Stalker
Stalker
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2h 41m
Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky • 1979 • Soviet Union
Starring Alisa Freindlikh, Aleksandr Kaidnovsky, Anatoly Solonitsyn
Andrei Tarkovsky’s final Soviet feature is a metaphysical journey through an enigmatic postapocalyptic landscape, and a rarefied cinematic experience like no other. A hired guide—the Stalker—leads a writer and a professor into the heart of the Zone, the restricted site of a long-ago disaster, where the three men eventually zero in on the Room, a place rumored to fulfill one’s most deeply held desires. Adapting a science-fiction novel by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, Tarkovsky created an immersive world with a wealth of material detail and a sense of organic atmosphere. A religious allegory, a reflection of contemporaneous political anxieties, a meditation on film itself—STALKER envelops the viewer by opening up a multitude of possible meanings.
Up Next in Stalker
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STALKER Edition Intro
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Geoff Dyer on STALKER
In this interview, shot in 2017, Geoff Dyer, author of “Zona: A Book About a Film About a Journey to a Room,” discusses how his impatient first viewing of STALKER gave way to a decades-long love for the film.
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Eduard Artemyev on STALKER
A pioneer in the field of electronic music, Eduard Artemyev composed scores for three of Andrei Tarkovsky’s films (SOLARIS and THE MIRROR, in addition to STALKER). In this 2000 interview, Artemyev recalls the process of composing for STALKER.
