Tarkovsky's work was truly ahead of its time. The fact that he had the foresight to add a like and subscribe button animation at the start of a film that released before TH-cam was even a website really shows how much of a visionary director he was.
What a joy to have this miracle of a movie free, online, in excellent quality! Thank you! “The aim of art is to make man capable of being good.” (Tarkovsky)
One of the most astounding films ever. I saw this in the theatre in the 1980s, with my mother whom I had talked into coming along - before that point I had only seen Andrey Rublev on a tv screening the year before, a film that really got me hooked on Tarkovsky. We both watched Stalker with rapt attention and even midway through, we knew this was a masterpiece.
Finished in 5 mins. Tried 10 secs normal speed, then double speed, then skipping, skipping faster, saw a guy wading through water then guys falling in the room, then looked up the plot in wiki, now wandering how it has 8.1 in imdb, thinking about movie reviewers wanting to appear original. This movie was made in a time when ppl had fewer distractions.
@@dracoborne2648 That's the power of capitalism, comrade. There was no Internet in the Soviet Union. And the Russian Mosfilm is now a capitalist company. They only released this film to public domain in 2011 because there is no more money in it. 😂
The key moment for me in Stalker was what comes after the group's realisation that the room does not grant you what you want or plan or even need, but what your heart truly desires. The Writer never enters the Room, as his lack of inspiration is just a symptom of his lack of self-knowledge - he can't know what he wants. The Professor never enters, and dismantles the bomb - if the Room truly does grant you your desire and his deepest desire was to destroy the Room, the bomb is actually redundant. Not one of them enters the Room because they are afraid of what their true desire is. And yet, thanks to going through this process of realisation, all three men arguably end up with exactly what they wanted. The Writer understands he was lacking inspiration because he didn't understand himself; he leaves with both inspiration and understanding. The Professor said he wanted to understand the Zone but planned to prevent its misuse by evil men; he leaves knowing it is beyond the whims of evil men, and with some understanding of what the Zone truly is. The Stalker wants to take people to the Zone but laments that people have lost the belief for traversing the Zone and living good lives; three men have safely navigated to the heart of the Zone and back again, and all three have a belief in something beyond them as a result. The Professor and the bomb literalise that thought - you get what you truly desire from the Room, but you do so from the act of reaching and understanding it. Entering the Room is redundant - and as the bomb is thrown away unused, so the Room is never used and even goes unseen. Understanding ourselves is the most powerful thing we have at our sole disposal. So many films, political plans, news angles here are about creating a narrative that suits, and so few challenge the necessity of it. Even when a story is about finding yourself in a narrative you don't control, it is almost always about seizing the narrative for yourself, or finding comfort within it. We are directed to fight the narratives that surround us on their grounds of greatest strength, and told that the correct victory is the one that leaves a narrative redirected but ultimately still in place. Stalker felt important to me as one of the few stories that tells you that you can exist outside of these narratives, so long as you are willing to abandon your narrative of self first. If you understand yourself you don't need to tell stories about yourself to fill that gap, and you find the gulf between you and the narratives that would drag you in is suddenly visible, so visible you don't know why you didn't see it before.
What we need the most we find where we least expect, and perhaps the room is inside us not exterior to us. Thank you for your reflections, it helped me articulate some main ideas better for myself.
An aside from your thoughts, isn't it amazing that this story continues to generate these thoughts in people? There is something about the symbolic construction of the stalker, the zone and the room (or sphere if you want to go with the novel), which continues to resonate with humans. There is definitely something similar to TS Eliot's The Wasteland in the themes, but I feel like Road Side Picnic/Stalker touch on something else which is almost impossible to articulate with words and logic.
What a cool incite, thanks for sharing. Tarkovsky is one my favourite directors/ artists for about 11 years now. One of the few creatives that I genuinely continue to learn from on repeated viewing. I believe much of art today depends on novelty which ultimately fades. Tarkovsky was really trying to figure out/ work with ideas. Your incite has just stoked a new interest to watch again. If you have any recommendations of films in this quality, I'd love to hear them! I enjoy films of Bella Tarr, Roy Andersson, Terrence Malick, Denis Villeneuve, Nicolas Winding Refn, Peter Strickland, Yorgos Lanthimos, Wes Anderson. I think films with stong aesthetic and mood driven 'auture' styles.
All films of all Soviet film studios are available for free on TH-cam, not all films are beautiful and even many are far from good, but absolutely everything
I watched this film with my dad when i was very young in the UK. i think I would have been maybe 8. It stuck with me all through the years but had always thought I'd never find it again . Luckily a complete stranger on line came up with the answer after I posted some very hazy memories of scenes involving the army vehicles in a strange eerie zone where nothing was happening. Cant believe I can now rewatch it here. Thanks so much
@@grahamcharman8064 I feel Jeff VanderMeer (writer of the Annihilation book) is a huge roadside picnic fan because the similarities between the two stories are quite striking in many ways , Both are a very interesting take on the "alien" encounter film where there is actually no malicious intent but just potential alien space junk and its dangers to humanity and the planet like pollution left behind by humans and the poor unsuspecting animals there being affected by these in possibly terrible ways....
@@XavierLignieresI also think it's really interesting that where both stories in the books tend to focus more on the mystery surrounding the "invading" element like the Zone or the Shimmer (particularly in the case of the Annihilation books), both of the film adaptations tend to focus much more on the existential, the mind and conscious/subconscious, and the inner workings of the people involved. Obviously Stalker was much more focused on that aspect from the jump, partially being a commentary on the environment of the authors, but Alex Garland's Annihilation sort of mirrors it the way it starts off mysterious and ultimately ends still mysterious but with the characters discovering a lot about themselves and the nature of the self. (Or in the case of Annihilation, self-destruction.)
Wonderful film. I liked that for the adults; life was grey outside of the Zone. But since the child had the Zone living in her, life was color no matter where she was at.
I didn't totally get the shots of the Stalker that had the same color pallete but took place within the Zone. Was this because he was losing his faith as the way the Zone was "acting" wasn't making sense to him?
My favorite movie. Film as parable, film as drug, film as spiritual journey, film as anthropology, film as history. Exhibit A on the enormous power of cinema. A sublime work of genius.
Tarkovsky's films are master pieces. I started watching them in the 90's, when I was studying photography, and it was a must to see the beautiful and genius images of Tarkovsky's work.
What (for lack of a better word) genre of film is this? I want to watch the films which people who enjoy poetry, philosophy, literature, art, etc. watch. Films that have deep meanings and tackle complex emotions and perspectives, etc. I know what I would like but I have none of the vocabulary or information to start watching Lol
@@nobutternotes Also, Stalker is based on the novel Roadside Picnic by the Strugatsky brothers. If you liked the film, I highly recommend the source material. You can find the pdf online.
*"Into The Zone: Chapter One" (2024 US 'Stalker' remake)* _Rated R for strong language, bloody violence and moderate sex references_ Red, a no-nonsense single black mother takes time away from raising her children to venture into The Zone - an alien landscape full of mystery and wonder. Naturally endowed with the gift of intuition and the ability to communicate with the lost alien artefacts, she must evade military cordons and deadly traps to save people stuck in The Zone. However, one day during an expedition she is ambushed by UN soldiers and forced to abandon one of the rescued people to be gunned down. Sgt. Dwayne Gunnery Hardman (who pulls the trigger after a dramatic monologue, which ends with "death is a roadside picnic, and I'm the cook") catches a glimpse of Red as she escapes and takes a personal interest in seeing her captured. Red is haunted by her failure and turns to drinking. Red has now quit stalking, and several months have passed. However, one of her children has grown sick and none of the doctors can help. Red is visited in the night by a vision from the alien civilisation, who tell her about a mysterious The Room deep within The Zone which can grant any wish, but only if your heart is pure and free of any malice. Realising that this is the only hope of saving her daughter, Red assembles a team for one last expedition. The journey is long (at least 15 minutes of screen time) and perilious (during one especially dramatic moment, Red has to leap between two gravitational anomalies as they chase her, leaping inside a hangar and slamming the door just in time). Finally the team reach The Room, but out of nowhere a member of the team (nicknamed Vulture Swindlehips) pulls out a bomb! It turns out they have always loved Red and want to revenge themselves for their spurned love, but Red (who is very caring as well as no-nonsense) is able to talk them out of it and they drop the bomb on the ground. The disaster is averted, and The Room is right ahead, but all of a sudden Red hears "looking for this?". They turn around! And who could it be but Sgt. Dwayne Gunnery Hardman, holding the bomb and one of Red's children and threatening to blow The Room and The Zone to kingdom come! He has gone rogue and is seeking to capture Red himself... dead or alive. A shootout ensues, and after taking several bullets Sgt. Dwayne Gunnery Hardman makes a run for it, straight into The Room. "No - wait...!" yells Red, but it is too late. Sgt. Dwayne Gunnery Hardman is killed by The Room, pulled to pieces by an anomaly which judges the heart of everyone who enters. [TO BE CONTINUED IN "INTO THE ZONE: CHAPTER TWO"]
@@blodulfur2445 Not quite. Chernobyl didn't happen yet when this was shot. In fact I'm pretty sure it wasn't even build back then. But the main location where the movie takes place was an old hydroplant, next to a river that was still used to dump toxic chemicals by another chemical plant. Three people who worked on the film developed a similar form of cancer that could quite possibly be from filming there.
I watched Stalker recently, after watching another good film, Ivan’s Childhood, and it immediately became one of my all time favourite films with it’s engaging, minimalist storytelling, the Stalker, Writer and Professor, in spite of their different personalities, backgrounds and viewpoints on life, are still likeable and relatable characters, and the themes of faith, hope, and mankind’s struggle for happiness and finding meaning in life, along with quiet moments, lack of any villains or end of the world style narrative, good acting, charming and funny interplay between the three leads, a calming, cerebral atmosphere, that make it oddly relaxing and comforting, this is one of Andrei Tarkovsky’s more optimistic films, especially when you consider a lot of his other ones are quite melancholy when you really think about it. In my personal opinion, the two most emotional moments in the film was the scene where the Writer, rejects the Room, no longer needing it to find inspiration for his books, notices the Stalker crying on the floor after having a breakdown over leading people into it, regardless of their moral stance or what they do with their wishes, to feel like he had a purpose in his lonely, miserable life, and the Writer, who, outside of briefly putting aside his negative feelings to try helping him find the Professor when they’re separated, had been the most confrontational and cynical with him throughout the journey, gently puts his arm around him and hugs him, showing a more compassionate and humble side, as the Professor, a man who always tried to find logic and reason to explain life, realises that the Room is beyond our comprehension of good or evil, yet at the same time, if it’s destroyed, the Stalker bringing hope back into the lives of people would be for nothing, also gives up on entering it too and the three quietly sit together in solidarity. As the area flickers with a yellow/brown light, I interpreted it as the Room trying to tempt them subconsciously into giving in to their deepest desires, regardless of if they want more than what they initially had, especially since Porcupine wanted his dead brother back and killed himself in guilt after choosing a selfish wish of getting money over saving him, but they still remain defiant together, even as it starts raining and when the Stalker and his Wife return home, the Writer and the Professor don’t look all sunshine and rainbows, but they don’t look miserable either, they just quietly watch him leave, and presumably go back to their old lives, as wiser men who have changed for the better, hopefully, they continue to stay friends with him, because the poor guy really needs them. As for the second moment, it’s when the Stalker’s Wife sees the Stalker’s despair over his perceived failure in the Room, calms her husband down and puts him bed, trying her best to soothe his anxieties until he falls asleep, and gives that great, well-acted monologue about how in spite of all the difficulties she endured, in both her relationship to him and how people treated him badly, whether it’s inside the prison or out in the Zone where people inevitably leave him or die due the unpredictable nature of the Room, along with struggling to raise their disabled daughter, but his Wife does her best to accept and understand his fears and worries, cares for him and their child deeply, never treats him like a liability, and that he is loved and and valued by the people closest to him, and she’d rather take a life of passion, and pain, over a grey, dull, unfulfilling one, because she loves her family that much and I found that so sweet, hopeful and beautiful. Plus, they got a cool new black dog to play with!
@@21Screen that's because you have never experienced the true anguish of the soul which happens when you live in a society prohibiting the expression of belief in the divine, i.e. truth, and acting to distort reality while treating its citizenry like garbage. Only after having gone through the experience of living within such a society as an honest, artistic, and highly sensitive person can you suffer less
I remember watching it decades ago. My friends told me I was getting sleepy because the film was extremely slow but I was just...fascinated!! Masterpiece!
I've seen that movie for the first time, when I was 10. It was late at night and I woke up by a nightmare. I went down to the livingroom and switched on the TV. One channel broadcasted "Stalker"... I was overwhelmed by the pictures, the moods, the interaction of lights and shadows... the deep-touching and metaphoric trip... that movie was true art for me, right from the first moment! I really love it!!!!!!
All my childhood I would dream of waking up a night, switch on tv to find TB6 or similar sounding channel. some kids would it call Russian others would French, TB6, or so.. and then they would tell whatever erotic story they could made up , as recalling from the tv...😂😂
Greatest movie ever. This is both poetry and philosophy well put in a movie. I do not know what is better, scenography or dialogue. Besides, those who truly know about Tarkovsky, know how much of Christian ideas he put in his movies. He is truly Dostoyevsky of cinema.
@MikeJames-kt5dw yes. There are a lot of allusions to his faith once in the zone, even ironic symbolism. Notice how the black and white scenes refer to the laws of the state.
Мне было лет 15 ,когда вместо того чтобы идти в школу, гуляя с другом по родному Таллину попали на сьёмки эпизода ,где герои прорывались на Зону. Пролезли к самому режисёрскому столику,но Андрей Тарковский не прогнал нас ,а стал рассказывать ,что за эпизод они снимают,даже кофем угостил.....
so cool that u were a part of that. its really like being a kid wandering onto the set of kubrick or Hitchcock and having them let u stand on the camera train or something and give u a soda lol
since mosfilm is in my life, i have been transported....one sublime masterpiece after another...the humanity and introspection of russian movies is beyond what even my literary access has ever conceived or been swept away with. my heartfelt gratitude for this act of sharing.
Yeah I was gonna give mad props to the location scout, until I've read about those beautiful locations being actual toxic wasteland and killing off some of the crew.
I came across this by chance. It feels like winning the lottery. I am used to Korean drama, but am keenly exploring Russian Drama. This epitomises everything that cinematography is all about. Hollywood eat your heart out, you are redundant!I will search for more of Tarkovsky's work.
This is one of those films that takes multiple watches to truly appreciate. I remember watching this years ago, unsure of what exactly the message was, but nevertheless intrigued by how mystical and bizarre the shots and pacing were. This film is like nothing I had ever seen before and yet I watched the whole way through in wonder. Dare I say this film is magical... meditative, almost. Only after reading a thorough analysis of the plot did I approach it with a new perspective... and I'm glad I did... though I'll admit my first viewing will always stick with me the most; going in blind and ignorant was more rewarding. At least to me it was. Fantastic film!
Tarkovsky himself saw his movies more like poetry than anything else and always was trying to convey more emotion than a literal message in his work. What you think it means is basically what it's supposed to mean. It's important what emotions his movies invoke in you and your relation to them. He wants you to feel, because to think is also to feel, most of the time. At least that's what I understood from what he was writing and saying about most of his work.
I too was completely transfixed by my first viewing of Stalker. It was my first Russian movie, my first Tarkovsky movie, and I got to see it in a theater (at my college, at one of those "foreign film" series). It was the most suspenseful movie I'd ever seen (because of Tarkovsky's pacing), but Tarkovsky's "approach" also made me learn how to watch the film in a new way as I was sitting there in the dark. An amazing (first) film experience of my now favorite film director. (I have to note while I am here that Denis Villeneuve is assembling a massive body of work. I also get really delighted by Guy Maddin).
You can watch it 100 times and still feel something different. It's like a painting or a classical song more than a movie. And knowing every location was something set to be demolished so they got it for no money to film there and now all locations are gone makes it that much more fantastical. It's truly a dream of a movie.
The Strugatskys are brilliant writers. Existentialist novelists. Depicting the absurdity of life but leaving always a small grain of either hope, humor, or redemption. Love many of their books/stories.
I am going to say no to Strugatskys being brilliant writers. They have some great ideas, but it is obvious that they physicists instead of writers. They should have gotten a 3d person to edit their work and expand on it.
One of the greatest movies ever! Thanks for uploading. Almost like he predicted Chernobyl. And to think he filmed this, the film was ruined in processing, so actually went back and RESHOT the ENTIRE FILM! Thats dedication!
Watching this movie at this particular time in history is all the more significant. Tarkovskij was able to transpose the oddities of a dream into film.
I found them very relatable in a third-person sense. The kinds of meanderings I see people make, that run on output and have long since disallowed themselves new input. The engine runs but it's no longer learning.
Wow… that last shot of the “center” is so beautiful. I mean holy crap, he dropped the wall out of the room and told you everything. You are the zone, you are the monster looking in. Whatever we are, we’re the ones creating memories and changing things for the better or for the worse. This is ingenious.
I see the movie more like a deep psychological exploration from different perspectives: faith (the Stalker), emotions (The writer, driven mostly by his gut feelings) and the mind (the professor, trying to use the logic of reasoning even when it does not fit). The faith part is simple - the Stalker lives a simple, even low level life, but finds peace and happiness in the Zone. The professor, because he cannot apply the logic mechanisms to comprehend the zone, is scared to enter the Room, and has even desired to destroy it ( destroy what you do not comprehend). The writer is also afraid to believe and enter the Room, because of his accumulated negative emotions that may distort his desires. The movie is trying to set a balance between faith, mind and emotions. In the end they do not couple, but rather settle for neutrality - they were forced to intersect for a short time, then they separate again, on different paths.
I also like how the "miracles" happening in the Zone isn't directly shown. Idk, maybe it's because Im agnostic but for me, the puzzling nature of the Zone not only makes for a tense atmosphere but also an accurate depiction of the so-called miracles we encounter in life.
@@canti7951 Miracles are at the border between reality and our subjective perception. The same facts can be perceived as mundane or, if you look from a different angle, as miracles. I guess Tarkovski does not want to limit miracles by reducing them to simple facts and events, but rather let suggestions be amplified by our perception and imagination.
You missed the huge library the simple minded faithful stalker keeps. He has a treasure of profound wisdom and deep emotions which became visible when he asks that heartbreaking question to his wife at the end ,”What if you fail too?” Stalker in my opinion is a film which poetically but clearly celebrates mysticism and Indian spiritualism which is called as Adhyatm.
Definitely the movie which corresponds our current time in 2022 (that actually amazes me how the director reflects the problems and defines psychological up and downs in human life) and it totally transposes the future! It seems very psychological and is not for the ordinary audience to watch. I was born in 1979 and decided to watch this movie because I had a chance to read "The Roadside Picnic" by Strugatsky brothers and so was intrigued by the idea to watch the movie. However I must say the movie is not exactly the reflection of the book... The movie is what you wish and want to become as a person, the movie is the allegory of the "room" that these men are looking for... I think this is our life where we all try to find ourselves...Interesting abstract vision and style of directing! I have to watch other Tarkovsky's movies.
Thank you so much Mosfilm! Stalker is my favourite film! Tarkovsky.... genius. Hope all his movies are avaiable: as a gift to humanity. Spasiba bolscoi!
1:26:00 is one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever conceived. What other filmmaker would pause the film right in the middle so the viewer could go on an introspective journey while meditating on incredible visuals and sound? Tarkovsky is the greatest. He used cinema as art in a way no one else ever has.
This movie is more than a film, it's the culmination of a lifelong addiction to Soviet and Russian cinema, and particularly to movies by Tarkovsky. Thank you Mosfilm!👍♥️
The Zone is an Afterlife, the immediate second level.. feared by many but in fact quiet and peaceful.. also filled with eternal wisdom.. love Tarkovsky.. true genius! That’s why the zone part is colorful (the actual reality), compared to the real world being in black and white… but.. that’s my vision of it. The greatest wisdom- everyone seeing he’s own thing in this movie: this is Tarkovsky’s own view, that different from the author’s.. cops on the fences are our society, leading by given norms and laws.. including the organized religion ☺️… multi layered masterpiece!!!
THANK YOU SO MUCH, Mosfilm!! For presenting all these Film Classics to the whole world for everyone to see. That is such an incredible Gift to all of us :) I own STALKER already on DVD and Blu-ray but I still felt like showing my deepest appreciation for you that you officially provide this amazing Tarkovsky Masterpiece over here. Большое спасибо, Mosfilm!! :)
what a magnificent film!!! i am not russian - but filipino -- but just with guidance of synopsis..translations while listening to the russian language sound..and the story in action..it is compelling!!! Thanks for such creations as this!!!
I love this film, I remember when it was still hard to find. So seeing it here for everyone makes me happy. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did. 😁
Much thanks, Mosfilm! It wasn't long ago that this film was not available on TH-cam. The restoration is top notch. We can watch guilt-free knowing that it is posted by the rightful publisher. It is a shame that Andrei never got to see it in this format.
I'm not sure if Tarkovsky would appreciate the contemporary digital era formats. In his own book "Sculpting in time" he really admires the magic of cinema through its kineskoping and early cinemating presentation. And yet we can't be totally sure.
@@Veluvian I hear what you're saying. I think he would have wanted the audience to see the film as close as possible to what was coming through the camera lenses at the time of recording. NTSC formatting just didn't do it justice. In the Mosfilm restoration, I am seeing details and textures I had never seen in prior watchings.
I do appreciate you sharing this with all cultures. We know so little, nothing much good at all about anything not of Europe, East of Berlin! It is deeply gratifying to see another way of thinking about human beings so gracefully and with such complete openness and understanding of our struggles to be fully human in all the familiar places but especially the unfamiliar ones. Life is elsewhere not only in America, London, Paris, Oslo, Madrid, Barcelona, Tel Aviv…
Russia is culturally Europe, and previously always has been. The 75% of its population lives in the European part of Russia, which is 40 % of the entire European continent. The last tsar and his family were of Danish and German heritage. Today’s Russia is distinguished from the rest of the Europe as is a consequence of the Bolshevik revolution which led to the establishment of the Soviet Union and the false “coup d’état” after a while when Russians voted for the independence from the Soviet (one of the first Soviet republics to do so) and protested against the establishment. But those winners ended up to be essentially the same people who governed in the soviet era pretending to be democrats. When people have realised that the mafia was way too strong. So now you know a bit more about other part of Europe in the east, hopefully it was interesting
I'll give this a shot. This movie is essentially a walk through your own thought process where initially the world is black and white, implying a world where everything is straight forward and can't be in a spectrum. Essentially meaning that whatever you desire is exactly what you desire and it has no negative implications whatsoever. However, when they enter the Zone, there is color because this is the beginning/realization that the world can't be that way. The entire stroll through the zone is understanding your own-self and slowly coming to realization to the fact that understanding yourself is the place where all your desires can come through. The time when the writer directly wanted to go to the room but couldn't is director's way of telling to really think it through. With each conversation they realize that even their innermost desires can't really lead them to a life where it's pure happiness with no strings attached and that's not the worst thing in the world. Materialistic desires will eventually led you to crisis (Porcupine) and it's best to focus on your innermost thoughts and decipher them as clearly as possible. To truly appreciate this movie, one must think of themselves as a character who is going along with the Stalker and being a part of their conversations. Those long quiet shots are for introspection and maybe at the end, you might find your self in the "room".
I first saw this film many years ago as an impressionable 18 year old. I didn't understand it, but the power of the images stuck with me. It's still one of my favourite films, but I can't really explain the appeal to others.
No need to explain. The one who doesn't understand can only understand by himself. He has to exercise his mind and make an effort. That's what Tarkovsky himself says: "Good art enables people to become better."
My brain is dumdum but to me the zone is where east and western philosophy meets with western faith, and the three protagonists stand for logic, faith and feeling, the writer, the stalker, the professor. But I like the music and pretty pictures but many of the subtle themes I can't understand due to the symbolism that is rooted in said things that I have never read about or encountered :)
Watching this film is like the state between falling asleep and meditation, trying to stay focussed yet remaining relaxed but feeling a heavy pull towards sleep. Drifting in and out of the dialogue catching snippets here and there, waking in scenes where even the characters are drifting off to sleep, the film begins to seep into your dreams, you become interwoven with it. One of the most spiritual and enlightening films ive ever seen.
This is still one of my personal absolute favorite movies! Whan i first watched it it realy didn´t look like anything else i seen before on screen, more like an amalgamasion of conciciousness in reality and the dreamworld, it is truly a masterpice of art in my opinion!
After watching the film, my father who grew up in the Soviet Union set me onto reading the book and I was so blown away that the film almost felt dissapointing despite how good it is. After that I was addicted to the Strugatsky Bros and read almost everything of theirs, my fav being the doomed city.
Roadside Picnic is an incredible book although I think Tarkovsky did the right thing not trying to adapt it literally. I saw the film long before I read the book and was not disappointed by either. I also really enjoyed The Doomed City. I'm curious, are you able to read the books in the original Russian or are you reading translations? (I don't know any Russian)
Alongside Mirror, Stalker is peak Tarkovsky. His Sculpting In Time style so beautifully realised. Its mix of philosophy, poetry and pathos is unparalleled in cinema. Andrei was a true auteur.
You very rightly noted Artemyev's role in creating the atmosphere of the film. I personally know Eduard Nikolayevich. He is a very intelligent person and a musical genius. At the same time, he is very modest and takes compliments with humor.
@@Sonmz I am so happy and humbled to get your reaction. I would find it a great fortune if I ever get to meet you and Eduard Nikolayevich in person. Even though I could never meet Andrei Tarkovsky, I have seen and studied all his films, especially Stalker since 1982 while studying at the film school in India. I have a very intimate and spiritual anecdote with Andrei Tarkovsky which I would share with you two whenever we meet.
@sonm I worked with him at a music festival in the late 1980s. You described him perfectly! How sad to have just learned of his recent passing... May Maestro Artemyev rest in peace, and music. 💐
A masterpiece and one of my favorite films. If you love fast paced, action packed, car crashes and super heroes ... this is not the movie for you. Thank you SO much for sharing
Thank you for uploading this to TH-cam. I've had the DvD since 2004 or so and I honestly feel that it's important that more people are able to view this masterpiece.
For me the entire movie passed a sensation of being an analogy to life, even the darkening and mysterious movie aesthetic. The idea of them doing this journey to the Zone for the end they don't even go into Room, they rethinking the reason to go there many times during the path; it all reminds me the journeys we start in our lives and stop in the middle of that. It's a movie to see contemplating and reflecting, to immerse in the aesthetic and character's dialogue. I finished this film with more doubts than I was at the beginning but in peace.
this has become one of my favourite movies to fall asleep to. not because its boring but because the beautiful and haunting cinematography, the subtle use of music and sound design, the dialogue which sometimes delivered straight to camera like a theatre play and overall just how its all paced... the film is like a mystery for me that puts me into a trance. fantastic movie!
Same. I've been several days to completly watch it. I could'nt watch more than 20 minutes in a row. I just got incredibly sleepy. It's not that i lost interest on the movie. its just that all scenens are so slow that my brain got confy on the scene and embrace it as something atemporal. Like a 4D photograph. Also with the tranquil sounds, and ununderstandable voices... All that allowed me to sink slowly into the realms of dreams. So peacefully
My first time at it, doing a bit of research on the film although I couldn't completely decode the movie but I feel like this was what I was searching for, a truly magical movie. I just want to revisit it after I complete my research on it! Do like this comment so that I don't forget that such depths of movie exist!!! This movie can be called a digitally moving fest for eyes! indeed !
I first saw Solaris when I was 15/16 and was totally awestruck I saw Stalker years ago at the NFT southbank and was totally immersed It is a masterpiece of cinema Thanks so much for giving others the chance to see this visual and cinematic feast It has been said it literally cost the lives of some of the participants who gave us this truly great experience
Grabbed the first game back in 2007 and found out about the movie a year later. I have the old Kino 2 disc version on DVD and I've read Roadside Picnic as well. One of the all time greatest films ever made without question. The Stalker games are just as captivating, I've spent hundreds of hours on each entry. Join the family fellow Stalkers, it's been 15 years for me and I'm not quitting any time soon.
This reminds me of Nabakov's book 'The Defense' in which the (master chess player) protagonist standing in a city park, imagines the lamp post's relation to the shrub and it's position relative to the tree and how he might achieve ''check mate'' using the fire hydrant, all while a young, and beautiful woman is pouring her heart out in despair. Tarkovsky's movie slowed my heart rate to that of an arctic frog's and I have been able to hibernate beneath the permafrost ever since I watched this film. I have no other skills.
This is so well shot, and the scene compositions are amazing. It really feels like a far newer movie. Tarkovsky just strutting his stuff here. It’s genuinely a beautiful movie.
Too early to comment after only 18 mins to the film....I am speechless with cinematography, the opening scene...Oh god and the gradual development in dialogues...Reminds me of Satyajit Ray's films...
Indian here. next. Ray is the 3rd greatest Asian director, 2nd being Kurosawa. This movie is a testament to Tartovsky's epic filmmaking. How much did you like the film. It's at 3rd spot on my list!
I think the lesson that this movie is trying to teach us is that if we want to find happiness in our lives, we shouldn't just follow our desires in whatever form we may have them, but rather try to understand ourselves and search for the "Why?" rather than the thing we long for itself.
What i find remarkable about this movie is the fact that it grabs your attention from the first scene and holds it captive till the end without much going on really. There is nothing holding you there except for the most beautiful cinematography you have ever seen in a movie (and probably you will ever see), brilliant dialogue and genuine acting. The other thing that's remarkable is the fact that it's considered to be one of the best sci fi movies ever made but it has no special effects. When i first seen this movie i was 15, didn't understand much but it made a huge impression on me. It really is the kind of movie you never get tired of watching and it's interesting because the older you get, the more you get from this masterpiece. Thank you for uploading!
For sure, could have gone without 5 minutes of the backs of their heads. But the tunnel scene had me tense and it's just a guy walking through a tunnel. Gets you invested with very little going on.
Tbh it gets pretty boring at parts because the cinematography is no longer beautiful but boring, it's literally just looking at the back of someone's head for minutes on end.
i feel like whatever the director wanted to communicate went completely over my head but visually this is probably the most beautiful film ive ever seen
Tarkovsky's work was truly ahead of its time. The fact that he had the foresight to add a like and subscribe button animation at the start of a film that released before TH-cam was even a website really shows how much of a visionary director he was.
😂
Yes, supporting channels giving you FREE content is absurd...
SCREAMING
No cap. Visionary AF fam.
😂
What a joy to have this miracle of a movie free, online, in excellent quality! Thank you! “The aim of art is to make man capable of being good.” (Tarkovsky)
One of the most astounding films ever. I saw this in the theatre in the 1980s, with my mother whom I had talked into coming along - before that point I had only seen Andrey Rublev on a tv screening the year before, a film that really got me hooked on Tarkovsky. We both watched Stalker with rapt attention and even midway through, we knew this was a masterpiece.
@@louise_rose it’s actually crap
The aim of art is to make man capable of being good.” (Tarkovsky) Oh well... that never happened, but hollytrash rules the world instead.
I agree. That was crap. The most boring 2 1/2 hours I have ever spent watching a movie.
@@ElBoxeo1 look at your vids
it's incredible how Tarkovsy kept my eyes glued to the screen for hours watching 3 men walking in the grass. A masterpiece
Yeah pretty incredible as I couldn't keep 30 mins. Needed like 2 weeks to end this movie.
Finished in 5 mins. Tried 10 secs normal speed, then double speed, then skipping, skipping faster, saw a guy wading through water then guys falling in the room, then looked up the plot in wiki, now wandering how it has 8.1 in imdb, thinking about movie reviewers wanting to appear original. This movie was made in a time when ppl had fewer distractions.
@@Mark-pb4dn why tf would you watch stuff at 10×, at that point just don't watch it
@@darthnihilusthebestsith this blasted movie was rated nr 1 in someone's top 500 sci fi movies. Took me a couple minutes to drop the rating to nr 500
@@Mark-pb4dnAnd when I die, they'll devour someone else...
Incredibly in a world of endless greed and selfishness a film like this is actually FREE on the internet …
Thank you Mosfilm …
Thats the power of communism.
@@dracoborne2648 That's the power of capitalism, comrade. There was no Internet in the Soviet Union. And the Russian Mosfilm is now a capitalist company. They only released this film to public domain in 2011 because there is no more money in it. 😂
I am japanese. Tarkovsky is the pinnacle of masters, along with Kurosawa. This film is a world heritage.
The key moment for me in Stalker was what comes after the group's realisation that the room does not grant you what you want or plan or even need, but what your heart truly desires. The Writer never enters the Room, as his lack of inspiration is just a symptom of his lack of self-knowledge - he can't know what he wants. The Professor never enters, and dismantles the bomb - if the Room truly does grant you your desire and his deepest desire was to destroy the Room, the bomb is actually redundant. Not one of them enters the Room because they are afraid of what their true desire is. And yet, thanks to going through this process of realisation, all three men arguably end up with exactly what they wanted. The Writer understands he was lacking inspiration because he didn't understand himself; he leaves with both inspiration and understanding. The Professor said he wanted to understand the Zone but planned to prevent its misuse by evil men; he leaves knowing it is beyond the whims of evil men, and with some understanding of what the Zone truly is. The Stalker wants to take people to the Zone but laments that people have lost the belief for traversing the Zone and living good lives; three men have safely navigated to the heart of the Zone and back again, and all three have a belief in something beyond them as a result.
The Professor and the bomb literalise that thought - you get what you truly desire from the Room, but you do so from the act of reaching and understanding it. Entering the Room is redundant - and as the bomb is thrown away unused, so the Room is never used and even goes unseen.
Understanding ourselves is the most powerful thing we have at our sole disposal. So many films, political plans, news angles here are about creating a narrative that suits, and so few challenge the necessity of it. Even when a story is about finding yourself in a narrative you don't control, it is almost always about seizing the narrative for yourself, or finding comfort within it. We are directed to fight the narratives that surround us on their grounds of greatest strength, and told that the correct victory is the one that leaves a narrative redirected but ultimately still in place. Stalker felt important to me as one of the few stories that tells you that you can exist outside of these narratives, so long as you are willing to abandon your narrative of self first. If you understand yourself you don't need to tell stories about yourself to fill that gap, and you find the gulf between you and the narratives that would drag you in is suddenly visible, so visible you don't know why you didn't see it before.
What we need the most we find where we least expect, and perhaps the room is inside us not exterior to us. Thank you for your reflections, it helped me articulate some main ideas better for myself.
Basically it's about not giving a shit about a lot of pointless stuff.
Very well said, I share a lot of your thoughts
An aside from your thoughts, isn't it amazing that this story continues to generate these thoughts in people? There is something about the symbolic construction of the stalker, the zone and the room (or sphere if you want to go with the novel), which continues to resonate with humans. There is definitely something similar to TS Eliot's The Wasteland in the themes, but I feel like Road Side Picnic/Stalker touch on something else which is almost impossible to articulate with words and logic.
What a cool incite, thanks for sharing. Tarkovsky is one my favourite directors/ artists for about 11 years now. One of the few creatives that I genuinely continue to learn from on repeated viewing. I believe much of art today depends on novelty which ultimately fades. Tarkovsky was really trying to figure out/ work with ideas. Your incite has just stoked a new interest to watch again. If you have any recommendations of films in this quality, I'd love to hear them! I enjoy films of Bella Tarr, Roy Andersson, Terrence Malick, Denis Villeneuve, Nicolas Winding Refn, Peter Strickland, Yorgos Lanthimos, Wes Anderson. I think films with stong aesthetic and mood driven 'auture' styles.
Can't believe one of the greatest films ever, with the most beautiful cinematography, is available for free, thanks Mosfilm!
All films of all Soviet film studios are available for free on TH-cam, not all films are beautiful and even many are far from good, but absolutely everything
@@Ivannst yeah until youtube finds it
@@lockandloadlikehell данные фильмы не нарушают авторских прав, поскольку выложены правообладателем
It's called justice. True Art must belong to the entire humanity without any restrictions, and Mosfilm is aware of that. Спасибо, Мосфильм!
I watched this film with my dad when i was very young in the UK.
i think I would have been maybe 8.
It stuck with me all through the years but had always thought I'd never find it again .
Luckily a complete stranger on line came up with the answer after I posted some very hazy memories
of scenes involving the army vehicles in a strange eerie zone where nothing was happening.
Cant believe I can now rewatch it here.
Thanks so much
And the recent Alex Garland film Annihilation I think , must give a nod to stalker for inspiration.
@@grahamcharman8064 I feel Jeff VanderMeer (writer of the Annihilation book) is a huge roadside picnic fan because the similarities between the two stories are quite striking in many ways , Both are a very interesting take on the "alien" encounter film where there is actually no malicious intent but just potential alien space junk and its dangers to humanity and the planet like pollution left behind by humans and the poor unsuspecting animals there being affected by these in possibly terrible ways....
@@XavierLignieresI also think it's really interesting that where both stories in the books tend to focus more on the mystery surrounding the "invading" element like the Zone or the Shimmer (particularly in the case of the Annihilation books), both of the film adaptations tend to focus much more on the existential, the mind and conscious/subconscious, and the inner workings of the people involved.
Obviously Stalker was much more focused on that aspect from the jump, partially being a commentary on the environment of the authors, but Alex Garland's Annihilation sort of mirrors it the way it starts off mysterious and ultimately ends still mysterious but with the characters discovering a lot about themselves and the nature of the self. (Or in the case of Annihilation, self-destruction.)
If my dad made me watch this w him I woke put myself up for adoption
Wonderful film. I liked that for the adults; life was grey outside of the Zone. But since the child had the Zone living in her, life was color no matter where she was at.
Thank you! Didn't understand that before
I think that's exactly what this movie is about. Most of people lost his child-like view at world around.
Exactly. Reminds me how Spielberg used the same effect in Schindler's List later on.
I didn't totally get the shots of the Stalker that had the same color pallete but took place within the Zone. Was this because he was losing his faith as the way the Zone was "acting" wasn't making sense to him?
Ur reaching
My favorite movie. Film as parable, film as drug, film as spiritual journey, film as anthropology, film as history. Exhibit A on the enormous power of cinema. A sublime work of genius.
Three frens take a walk. Nothing happens. One comes back with a dog. Best. Film. Ever.
avg A24 enjoyer
@@blondedsky5381 The best kind of film
Da GOAT movie
Their lips move and words come out.
Absolute masterpiece so underrated no one understands me!
Tarkovsky's films are master pieces. I started watching them in the 90's, when I was studying photography, and it was a must to see the beautiful and genius images of Tarkovsky's work.
stunned by his opening scene of light and shadow, cinematography....My first ever...Am smitten
@@filevans mean and petty
What (for lack of a better word) genre of film is this? I want to watch the films which people who enjoy poetry, philosophy, literature, art, etc. watch. Films that have deep meanings and tackle complex emotions and perspectives, etc. I know what I would like but I have none of the vocabulary or information to start watching Lol
@@nobutternotes Also, Stalker is based on the novel Roadside Picnic by the Strugatsky brothers. If you liked the film, I highly recommend the source material. You can find the pdf online.
@@nobutternotes These films are called "oneirical films".
Thank HEAVENS no-one has seen fit to re-make this movie!
No-one would be able to do that.
*"Into The Zone: Chapter One" (2024 US 'Stalker' remake)*
_Rated R for strong language, bloody violence and moderate sex references_
Red, a no-nonsense single black mother takes time away from raising her children to venture into The Zone - an alien landscape full of mystery and wonder. Naturally endowed with the gift of intuition and the ability to communicate with the lost alien artefacts, she must evade military cordons and deadly traps to save people stuck in The Zone.
However, one day during an expedition she is ambushed by UN soldiers and forced to abandon one of the rescued people to be gunned down. Sgt. Dwayne Gunnery Hardman (who pulls the trigger after a dramatic monologue, which ends with "death is a roadside picnic, and I'm the cook") catches a glimpse of Red as she escapes and takes a personal interest in seeing her captured. Red is haunted by her failure and turns to drinking.
Red has now quit stalking, and several months have passed. However, one of her children has grown sick and none of the doctors can help. Red is visited in the night by a vision from the alien civilisation, who tell her about a mysterious The Room deep within The Zone which can grant any wish, but only if your heart is pure and free of any malice. Realising that this is the only hope of saving her daughter, Red assembles a team for one last expedition.
The journey is long (at least 15 minutes of screen time) and perilious (during one especially dramatic moment, Red has to leap between two gravitational anomalies as they chase her, leaping inside a hangar and slamming the door just in time). Finally the team reach The Room, but out of nowhere a member of the team (nicknamed Vulture Swindlehips) pulls out a bomb! It turns out they have always loved Red and want to revenge themselves for their spurned love, but Red (who is very caring as well as no-nonsense) is able to talk them out of it and they drop the bomb on the ground.
The disaster is averted, and The Room is right ahead, but all of a sudden Red hears "looking for this?". They turn around! And who could it be but Sgt. Dwayne Gunnery Hardman, holding the bomb and one of Red's children and threatening to blow The Room and The Zone to kingdom come! He has gone rogue and is seeking to capture Red himself... dead or alive.
A shootout ensues, and after taking several bullets Sgt. Dwayne Gunnery Hardman makes a run for it, straight into The Room. "No - wait...!" yells Red, but it is too late. Sgt. Dwayne Gunnery Hardman is killed by The Room, pulled to pieces by an anomaly which judges the heart of everyone who enters.
[TO BE CONTINUED IN "INTO THE ZONE: CHAPTER TWO"]
From what ive read this is the movie that killed its director along with some others in the cast from radiation poisoning.
@@blodulfur2445 yes i saw that
@@blodulfur2445 Not quite. Chernobyl didn't happen yet when this was shot. In fact I'm pretty sure it wasn't even build back then. But the main location where the movie takes place was an old hydroplant, next to a river that was still used to dump toxic chemicals by another chemical plant. Three people who worked on the film developed a similar form of cancer that could quite possibly be from filming there.
it's all about Faith..Друже Тарковски, велико ти хвала!
I watched Stalker recently, after watching another good film, Ivan’s Childhood, and it immediately became one of my all time favourite films with it’s engaging, minimalist storytelling, the Stalker, Writer and Professor, in spite of their different personalities, backgrounds and viewpoints on life, are still likeable and relatable characters, and the themes of faith, hope, and mankind’s struggle for happiness and finding meaning in life, along with quiet moments, lack of any villains or end of the world style narrative, good acting, charming and funny interplay between the three leads, a calming, cerebral atmosphere, that make it oddly relaxing and comforting, this is one of Andrei Tarkovsky’s more optimistic films, especially when you consider a lot of his other ones are quite melancholy when you really think about it.
In my personal opinion, the two most emotional moments in the film was the scene where the Writer, rejects the Room, no longer needing it to find inspiration for his books, notices the Stalker crying on the floor after having a breakdown over leading people into it, regardless of their moral stance or what they do with their wishes, to feel like he had a purpose in his lonely, miserable life, and the Writer, who, outside of briefly putting aside his negative feelings to try helping him find the Professor when they’re separated, had been the most confrontational and cynical with him throughout the journey, gently puts his arm around him and hugs him, showing a more compassionate and humble side, as the Professor, a man who always tried to find logic and reason to explain life, realises that the Room is beyond our comprehension of good or evil, yet at the same time, if it’s destroyed, the Stalker bringing hope back into the lives of people would be for nothing, also gives up on entering it too and the three quietly sit together in solidarity. As the area flickers with a yellow/brown light, I interpreted it as the Room trying to tempt them subconsciously into giving in to their deepest desires, regardless of if they want more than what they initially had, especially since Porcupine wanted his dead brother back and killed himself in guilt after choosing a selfish wish of getting money over saving him, but they still remain defiant together, even as it starts raining and when the Stalker and his Wife return home, the Writer and the Professor don’t look all sunshine and rainbows, but they don’t look miserable either, they just quietly watch him leave, and presumably go back to their old lives, as wiser men who have changed for the better, hopefully, they continue to stay friends with him, because the poor guy really needs them.
As for the second moment, it’s when the Stalker’s Wife sees the Stalker’s despair over his perceived failure in the Room, calms her husband down and puts him bed, trying her best to soothe his anxieties until he falls asleep, and gives that great, well-acted monologue about how in spite of all the difficulties she endured, in both her relationship to him and how people treated him badly, whether it’s inside the prison or out in the Zone where people inevitably leave him or die due the unpredictable nature of the Room, along with struggling to raise their disabled daughter, but his Wife does her best to accept and understand his fears and worries, cares for him and their child deeply, never treats him like a liability, and that he is loved and and valued by the people closest to him, and she’d rather take a life of passion, and pain, over a grey, dull, unfulfilling one, because she loves her family that much and I found that so sweet, hopeful and beautiful. Plus, they got a cool new black dog to play with!
if u like old soviet movieslike that make sure you watvch OperatioN Y and Shuriks other adventures
One of those movies that stops time and makes you forget who you are, where you are, and totally immerses you in the story.
This movie is the complete opposite of immersive. I feel bored beyond comprehension due to the tediousness and slow pace of this movie. BORING.
This movie is the complete opposite of immersive. I feel bored beyond comprehension due to the tediousness and slow pace of this movie. BORING.
@@21Screen that's because you have never experienced the true anguish of the soul which happens when you live in a society prohibiting the expression of belief in the divine, i.e. truth, and acting to distort reality while treating its citizenry like garbage. Only after having gone through the experience of living within such a society as an honest, artistic, and highly sensitive person can you suffer less
@@21Screen yeah because you don't know crap about movies, go watch marvel or something
@@Ot-ej5gi you just just as pretentious as the film so I understand why you enjoyed it. Don't tell people what they have and have not experienced.
One of the GREATEST directors of all time... Thanks for making this available on TH-cam
I remember watching it decades ago. My friends told me I was getting sleepy because the film was extremely slow but I was just...fascinated!! Masterpiece!
Not sleepy, ENGROSSED
Why friend told you that you are sleepy? Don't you know your own states of being? You need someone to tell you how you feel?
@grass That makes sense.
I've seen that movie for the first time, when I was 10. It was late at night and I woke up by a nightmare. I went down to the livingroom and switched on the TV. One channel broadcasted "Stalker"... I was overwhelmed by the pictures, the moods, the interaction of lights and shadows... the deep-touching and metaphoric trip... that movie was true art for me, right from the first moment! I really love it!!!!!!
All my childhood I would dream of waking up a night, switch on tv to find TB6 or similar sounding channel. some kids would it call Russian others would French, TB6, or so.. and then they would tell whatever erotic story they could made up , as recalling from the tv...😂😂
@@mutiur7396 um...what are you on about, exactly?
Greatest movie ever. This is both poetry and philosophy well put in a movie. I do not know what is better, scenography or dialogue. Besides, those who truly know about Tarkovsky, know how much of Christian ideas he put in his movies. He is truly Dostoyevsky of cinema.
After reading this, I'm now excited to watch this. Couldn't force myself to before, but if it's at all like Dostoyevsky, I'm gonna enjoy this!
@@bigwinz tarkovsky was eastern orthodox iirc
@MikeJames-kt5dw yes. There are a lot of allusions to his faith once in the zone, even ironic symbolism. Notice how the black and white scenes refer to the laws of the state.
Probably my favourite film ever. It’s great that it’s now on TH-cam for free so more people can see it.
I saw it 1st time 30yrs ago in Cambridge and I remember leaving the theater with emotional goosebumps.Its a film you want to watch again and again.
I've watched this movie so many times. I can't explain why but it just speaks to my soul directly
@sandels1552 wow I know exactly what you mean 🥹
Мне было лет 15 ,когда вместо того чтобы идти в школу, гуляя с другом по родному Таллину попали на сьёмки эпизода ,где герои прорывались на Зону. Пролезли к самому режисёрскому столику,но Андрей Тарковский не прогнал нас ,а стал рассказывать ,что за эпизод они снимают,даже кофем угостил.....
Must have been such a gentle man, a genius, a real, good man.
Good people like that are becoming rarer and rarer nowadays...
wow! definition of a benevolent director and great teacher/enlightener!!!!!!!!
so cool that u were a part of that. its really like being a kid wandering onto the set of kubrick or Hitchcock and having them let u stand on the camera train or something and give u a soda lol
Ты щупал историю руками! Это очень круто
since mosfilm is in my life, i have been transported....one sublime masterpiece after another...the humanity and introspection of russian movies is beyond what even my literary access has ever conceived or been swept away with. my heartfelt gratitude for this act of sharing.
He and some crew members have paid the ultimate price of filming this movie. Really a masterpiece they have made
you make it sound like he did some horrible things while filming this movie lmao
Endangering whole crew isn't a horrible thing? Some morals you got there buddy
Yeah I was gonna give mad props to the location scout, until I've read about those beautiful locations being actual toxic wasteland and killing off some of the crew.
And the physical film was ruined after shooting due to a handling error so they reshot the entire thing. Double exposure :(
@@questionablegreg4684 their lives? Think bruz
The scenes and plot are so simple yet so moving at the same time, a testament to what good film making can become.
Stalker haunts my dreams and I love it so much. Whenever there are long pauses in action, my imagination runs wild and I am so thankful.
I'm so grateful this classic has been uploaded to youtube in great quality. Thank you.
I came across this by chance. It feels like winning the lottery. I am used to Korean drama, but am keenly exploring Russian Drama. This epitomises everything that cinematography is all about. Hollywood eat your heart out, you are redundant!I will search for more of Tarkovsky's work.
This is one of those films that takes multiple watches to truly appreciate. I remember watching this years ago, unsure of what exactly the message was, but nevertheless intrigued by how mystical and bizarre the shots and pacing were. This film is like nothing I had ever seen before and yet I watched the whole way through in wonder. Dare I say this film is magical... meditative, almost. Only after reading a thorough analysis of the plot did I approach it with a new perspective... and I'm glad I did... though I'll admit my first viewing will always stick with me the most; going in blind and ignorant was more rewarding. At least to me it was. Fantastic film!
One of my fav movies that comes to mind "Pi" director Darren Aronofsky 1998 Another mind bender
Tarkovsky himself saw his movies more like poetry than anything else and always was trying to convey more emotion than a literal message in his work. What you think it means is basically what it's supposed to mean. It's important what emotions his movies invoke in you and your relation to them. He wants you to feel, because to think is also to feel, most of the time. At least that's what I understood from what he was writing and saying about most of his work.
I too was completely transfixed by my first viewing of Stalker. It was my first Russian movie, my first Tarkovsky movie, and I got to see it in a theater (at my college, at one of those "foreign film" series). It was the most suspenseful movie I'd ever seen (because of Tarkovsky's pacing), but Tarkovsky's "approach" also made me learn how to watch the film in a new way as I was sitting there in the dark.
An amazing (first) film experience of my now favorite film director. (I have to note while I am here that Denis Villeneuve is assembling a massive body of work. I also get really delighted by Guy Maddin).
O, and Alexei German's "Hard to be a God" is a completely flabbergasting achievement (similarly, but less so, Khrushtalyov, My Car).
You can watch it 100 times and still feel something different. It's like a painting or a classical song more than a movie. And knowing every location was something set to be demolished so they got it for no money to film there and now all locations are gone makes it that much more fantastical. It's truly a dream of a movie.
I can't believe it. This is one of the best movies I've ever seen, for free, on TH-cam. Thank you for posting this.
This is one of the best sci-fi movies ever made. Further, it is one of the best movies ever made. Further it is the best movie of Tarkovsky.
It's pretentious garbage.
@@eckyx9019
смотри комиксы про человека-паука.
Зачем тебе Тарковский?
Wouldn't call it garbage, but it is definitely pretentious.@@eckyx9019
@@eckyx9019 how bro felt after typing that 🥶😈😈
The Strugatskys are brilliant writers. Existentialist novelists. Depicting the absurdity of life but leaving always a small grain of either hope, humor, or redemption. Love many of their books/stories.
I wrote the book : the movie is completely different.
I am going to say no to Strugatskys being brilliant writers. They have some great ideas, but it is obvious that they physicists instead of writers. They should have gotten a 3d person to edit their work and expand on it.
@@CoolGobyFish Looks like you've never read any of their books
@@mihailraskin2912 i did read the books. and it is very obvious they are not writers. great ideas, but badly written.
@@CoolGobyFish What books did you read exactly? Did you read them in translation or in Russian?
One of the greatest movies ever! Thanks for uploading. Almost like he predicted Chernobyl. And to think he filmed this, the film was ruined in processing, so actually went back and RESHOT the ENTIRE FILM! Thats dedication!
Yep.
Shot it three times.
... The Other Great Movie is KIN DZE DZE ... 😱
Watching this movie at this particular time in history is all the more significant. Tarkovskij was able to transpose the oddities of a dream into film.
A+ Dialogue. The monologues from the writer are top tier. 9/10 film for me
I found them very relatable in a third-person sense. The kinds of meanderings I see people make, that run on output and have long since disallowed themselves new input. The engine runs but it's no longer learning.
Another fantastic masterpiece by Tarkovsky. Thank you MosFilm & TH-cam for making this viewing possible.
Wow… that last shot of the “center” is so beautiful. I mean holy crap, he dropped the wall out of the room and told you everything. You are the zone, you are the monster looking in. Whatever we are, we’re the ones creating memories and changing things for the better or for the worse. This is ingenious.
I see the movie more like a deep psychological exploration from different perspectives: faith (the Stalker), emotions (The writer, driven mostly by his gut feelings) and the mind (the professor, trying to use the logic of reasoning even when it does not fit). The faith part is simple - the Stalker lives a simple, even low level life, but finds peace and happiness in the Zone. The professor, because he cannot apply the logic mechanisms to comprehend the zone, is scared to enter the Room, and has even desired to destroy it ( destroy what you do not comprehend). The writer is also afraid to believe and enter the Room, because of his accumulated negative emotions that may distort his desires. The movie is trying to set a balance between faith, mind and emotions. In the end they do not couple, but rather settle for neutrality - they were forced to intersect for a short time, then they separate again, on different paths.
Very insightful and nicely stated.
I also like how the "miracles" happening in the Zone isn't directly shown. Idk, maybe it's because Im agnostic but for me, the puzzling nature of the Zone not only makes for a tense atmosphere but also an accurate depiction of the so-called miracles we encounter in life.
@@canti7951 Miracles are at the border between reality and our subjective perception. The same facts can be perceived as mundane or, if you look from a different angle, as miracles. I guess Tarkovski does not want to limit miracles by reducing them to simple facts and events, but rather let suggestions be amplified by our perception and imagination.
It's not just your perception, it's the director's intention. :)
You missed the huge library the simple minded faithful stalker keeps. He has a treasure of profound wisdom and deep emotions which became visible when he asks that heartbreaking question to his wife at the end ,”What if you fail too?” Stalker in my opinion is a film which poetically but clearly celebrates mysticism and Indian spiritualism which is called as Adhyatm.
Definitely the movie which corresponds our current time in 2022 (that actually amazes me how the director reflects the problems and defines psychological up and downs in human life) and it totally transposes the future! It seems very psychological and is not for the ordinary audience to watch. I was born in 1979 and decided to watch this movie because I had a chance to read "The Roadside Picnic" by Strugatsky brothers and so was intrigued by the idea to watch the movie. However I must say the movie is not exactly the reflection of the book... The movie is what you wish and want to become as a person, the movie is the allegory of the "room" that these men are looking for... I think this is our life where we all try to find ourselves...Interesting abstract vision and style of directing! I have to watch other Tarkovsky's movies.
Thank you so much Mosfilm! Stalker is my favourite film! Tarkovsky.... genius.
Hope all his movies are avaiable: as a gift to humanity. Spasiba bolscoi!
1:26:00 is one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever conceived. What other filmmaker would pause the film right in the middle so the viewer could go on an introspective journey while meditating on incredible visuals and sound? Tarkovsky is the greatest. He used cinema as art in a way no one else ever has.
the movie is clearly anti-Communism, yet you seem to like both... Americans are truly mysteriously-minded creatures.
@@Ot-ej5gi, it is not anti-Communism.
@@elonmusksellssnakeoil1744 Isn't Communism against God/religion?
Bro why do people have to be political
@@lambda-m1676, not political, just ignorant.
I think about this movie at some point every single day. Totally unique.
Truly one of the greatest films of all time. I've seen it many times but this is the highest quality I've ever found it in. Thanks!
Thank you so much for that wonderful viewing experience. A fantastic piece of cinematic art.
This movie is more than a film, it's the culmination of a lifelong addiction to Soviet and Russian cinema, and particularly to movies by Tarkovsky.
Thank you Mosfilm!👍♥️
So grateful that Tarkovsky made this beautiful film.
The Zone is an Afterlife, the immediate second level.. feared by many but in fact quiet and peaceful.. also filled with eternal wisdom.. love Tarkovsky.. true genius! That’s why the zone part is colorful (the actual reality), compared to the real world being in black and white… but.. that’s my vision of it. The greatest wisdom- everyone seeing he’s own thing in this movie: this is Tarkovsky’s own view, that different from the author’s.. cops on the fences are our society, leading by given norms and laws.. including the organized religion ☺️… multi layered masterpiece!!!
THANK YOU SO MUCH, Mosfilm!! For presenting all these Film Classics to the whole world for everyone to see. That is such an incredible Gift to all of us :) I own STALKER already on DVD and Blu-ray but I still felt like showing my deepest appreciation for you that you officially provide this amazing Tarkovsky Masterpiece over here. Большое спасибо, Mosfilm!! :)
My sincerest thanks to Mosfilm for posting these films, especially Tarkovsky.
Thank you, Mosfilm. Putting all these films online is truly a gift!
@yes Where were they
what a magnificent film!!! i am not russian - but filipino -- but just with guidance of synopsis..translations while listening to the russian language sound..and the story in action..it is compelling!!! Thanks for such creations as this!!!
I watched this on Sunday and it has really stayed with me. A brilliant, thought provoking film.
I love this film, I remember when it was still hard to find. So seeing it here for everyone makes me happy. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did. 😁
Absolutely! I can't stop watching it, it's a miracle along with Tarkovsky's other works.
Much thanks, Mosfilm! It wasn't long ago that this film was not available on TH-cam. The restoration is top notch. We can watch guilt-free knowing that it is posted by the rightful publisher. It is a shame that Andrei never got to see it in this format.
I'm not sure if Tarkovsky would appreciate the contemporary digital era formats. In his own book "Sculpting in time" he really admires the magic of cinema through its kineskoping and early cinemating presentation. And yet we can't be totally sure.
@@Veluvian I hear what you're saying. I think he would have wanted the audience to see the film as close as possible to what was coming through the camera lenses at the time of recording. NTSC formatting just didn't do it justice. In the Mosfilm restoration, I am seeing details and textures I had never seen in prior watchings.
I do appreciate you sharing this with all cultures. We know so little, nothing much good at all about anything not of Europe, East of Berlin! It is deeply gratifying to see another way of thinking about human beings so gracefully and with such complete openness and understanding of our struggles to be fully human in all the familiar places but especially the unfamiliar ones. Life is elsewhere not only in America, London, Paris, Oslo, Madrid, Barcelona, Tel Aviv…
Russia is culturally Europe, and previously always has been. The 75% of its population lives in the European part of Russia, which is 40 % of the entire European continent. The last tsar and his family were of Danish and German heritage. Today’s Russia is distinguished from the rest of the Europe as is a consequence of the Bolshevik revolution which led to the establishment of the Soviet Union and the false “coup d’état” after a while when Russians voted for the independence from the Soviet (one of the first Soviet republics to do so) and protested against the establishment. But those winners ended up to be essentially the same people who governed in the soviet era pretending to be democrats. When people have realised that the mafia was way too strong. So now you know a bit more about other part of Europe in the east, hopefully it was interesting
I'll give this a shot.
This movie is essentially a walk through your own thought process where initially the world is black and white, implying a world where everything is straight forward and can't be in a spectrum. Essentially meaning that whatever you desire is exactly what you desire and it has no negative implications whatsoever. However, when they enter the Zone, there is color because this is the beginning/realization that the world can't be that way. The entire stroll through the zone is understanding your own-self and slowly coming to realization to the fact that understanding yourself is the place where all your desires can come through. The time when the writer directly wanted to go to the room but couldn't is director's way of telling to really think it through. With each conversation they realize that even their innermost desires can't really lead them to a life where it's pure happiness with no strings attached and that's not the worst thing in the world. Materialistic desires will eventually led you to crisis (Porcupine) and it's best to focus on your innermost thoughts and decipher them as clearly as possible.
To truly appreciate this movie, one must think of themselves as a character who is going along with the Stalker and being a part of their conversations. Those long quiet shots are for introspection and maybe at the end, you might find your self in the "room".
Beautifully said
Have you ever seen the movie Forbidden Zone? I feel it was a play on this movie in a psychedelic way.
oh wow, your comment made me understand the movie a lot better! thank you for sharing
A masterpiece restored and freely available ... the textures, soundtrack, mise en scène, and social commentary are brilliant.
I first saw this film many years ago as an impressionable 18 year old. I didn't understand it, but the power of the images stuck with me. It's still one of my favourite films, but I can't really explain the appeal to others.
The appeal of this movie can be explained in 3 basic things: miracle, mystery, authority.
Art communicates directly to the unconscious. This film is food for the soul, and we are very hungry for good food.
No need to explain. The one who doesn't understand can only understand by himself. He has to exercise his mind and make an effort. That's what Tarkovsky himself says: "Good art enables people to become better."
The zone shows everyone their appeal to it. But the appeal is not the same for everyone, eh?
My brain is dumdum but to me the zone is where east and western philosophy meets with western faith, and the three protagonists stand for logic, faith and feeling, the writer, the stalker, the professor. But I like the music and pretty pictures but many of the subtle themes I can't understand due to the symbolism that is rooted in said things that I have never read about or encountered :)
Thank you so much for uploading these, it’s spreading these films to those who need to see them.
I had seen this film on TV more than 40 years ago and never forgot it. I'm really looking forward to seeing you again. Thanks alot.
i can feel the definition of 'hope' changing inside me. i'm so glad i met this movie after so many years.
Watching this film is like the state between falling asleep and meditation, trying to stay focussed yet remaining relaxed but feeling a heavy pull towards sleep. Drifting in and out of the dialogue catching snippets here and there, waking in scenes where even the characters are drifting off to sleep, the film begins to seep into your dreams, you become interwoven with it. One of the most spiritual and enlightening films ive ever seen.
Do we have faith or not ? That’s the message of the movie imo.
Wow this is absolutely cinema. One of the best movies I ever watched !
This is still one of my personal absolute favorite movies!
Whan i first watched it it realy didn´t look like anything else i seen before on screen, more like an amalgamasion of conciciousness in reality and the dreamworld, it is truly a masterpice of art in my opinion!
After watching the film, my father who grew up in the Soviet Union set me onto reading the book and I was so blown away that the film almost felt dissapointing despite how good it is. After that I was addicted to the Strugatsky Bros and read almost everything of theirs, my fav being the doomed city.
Roadside Picnic is an incredible book although I think Tarkovsky did the right thing not trying to adapt it literally. I saw the film long before I read the book and was not disappointed by either.
I also really enjoyed The Doomed City. I'm curious, are you able to read the books in the original Russian or are you reading translations? (I don't know any Russian)
A masterpiece of cinema! Visually groundbreaking! Never tired of watching again this beautiful film!🙌🏾👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
Alongside Mirror, Stalker is peak Tarkovsky. His Sculpting In Time style so beautifully realised. Its mix of philosophy, poetry and pathos is unparalleled in cinema. Andrei was a true auteur.
The music and the signature tune itself is so haunting spiritually, it brings tears to my eyes every time I watch this ultimate masterpiece of cinema.
You very rightly noted Artemyev's role in creating the atmosphere of the film. I personally know Eduard Nikolayevich. He is a very intelligent person and a musical genius. At the same time, he is very modest and takes compliments with humor.
@@Sonmz I am so happy and humbled to get your reaction. I would find it a great fortune if I ever get to meet you and Eduard Nikolayevich in person. Even though I could never meet Andrei Tarkovsky, I have seen and studied all his films, especially Stalker since 1982 while studying at the film school in India. I have a very intimate and spiritual anecdote with Andrei Tarkovsky which I would share with you two whenever we meet.
@sonm I worked with him at a music festival in the late 1980s. You described him perfectly! How sad to have just learned of his recent passing... May Maestro Artemyev rest in peace, and music. 💐
@@andreawallenberger2668 That is such a sad news. A great Master indeed. Om Shanti. My prayers are with his friends and family and the loved ones.
@@LOLfestival 🙏❤️ 🕯
A masterpiece and one of my favorite films. If you love fast paced, action packed, car crashes and super heroes ... this is not the movie for you. Thank you SO much for sharing
Thank you for uploading this to TH-cam. I've had the DvD since 2004 or so and I honestly feel that it's important that more people are able to view this masterpiece.
For me the entire movie passed a sensation of being an analogy to life, even the darkening and mysterious movie aesthetic. The idea of them doing this journey to the Zone for the end they don't even go into Room, they rethinking the reason to go there many times during the path; it all reminds me the journeys we start in our lives and stop in the middle of that. It's a movie to see contemplating and reflecting, to immerse in the aesthetic and character's dialogue. I finished this film with more doubts than I was at the beginning but in peace.
this has become one of my favourite movies to fall asleep to.
not because its boring but because the beautiful and haunting cinematography, the subtle use of music and sound design, the dialogue which sometimes delivered straight to camera like a theatre play and overall just how its all paced... the film is like a mystery for me that puts me into a trance.
fantastic movie!
couldn’t have said it better, one of my favourite movies for sure
it is boring.
I highly recommend listening to the 1 hour meditation version of the soundtrack, it's very relaxing
Same. I've been several days to completly watch it. I could'nt watch more than 20 minutes in a row. I just got incredibly sleepy.
It's not that i lost interest on the movie. its just that all scenens are so slow that my brain got confy on the scene and embrace it as something atemporal. Like a 4D photograph.
Also with the tranquil sounds, and ununderstandable voices...
All that allowed me to sink slowly into the realms of dreams. So peacefully
My first time at it, doing a bit of research on the film although I couldn't completely decode the movie but I feel like this was what I was searching for, a truly magical movie. I just want to revisit it after I complete my research on it!
Do like this comment so that I don't forget that such depths of movie exist!!!
This movie can be called a digitally moving fest for eyes! indeed !
I have loved this film since I was a child. I used to play in a derelict iron foundry outside my house that was like the Zone when I was a boy.
HQ version of STALKER movie with english subtitles. I appreciate that. That has a priority on TH-cam's memory drives.
you can freeze this movie at ten random places and each will be a marvel of photographic art.
I paused at a random moment to read comments and you’re absolutely right 😂
You don't have to pause it, the director has you covered.
It's painfully evident that not only you know nothing about photography, but that you also have a very poor taste.
The audio design throughout the cart ride is absolutely fantastic; coupled with the amazing visuals and the little "nap" of the writer. Love it.
I first saw Solaris when I was 15/16 and was totally awestruck I saw Stalker years ago at the NFT southbank and was totally immersed It is a masterpiece of cinema Thanks so much for giving others the chance to see this visual and cinematic feast It has been said it literally cost the lives of some of the participants who gave us this truly great experience
I saw Solaris when 17 and it blew my mind 🤯 great film as well 👍
The initial music struck me in the heart: enchanting, mystical, perfect. 🙏🏼❤️
Andrei Tarkovsky showed that you don't need expensive movie sets or CGI to create aesthetic and powerful scenes.
Grabbed the first game back in 2007 and found out about the movie a year later. I have the old Kino 2 disc version on DVD and I've read Roadside Picnic as well. One of the all time greatest films ever made without question.
The Stalker games are just as captivating, I've spent hundreds of hours on each entry. Join the family fellow Stalkers, it's been 15 years for me and I'm not quitting any time soon.
Slava monolitu!
Slava monolitu!
Slava! @@GradeABullshittery
I hated shadow of Chernobyl but loved the second two. They are so amazingly immersive in every way.
good hunting, stalker
Within simplicity is the rebirth of unbridled enthusiasm conquered only by the human form, function, and desire. An Icon of filmography.
Perhaps the most beautifully shot film ever.
Idk.. Nostalghia is far better
@@moimoimoiiiiiii32221 Interesting I will watch it next. This has very sharp focus.
_Barry_ _Lyndon_ ?
@@thomascuriel7611 Да!
This reminds me of Nabakov's book 'The Defense' in which the (master chess player) protagonist standing in a city park, imagines the lamp post's relation to the shrub and it's position relative to the tree and how he might achieve ''check mate'' using the fire hydrant, all while a young, and beautiful woman is pouring her heart out in despair.
Tarkovsky's movie slowed my heart rate to that of an arctic frog's and I have been able to hibernate beneath the permafrost ever since I watched this film. I have no other skills.
Lollll
Truly sensational. The sense of forboding echoed in the reality of making this film
This is so well shot, and the scene compositions are amazing. It really feels like a far newer movie. Tarkovsky just strutting his stuff here. It’s genuinely a beautiful movie.
The visuals alone for this film will forever hold the test of time truly a masterful peice of art in cinematic form
What visuals?!? It's mostly random scenery and some depressing ruins. Can't decide if you are blind or stupid.
Thank You for you channel. I love European movies, what a treat to finally watch something different on TH-cam.Greetings from Vancouver Canada 🇨🇦
Too early to comment after only 18 mins to the film....I am speechless with cinematography, the opening scene...Oh god and the gradual development in dialogues...Reminds me of Satyajit Ray's films...
Indian here. next. Ray is the 3rd greatest Asian director, 2nd being Kurosawa. This movie is a testament to Tartovsky's epic filmmaking. How much did you like the film. It's at 3rd spot on my list!
I think the lesson that this movie is trying to teach us is that if we want to find happiness in our lives, we shouldn't just follow our desires in whatever form we may have them, but rather try to understand ourselves and search for the "Why?" rather than the thing we long for itself.
If I was able to follow my desires I would be happy. The problem, it is not always possible.
@@Anuclano You think that, but it's not guaranteed.
A masterpiece...what a pleasure! thank you. greetings from Brazil
Mankind exists in order to create words of art, At least that’s unselfish compared to all other human activities!
-Great quote 👍
What i find remarkable about this movie is the fact that it grabs your attention from the first scene and holds it captive till the end without much going on really. There is nothing holding you there except for the most beautiful cinematography you have ever seen in a movie (and probably you will ever see), brilliant dialogue and genuine acting. The other thing that's remarkable is the fact that it's considered to be one of the best sci fi movies ever made but it has no special effects. When i first seen this movie i was 15, didn't understand much but it made a huge impression on me. It really is the kind of movie you never get tired of watching and it's interesting because the older you get, the more you get from this masterpiece. Thank you for uploading!
For sure, could have gone without 5 minutes of the backs of their heads. But the tunnel scene had me tense and it's just a guy walking through a tunnel. Gets you invested with very little going on.
Tbh it gets pretty boring at parts because the cinematography is no longer beautiful but boring, it's literally just looking at the back of someone's head for minutes on end.
Excellente qualité d'image et un film remarquable.. comme tous les films de Andrey Tarkovsky -merci pour la publication!
Truly exceptional. Thank you for making this gem available to view.
Thank you, Mosfilm, for making so many amazing movies available to all of us; and with subtitles ! Amazing work right there !
i feel like whatever the director wanted to communicate went completely over my head but visually this is probably the most beautiful film ive ever seen
This movie left me in a trance, I have no words to describe what I have witnessed