Stalker

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Stalker

TV-14

1982

2h 43m

Sci-Fi

Adventure

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

100%

Tomatometer

47 Reviews

92%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

In an unnamed country at an unspecified time, there is a fiercely protected post-apocalyptic wasteland known as The Zone. An illegal guide (Aleksandr Kajdanovsky), whose mutant child suggests unspeakable horrors within The Zone, leads a writer (Anatoliy Solonitsyn) and a scientist (Nikolay Grinko) into the heart of the devastation in search of a mythical place known only as The Room. Anyone who enters The Room will supposedly have any of his earthly desires immediately fulfilled.

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Critics Consensus

Stalker is a complex, oblique parable that draws unforgettable images and philosophical musings from its sci-fi/thriller setting.

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John Semley

Salon.com

02/07/2019

It's a film that challenges us to be bored, while refusing to be boring.

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David Jenkins

Little White Lies

02/07/2019

Yet Stalker is a movie to be watched as many times as physically possible... It really is that astounding.

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Kristin M. Jones

Wall Street Journal

02/14/2018

There are no flying saucers in the great Russian director's haunting tale of a journey into the depths of a postapocalyptic landscape, but it offers visual splendor, as well as mysteries, portents and miracles.

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Joshua Polanski

The Rapidian

Dec 30

This self-restraint is alien to our present culture of instant gratification, and it’s also a lesson we could always hear again: we don’t always know what is best for ourselves.

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Siddhant Adlakha

Inverse

Jul 8

Preserved within the sci-fi drama Stalker — between its elliptical cuts that bend space, and in its looming, lengthy takes that extend time — is the very essence of its director. There is perhaps no greater compendium of his artistic worldview.

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Josh Larsen

LarsenOnFilm

Jun 26

4/4

... an apocalyptically eerie argument that there is something more than the material world.

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Ian S

@RT48225084 Feb 12

Not my favourite Tarkovsky movie but very good all the same, Visually superb but some of the rambling intellectual conversations tend to drag a little while the use of poetry was more effective as it was used sparingly. The opening and closing scenes were very effective. As ever with Tarkovsky, there is nothing else out there quite like it. An artistic triumph. Will need a re-watch.

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Franz K

@RT07350530 Jan 30

Mesmerizing! Everything in this movie is magic!

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William W.

@WillKWill Jan 28

Loved it. Loved the source book “ Roadside Picnic” even more!! Read the book!

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Merick H

@RT59327164 Nov 10

Pretentious crap... and the pretentious response will be... you just didn't get it; it was over your head... yeah, okay... The pacing of this film is terrible-- a few really interesting lines, followed by twenty minutes of utter tedium, followed by an interesting monologue with some "profound" insights, followed by another twenty minutes of mind numbing boredom... and on and on and on... It explores some interesting ideas, but the story itself sucks and we have no reason to care about these characters... You could write a fascinating paper about this film, and it would probably be a lot of fun to discuss in some sort of film group, but the experience of sitting through it is not enjoyable. It has its moments, for sure, but as a whole, it is tedious... Pretentious crap. 100% from the critics? Give me a break...

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To F

@Frannko Oct 22

Me hizo reflexionar sobre la esperanza y lo cruel de la vida, de que a pesar de las circunstancias siempre tenemos esa esperanza de que todo algún día va a cambiar para bien, de que haríamos lo que fuera por cumplir un deseo.

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bao s

@RT77741678 Aug 21

I liked this movie in my 20s, I still find it a visual and contemplative masterpiece. Watch Solaris if you want stronger foundations..

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Andrei Tarkovsky

Director

Aleksandr Kajdanovsky

Stalker

Nikolay Grinko

Professor

Anatoliy Solonitsyn

Pisatel

Alisa Freyndlikh

Zhena Stalkera

Natalya Abramova

Marta

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Synopsis

In an unnamed country at an unspecified time, there is a fiercely protected post-apocalyptic wasteland known as The Zone. An illegal guide (Aleksandr Kajdanovsky), whose mutant child suggests unspeakable horrors within The Zone, leads a writer (Anatoliy Solonitsyn) and a scientist (Nikolay Grinko) into the heart of the devastation in search of a mythical place known only as The Room. Anyone who enters The Room will supposedly have any of his earthly desires immediately fulfilled.

Director: Andrei Tarkovsky
Producer: Aleksandra Demidova
Screenwriter: Arkadiy Strugatskiy, Boris Strugatskiy, Arkadiy Strugatskiy, Boris Strugatskiy
Production Co: Mosfilm
Rating: TV-14
Genre: Sci-Fi, Adventure
Original Language: Russian
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 20, 1982, Original
Rerelease Date (Theaters): May 5, 2017
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 18, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $258.4K
Runtime: 2h 43m

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