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James Stalker Biography & Facts

Stalker (Russian: Сталкер, IPA: [ˈstaɫkʲɪr]) is a 1979 Soviet science fantasy art film directed by Andrei Tarkovsky with a screenplay written by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, loosely based on their 1972 novel Roadside Picnic. The film tells the story of an expedition led by a figure known as the "Stalker" (Alexander Kaidanovsky), who guides his two clients—a melancholic writer (Anatoly Solonitsyn) seeking inspiration, and a professor (Nikolai Grinko) seeking scientific discovery—through a hazardous wasteland to a mysterious restricted site known simply as the "Zone", where there supposedly exists a room which grants a person's innermost desires. The film combines elements of science fiction and fantasy with dramatic philosophical, psychological and theological themes. The film was initially filmed over a year on film stock that was later discovered to be unusable, and had to be almost entirely reshot with new cinematographer Alexander Knyazhinsky. Stalker was released by Goskino in May 1979. Upon release, the film garnered mixed reviews, but in subsequent years it has been recognized as one of the greatest films of all time, with the British Film Institute ranking it #29 on its 2012 list of the "100 Greatest Films of All Time". The film sold over 4 million tickets, mostly in the Soviet Union, against a budget of 1 million roubles. Title The meaning of the word "stalker" was derived from its use by the Strugatsky brothers in their novel Roadside Picnic, upon which the movie is based. In Roadside Picnic, "Stalker" was a common nickname for men engaged in the illegal enterprise of prospecting for and smuggling alien artifacts out of the "Zone". According to author Boris Strugatsky, "prospectors" and "trappers" were potential word choices before "stalker" was decided on, which was at least partially inspired by Rudyard Kipling's character "Stalky" in his Stalky & Co. stories, of which both authors were fans. Their adaptation of the English word into Russian is pronounced slightly differently as "Stullker", and it came into common usage after being "coined" by the authors. Tarkovsky also wrote "Stalker is from the word 'to stalk'—to creep." in a 1976 diary entry. In the film, a "stalker" is a professional guide to the Zone, someone having the ability and desire to cross the border into the dangerous and forbidden place with a specific goal. Plot A man works in an unnamed location as a "Stalker" leading people through the "Zone", an area in which the normal laws of physics do not apply and remnants of seemingly extraterrestrial activity lie undisturbed among its ruins. The Zone contains a place called the "Room", said to grant the wishes of anyone who steps inside. The area containing the Zone is shrouded in secrecy, sealed off by the government and surrounded by ominous, supernatural hazards. At home with his wife and daughter, the Stalker's wife begs him not to go into the Zone, lest he risk another long prison sentence, but he dismissively rejects her pleas. In a rundown bar-café, the Stalker meets his next clients for a trip into the Zone, a Writer and a Professor. They evade the military blockade that guards the Zone by following a train inside the gate and ride into the heart of the Zone on a railway work car. The Stalker tells his clients they must do exactly as he says to survive the dangers which lie ahead and explains that the Zone must be respected and the straightest path is not always the shortest path. The Stalker tests for various "traps" by throwing metal nuts tied to strips of cloth ahead of them. He refers to a previous Stalker named "Porcupine" who entered the Room and left, became very rich, and then hanged himself. The Writer is skeptical of any real danger, but the Professor generally follows the Stalker's advice. As they travel, the three men discuss their reasons for wanting to visit the Room. The Writer expresses his fear of losing his inspiration. The Professor seems less anxious, although he insists on carrying along a small backpack. The Professor admits he hopes to win a Nobel Prize for scientific analysis of the Zone. The Stalker insists he has no motive beyond the altruistic aim of aiding the desperate to their desires. After traveling through the tunnels, the three finally reach their destination: a decayed and decrepit industrial building. The men hesitate as the room is guarded by a "Meat Grinder" anomaly which requires a death for someone to enter the Room proper, causing an argument. In a small antechamber, a phone rings. The surprised Professor decides to use the phone to telephone his former boss to taunt him over finding the room. As the trio prepare to enter the Room, the Professor reveals his true intentions in undertaking the journey. The Professor has brought a 20-kiloton bomb to destroy the Room and prevent evil men from abusing it for their own gain, blaming the Room, Stalker, and Stalkers' clients for the rise of crime, social strife, military coups, and destructive science. The three men enter a physical and verbal standoff just outside the Room that leaves them exhausted. The Writer realizes Porcupine sent his brother to his death in the Meat Grinder and entered the room to wish for his brother back - but the Room instead fulfilled Porcupine's secret desire for wealth, rather than bring back his brother from death. This prompted the guilt-ridden Porcupine to commit suicide. The Writer tells them that no one in the whole world is able to know their true desires and as such it is impossible to use the Room for selfish reasons. The Professor gives up on his plan of destroying the Room. Instead, he disassembles his bomb and scatters its pieces. No one attempts to enter the Room. The Stalker, the Writer, and the Professor are met back at the bar-café by the Stalker's wife and daughter. After returning home, the Stalker tells his wife how humanity has lost its faith and belief needed for both traversing the Zone and living a good life. As the Stalker sleeps, his wife contemplates their relationship in a monologue delivered directly to the camera, saying she'd rather live an interesting life of hardship than an easy, boring one. Martyshka, the couple's deformed daughter, sits alone in the kitchen reading as a love poem by Fyodor Tyutchev is recited. She appears to use psychokinesis to push three drinking glasses across the table, one falling off. A train passes by where the Stalker's family lives, and the entire apartment shakes. Cast Alexander Kaidanovsky as the Stalker Anatoly Solonitsyn as the Writer Alisa Freindlich as the Stalker's wife Nikolai Grinko as the Professor (voiced by Sergei Yakovlev) Natasha Abramova as Martyshka, the Stalker's daughter Faime Jurno as the Writer's interlocutress Evgeniy Kostin as Lyuger, owner of the bar-café (credited as E. Kostin) Raimo Rendi as the patrolman Vladimir Zamansky as the Professor's telephone interlocutor Themes and interpretations In a review in Slant Magazine, critic Nic.... Discover the James Stalker popular books. Find the top 100 most popular James Stalker books.