Tarkovsky's work was truly ahead of its time. The fact that he had the foresight to add a like and subscribe button animation at the start of a film that released before KZfaq was even a website really shows how much of a visionary director he was.

What a joy to have this miracle of a movie free, online, in excellent quality! Thank you! “The aim of art is to make man capable of being good.” (Tarkovsky)

Three frens take a walk. Nothing happens. One comes back with a dog. Best. Film. Ever.

Wonderful film. I liked that for the adults; life was grey outside of the Zone. But since the child had the Zone living in her, life was color no matter where she was at.

The key moment for me in Stalker was what comes after the group's realisation that the room does not grant you what you want or plan or even need, but what your heart truly desires. The Writer never enters the Room, as his lack of inspiration is just a symptom of his lack of self-knowledge - he can't know what he wants. The Professor never enters, and dismantles the bomb - if the Room truly does grant you your desire and his deepest desire was to destroy the Room, the bomb is actually redundant. Not one of them enters the Room because they are afraid of what their true desire is. And yet, thanks to going through this process of realisation, all three men arguably end up with exactly what they wanted. The Writer understands he was lacking inspiration because he didn't understand himself; he leaves with both inspiration and understanding. The Professor said he wanted to understand the Zone but planned to prevent its misuse by evil men; he leaves knowing it is beyond the whims of evil men, and with some understanding of what the Zone truly is. The Stalker wants to take people to the Zone but laments that people have lost the belief for traversing the Zone and living good lives; three men have safely navigated to the heart of the Zone and back again, and all three have a belief in something beyond them as a result. The Professor and the bomb literalise that thought - you get what you truly desire from the Room, but you do so from the act of reaching and understanding it. Entering the Room is redundant - and as the bomb is thrown away unused, so the Room is never used and even goes unseen. Understanding ourselves is the most powerful thing we have at our sole disposal. So many films, political plans, news angles here are about creating a narrative that suits, and so few challenge the necessity of it. Even when a story is about finding yourself in a narrative you don't control, it is almost always about seizing the narrative for yourself, or finding comfort within it. We are directed to fight the narratives that surround us on their grounds of greatest strength, and told that the correct victory is the one that leaves a narrative redirected but ultimately still in place. Stalker felt important to me as one of the few stories that tells you that you can exist outside of these narratives, so long as you are willing to abandon your narrative of self first. If you understand yourself you don't need to tell stories about yourself to fill that gap, and you find the gulf between you and the narratives that would drag you in is suddenly visible, so visible you don't know why you didn't see it before.

One of those movies that stops time and makes you forget who you are, where you are, and totally immerses you in the story.

I've watched this movie so many times. I can't explain why but it just speaks to my soul directly

it's incredible how Tarkovsy kept my eyes glued to the screen for hours watching 3 men walking in the grass. A masterpiece

I see the movie more like a deep psychological exploration from different perspectives: faith (the Stalker), emotions (The writer, driven mostly by his gut feelings) and the mind (the professor, trying to use the logic of reasoning even when it does not fit). The faith part is simple - the Stalker lives a simple, even low level life, but finds peace and happiness in the Zone. The professor, because he cannot apply the logic mechanisms to comprehend the zone, is scared to enter the Room, and has even desired to destroy it ( destroy what you do not comprehend). The writer is also afraid to believe and enter the Room, because of his accumulated negative emotions that may distort his desires. The movie is trying to set a balance between faith, mind and emotions. In the end they do not couple, but rather settle for neutrality - they were forced to intersect for a short time, then they separate again, on different paths.

Can't believe one of the greatest films ever, with the most beautiful cinematography, is available for free, thanks Mosfilm!

I watched this film with my dad when i was very young in the UK. i think I would have been maybe 8. It stuck with me all through the years but had always thought I'd never find it again . Luckily a complete stranger on line came up with the answer after I posted some very hazy memories of scenes involving the army vehicles in a strange eerie zone where nothing was happening. Cant believe I can now rewatch it here. Thanks so much

This is one of those films that takes multiple watches to truly appreciate. I remember watching this years ago, unsure of what exactly the message was, but nevertheless intrigued by how mystical and bizarre the shots and pacing were. This film is like nothing I had ever seen before and yet I watched the whole way through in wonder. Dare I say this film is magical... meditative, almost. Only after reading a thorough analysis of the plot did I approach it with a new perspective... and I'm glad I did... though I'll admit my first viewing will always stick with me the most; going in blind and ignorant was more rewarding. At least to me it was. Fantastic film!

Tarkovsky's films are master pieces. I started watching them in the 90's, when I was studying photography, and it was a must to see the beautiful and genius images of Tarkovsky's work.

I remember watching it decades ago. My friends told me I was getting sleepy because the film was extremely slow but I was just...fascinated!! Masterpiece!

He and some crew members have paid the ultimate price of filming this movie. Really a masterpiece they have made

Мне было лет 15 ,когда вместо того чтобы идти в школу, гуляя с другом по родному Таллину попали на сьёмки эпизода ,где герои прорывались на Зону. Пролезли к самому режисёрскому столику,но Андрей Тарковский не прогнал нас ,а стал рассказывать ,что за эпизод они снимают,даже кофем угостил.....

Thank HEAVENS no-one has seen fit to re-make this movie!

I am happy that Mosfilm allowed this marvellous movie in the internet.

I watched Stalker recently, after watching another good film, Ivan’s Childhood, and it immediately became one of my all time favourite films with it’s engaging, minimalist storytelling, the Stalker, Writer and Professor, in spite of their different personalities, backgrounds and viewpoints on life, are still likeable and relatable characters, and the themes of faith, hope, and mankind’s struggle for happiness and finding meaning in life, along with quiet moments, lack of any villains or end of the world style narrative, good acting, charming and funny interplay between the three leads, a calming, cerebral atmosphere, that make it oddly relaxing and comforting, this is one of Andrei Tarkovsky’s more optimistic films, especially when you consider a lot of his other ones are quite melancholy when you really think about it. In my personal opinion, the two most emotional moments in the film was the scene where the Writer, rejects the Room, no longer needing it to find inspiration for his books, notices the Stalker crying on the floor after having a breakdown over leading people into it, regardless of their moral stance or what they do with their wishes, to feel like he had a purpose in his lonely, miserable life, and the Writer, who, outside of briefly putting aside his negative feelings to try helping him find the Professor when they’re separated, had been the most confrontational and cynical with him throughout the journey, gently puts his arm around him and hugs him, showing a more compassionate and humble side, as the Professor, a man who always tried to find logic and reason to explain life, realises that the Room is beyond our comprehension of good or evil, yet at the same time, if it’s destroyed, the Stalker bringing hope back into the lives of people would be for nothing, also gives up on entering it too and the three quietly sit together in solidarity. As the area flickers with a yellow/brown light, I interpreted it as the Room trying to tempt them subconsciously into giving in to their deepest desires, regardless of if they want more than what they initially had, especially since Porcupine wanted his dead brother back and killed himself in guilt after choosing a selfish wish of getting money over saving him, but they still remain defiant together, even as it starts raining and when the Stalker and his Wife return home, the Writer and the Professor don’t look all sunshine and rainbows, but they don’t look miserable either, they just quietly watch him leave, and presumably go back to their old lives, as wiser men who have changed for the better, hopefully, they continue to stay friends with him, because the poor guy really needs them. As for the second moment, it’s when the Stalker’s Wife sees the Stalker’s despair over his perceived failure in the Room, calms her husband down and puts him bed, trying her best to soothe his anxieties until he falls asleep, and gives that great, well-acted monologue about how in spite of all the difficulties she endured, in both her relationship to him and how people treated him badly, whether it’s inside the prison or out in the Zone where people inevitably leave him or die due the unpredictable nature of the Room, along with struggling to raise their disabled daughter, but his Wife does her best to accept and understand his fears and worries, cares for him and their child deeply, never treats him like a liability, and that he is loved and and valued by the people closest to him, and she’d rather take a life of passion, and pain, over a grey, dull, unfulfilling one, because she loves her family that much and I found that so sweet, hopeful and beautiful. Plus, they got a cool new black dog to play with!

Wow… that last shot of the “center” is so beautiful. I mean holy crap, he dropped the wall out of the room and told you everything. You are the zone, you are the monster looking in. Whatever we are, we’re the ones creating memories and changing things for the better or for the worse. This is ingenious.

Andrei Tarkovsky showed that you don't need expensive movie sets or CGI to create aesthetic and powerful scenes.

I've seen that movie for the first time, when I was 10. It was late at night and I woke up by a nightmare. I went down to the livingroom and switched on the TV. One channel broadcasted "Stalker"... I was overwhelmed by the pictures, the moods, the interaction of lights and shadows... the deep-touching and metaphoric trip... that movie was true art for me, right from the first moment! I really love it!!!!!!

1:26:00 is one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever conceived. What other filmmaker would pause the film right in the middle so the viewer could go on an introspective journey while meditating on incredible visuals and sound? Tarkovsky is the greatest. He used cinema as art in a way no one else ever has.

A+ Dialogue. The monologues from the writer are top tier. 9/10 film for me

My favorite movie. Film as parable, film as drug, film as spiritual journey, film as anthropology, film as history. Exhibit A on the enormous power of cinema. A sublime work of genius.

Greatest movie ever. This is both poetry and philosophy well put in a movie. I do not know what is better, scenography or dialogue. Besides, those who truly know about Tarkovsky, know how much of Christian ideas he put in his movies. He is truly Dostoyevsky of cinema.

One of the greatest movies ever! Thanks for uploading. Almost like he predicted Chernobyl. And to think he filmed this, the film was ruined in processing, so actually went back and RESHOT the ENTIRE FILM! Thats dedication!

I'll give this a shot. This movie is essentially a walk through your own thought process where initially the world is black and white, implying a world where everything is straight forward and can't be in a spectrum. Essentially meaning that whatever you desire is exactly what you desire and it has no negative implications whatsoever. However, when they enter the Zone, there is color because this is the beginning/realization that the world can't be that way. The entire stroll through the zone is understanding your own-self and slowly coming to realization to the fact that understanding yourself is the place where all your desires can come through. The time when the writer directly wanted to go to the room but couldn't is director's way of telling to really think it through. With each conversation they realize that even their innermost desires can't really lead them to a life where it's pure happiness with no strings attached and that's not the worst thing in the world. Materialistic desires will eventually led you to crisis (Porcupine) and it's best to focus on your innermost thoughts and decipher them as clearly as possible. To truly appreciate this movie, one must think of themselves as a character who is going along with the Stalker and being a part of their conversations. Those long quiet shots are for introspection and maybe at the end, you might find your self in the "room".

I saw it 1st time 30yrs ago in Cambridge and I remember leaving the theater with emotional goosebumps.Its a film you want to watch again and again.

it's all about Faith..Друже Тарковски, велико ти хвала!

I think about this movie at some point every single day. Totally unique.

The scenes and plot are so simple yet so moving at the same time, a testament to what good film making can become.

I can't believe it. This is one of the best movies I've ever seen, for free, on KZfaq. Thank you for posting this.

Probably my favourite film ever. It’s great that it’s now on KZfaq for free so more people can see it.

THANK YOU SO MUCH, Mosfilm!! For presenting all these Film Classics to the whole world for everyone to see. That is such an incredible Gift to all of us :) I own STALKER already on DVD and Blu-ray but I still felt like showing my deepest appreciation for you that you officially provide this amazing Tarkovsky Masterpiece over here. Большое спасибо, Mosfilm!! :)

this has become one of my go to movie to fall asleep too. not because its boring but because the beautiful and haunting cinematography, the subtle use of music and sound design, the dialogue which sometimes delivered straight to camera like a theatre play and overall just how its all paced... the film is like a mystery for me that puts me into a trance. fantastic movie!

Watching this movie at this particular time in history is all the more significant. Tarkovskij was able to transpose the oddities of a dream into film.

Eagerly waited for this after Solaris was posted, Stalker is one of my all time favorite movies! Hope to see Mosfilm post more Tarkovksy films like Mirror. Also The Cranes are Flying would be great too!

I love this film, I remember when it was still hard to find. So seeing it here for everyone makes me happy. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did. 😁

This is one of the best sci-fi movies ever made. Further, it is one of the best movies ever made. Further it is the best movie of Tarkovsky.

I have loved this film since I was a child. I used to play in a derelict iron foundry outside my house that was like the Zone when I was a boy.

you can freeze this movie at ten random places and each will be a marvel of photographic art.

Perhaps the most beautifully shot film ever.

One of the GREATEST directors of all time... Thanks for making this available on KZfaq

I first saw this film many years ago as an impressionable 18 year old. I didn't understand it, but the power of the images stuck with me. It's still one of my favourite films, but I can't really explain the appeal to others.

Thank you, Mosfilm. Putting all these films online is truly a gift!

Stalker haunts my dreams and I love it so much. Whenever there are long pauses in action, my imagination runs wild and I am so thankful.

Tarkovsky was a visionary who literally died for his art.

The Strugatskys are brilliant writers. Existentialist novelists. Depicting the absurdity of life but leaving always a small grain of either hope, humor, or redemption. Love many of their books/stories.

Definitely the movie which corresponds our current time in 2022 (that actually amazes me how the director reflects the problems and defines psychological up and downs in human life) and it totally transposes the future! It seems very psychological and is not for the ordinary audience to watch. I was born in 1979 and decided to watch this movie because I had a chance to read "The Roadside Picnic" by Strugatsky brothers and so was intrigued by the idea to watch the movie. However I must say the movie is not exactly the reflection of the book... The movie is what you wish and want to become as a person, the movie is the allegory of the "room" that these men are looking for... I think this is our life where we all try to find ourselves...Interesting abstract vision and style of directing! I have to watch other Tarkovsky's movies.

So grateful that Tarkovsky made this beautiful film.

Man I love the scene where he walks up toward the old house and that doorway. Fantastic.

Much thanks, Mosfilm! It wasn't long ago that this film was not available on KZfaq. The restoration is top notch. We can watch guilt-free knowing that it is posted by the rightful publisher. It is a shame that Andrei never got to see it in this format.

Mankind exists in order to create words of art, At least that’s unselfish compared to all other human activities! -Great quote 👍

This reminds me of Nabakov's book 'The Defense' in which the (master chess player) protagonist standing in a city park, imagines the lamp post's relation to the shrub and it's position relative to the tree and how he might achieve ''check mate'' using the fire hydrant, all while a young, and beautiful woman is pouring her heart out in despair. Tarkovsky's movie slowed my heart rate to that of an arctic frog's and I have been able to hibernate beneath the permafrost ever since I watched this film. I have no other skills.

Grabbed the first game back in 2007 and found out about the movie a year later. I have the old Kino 2 disc version on DVD and I've read Roadside Picnic as well. One of the all time greatest films ever made without question. The Stalker games are just as captivating, I've spent hundreds of hours on each entry. Join the family fellow Stalkers, it's been 15 years for me and I'm not quitting any time soon.

This is still one of my personal absolute favorite movies! Whan i first watched it it realy didn´t look like anything else i seen before on screen, more like an amalgamasion of conciciousness in reality and the dreamworld, it is truly a masterpice of art in my opinion!

Truly one of the greatest films of all time. I've seen it many times but this is the highest quality I've ever found it in. Thanks!

After watching the film, my father who grew up in the Soviet Union set me onto reading the book and I was so blown away that the film almost felt dissapointing despite how good it is. After that I was addicted to the Strugatsky Bros and read almost everything of theirs, my fav being the doomed city.

since mosfilm is in my life, i have been transported....one sublime masterpiece after another...the humanity and introspection of russian movies is beyond what even my literary access has ever conceived or been swept away with. my heartfelt gratitude for this act of sharing.

Too early to comment after only 18 mins to the film....I am speechless with cinematography, the opening scene...Oh god and the gradual development in dialogues...Reminds me of Satyajit Ray's films...

Thank you so much Mosfilm! Stalker is my favourite film! Tarkovsky.... genius. Hope all his movies are avaiable: as a gift to humanity. Spasiba bolscoi!

I do appreciate you sharing this with all cultures. We know so little, nothing much good at all about anything not of Europe, East of Berlin! It is deeply gratifying to see another way of thinking about human beings so gracefully and with such complete openness and understanding of our struggles to be fully human in all the familiar places but especially the unfamiliar ones. Life is elsewhere not only in America, London, Paris, Oslo, Madrid, Barcelona, Tel Aviv…

My sincerest thanks to Mosfilm for posting these films, especially Tarkovsky.

Another masterpiece of Soviet science fiction cinema by Tarkovsky.wiith exceptional music by Edward Artemiev. Based on the science fiction novel: "A Picnic on the Roadside".

The music and the signature tune itself is so haunting spiritually, it brings tears to my eyes every time I watch this ultimate masterpiece of cinema.

Watching this film is like the state between falling asleep and meditation, trying to stay focussed yet remaining relaxed but feeling a heavy pull towards sleep. Drifting in and out of the dialogue catching snippets here and there, waking in scenes where even the characters are drifting off to sleep, the film begins to seep into your dreams, you become interwoven with it. One of the most spiritual and enlightening films ive ever seen.

I'm so grateful this classic has been uploaded to youtube in great quality. Thank you.

Thank you so much for uploading these, it’s spreading these films to those who need to see them.

Totally a masterpiece. We gotta watch his films with a clear mind to understand the subtexts of scenes and read the film like a book.

The audio design throughout the cart ride is absolutely fantastic; coupled with the amazing visuals and the little "nap" of the writer. Love it.

Wspaniała rosyjska kinematografia! Dziękuję!

Truly sensational. The sense of forboding echoed in the reality of making this film

Thank you so much for that wonderful viewing experience. A fantastic piece of cinematic art.

Another fantastic masterpiece by Tarkovsky. Thank you MosFilm & KZfaq for making this viewing possible.

what a magnificent film!!! i am not russian - but filipino -- but just with guidance of synopsis..translations while listening to the russian language sound..and the story in action..it is compelling!!! Thanks for such creations as this!!!

I had seen this film on TV more than 40 years ago and never forgot it. I'm really looking forward to seeing you again. Thanks alot.

I first saw Solaris when I was 15/16 and was totally awestruck I saw Stalker years ago at the NFT southbank and was totally immersed It is a masterpiece of cinema Thanks so much for giving others the chance to see this visual and cinematic feast It has been said it literally cost the lives of some of the participants who gave us this truly great experience

The initial music struck me in the heart: enchanting, mystical, perfect. 🙏🏼❤️

Even to this day this movie still generates different opinions. Hate it or love it, immersive or boring, a look into the human mind or shitty pseudo-philosophy; truly a work that is worth a shot (As all Tarkovsky cinema). Me? I'm lost to The Zone.

I watched this on Sunday and it has really stayed with me. A brilliant, thought provoking film.

For me the entire movie passed a sensation of being an analogy to life, even the darkening and mysterious movie aesthetic. The idea of them doing this journey to the Zone for the end they don't even go into Room, they rethinking the reason to go there many times during the path; it all reminds me the journeys we start in our lives and stop in the middle of that. It's a movie to see contemplating and reflecting, to immerse in the aesthetic and character's dialogue. I finished this film with more doubts than I was at the beginning but in peace.

i can feel the definition of 'hope' changing inside me. i'm so glad i met this movie after so many years.

I think the lesson that this movie is trying to teach us is that if we want to find happiness in our lives, we shouldn't just follow our desires in whatever form we may have them, but rather try to understand ourselves and search for the "Why?" rather than the thing we long for itself.

HQ version of STALKER movie with english subtitles. I appreciate that. That has a priority on KZfaq's memory drives.

Tarkovsky, Eisenstein, and Kurosawa. The true pantheon of filmmakers. ‘Stalker’ is not a desperate film. I don’t think a work of art can be inspired by this sort of feeling. Its meaning must be spiritual, positive, it should bring hope and belief. I don’t think my film lacks hope. If this is true-it is not a work of art ~A. Tarkovsky. I remember seeing The Mirror in the cinema and feeling that I opened a door to a new place, and I felt that I left the cinema seeing the world in a new way.

Alongside Mirror, Stalker is peak Tarkovsky. His Sculpting In Time style so beautifully realised. Its mix of philosophy, poetry and pathos is unparalleled in cinema. Andrei was a true auteur.

Thank you for putting this science fiction masterpiece online in high quality.

I haven't seen a movie as so deeply rooted in itself like this in a very long time

A masterpiece and one of my favorite films. If you love fast paced, action packed, car crashes and super heroes ... this is not the movie for you. Thank you SO much for sharing

One of the best movies ever made. Masterpiece.

A masterpiece...what a pleasure! thank you. greetings from Brazil

Thank you, Mosfilm, for making so many amazing movies available to all of us; and with subtitles ! Amazing work right there !

True masterpiece!!! One of my favorite movie ever!

Thank You for you channel. I love European movies, what a treat to finally watch something different on KZfaq.Greetings from Vancouver Canada 🇨🇦

Incredibly in a world of endless greed and selfishness a film like this is actually FREE on the internet … Thank you Mosfilm …

Thanks for sharing this brilliant movie. And for taking pains in giving us accurate subtitles that helped us understand the move.

I loved everything about this movie. The black dog was a nice touch. More the Irish version of the legend than the English Old Shuck. The Irish legend gives the dog the roll of protective spirit. A perfect movie in every way.

The acting in this is phenomenal.

I learned psycho analysis with this motion picture. A masterpiece of the universe.