Cinephiles and sci-fi fans rejoice! A remastered edition of legendary Russian director Andrei Tarkovsky’s 1979 enigmatic science fiction masterpiece, Stalker, is coming to Blu-ray and DVD for our viewing pleasure.

The premise of the movie seems simple enough: a guide, or ‘Stalker’ as they’re called, is hired to escort two people into a mysterious restricted area known simply as as ‘The Zone’, a place in which the laws of nature and reality have been altered. In it they hope to uncover a place known as ‘The Room’, which purportedly has the power to grant a person’s most intimate desires. The journey however is one fraught with danger, as ‘The Zone’ itself seems to actively work against those entering it.

Ranked no.29 in the British Film Institute’s list of ‘The 50 Greatest Films of All Time’ in 2012, the movie is heavy with philosophy and religious and political symbolism – like much of Tarkovsky’s work. There’s no lasers, aliens, or awesome mix volumes here, but instead a deep mediation on humanity and the metaphysical. The latter is something the director plays with visually in the movie by showing events the “real” world in a sepia tone, while events in ‘The Zone’ are in full colour.

Stalker is loosely based on the 1972 novel Roadside Picnic by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky (which I highly recommend), who also wrote the script for the movie. Both the novel and the movie formed the basis for the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. trilogy of PC games released between 2007 and 2009. Both the novel and the games are among my favourites of all time so I’m quite excited to round out my collection with this release as I’ve never watched the movie, and would like to very much indeed.

As is normal for remasters released under the Criterion Collection label, a number of features and extras have been added such as the following:

  • New 2K digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray
  • New interview with Geoff Dyer, author of Zona: A Book About a Film About a Journey to a Room
  • Interview from 2002 with cinematographer Alexander Knyazhinsky
  • Interview from 2002 with set designer Rashit Safiullin
  • Interview from 2002 with composer Eduard Artemyev
  • New English subtitle translation
  • PLUS: An essay by critic Mark Le Fanu

The official synopsis is as follows:

Andrei Tarkovsky’s final Soviet feature is a metaphysical journey through an enigmatic post apocalyptic landscape, and a rarefied cinematic experience like no other. A hired guide—the Stalker—leads a writer and a scientist into the heart of the Zone, the restricted site of a long-ago disaster, where the three men eventually zero in on the Room, a place rumored to fulfill one’s most deeply held desires.

Adapting a science-fiction novel by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, Tarkovsky created an immersive world with a wealth of material detail and a sense of organic atmosphere. A religious allegory, a reflection of contemporaneous political anxieties, a meditation on film itself—Stalker envelops the viewer by opening up a multitude of possible meanings.

The Stalker Blu-ray and DVD remaster will be released on 18 July. I’m definitely picking this up once it becomes available. How about you?

Last Updated: April 20, 2017

10 Comments

  1. Why don’t I know about this movie?!?

    It’s going on the list….

    Reply

    • Alien Emperor Trevor

      April 20, 2017 at 12:29

      More importantly, have you read Roadside Picnic?

      Reply

      • Original Heretic

        April 20, 2017 at 13:05

        I have not.

        Damn, and now after a quick Google search, I see that needs to go onto my list as well!
        I see as well that there’s a series coming out this year of the same name.

        Reply

        • Alien Emperor Trevor

          April 20, 2017 at 13:30

          Read it. Seriously. It’s so damn good. It’s one of my top sci-fi novels.

          Reply

          • Original Heretic

            April 20, 2017 at 13:32

            Already added to my takelot wishlist. Which means I’ll be getting it real soon.
            Along with the first couple of books in the Malazan series.

          • Alien Emperor Trevor

            April 20, 2017 at 13:40

            That series is a shock to the system. You get thrown into the middle of a massive conflict with tons of characters and have to figure out what’s happening as you go along. I’ve still got the final book no.10 to read of the main series.

          • Original Heretic

            April 20, 2017 at 13:42

            I’m currently finishing off R Scott Bakker’s Aspect Emporer trilogy, so I’m very familiar with tons of characters and shocks to the system! As good as that series is, it’s also very tough to follow at times.

          • Alien Emperor Trevor

            April 20, 2017 at 14:18

            Now I’ve got something else to add to the reading list.

          • Original Heretic

            April 20, 2017 at 15:13

            Aspect Emperor is the second series.
            First series is The Prince of Nothing.
            Book 1 is called The Darkness that Comes Before.
            Very good.

  2. HairyEwok

    April 20, 2017 at 11:37

    I wonder how good the Metro novel series would be if they made it into a movie or series.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Check Also

STALKER 2 looks like a spooky and atmospheric experience in this new gameplay trailer

Technically, it’s news to someone even if it is almost a week old! While we were all shovi…