This is one of those films that will stay with you forever. Whether you liked it or not, there will always remain this feeling inside you which you can't quite explain. A feeling that only this film can give you, after the first time you've watched it.
The more time that passes since seeing this film, the more I realize that it has stayed with me. It made me feel something I haven't felt since I was a child, a feeling I'd almost forgotten about, the dread and power that "scary places" have on you as a child, whatever forbidden zones that existed that both enticed and repulsed, held the terrible and the irresistible. This movie does the seemingly impossible task of reproducing such a place through the lens of a camera.
It gave me such a submerged feeling. Chilly, low, but incredibly strong. Like a bath you've been sitting in too long but don't want to get out because the thoughts bubbling up are too fascinating. I have never seen anything like this movie! Cinema as question, with hints at a possible answer... but what an experience.
The shots are brilliant, long, meditative and forcing you to actively watch the movie. The soundtract adds up to this. The characters are fascinating, and although they are symbols, stereotypes, they are incredibly deep, and feel at the same time individual and universal.
Thanks for making this movie Tarkovsky... it will haunt me for a long time (I like being haunted).
I'd say most of us probably have dopamine receptors that are too overstimulated and fried up to get in the same frequency as this film - but if you manage that, it will be mesmerising.
Visually Astonishing, however a very complicated movie.
The environment is so obscure, impressive and improbable, even that it require a lot of patience to stand those very long shots where nothing exciting happens.
The philosophical babble didn't convinced me and I really didn't get the meaning of the movie. But it doesn't matter! In the end, those boring 160 minutes will become a worthy experience. This was one of those movies that I started to like only after I read "The End" in the screen.
In small words: A cinephile essential, a brainy must-see.
One of the most awe-inspiring things about Stalker is how Tarkovsky manages to create a very convincing, eerie, and ominous science-fictional world with little or no special effects.
Oddily, the movie is also very thrilling and scary at many points, even though it's very slow-moving and contemplative.
@dyin2live - Comparing an empty frame to contemplative cinema seems a bit off, doesn't it? The amazing shots and slow pace/movement is to draw you into the film, create an absorbing atmosphere and feel, and to view it almost as if the events unfolded in real time. The lenght of the shots is hardly dependent on any kind of interpretation to be given value ...
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Comments 1 - 15 of 49
uercan
boring like heaven, fascinating like hell!ReVision
This is one of those films that will stay with you forever. Whether you liked it or not, there will always remain this feeling inside you which you can't quite explain. A feeling that only this film can give you, after the first time you've watched it.BillieDove
One of those movies that leaves you speechless at the sheer power of it. And that keeps you thinking about it long after it's over.Biki
bulmer
The more time that passes since seeing this film, the more I realize that it has stayed with me. It made me feel something I haven't felt since I was a child, a feeling I'd almost forgotten about, the dread and power that "scary places" have on you as a child, whatever forbidden zones that existed that both enticed and repulsed, held the terrible and the irresistible. This movie does the seemingly impossible task of reproducing such a place through the lens of a camera.Aliceaurus
Yeah, I didn't "get" this one, either. It did have amazing cinematography, though.Lumen
It gave me such a submerged feeling. Chilly, low, but incredibly strong. Like a bath you've been sitting in too long but don't want to get out because the thoughts bubbling up are too fascinating. I have never seen anything like this movie! Cinema as question, with hints at a possible answer... but what an experience.The shots are brilliant, long, meditative and forcing you to actively watch the movie. The soundtract adds up to this. The characters are fascinating, and although they are symbols, stereotypes, they are incredibly deep, and feel at the same time individual and universal.
Thanks for making this movie Tarkovsky... it will haunt me for a long time (I like being haunted).
QQsniff
I'd say most of us probably have dopamine receptors that are too overstimulated and fried up to get in the same frequency as this film - but if you manage that, it will be mesmerising.Yousef Mousa
This is a poem rather than a movieCarcamanoFerreto
Visually Astonishing, however a very complicated movie.The environment is so obscure, impressive and improbable, even that it require a lot of patience to stand those very long shots where nothing exciting happens.
The philosophical babble didn't convinced me and I really didn't get the meaning of the movie. But it doesn't matter! In the end, those boring 160 minutes will become a worthy experience. This was one of those movies that I started to like only after I read "The End" in the screen.
In small words: A cinephile essential, a brainy must-see.
Rene Narciso
One of the most awe-inspiring things about Stalker is how Tarkovsky manages to create a very convincing, eerie, and ominous science-fictional world with little or no special effects.Oddily, the movie is also very thrilling and scary at many points, even though it's very slow-moving and contemplative.
Definitely a masterpiece.
St. Gloede
@dyin2live - Comparing an empty frame to contemplative cinema seems a bit off, doesn't it? The amazing shots and slow pace/movement is to draw you into the film, create an absorbing atmosphere and feel, and to view it almost as if the events unfolded in real time. The lenght of the shots is hardly dependent on any kind of interpretation to be given value ...jktomas
Reminds David Lynch's movies - misterious, quite confusing and damn good.CWHarlan
Quite the film, There is a certain style to Tarkovsky's films that I find fascinating.BigAwesomeBLT
Woody Harrelson and his two mates sod about on some train tracks, then in a field, and then in a tunnel. Nothing else happens.Showing items 1 – 15 of 49