 5.1 version seems overly loud and once or twice the sound is "cleaned up", losing some of Tarkovsky's original intention. The 5.1 version, I suspect, equates more closely to Artemyev's vision than that of Tarkovsky.
As regards the extras, they are few but enjoyable. The excerpt from his diploma film demonstrates how good Tarkovsky was, right from the outset of his career, and it is only a shame that there isn't more than the few minutes we get to see. With luck, Artificial Eye will release the full version at some point.
Tarkovsky's House is, in fact, a short film, entitled Memory, which intercuts sequences from Stalker's dream with Tarkovsky's derelict boyhood home. Shot in the style of the director himself, this is a poignant and thought-provoking sequence in its own right. There are just 10 production photographs here, with only one shot in colour.
The most interesting - and most sad - extras are the interviews with director of photography Knyazhinsky and production designer Saifiullin. The former, filmed in a care home, seems overcome with melancholy at the thought that so many of the cast and crew, who worked on the film, have since passed away - he, too, died not long after. His brief interview - at around five minutes in length - offers an insight into the area of Estonia, where most of the Zone shooting occured, explaining that much of the standing water used on the sets was present already and discussing how they used this to their advantage, but it is disturbing to watch somone who is so ill talk about things that he misses.
Saifullin's interview is much meatier, as he talks about the devastating loss of the first half of the film after negatives were spoiled a year into the shoot. He also reminisces about Tarkovsky's eye for detail - "He wanted to know the motivation of every flower" - and discusses his belief that elements of the Stalker character were based on himself. The only downside is that occasionally the subtitles slip into pidgen English, not so much that you lose the thread, though.
The cast and crew biographies are in a sensible typeface, so that you can read them from across the room - other DVD manufacturers please take note. Watch out, while you are reading them for Artemyev's, which contains a not-so-hidden feature of a 21 minute interview. Why Artificial Eye hasn't just packaged this to appear alongside the other interviews is beyond me, as it is a fascinating insight into the way that Tarkovsky viewed the scoring of his films. He was keen to use as little music as possible and had Artemyev reading dissertations before composing in order to achieve the right ambience for certain scenes. Also, squirrelled away in Artemyev's filmography, is a teaser for Solaris.
Overall, the DVD extras have been chosen well and genuinely add to the viewer's understanding of the film, without seeming contrived. It is just a shame that some of them are so hard to find.

P.S. To watch the movie preview video clip you can on russianDVD.com website for free.

Stalker takes place in an unknown worldly region in a post-apocalyptic future where a meteor's impact has formed a puzzling area called the Zone. The Zone is suppose to have mythical properties as it has forces that can lure people to their demise, but also uncover our deepest desires. Stalkers are the only ones who can sense mysterious forces and avoid the dangers within the Zone. Many courageous people come to the Zone with stalkers as guides on quests to fulfill their wishes. In this film the audience is to follow three characters, Stalker, Writer, and Scientist, as they venture into the perilous Zone. The party's venture becomes a breathtaking journey through armed guards, obscure traps, and psychological horror. The journey can symbolically be interpreted as a pilgrimage in order to restore ones faith and hope, which have been lost. This pilgrimage develops into a psychosocial battle between rationalism and abstract thought as the travelers attempt to reason with hope, faith, and love. Tarkovsky brilliantly blends his philosophical messages with visually stunning cinematography that encourages thought and analytical growth in a science fiction story that provides an enlightening cinematic experience.

Someone said that subtitles cannot be turned off. I have this DVD and there is option of 13 subtitles in 13 different languages, plus an option of having no subtitles.
What I absolutely dislike about this release is that you're forced to wait 1min reading copyright messages everytime you insert the disc. In overall very good DVD.

This profound and mystical film covers space which is as much interior as it is exterior; a space of faith more and more impeded by the skepticism of the modern world, represented here by both the Writer and Professor. The Stalker, on the other hand, stands for an initiatory wisdom that still lives despite growing oppression and incomprehension. The movie begins with the dark and urban images of the profane condition, but they are gradually eclipsed by the vivid colors and textures of the Zone, which symbolize man's renewed proximity to the sacred. The knowledge one obtains in the Zone is quite unlike ordinary knowledge; one doesn't so much grasp it as one lives it. The characters' ritual journey has deep ties with what they really are, and thus the knowledge of the divine (or what goes beyond man) is inextricably linked to the knowledge of self. The Zone culminates in the Room, where miracle proper can take place; the Zone-Room couple is akin to the Temple-Sanctuary relationship that can be found in ancient mystery cults. In order to get the most out of the Zone, man must be animated by a true vocation (like the Stalker), and not only by ambition and curiosity (like the Writer and Professor); one must surrender to it rather than rationalize its subtle power. This can ultimately be said of Tarkovsky's film itself.

This is one of the greatest movies I have ever seen. However, due to the director's style, it is one that very few would appreciate. It is a very slow-paced, but crucially thought-out movie. It requires patience, but pays off indefinitely. Very poetic, solid movie. It's like a novel that you read once and love, and read again and again and you keep discovering more and more of it. If you enjoy thoughtful films that you can reflect on, this is definitely for you, but if you don't, you will be sorely disappointed.

Once again it is very slow-paced and deliberate, filled with rich dialogue and characterization, but the impatient ones will lose interest and won't "get it". This is an intelligent movie, the kind you only get from Andrei Tarkovsky.