Stalker
1979 · Movie · NR · 162 min · ★ 8.1 · 93% critics
In a bleak city under heavy guard, a guide leads two outsiders into a forbidden area where reality behaves strangely and danger feels unpredictable. As they push deeper toward a rumored place that can fulfill a person’s deepest desire, the journey becomes as much about doubt, faith, and meaning as it is about survival.
Based on Roadside Picnic
Where to watch
Watch free on Kanopy — also streaming on HBO Max and The Criterion Channel.
3 hours to watch.
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Details
- Original title
- Сталкер
- Years
- 1979
- Release date
- 1979-05-25
- Language
- Russian
- Rated
- NR
- Runtime
- 162 min
- Critic score
- 93/100
- TMDB rating
- 8.1/10 (2,508 votes)
About
You’ll likely enjoy this if you want a slow, meditative sci-fi journey packed with atmosphere and big questions, in the vein of Solaris or 2001: A Space Odyssey; Not for you if you need fast plot, clear answers, or constant action.
Pros: haunting atmosphere; striking visuals; thought-provoking dialogue | Cons: very slow pace; long lingering scenes; can feel pretentious
Themes
- based on novel or book
- guard
- wish
- stalker
- alien
- strugatsky
- writer
- soldier
- existentialism
- zone
- complex
- beautifully filmed
Cast & crew
Alisa Freyndlikh
as Stalker's Wife
Aleksandr Kaydanovskiy
as Stalker
Anatoliy Solonitsyn
as Writer
Mykola Hrynko
as Professor
Natalya Abramova
as Marta
Faime Jurno
as Writer's Companion
- EK
Evgeniy Kostin
as Lyuger, Owner of Cafe
- RR
Raimo Rendi
as Police Patrol
Vladimir Zamanskiy
as Professor's Telephone Interlocutor (voice) (uncredited)
Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky