Stalker (1979) Review: Enter the Zone

[@tito3640]

“Get out of here, stalker.”

[@hilotakenaka]

You know, after hearing about the state of the Soviet Union from sources like Oleg Penkovsky and things like Krushchev’s visit really made me realise that the depiction of soviet Russia maaaaay have been a bit too close to home for some of those Soviet censors

[@leviticusprime4904]

So many love the images of a dead empire, and empire they were never there it’s truly pathetic

[@comradekenobi6908]

​@leviticusprime4904 all empires fall, and I fear USA will be next

[@leviticusprime4904]

@@comradekenobi6908all things end, it’s a matter of when and how.

[@judgeboony2695]

Every dog has its day.

[@realhuman4396]

World peace💀​@@comradekenobi6908

[@garfocusalternate]

"Stalker is for people who like Stalker." -- TheAlmightyLoli, 2024

[@robbay8610]

The quote of all quotes

[@rdc4461]

Shit he’s kinda right though 😂

[@dpm365]

It is also worth noting that several famous art films in the soviet union got pushed by soviet censors to add in explicit communist themes, infamously Solaris had entire mono-logs slapped on to appease censors. As well, soviet art is itself one hell of a rabbit hole of artists vs censors, down to the creation of an entire network of self published artists printing their own books. A lot of art that was allowed to exist and foster was done not to promote art, but to promote the Soviet Union, which did lead to some interesting things like the creation of "Waterloo", though most examples are a bit more pop art that tries to follow what the west was doing, which lead to some interesting cartoons and action films. Really, if the art world was intellectually honest there would be a plethora of documentaries about how the soviets treated art, rather than tankies just blindly pretending that because an art film exists the soviet union was pro artistic expression.

[@ZX-Gear]

The more things change....

[@leviticusprime4904]

@@ZX-Geartime is a flat circle

[@naranara1690]

Fascists are morons, what can you do

[@joekane5746]

Regarding the Annihilation tangent, the book trilogy is a lot deeper than the movie, because they chopped a lot out. I would highly recommend the books because of just how strange it gets by the end. Because Book 1, Annihilation is about the ladies in the zone, but books 2 and 3, Authority and Acceptance, pull the view back and dive into the bigger picture. Great video man

[@borgaraqua3139]

The sections of the movie showing life in the USSR reminded me of that French commie (couldn't find the name of the guy) that moved to Russia after WW2 and upon seeing the state of the country declared "You'd think they lost the war." His disappointment was so big that he tried to kill himself while living there.

[@benjaminbaker3446]

Lol

[@ЛошараМоисеев]

Can't find anything about it, could you be more specific?

[@borgaraqua3139]

@@ЛошараМоисеев I don't remember the name of the guy and couldn't find a specific article about him. I remember he was a French communist that moved to the USSR after the war to live on the communist dream, and after seeing first hand the actual state of the Soviet Union he slashed his wrists in a attempt to kill himself and was saved by his wife. I tried a bit to find who he was exactly but let's say Google couldn't help me much with "French guy that moved to USSR and tried to kill himself".

[@tamasrehany6532]

@i5vw1br1h If you are still interested: From what I could find, the guys name is Victor Serge. He is Belgian instead of French, and used poison instead of wrist cutting, but the quote is attributed to him (Memoirs of a Revolutionary). The guy criticized the soviets, but remained a commie until he bit it.

[@kindlingking]

​@@tamasrehany6532except he wasn't belgian, but from a family of russian migrants and took an active part in russian revolution as member of Bolshevik party and his later critique of USSR connects to his disappointment in socialist revolution and it's results in...1930s. Actually very remarkable person, but where did the WW2 part even come from? Honestly the whole story of "a commie guy who was so horrified of the state of USSR he killed himself" reeks of cold era propaganda. Nevermind how stupid it actually sounds considering how much WW2 devastated USSR - yeah no shit it would bad after WW2, the entirety of European part of USSR is in ruins and covered in graves.

[@ringkunmori]

I don't know why the music montage you have at the start of each of your reviews is so good. This one particularly was magical.

[@5050TM]

Fuck Buttons does not miss

[@djdeemz7651]

The music is from the game

[@djdeemz7651]

kzbin.info/aero/PLE8F092CA00AE6649&si=_Ddh79OkSD_cYM9r the tracks are here

[@kurdtcoben]

Let us drink to him again, he was a good Stalker!

[@sarcastic-sulfur1683]

Good Hunting, Stalkers.

[@atpsoldat6108]

The Darkwood shoutout is appreciated. Darkwood is the twisted fairy tale counterpart of Stalker.

[@MarkMightBeBetter]

Not gonna lie, the way you talked about how STALKER is basically a critique on cynicism and how the zone is an analogy for God is beautiful and makes a lot of sense. I feel like a lot of people are like the writer. Cynical, and mad and afraid of well, the zone. Honestly I found him to be one of the more interesting characters because he resonated with me a lot. I found myself being so cynical and losing faith, not really happy with where I was, just kind of depressed and jaded. But as time passed and I started to see the world for its beauty, I started to resonate more with the STALKER. With me finding God again and finding beauty in the small things, the STALKER ended up being my favorite character. Anyways, annihilation was pretty fun imo I liked it a lot but I get your problems with it. That bear scene though holy shit.

[@lettuceman9439]

Do remember the Director is a Orthodox Christian, Though it has overlapping values and worldview with Other Christians and the West. Orthodox Christians believes in the seven Mysteries instead of the Catholic Sacraments and the distinction between god's essence and energy. So the Movie does have some leeway since it's a very Orthodox view on God as a analogy than that of a Protestant or Catholic one.

[@kindlingking]

​@@lettuceman9439yeah, you'll have to be russian to fully feel the ideas

[@TOAOM123]

​@@kindlingking Actually in soviet russia the ideas feel you

[@ismellmandude6401]

I feel as if for me my faith would be part of the reason I would reject the Zone and the Room. The other part would probably be some cynicism, admittedly. It reminds me of a scene in On Stranger Tides where the Spaniard says "Only God can grant eternal life, not this Pagan water" before he destroys the place. Admittedly it's an example from a worse movie, but it helps illustrate the point.

[@The-future-is-in-the-past]

With enough unmarked energy drinks and stale bread. A man can conquer any problem, mutant or human.

[@dpm365]

It's interesting how despite being done by some of the most iconic films in history, the use of B&W vs color film segments to contrast normality with fantastic elements is a surprisingly rare effect.

[@janpol466]

Well, it was done out of necessity here, Stalker was shot three with three different crews times, although the final film is a collage of second and third try.

[@FerinHite]

I imagine it's a blend of reasons, chiefly that a director or crew doesn't want to date themselves or alienate an audience by using "outdated" techniques, and not wanting to appear as a snob or poseur for what might be a lackluster project.

[@Balthizar101]

On a surface level, I wonder how much of an influence Stalker/Roadside Picnic had on Made in Abyss. The premises are similar at least: groups of people enter an area where the laws of physics break down, valuable artifacts are brought back for profit, horror and suffering are abound, etc. But even on a deeper level there are similarities namely how the stalkers/delvers have a respect for the Zone/Abyss that borders on worship and how there's some undefined something at the center/bottom that draws people to it.

[@thegrimcritic5494]

Same. Made in Abyss feels like if Hayao Miyazaki made an anime based on Roadside Picnic. Honest to God, Made in Abyss is one of the greatest works of creative fiction in years, even though it obviously isn’t for everyone. Instead of Artifacts, there are Relics. Instead of Anomalies, mutants, and the Noosphere, there’s the numerous natural dangers, predatory plant/animal life, and the Curse of the Abyss. It’s absolutely breathtaking.

[@TheAutistWhisperer]

@@thegrimcritic5494 Made in Abyss is great, but there is anime that was released couple of years ago that is apparently inspired by Roadside Picnic, I think it's called Wonder Egg Priority and Urasekai Picnic.

[@elloo98]

Whenever I have to describe Made in Abyss I just say "Imagine The Zone oriented vertically, but instead of just depressed slavs/canadians everyone can be a stalker, and reaching the wishgranter would mean you can't return to outside of The Zone" I'd lean towards it just being coincidence since it's as you say surface level, and the cultural exchange between eastern europe and japan would seem rather limited, but it's funny that a (rather good) comparison can be drawn at all.

[@thegrimcritic5494]

@@elloo98 it is actually a coincidence. The creator of Made in Abyss once stated that his inspiration for the Abyss itself was when he ripped open the side of a rotten tree trunk and noticed all the different kinds of life forms growing at different heights and levels from each other. He saw this and then figured, “what if there was something like this in real life, but on such a scale that humanity are the ants trekking around up and down the different levels of this biome?” It has nothing to do with Roadside Picnic or Stalker. It is genuinely just coincidence. It’s a COOL coincidence, but coincidence it remains.

[@Mbeluba]

​@@thegrimcritic5494 have he also started grabbing the ants and ripping their legs out?

[@NoahSylva-u3n]

I have the book roadside picnic, seen the film and played the game, I love them to death

[@Vivec]

I watched this for the first time four days ago, so this video couldn't have come at a better time. Great analysis here as per usual mate.

[@NefariousKoel]

I first saw this film in the mid-90s. Came home after yet another long night of laborious physical work, cracked a beer, and checked what was on cable TV to wind down with. I had never heard of this film at the time, being in my early 20s, and it appeared to be the only interesting thing on. Once the film got into the Zone, I became glued. The movie's locations, shots, and the whole vibe in general sucked me in. It certainly left an impression. Obviously not for everyone, but I always enjoyed unusual and "artsy" films so my channel surfing paid off.

[@mehenra485]

I watched the Stalker movie a few months ago and it was truely a experience to be reconed with. I find it especially striking how much water there is in the zone. To the point that they often have to sleep soaked in water. I have heard that the filming was especially grueling because of the cold and wet environment. Apparently parts of the equipment got wet, so they could not even use some scenes they shot. A lot is lost to the zone...

[@rundeckardrun3985]

"Annihilation" is just one part of a trilogy of books called the Southern Reach Trilogy, goes way more in depth to the phenomenon seen in the film, as books tend to do. They originally meant to do 3 films but the first film was such a cluster that the rest of the project got dropped

[@thejackal9834]

You just keep delivering reviews of movies I love! Keep it up! What's even spookier than the Chernobyl connection to this franchise is the Kyshtym disaster, which occured in 1957 and was covered up by the Soviet government. It's so eerie that between two nuclear disasters, one not being revealed until 1976, 4 years after the novel, and one happening many years after the film and the novel would all follow similar themes.

[@MarkMightBeBetter]

Also your mention of Darkwood being inspired by STALKER and roadside picnic is neat but I'd say its also similar to another Strugatsky story, snail on the slope. Just something to mention.

[@TheAlmightyLoli]

I have yet to read Snail on the Slope. It any good?

[@CurseDiscurse]

@@TheAlmightyLoli It's pretty fucked up, but it's good. Not sure though if translation did it justice.

[@ismellmandude6401]

​@@CurseDiscurseWikipedia says it has nothing to do with Snails on slopes, I'm disappointed.

[@marshalmarshall2109]

i remember this one being hard to find & when i watched it it became one of my favorites, it sucks hat this movie killed Tarkovsky, as i wish we could've seen what else he could make. i also had a schizo episode once where i thought the movie also had the initialization of the video game and went into a slap fight on discord over it.

[@ЛошараМоисеев]

One of the my most beloved things about the Stalker, it's how diffrent people from around the globe react about soivet reality in it. People don't really wish to know what kind of stuff really happened around some things.

[@-Zakhiel-]

Annihilation would have greatly benefit to be more vague about its premisce and the military setting. I'm sure there's a far better movie if someone would cut some of the expository scenes in the first half hour. Still a pretty good movie, very trippy in some parts.

[@seaglass3034]

Thank you for giving this movie some much needed attention. Great work, as always.

[@chasepalumbo2929]

I like how you have the Bar music playing in the background. Such a calming track

[@CommissarDan]

Welcome to the Zone, Stalker.

[@5050TM]

One of my favorite films of all time and I've been thinking about it recently for the last two days. Excited for this! Thank you!

[@MarkMightBeBetter]

I watched STALKER about a year ago but only recently have I been obsessed with the movie. Something about it just tickles a part of my brain, something strange and dream like about it.

[@SSMLivingPictures]

Excellent video. I just finished a second watching and picked up so many more details. I love that this has become a movie I could just watch over and over through a different lens.

[@Raj80191]

I need to read Roadside Picnic again.

[@Dimitri9511]

Funny how now an Argentinian is making a Stalker liked movie and game called Into the Abyss. But also based on a classic Argentinian sci fi comic book The Eternauta.

[@deividasradziunas3696]

Wasn't expecting this one, saw notification and opened it immediately

[@ZackTheChiller]

Side note: Metro 2033 is an amazing read, its sequels are amazing aswell i recommend them all

[@kino_verite]

one of my favourite films, easily

[@5050TM]

Isn't it hard trying to explain it to people? 😩 I've tried and failed.

[@sergeyromanchenko714]

6:59 To be fair, in 1970s all religious persecutions were just a formality. Under Brezhnev's rule a relationship between The state and The Orthodox church had become warmer, so to speak. Yeah, some people tried to preach everyone "Religion is bad, you should be ashamed" but that's about it. Actually, Tarkovsky was allowed to make a movie about a famous russian icon painter, Andrey Rublev but it was censored and cut as unpatriotic... (And because of animal cruelty. Yeah, there were some stories about a cow burned alive and horses that was sliced. It wasn't proved or denied so rumors still go). The reason for cutting wasn't religious, more a political one. Just to be clear, I'm not trying to defend the Soviet State, I want to clarify the situation: a religious overtone is there, for sure, but it's more like an analysis of Soviet past (and my assumption: It's about Khrushchev's religious politics) than a satire about current state of Soviet union.

[@Snakedude4life]

The Zone knows. 🎩 🐍 no step on Snek!🇺🇸🇭🇰

[@thirteenthdemon1204]

I pity you child. You really do belive that spamming that sentence will change anything? No like seriously, that skull mask, blind love for Honk Kong, and snake motive scream so loudly "I'm a yankee libertarian, I can't tell the difference between Chicago and Austrian school of economics, but muh freedom". Besides That Honk Kong spiel is old, shouldn't you cry about some "current thing" like ukraine, or israel? I hope you will one day grow up, and look at your post history with mix of pity and disgust called compasion.

[@666slateran666]

Say what you will about Annihilation, but that final sequence is the best depiction of something utterly alien on film. And that alien bear was pretty hype too

[@nosotrosloslobosestamosreg4115]

It's pretty much syfy since it depicted stronk inadapandant wahman XD

[@TheHalogen131]

When I saw trailer to Annihilation I figured I saw the entire movie.

[@Dingoman013]

Help meeeehhhhhhh

[@NostalgiNorden]

No.

[@1rd2th3st]

@@nosotrosloslobosestamosreg4115 youre gonna miss everything cool and die angry 😊

[@ProjectSakaki]

Perfect timing i've been addicted to stalker anomaly for 2 weeks and this pops up

[@att7364]

same boat with GAMMA on top

[@TheManeymon]

>anomaly

[@Oversensitive-S-poster]

​@@att7364that gameplay loop is PURE crack

[@solarplexusclowngliders]

>anomameme

[@asmodeuspendragon1680]

Hey man, long time viewer here, absolutely love your videos, I'd really like for you to create a series on vagabond, I've read it and it's really good, I'd love to hear your narration of it, you just provide a lot of depth to the story. Great work man, bless you

[@malachichampion2345]

Literally just watched this movie, crazy this video popped up on one of my favorite channels

[@Sombrafox1]

So that's why the local Art Museum plays this on Christmas day.

[@RetJim]

Always love your deep dives

[@blindedjourneyman]

damn I regret not stopping to go watch it, sounds amazing. still might watch it and just vault watching this so I can go in fresh, so for when I dont remember watching this for a few weeks know the me that did is grateful for the incredible rec, thx man.

[@blindedjourneyman]

to future me, yes it was selfish to use our vaulting this way, trust yourself and fucking watch the movie first.

[@SgtBuck01]

Roadside Picnic has to be my favorite piece of sci-fi fiction and I think it's the closest thing we can get to writing a truly "alien" encounter.

[@vodago]

Literally cheered the moment I saw this in my recommended.

[@tylertheguy3160]

I love stories that are depressing as hell yet also beautiful and hopeful at the same time.

[@RationalRyan]

Well this is one hell of a coincidence. I just watched this film for the first time last week.

[@ToastingInEpicBread]

tarkovsky always had something serious to say, doesn't matter what the plot is, or the source material, he is aimed at bringing you to that place and those ideas such as faith , morality , suffering etc. Solaris similarly has a difference between the novel and film. the Lem novel is a creative foray into the possiblilties of life and intelligence on other planets and how that would break our current notions of science and philosophy. The film was about faith morality suffering persistence of memory consciousness love dreams time yearning loss etc lol, classic tarkovsky biz

[@ToastingInEpicBread]

great breakdown in this video by the way. nice to hear a condensed explanation of some of these things because the movie itself can be hypnotizing and ques about the nature of the zone can be vague and drawnout. makes a lot more sense the way you presented it

[@NomadMonkey396]

Ah, yes. True Arthouse kino is here.

[@KaiUchiha15]

Finally some ART

[@lorddervish212quinterosara6]

I can't believe I watched it during a Vtuber watchalong. I will never forget it.

[@ismellmandude6401]

Which VTuber?

[@lorddervish212quinterosara6]

@@ismellmandude6401 Skye Shinryu

[@comradecthulhu6052]

Eduard Armityev’s soundtrack is legendary, probably my favorite composer next to Vangelis.

[@TheAutistWhisperer]

Cheeki Breeki!

[@haruruben]

5:50 a yes, characters referred to as titles like in all classic folklore storytelling- the Professor, the Skipper, the Movie Star, true art

[@cincinnatus9761]

Ah, one of my favorite movies. Despite it's length Stalker flys by for me.

[@Miles-zp7ex]

The Zone was the boomer's backrooms.

[@luckykennedy7364]

Another production tidbit was they had to reshoot entire sections of the movie because the footage they shot when it was developed was developed improperly and the colors were completely fucked.

[@ТарасШалай-у5ю]

Good review of awesome movie. Today i remembered this picture. Stalker - game - is not perfect but still it's a very interesting world. Thank you

[@MemeGene6969]

a stalker movie review?? ohhh man, gonna need some whisky for this one!

[@MrTNT49]

Loli you have the best taste in music on KZbin

[@torshec8634]

Really a bad idea to film the last scene of the movie in a abandoned Chemical Plant.

[@gor.]

We know it because of people who was affected by chemicals decades ago. Such as these people 50 years ago. Reminds me of lawsuit against Dupont.

[@ismellmandude6401]

From what I heard it was the scenes before they enter the zone that were next to the chemical plant.

[@juno3287]

Also Into the Radius VR is heavily inspired by both the book and the stalker series, and I highly recommend anyone that’s a fan of this, to try it out too, it’s very immersive

[@mfgrobin9657]

i unfortunately have to disagree as someone who loves the games the novel and the movie of stalker aswell as the Annihilation novels each their own way. i abhorred the Annihilation movie Adaptation specificly. they didnt just get "inspired" by the stalker movie they also blatantly snipped arround the story of the book Annihilation in terrible ways which has a lot of other themes from the stalker franchise as a whole inspired or not . over all i dont think its terrible to try to do both tacticool larping explore a character study and even mire but whoever wrote the script together clearly had only interest in a select few things while still packing everything else in there aswell . it could have been easier to just turn it into a tv show anyways . my rant about that movie aside . great review . made some points i didnt even consider. so i dont feel like being in an Echo chamber . good work

[@L1terally_Me]

i can finally say кино unironically

[@catholicphoenix7969]

Let's go on a roadside picnic Frens.

[@rockinriko]

anytime you upload a video on your channel, i know today a good day

[@dongholiothesecond3324]

While this is very far off from roadside picnic it's still a weirdly great film that spawned from a place that it was a miracle that the original even survived.

[@mr.skullfacegarcia775]

25:02 Does anybody know the name of this song?

[@cereskerrigan]

Unironically, one of my favorite pieces of media depicting oppression of belief and humanity. Fun!

[@boomerkobold3943]

Well I wasn't expecting a review of one of my favorite movies today. Thanks Loli.

[@nekkog1744]

Slav Sci-fi hits different

[@Raubrim]

I got fired over this upload but I’m here for it

[@frederickmeadows8716]

Can you do one on the Holy Mountain?

[@60gritphil66]

love this film, glad you covered it!

[@Fergusius]

To me personally, "Annihilation" is a cosmic horror story very similar to Lovecraft's "The Colour Out of Space"

[@YourHuckleberry99]

I think Annihilation is a worse Color out of Space.

[@enkidoo1883]

Thanks for Nese Galya vodu!

[@muhamadrizkyadrian9105]

Factions in Stalker games actually took references of those 3 characters in the movie The Stalker = Loner, Freedom, Bandit The Writer = Ecologist, Mercenary, Clear Sky The Professor = Duty, Military

[@PALACIO254]

I thought annihilation was more color out of space than roadside picnic

[@sobolanul96]

The slight yellow tint of the film is called "sepia". The movie can have many meanings, sure, if we want to see the soviet union there, and gulags, and what not, we can, but the theme is the human nature with its flaws. Reading Roadside Picnic helps a lot in understanding the theme. People are afraid to know who they really are when given the chance. Porcupine killed himself because he realized that he did not care about his brother, only about wealth. This is what also scares everyone brought by the stalker to the wish granter. The wish granter does not fulfill wishes like a lamp djinn, it fulfills a person's deepest desire.

[@topcat59]

It honestly sounds like a great film with some amazing camera angles, definitely worth watching.😺

[@ZX-Gear]

I do wonder what kinda Shadow Self I would see in The Zone? What would be my Wish?

[@Kardel_VA]

Cheeki Breeki can be heard on the wind...

[@michaeltennen5775]

Best KZbin recommendation since Horses

[@SoulSonder26]

11:35 are those posts supposed to spell out "FINN", or am i just crazy?

[@richardanthony5020]

Thoughts on Wendigoon’s “Shadow of The Zone” movie?

[@rowanheiney1238]

Don't forget Ferry's vocaloid series, Parties Are For Losers, which adds SLAVIC TEEN ANGST to the mix.

[@Chickenbowser]

Blessings upon this movie and Roadside Picnic for inspiring quite possibly my all time favorite game: Metro 2033.

[@malclmhexed5978]

I think u might want to give scavengers reign a try. I think it kinda touches on the same themes you’ve mentioned in the vid. Thanks for putting me on!

[@Comporio]

Amazing video

[@Snow-Foot]

A roadside picnic. Such an interesting book and it inspired the movie that inspired the games.

[@keeganpenney169]

Stalker was a brilliant film for its time and remains a cult classic amongst my old friends and I. It's a trip and real experience to witness and always leaves a forever lasting impression on the viewer. It's been 15 years since I watched it but lately I just have this urge to go back to the zone myself, and it seems everyone I bump into wants to come with me. Am I now the Stalker and not the writer?

[@AETERNA-PASSIO]

The movie is truly a once in a lifetime experience. Watch it with a nice sound system or a pair of decent headphones. You won’t regret it

[@ismellmandude6401]

I felt like I agreed with Writer and Professor more about how dangerous the Room is and how what you truly want could be terrible in actuality. And this is in spite of the fact that I feel like I have the capacity for faith, just faith in different things.

[@sharkchaos5160]

Great video.

[@CybrosisEvolved]

Perfect ending mate

[@Zarvanis]

Having seen Stalker twice, I never once got the impression that there was any kind of sentience that demanded respect. To me it always felt like the stalker was exaggerating how dangerous the place was so that people would think that they needed him to guide them because leading people to their wish gave him a sense of purpose and hope in a miserable world. I saw the ending as him losing or struggling to hold on to hope after being called out and forced to see his own selfish desires.

[@therussiancomicbookgeek]

A classic

[@arealhumanbeing4651]

Still fascinated towards this picture

[@CatsOverdrive]

Saw this one two years ago. The Stalker character stuck hard to me ever since. I have yet to jump into the games and the source novels. As for Annihilation...the bear scene is neat.