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Alexander Kaidanovsky, Anatoli Solonitsin, Nikolai Grinko, Alisa Freyndlikh, Natasha Abramova ... see more see more... , F. Yurma , E. Kostin , R. Rendi

Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky's Stalker, an allegorical science fiction film like his earlier Solaris, was adapted from the novel Picnic by the Roadside by brothers Boris Strugatsky and Arkady Str... read more read more...ugatsky. The film follows three men -- the Scientist (Nikolai Grinko), the Writer (Anatoliy Solonitsyn), and the Stalker (Alexander Kaidanovsky) -- as they travel through a mysterious and forbidden territory in the Russian wilderness called the "Zone." In the Zone, nothing is what it seems. Objects change places, the landscape shifts and rearranges itself. It seems as if an unknown intelligence is actively thwarting any attempt to penetrate its borders. In the Zone, there is said to be a bunker, and in the bunker: a magical room which has the power to make wishes come true. The Stalker is the hired guide for the journey who has, through repeated visits to the Zone, become accustomed to its complex traps, pitfalls, and subtle distortions. Only by following his lead (which often involves taking the longest, most frustrating route) can the Writer and the Scientist make it alive to the bunker and the room. As the men travel farther into the Zone, they realize it may take something more than just determination to succeed: it may actually take faith. Increasingly unsure of their deepest desires, they confront the room wondering if they can, in the end, take responsibility for the fulfillment of their own wishes. ~ Anthony Reed, Rovi

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21,466 ratings

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16 critics

Unrated, 2 hr. 40 min.

Directed by: Andrei Tarkovsky

Release Date: August 1, 1979

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DVD Release Date: October 15, 2002

Stats: 1,548 reviews

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Aleksandr Kajdanovsky stalker Stalker Stalker Stalker at bar Natasha Abramova Scene from Stalker
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Flixster Reviews (1,548)

  • brooklynspo
    January 29, 2009
    brooklynspo
    My least favorite Tarkovsky thus far. So talky, so ambivalent, so... dull.

    I really should afford this a second and third chance as I was stuck reading the subtitles most of the first viewing. I do not relish the thought.
  • LoughnerWasLucid
    May 19, 2011
    LoughnerWasLucid
    one of the most dreadfully boring fucking things i think ive seen this year. and it really doesn't help to know that this shit is two and a half hours long. it was like watching a boring person watching a PBS documentary on how slugs fall asleep in the winter, and the guy who is ... read morewatching doesn't even muster up enough sarcasm to make prickish comments about it. not even a "fucking gay slugs.." he just sits there in his Lazy Boy and nods with a face like hes thinking real hard about what hes seeing. thats how i felt about this shit.
  • gokhale1
    November 22, 2010
    gokhale1
    Calling Andrei Tarkovsky's 1979 film "Stalker", a science fiction film would be unjust. This isn't really a science fiction film. But then again, maybe it is, on a slightly abstract level. Then at yet another level it is perhaps a meditative psychological drama...or maybe not. Ma... read moreybe what is really is, is a highly philosophical film, making some very important points during its entire running time.

    The difficulty faced by this reviewer in categorizing this picture reflects the difficulty faced by the three central characters of the film in understanding the nature of "the zone" that they set out to explore in this mesmerizing introspective drama.

    The plot deals with a mysterious "occurrence" somewhere in Soviet Russia, that has been believed to be a meteorite or an alien visit. But then no one is really sure. The incident happened 20 years back and whoever went to find out at the place in question, never returned. Ever since people disappeared, the area has been cordoned off by the government. Termed "The Zone", this is a place were supposedly normal laws of physics do not apply. People are fearful of the place and no one visits there. Only there are stories running about that in the Zone is a room, which has the powers to fulfill the innermost wishes of a person. Hence, of course, a lot of people are curious to visit. Since it is illegal to do so, they have to seek help of what are called "stalkers" or guides to the zone. One such stalker is our central character known only as the Stalker (Alexander Kaidanovsky). He takes his two clients, a writer and a scientist (Anatoly Solonitsyn and Nikolai Grinko respectively) who have their own personal reasons for visiting the zone.

    The rest of the film details this expedition of theirs, led by the Stalker.

    Where "Stalker" succeeds and most other films fail is in maintaining a perfect balance between the humanistic and the supernatural aspects in the story. So, very often in the film, the viewer is left questioning himself. "Stalker" deliberately refrains from taking sides and takes the idiom "seeing is believing" to an entirely new level!

    So we find ourselves wondering, just like the Writer who is totally perplexed about the Stalker's actions. Why does the Stalker choose only the longer paths when the destination seems close at hand? How much truth is there in the stalker's knowledge of the powers of the Zone and the kind of people that the Zone lets through? What are these so called "traps" of the Zone and what is the real significance of the "meat mincer"? What are the motives of the Stalker himself? Is there really a room that fulfills one's innermost desires?

    The journey through the Zone also turns out to be a journey through their inner self; an exercise in self-realization. Amidst all the mysterious situations faced by our journeymen, we are also presented with a whole range of very interesting philosophy, which is sure to set the ball rolling for a completely new perspective on how we see things around us.

    Technically the film excels in all departments.

    The screenplay of "Stalker" is written by Boris and Arkady Strugatsky who have also written the novel "Roadside Picnic" on which this movie is loosely based.
    Tarkovsky gives it that special touch that was required for this kind of story. Like all of his films, this film makes use of long takes on the camera, slow and subtle camera movement, devoid of any conventional camerawork usually used in films. The cinematography is beautifully done by Alexander Knyazhinsky. He captures the bleak as well as the beautiful scenes with great finesse. The film uses Sepia as well as full colour tones and these tones toggle during scenes. The locations chosen for filming scenes in the Zone are two deserted hydro power plants. There is also some hypnotically beautiful music by Eduard Artemyev which couldn't have been more befitting to any other film.

    Acting is mostly great, particularly by Alexander Kaidanovsky who stars as the Stalker and Anatoly Solonitsyn, the Writer. Also notable is the acting by Alisa Frejndlikh who portrays the character of the stalker's wife. She makes a lasting impression particularly in one important scene towards the end.


    "Stalker" is a suspenseful, mind-bending, enriching and thought-provoking film all at the same time. This is what makes it a truly unique experience!

    It is one movie, after watching which, you may find yourself questioning your religious beliefs! Like the "Zone" that it talks about, the film itself is a miracle that Tarkovsky has managed to pull off.

    If this is not art,..what is?
  • blacksheepboy
    November 8, 2009
    blacksheepboy
    A deeply metaphysical and philosophical allegory about human desire and the search for happiness, Tarkovsky's Stalker is beautiful and hypnotical, though somehow difficult and not as sentimentally engaging as Solyaris.
  • 366weirdmovies
    August 23, 2009
    366weirdmovies
    A "Stalker" has the skill to lead the curious past armed guards and mystifiying traps into a mysterious area known as The Zone, inside which there is rumored to be a room that will grant the visitor's innermost wish. Typically slow and impenetrably obscure movie by Tarkovsky, wh... read moreich almost lulls you to sleep with long stretches where nothing happens, then suddenly shocks you with an unforgettable image of haunting beauty.
  • rubystevens
    October 2, 2008
    rubystevens
    gorgeous and mesmerising tho the last quarter was a bit talky and thoroughly confusing. a kind of claustrophobic surrealist nightmare. wait, that's inland empire. i loved the ending tho i'm not sure what happened beyond that the stalker had some sort of existential crisis. pe... read morerhaps it's a religious allegory about faith. anyway the cinematography was superb. i'll be thinking about this for awhile
  • kenstachnik
    March 31, 2008
    kenstachnik
    Tarkovsky's masterwork of science fiction is a must see for fans of the genre.

    This dark highly atmospheric film is photographically on par with any Bergman or Kubrick film.
  • arashxak
    February 24, 2008
    arashxak
    Poetic and Philosophical, This and Zerkalo are the best I've seen from Tarkovsky
  • pier007
    August 14, 2007
    pier007
    Tarkovsky's slow lethargic pace may be hard to swallow, but no doubt the story, existentialist and fascinating, compensates the rest. A film so difficult to watch that it gets us immerse into "the zone" a deceitful landscape where we can't step forward without thinking twice.
  • gator681
    July 7, 2008
    gator681
    [font=Century Gothic]In "Stalker," a professor(Nikolai Grinko), a writer(Anatoli Solonitsyn) and a stalker(Aleksandr Kaidanovsky) all walk into a bar. And what is a stalker you may ask? The Zone is a mysterious area created possibly by a meteorite some years before. Soldiers w... read moreent in but never came out, so the police cordoned off the area. It is said that there is a room in the Zone that will grant a person's innermost wish and the stalker is paid to take his employers there on a perilous journey, first past the police and then the obstacles in the Zone itself.[/font]
    [font=Century Gothic][/font]
    [font=Century Gothic]Directed and strikingly designed by Andrei Tarkovsky, "Stalker" is a thought-provoking allegory about the conflict between religion and science as personified in a running conversation between the stalker who has faith and the two other members of his party who represent the intelligentsia. Personally, I thought since human beings are forever curious, that they would need the Zone as a further mystery to explore. But I think Tarkovsky sees the Zone's necessity coming out of it being a sign of god's existence(the words faith and miracle are bandied about an awful lot) because without any religion, the world would lose any kind of hope. In the film, the outside world is devoid of color and in the Zone, there is color, like the color schemes in "The Wizard of Oz."(There is one exception to the rule.) But to be kind, the world looks the same, no matter whether we believe or not. We just need to have faith in each other.[/font]

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Critic Reviews

Jonathan Rosenbaum
May 30, 2007
Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader

Not an easy film, but almost certainly a great one. Full Review

Janet Maslin
January 15, 2005
Janet Maslin, New York Times

Stalker, a somber futuristic fantasy from the Soviet Union, attempts to build an apocalyptic vision out of the most impoverished materials imaginable. Full Review

David Parkinson
May 30, 2007
David Parkinson, Empire Magazine

Seminal feature from Tarkovsky, the master of atmosphere and multi-functional allegory is truly affecting, as well as fodder for countless film studies curricula. Full Review

Sam Jordison
May 30, 2007
Sam Jordison, Film4

Powerful and haunting sci-fi parable imbued by Tarkovsky with a multi-layered visual resonance and, despite its stately pace, raw emotional impact. Full Review

Amber Wilkinson
May 30, 2007
Amber Wilkinson, Eye for Film

There is no easy watching to be gained here, but nor is this a hard slog -- each scene is beautifully crafted, painting a vivid and fascinating picture of Tarkovsky's vision. Full Review

Philip French
May 30, 2007
Philip French, Observer [UK]

Visually unforgettable and possibly Tarkovsky's finest work. Full Review

Peter Bradshaw
May 30, 2007
Peter Bradshaw, Guardian [UK]

A vast prose-poem on celluloid whose forms and ideas were to be borrowed by moviemakers like Lynch and Spielberg. Full Review

Michael Scheinfeld
May 30, 2007
Michael Scheinfeld, TV Guide's Movie Guide

[It] has enough hauntingly beautiful images and profound ideas to linger in one's mind. Full Review

Jeffrey M. Anderson
November 3, 2006
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid

I found the overall atmosphere, benign but potentially dangerous, far more stimulating and imaginative than a sci-fi story entirely spelled out for us. Full Review

Nick Schager
April 25, 2006
Nick Schager, Slant Magazine

A tangled knot of memories, fears, fantasies, nightmares, paradoxical impulses, and a yearning for something that's simultaneously beyond our reach and yet intrinsic to every one of us. Full Review

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    • Stalker: Passion is the friction between one's soul and the outside world.
    • Stalker: Weakness is a great thing, and strength is nothing. When a man is just born, he is weak and flexible. When he dies, he is hard and insensitive. When a tree is growing, it's tender and pliant. But when it's dry and hard, it dies. Hardness and strength are death's companions. Pliancy and weakness are expressions of the freshness of being. Because what has hardened will never win.
    • Stalker's Wife: I love your eyes, my darling friend, their play so light and brightening. When a sudden stare up you send, and like a heaven-blown lightning, it'd take in all from end to end. But there's nothing more that I admire; your eyes when they are downcast. In bursts of love inspired fire, and through the eyelash goes fast - a longing, dull call of desire.
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Stalker Trivia

  • Who plays the evil stalker on the other end of the line in Phone Booth.  Answer »
  • What is the name of the evil stalker in the movie Lemony Snickets, A Series of Unfortunate Events?  Answer »
  • "Fatal Attraction" (1987) was one of the most talked about movies of the 80s. Who played the sinister stalker, Alex Forrest?   Answer »
  • In which stalker flick will you find this famous quote: "I won't be ignored, Dan!!!"  Answer »
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