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argurotoxosStalker is a loose adaptation Arkady and Boris Strugatsky's science-fiction novella Roadside Picnic (which you can read here) filmed in 1974 by Andrei Tarkovsky. Both stories, along with the similarly loosely inspired S.T.A.L.K.E.R. computer game series, share a few basic elements: There is a mysterious area called the Zone, inside which is rumoured to exist an object that can grant wishes; however, the Zone is a very dangerous place and only a few, called Stalkers, know how to navigate through it and survive. From there, the three mediums break off into vastly different entities.
I didn't know what to expect going into Stalker, but it was not what I got, for better or for worse. Even though the Strugatsky brothers have screenplay credit, the departure from the novel is apparent from the very first scene. Roughly the first third of Roadside Picnic focuses on the scientific exploration of the Zone and recovery of strange alien artifacts with the main character, a Stalker nicknamed Red, working as a lab assistant. None of this appears in the film, nor do any of the musings on the extraterrestrial life thought to have created the Zones. One of the ideas that fascinates me in Roadside Picnic is that the aliens are almost beyond human comprehension -- no humans interact with them at any point and all we have are the items they left behind, perhaps just as a family on a picnic might leave wrappers, apple cores, and so on behind without thought, hence the novella's title. In contrast, the only hint of alien life or the origin of the Zone in the film is a brief conversation along the lines of, "They say it was a meteorite." Period. Very disappointing.
The Zone itself is also markedly altered. My impression from the novella is of a wide, abandoned landscape that may be superficially peaceful but never looks quite right. There are strange webs in dark corners, discoloured skies, invisible gravity wells that can crush you and much, much worse. It's a place where you should always be on edge, unnerved, and terrified of making one wrong move. The film shows the abandoned cars, telephone lines, and a few of the bodies, but overall it look like a beautiful - if too quiet - countryside. It's said in dialogue that there are traps throughout the Zone and the Stalker gives warnings to his two traveling companions, but very little happens and no one is ever killed or injured to the point that I'm not sure I'd have thought the Zone remotely ominous if I hadn't had the novel version constantly in the back of my mind.
Finally, the structure. Roadside Picnic is told in four sections with a pretty even balance between dialogue and narration. This might be the English translation and less true of the Russian, but the Strugatskies' writing style is simultaneously direct and highly evocative; the descriptions are effective through an economy of words. Stalker, on the other hand, is drawn out, with many shots of the characters' faces sometimes lasting for minutes on end. The dialogue is sparse, until one of the characters begins to philosophize and will speak about themselves for several minutes, bringing up points that are neither addressed by nor resolved by anyone else before settling back into mostly silence.
There are a number of other points that were lost or altered in the transition from novella to film, but the above paragraphs cover the major ones. Would I recommend Stalker? No, but I suppose it is interesting for comparison purposes if you're already interested in either Roadside Picnic (which I do highly recommend) or S.T.A.L.K.E.R. (a.k.a. T.O.O.M.A.N.Y.D.O.T.S [thank you, TTLG]).
[I haven't said much about the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. computer games, largely because I haven't played any of them yet. Besides being a non-linear first person shooter/RPG/horror game, the major storyline departure from the rest of the Strugatsky-inspired media comes in making a second disaster at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant responsible for the creation of the Zone.
Also, I have no idea why the Russian is displaying correctly from my journal page and editing mode, but not in single entry view. The Russian title should be: Сталкер.]
I didn't know what to expect going into Stalker, but it was not what I got, for better or for worse. Even though the Strugatsky brothers have screenplay credit, the departure from the novel is apparent from the very first scene. Roughly the first third of Roadside Picnic focuses on the scientific exploration of the Zone and recovery of strange alien artifacts with the main character, a Stalker nicknamed Red, working as a lab assistant. None of this appears in the film, nor do any of the musings on the extraterrestrial life thought to have created the Zones. One of the ideas that fascinates me in Roadside Picnic is that the aliens are almost beyond human comprehension -- no humans interact with them at any point and all we have are the items they left behind, perhaps just as a family on a picnic might leave wrappers, apple cores, and so on behind without thought, hence the novella's title. In contrast, the only hint of alien life or the origin of the Zone in the film is a brief conversation along the lines of, "They say it was a meteorite." Period. Very disappointing.
The Zone itself is also markedly altered. My impression from the novella is of a wide, abandoned landscape that may be superficially peaceful but never looks quite right. There are strange webs in dark corners, discoloured skies, invisible gravity wells that can crush you and much, much worse. It's a place where you should always be on edge, unnerved, and terrified of making one wrong move. The film shows the abandoned cars, telephone lines, and a few of the bodies, but overall it look like a beautiful - if too quiet - countryside. It's said in dialogue that there are traps throughout the Zone and the Stalker gives warnings to his two traveling companions, but very little happens and no one is ever killed or injured to the point that I'm not sure I'd have thought the Zone remotely ominous if I hadn't had the novel version constantly in the back of my mind.
Finally, the structure. Roadside Picnic is told in four sections with a pretty even balance between dialogue and narration. This might be the English translation and less true of the Russian, but the Strugatskies' writing style is simultaneously direct and highly evocative; the descriptions are effective through an economy of words. Stalker, on the other hand, is drawn out, with many shots of the characters' faces sometimes lasting for minutes on end. The dialogue is sparse, until one of the characters begins to philosophize and will speak about themselves for several minutes, bringing up points that are neither addressed by nor resolved by anyone else before settling back into mostly silence.
There are a number of other points that were lost or altered in the transition from novella to film, but the above paragraphs cover the major ones. Would I recommend Stalker? No, but I suppose it is interesting for comparison purposes if you're already interested in either Roadside Picnic (which I do highly recommend) or S.T.A.L.K.E.R. (a.k.a. T.O.O.M.A.N.Y.D.O.T.S [thank you, TTLG]).
[I haven't said much about the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. computer games, largely because I haven't played any of them yet. Besides being a non-linear first person shooter/RPG/horror game, the major storyline departure from the rest of the Strugatsky-inspired media comes in making a second disaster at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant responsible for the creation of the Zone.
Also, I have no idea why the Russian is displaying correctly from my journal page and editing mode, but not in single entry view. The Russian title should be: Сталкер.]
