"Stalker" (1979 release from the Soviet Union; 162 min.) brings the story of three men. As the movie opens, we get to know the "Stalker", a guy who guides people through the "Zone" towards a room that supposedly grants any and all wish. The stalker's wife begs him not to go, but he goes anyway. The Stalker's 2 customers are the Professor and the Writer. And off they go on their mysterious journey. At this point we are 10-15 min. into the movie but to tell you more of the plot would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.
Couple of comments: despite being a 1979 release, the movie was released in many countries outside of the USSR only in 1980 or even later. I happened to see the movie on its original release in Belgium (where I grew up) in 1980 or 1981. I hadn't seen this movie since then, so almost 40 years ago. Imagine my surprise when, during a recent family visit to Belgium, I noticed that the movie was playing in the local art-house theater. I just HAD to check it out again! Well, color me surprised and, frankly, taken aback at my experience watching this again. First of all, I had forgotten how slow-moving a film this was. In and of itself this is not an issue for me, but here it is taken to the extreme. I also found that the movie simply has not aged very well over the years, and looks very dated. On the other hand, I found a renewed appreciation for the photography (scenes outside the Zone are filmed in B&W, but in the Zone it's a lush palette). Also tops is the original score by Eduard Artemyev, the Russian electronic music composer (I am going to see if the soundtrack is available on CD).
All that said, given that the movie runs about 2 hrs. 45 min., I had very mixed emotions about this as the movie finally ended. I honestly did not enjoy it as nearly as much as I had expected it. The early evening screening where I saw this at in Antwerp, Belgium was attended okay but not great (less than 10 people), and when the house lights came back on, I couldn't help but notice that several others seemed to have a bewildered look on their face as well. Bottom line: "Stalker" is bound to remain a cult classic, and I encourage you to seek it out and draw your own conclusion.
Couple of comments: despite being a 1979 release, the movie was released in many countries outside of the USSR only in 1980 or even later. I happened to see the movie on its original release in Belgium (where I grew up) in 1980 or 1981. I hadn't seen this movie since then, so almost 40 years ago. Imagine my surprise when, during a recent family visit to Belgium, I noticed that the movie was playing in the local art-house theater. I just HAD to check it out again! Well, color me surprised and, frankly, taken aback at my experience watching this again. First of all, I had forgotten how slow-moving a film this was. In and of itself this is not an issue for me, but here it is taken to the extreme. I also found that the movie simply has not aged very well over the years, and looks very dated. On the other hand, I found a renewed appreciation for the photography (scenes outside the Zone are filmed in B&W, but in the Zone it's a lush palette). Also tops is the original score by Eduard Artemyev, the Russian electronic music composer (I am going to see if the soundtrack is available on CD).
All that said, given that the movie runs about 2 hrs. 45 min., I had very mixed emotions about this as the movie finally ended. I honestly did not enjoy it as nearly as much as I had expected it. The early evening screening where I saw this at in Antwerp, Belgium was attended okay but not great (less than 10 people), and when the house lights came back on, I couldn't help but notice that several others seemed to have a bewildered look on their face as well. Bottom line: "Stalker" is bound to remain a cult classic, and I encourage you to seek it out and draw your own conclusion.