Stalker (1979) [Blu-ray]
Drama | Sci-Fi

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The Criterion Collection [Blu-ray]

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

Storyline: In a small, unnamed country there is an area called the Zone. It is apparently inhabited by aliens and contains the Room, where in it is believed wishes are granted. The government has declared The Zone a no-go area and have sealed off the area with barbed wire and border guards. However, this has not stopped people from attempting to enter the Zone. We follow one such party, made up of a writer, who wants to use the experience as inspiration for his writing, and a professor, who wants to research the Zone for scientific purposes. Their guide is a man to whom the Zone is everything, the Stalker. Written by grantss

Reviewer's Note: Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov, June 13, 2017 Winner of the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury at the Cannes Film Festival, Andrei Tarkovsky's "Stalker" (1979) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include an exclusive new video interview with author and film historian Geoff Dyer; and archival video interviews with composer Eduard Artemyev, cinematographer Aleksandr Knyazhinskiy, and set designer Rashit Safiullin. The release also arrives with an illustrated leaflet featuring an essay by critic Mark Le Fanu and technical credits. In Russian, with optional English subtitles for the main feature.

Films like this one are very, very rare. For a short period of time they can truly transport you to a different world. They can make you see the place you have temporarily left behind from a different angle and ponder whether you might be a visitor there as well. They can energize your mind in a way you never thought possible.

The transition occurs immediately after the opening credits disappear. You are abruptly pushed into a dark and gloomy world where time seems to have stopped. Your initial impression is that the thick long shadows have started chipping away from it and that soon they will succeed in collapsing it. The skinny man with the tired eyes that emerges from these shadows and tells his wife that he must leave is the Stalker (Aleksandr Kajdanovsky). You spend some time following him around and discover that he is a tracker who has agreed to lead the Writer (Anatoli Solonitsyn) and the Professor (Nikolai Grinko) into the Zone.

Along the way you listen to the travelers talking about the Zone and learn how it came to exist. A long time ago a giant meteor apparently fell from the sky and the radiation that entered the atmosphere with it instantly killed every single creature in the area. Scientists were dispatched to study the devastation, but they never returned and the army sealed off the area. For a while no one would come near it. When the atmosphere eventually rebalanced itself, rumors emerged that aliens had landed there and that there was a place where people can have their most personal wishes granted. It was the Room.

As the men approach and enter the Zone you learn about their lives and why they have decided to risk them. They mention the system that shaped them, science and faith, the many rumored secrets of the Room. You see some similarities between their reasons and start to understand bits of the logic behind them, but their words keep coming at you like giant waves that slowly begin to overwhelm your mind. Then while on the verge of giving up, you suddenly realize that you are also heading to the Room for the very same reason the Stalker, the Writer, and the Professor are -- because you have become a seeker of enlightenment.

The structure of the narrative and the manner in which the film ultimately engages the mind are absolutely brilliant. The entire journey through the Zone basically becomes something of a deeply personal experience that forces the viewer to think about a wide range of philosophical subjects.

The spectacular visuals also create a very special ambience. The unique use of filtered light and shadows and the very specific range of desaturated primary colors and nuances give the film a truly unforgettable poetic quality. In a way it feels like an elusive dream that somehow has suddenly come alive.

The hugely atmospheric soundtrack blends a variety of new age harmonies with Slavic folk elements. The meditation theme uses an incredible pan-flute/chimes solo that very much reminds of the one that is heard in the equally atmospheric soundtrack that was created for Picnic at Hanging Rock.

Criterion's upcoming Blu-ray release of Andrei Tarkovsky's Stalker is sourced from a new 2K master that finally does this absolutely astonishing film justice. The folks at Criterion deserve a tremendous amount of credit for completing this project, and I personally believe that their release will end up being one of the high-definition format's greatest gifts to film lovers. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

[CSW] -3.8- This reviewer said it better than I could:
This is a great film for those who like artistic shots and spiritual pondering. It’s very slow and meditative and not for everyone, but it’s a brilliant work of art. Tarkovsky takes us to a world were everything is dirty and brown and all the people are distraught. The only hope people have is to make an illegal journey with a “Stalker” to a place where wishes come true. The journey is physically and spiritually dangerous. If you are lucky enough to make it past the gunfire of the guards who would kill or throw you in jail, you must still endure mysterious dangers that have left a trail of death and decay on the way. There is so much symbolism and dark beauty with very simple scenery and no special effects. Tarkovsky lays things out in a way that makes a triangle out of Faith, Art and Science and I can see it rotating within my circular view.
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[V5.0-A5.0] MPEG-4 AVC - No D-Box


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