Production Year: 1979 - Horror - Director: Andrei Tarkovsky - Original Language: Russian - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring: Alexander Kaidanovsky, Alissa Freindlich, Anatoli Solonitsyn, Nikolai Grinko more
With STALKER, Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky returns to the mind-bending, philosophy-tinged science fiction of SOLARIS. The setting is an unnamed country in an unforeseen... more
Stalker (2 Discs) DVD
Andrey Tarkovsky entered school in Moscow in 1945 and nine years later enrolled at the ... more
State Institute of Cinematography. He displayed a remarkable talent with his first feature Ivan's Childhood in 1962 and he continued to astound for over twenty ye...
the original S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game in 2011. A group of stalkers has for the first time reached the very heart of the Zone - Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, and brings about a cataclysm on the brink of a catastrophe. An immense blow-out of anomalous energy changes the Zone. There are no more reliable and relatively safe roads. The entire levels vanish in the outbursts of anomalies. Stalkers and even expeditions die or end up sealed on the lost territories. New areas, which remained unknown since the time of the Zone emergence, appear on the Zone map. The Zone continues to shake with blowouts. The Zone is unstable. The anomalous activity is at its maximum. Changes of the Zone map known to stalkers shake the fragile balance of forces in the Zone. Among the groupings, there flare up hostilities for the new territories, artefact fields and spheres of influence. There are no more old enemies or friends - now everyone is for himself. The Factions War has started between the groupings. 10 hours of the main plotline gameplay5 completely new levels - Swamps, Red Forest, Ruined Hospital, Limansk and Military Ordnance Yard8 significantly re-designed levels from the original game - Cordon, Garbage, Dark Valley, Agroprom, Agroprom, Undergrounds, Yantar, Military and StationWeapon and armor upgradesPossibility to fix weaponsUpdated concepts of anomalies and artifacts - rare anomalies cannot be seen and are discovered using detectors36 weapon types4 multiplayer game modes12 multiplayer maps
A review by Nazuku on Stalker (DVD) July 17th, 2006
Author's product rating:
Did you enjoy it?
Loved it
Story
Outstanding
Characters / Performances
Outstanding
Special Effects
Standard
How does it compare to similar films?
Outstanding
Advantages:
Good Film
Disadvantages:
None
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
Acoording to Internet Movie Database: "Stalker is rich, spiritual and contemplative journey through the fantastic inner world of human's hope, desire, disillusions and believes. Main characters, Writer (as incarnation of irrational, imaginative and emotional aspects of our nature or subconsciousness) and Scientist (rational, logic forces or consciousness) are guided by Stalker (symbolizing our desire, will and everlasting search of meaning) to the mysterious Zone (which may represent all our spiritual goals, meanings, struggles to achieve them and barriers in our path). Breathtaking and mesmerizing images and sounds, witty dialog and strong concept are the major virtues of this feature. Writer's monologues are among the most meaningful, thought-provoking and spiritual moments I ever experienced in any art. But the movie is overlong losing its powerful initial momentum and becoming inconsistent in it's final message (by final I don't mean last in chronology but overall). Tarkovsky's earlier SF drama "Solaris" is more structured and fully developed. Nevertheless, Stalker is an outstanding piece of art movie that puts its director among the few true cinema masters. "
A masterpiece of Russian cinema.
Starring: A. Kaidanovsky, Alissa Freindlich, Anatoli Solonitsyn, Nikolai Grinko Director: Andrei Tarkovsky Genre: Feature Film Sub Genre: Mystery / Drama / Sci-Fi Running time: 155 minutes Certificate UK: PG
Advantages: Wonderful landscape and premise Disadvantages: some people (emphasis on some) may find it too cerebral and not action-orientated enough for them
...the two men want the Stalker to lead them to this room, so that they may get whatever they want - although in the film this is explored further with the difference between what one wants, and what one thinks is wanted investigated.
the film follows the men as the Stalker guides them through the Zone's pschological and physical traps - it has an awareness, the Stalker's view being that it "only lets the most wretched people through". The Stalker ... ...doesn't flow as seamlessly from one part to another as I would have liked, which can spoil the moment a little.
However, even with these little annoyances, in my opinion Stalker is the greatest film ever made.
Certificate: PG
Price: My "Artificial Eye" version was £24 from Amazon ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
Advantages: Stunning Visuals!! Excellent Soundtrack. Disadvantages: Two dimensional Characters....Too Cerebral
STALKER ( 1979 )
Directed by
Andrei Tarkovsky
Writing credits Arkadi Strugatsky (novel) &
Boris Strugatsky (novel) ...
Cast:
Aleksandr Kajdanovsky .... Stalker Alisa Frejndlikh .... Stalker's Wife Anatoli Solonitsyn .... Writer Nikolai Grinko .... Scientist Natasha Abramova .... Martha, Stalker's daughter
Although ' Tarkovsky ' is better known for his ' Solaris ' film ( which incidentally he cited as his least favourite ) ' Stalker ' is a ... ...odyssey of three men ' Stalker ' , writer and scientist , who journey out into the desolate forbidden zone in search of a room, where supposedly ones prayers are answered. All in all a very overextended allegory on the difficulty of faith and the need for humility. It's nevertheless an highly acclaimed Russian film which is definitely worth a viewing. Of note also is the excellent soundtrack music by ' Eduard Artemiev ' Excellent DVD transfer with ...
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Advantages: Thrills, Chills and Laughs all the way! Disadvantages: no extras, and sadly no subtitles for those who need them
...of the series proved! My only tiny complaint is that there are no extras on the discs, but just having the full series is bonus enough as some of them had never been shown on UK television. There is a bit more.... the series was actually made on the back of 2 of the most sucessful TV movies ever made - The Night Stalker, and sequel the Night Strangler. If you can track those down on DVD as well, you're in for a treat.
Oh yes, there is a mistake in the Amazon listing - it says 3 discs... it's not, there are 5 discs with 4 episodes per disc, making it better value than it would appear....
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Advantages: A Tarkovsky Film Disadvantages: (For Some) Requires an element of thought - not a fast-car-chase action film!
...and who would perhaps find films like "Stalker" (my favourite film - I've written a review of it on here if anyone is a Tarkovsky fan) a little too philosophical and slow-moving.
I am reviewing the video version, so the clarity and colour are possibly not as crisp as the DVD version. Having said this, on my Artificial Eye "Stalker" DVD the age of the film and the methods used for transfer result in a small amount of what I call 'wobbling' in the shots (when if one looks carefully certain parts of the landscape are seen to move very slightly as if they were an overlay rather than part of the shot), so the DVD format is not infallible. There was a small amount of this on this film too, but I reiterate only if you look carefully. In my opinion it can only lend force to the atmosphere of deprivation and tension in the military entrenchments...
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Advantages: An excellent piece of live comedy, the live show is much better than the TV series Disadvantages: The dark humour might not appeal to all tastes
...about job centre battle axe Pauline who has a love of pens and a loathing of the unemployed.
The extras on the DVD include a few sketches taken from other live shows at different venues, a screen saver and a phone call recording called BIG WOMAN! The phone call involves listening to sinister answer phone messages left by someone who you think is probably a stalker with a penchant for large ladies. At the end of the series of answer phone messages the stalker finds out that what he thinks is a big woman is actually a big man (YOU?RE A REAL GOOD KID!).
I found the DVD to be quite a good way to entertain friends who had never seen the show on television before, everyone I showed it to seemed to find it hysterically funny (especially Herr Lipp). You don?t really need to have seen the TV show to get the jokes on the DVD.
Personally I...
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Plot: Based on the novel 'Roadside Picnic' which centres around a number of zones created by visiting extra-terrestrials. These zones hold special powers; they can grant wishes or set traps. Russian dialogue with subtitles.
Special Features: Stills Gallery, Cast And Crew Biographies, Cast And Crew Filmographies, Interview With The Director Of Photography, Interview With The Production Designer, Extract From Tarkovskys Diploma Film The Steamroller And The Violin
Aspect Ratio: 4:3 Full Frame
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
Dubbing Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 Russian
DVD Description
With STALKER, Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky returns to the mind-bending, philosophy-tinged science fiction of SOLARIS. The setting is an unnamed country in an unforeseen postapocalyptic future. A meteorite has landed, and its impact has created a mysterious phenomenon known as the Zone, within which resides a sinister room said to grant humanity's deepest desires. Only Stalkers are able to enter the Zone, bringing intrepid citizens to test their strength and desires against the Zone's enigmatic treacheries. The film follows one such Stalker (Alexander Kaidanovsky) as he attempts to bring two characters known as Writer (Anatoli Solonitsyn) and Scientist (Nikolai Grinko) into the Zone. The hapless trio makes a difficult and mud-drenched journey, dodging military guards and invisible traps and enduring extreme psychological strain. While Tarkovsky avoids any direct political reading of STALKER, the film's allegorical structure presents a powerful and disturbing metaphor for humanity's loss of and subsequent quest for faith. The Stalker's struggle to rescue himself and his family while guiding those more wretched than himself creates a physical and metaphysical drama that leaves the viewer breathless. Blending visual, narrative, and cinematic conventions to portray the fractured logic of the Zone, Tarkovsky conjures a universe of despair and desire in which science, rationalism, and technology must face off against love, humanism, and faith.
Professional reviews
Review: "...A preternaturally vivid style rendered Dosteyevskyan by monochrome photography whose raspingly harsh textures suggest some grainy newsreel footage of the future..." (Sight and Sound, p.63-4, 01/12/1980)
![Stalker [DVD] [1979]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78548079.jpg)
![Manhunt - Search For The Night Stalker [DVD] [1989]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/75105860.jpg)
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