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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r |
( aka 'Stalker' or 'Сталкер' )
USSR 1979
"The first screenplay of Stalker was closer to the novel and the film had a curious history. Half of it was already shot in fact when the exposed film was destroyed in the "Mosfilm" lab. Nobody would have allowed me to shot the film again had it not been the fault of a "Mosfilm" technician. One cannot repeat the same thing for the second time, that would have been beyond my stamina. Thus together with the authors we returned to our work on the screenplay... In this case some kind of law of equilibrium must have been at work, perhaps the "Mosfilm" disaster was not accidental. It was as if fate intervened in the sense the accident occurred precisely at the instant the film could have become insufficiently deep." Andrei Tarkovsky on Stalker (taken from Nostalghia.com) |
Posters
Theatrical Release: August 1979 - Moscow Film Festival
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews Nostalghia.com
Comparison:
MK2 - Region 0 - PAL vs. Spectrum - Region 3- NTSC vs. Image Entertainment/RusCiCo Region 1 DVD vs. Artificial Eye/RusCiCo - Region 2 - PALvs. Artificial Eye - Region 'B' - Blu-ray vs. Criterion - Region 'A' / 'B' - Blu-ray |
Thanks to Pavel Borodin for the AE and Spectrum DVD screen Captures!
1) MK2 - Region 0 - PAL TOP LEFT 2) Spectrum - Region 3- NTSC - TOP SECOND 3) Image Entertainment/RusCiCo Region 0 DVD TOP THIRD 4) Artificial Eye/RusCiCo - Region 0 - PAL TOP RIGHT 5) Artificial Eye - Region 'B' - Blu-ray TOP LEFT 6) Criterion - Region 'A' / 'B' - Blu-ray BOTTOM RIGHT
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Box Covers |
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Distribution |
MK2 (France) Region 0 - PAL |
Spectrum Entertainment Region 3 - NTSC ( Korea ) |
Image Entertainment/ RuCiCo Region 0 - NTSC ( North America ) |
Artificial Eye Region 0 - PAL |
Also available in the UK on Blu-ray from Criterion, one week later: | |
Artificial Eye (UK) Region 'B' - Blu-ray |
Criterion Region 'A' / 'B' - Blu-ray Spine # 888 |
MK2 (France) |
Spectrum Entertainment Region 3 - NTSC |
Image Entertainment/ RuCiCo Region 0 - NTSC |
Artificial Eye |
Artificial Eye (UK) Region 'B' - Blu-ray
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Criterion Region 'A' / 'B' - Blu-ray Spine # 888 | |
Runtime | 1:32:09 + 1:02:42 = 2:34:51 (4% PAL speedup) | 1:32:03 + 1:02:38 = 2:34:41 (not transferred to NTSC first) | 1:32:09 + 1:02:31 = 2:34:40 (not transferred to NTSC first) | 1:32:09 + 1:02:42 = 2:34:51 (4% PAL speedup) | 2:41:32.750 | 2:41:53.745 |
Video |
1.33:1
Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 6.83+7.8 mb/s = avg 7.32 mb/s PAL 720x576 25.00 f/s |
4:3 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 7.85 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s |
4:3 Original Aspect Ratio Average Bitrate: 7.21 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s |
1.33:1
Original Aspect Ratio |
1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 35,243,835,279 bytes Feature: 34,891,511,808 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 25.74 Mbps |
1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 49,114,251,764 bytesFeature: 41,446,649,856 bytesCodec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 30.26 Mbps |
NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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Audio | Russian (Dolby Digital 5.1), Russian (Dolby Digital 1.0 - Mono) , | Russian (Dolby Digital 5.1) | Russian (Dolby Digital 5.1), Russian (Dolby Digital 1.0 - Mono) , |
Russian (Dolby Digital 5.1), Russian (Dolby Digital 1.0 - Mono) , |
LPCM Audio Russian 1536 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 1536 kbps / 16-bit | LPCM Audio Russian 1152 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1152 kbps / 24-bit |
Subtitles | Chinese, Dutch, English, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Russian, and none | Korean, Russian, English and none | Chinese, Dutch, English, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Russian, and none | Chinese, Dutch, English, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Russian, and none | English, None | English, None |
Features |
Release Information: Studio: MK2 DVD Animated Menu's available in Russian, French and English Edition Details:
DVD Release Date: May 25th, 2005Slim digipak with no sleeve Chapters: Six in Part 1, Seven in Part 2 - total = 13 Chapters |
Release Information: Studio: Spectrum Entertainment Edition Details: • Disk 2: Cast & Crews, Interviews with Crews; Camera Man; Production Designer
DVD Release Date:
October 15, 2002 |
Release Information: Studio: Image Entertainment DVD Animated Menu's available in Russian, French and English Edition Details:
DVD Release Date:
October 15, 2002 |
Release Information: Studio: Artificial Eye DVD Animated Menu's available in Russian, French and English Edition Details:
DVD Release Date:
April 22nd, 2002 |
Release Information: Disc Size: 35,243,835,279 bytes Feature: 34,891,511,808 bytes Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 25.74 Mbps
• Film Psychoanalyst Mary Wild visual essay (14:17
- Part 5 - Stalker - Topography of the Unconscious) • Interview with Set Designer Rashit Safiullin (14:32) 36 page booklet
Blu-ray
Release Date:
August 22nd, 2016 Chapters 12 |
Release Information: Studio: Criterion 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 49,114,251,764 bytesFeature: 41,446,649,856 bytesCodec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Total Video Bitrate: 30.26 Mbps
Edition Details: Chapter: 20
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NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc. ADDITION: Criterion - Region 'A' / 'B' - Blu-ray - June 17': This is being released in both the US and the UK (one week later.) The Criterion is advertised as a 'New 2K digital restoration'. The film looks so beautiful... it's the most dramatic comparison of the past few years. The detail is massively improved. The sepia remains but is yellow-ish. Skin tones cool and colors get richer and bolder. The Criterion 1080P is much brighter. There are always concerns that the original appearance of a film is adhered to in a digital restoration. In many cases no one can be positive - prints fade or are lost, filmmakers die (so true of Stalker) etc.. This is such a case. Criterion did go to great lengths to replicate the original appearance - of that I was made aware of their research and investigations many months ago. I can only add to the appearance of the matched screen captures below by telling you that Stalker has some of the most beautiful sequences in all of film and they look absolutely brilliant on Criterion's new Blu-ray. I've never seen this particular Tarkovsky film look so visually impressive. It was, definitely, the most impacting Stalker has ever had on me. I've watched the Criterion Blu-ray three times now and I was amazed in each viewing. In a word this, visually, is truly 'stunning'.Criterion also advance upon the AE Blu-ray with the audio. They use a linear PCM mono track - at 24-bit (as opposed to 16-bit.) The resulting sounds of the film are richer, deeper and darker while remaining authentically flat. The, often eerie and haunting, score by Eduard Artemev certainly benefits adding another layer onto the atmosphere. The Criterion has optional English subtitles and the discs are coded respectively to their region ('A' in North America, 'B' in UK/Europe.)For the supplements, Criterion add a new, 1/2 hour, interview with Geoff Dyer, author of Zona: A Book About a Film About a Journey to a Room who discusses how his impatient first viewing of Stalker gave way to a decades-long love of the film. There are 3 interviews from 2000-2002; 22-minuts with composer Eduard Artemyev, a pioneer in the field of electronic music, he composed scores for three Andrei Tarkovsky films (Solaris and Mirror, in addition to Stalker) and here he recalls the process for composing for Stalker. Included is 6-minutes with cinematographer Alexander Knyazhinsky (also found on the AE Blu-ray). Knyazhinsky was the second cinematographer associated with Stalker. In this interview, the last he gave before his death in 1996, he recounts his arrival midway through the famously difficult production, and describes his working relationship with director Andrei Tarkovsky. Also available is 1/4 hour with set designer Rashit Safiullin who discusses working on Stalker. The package has a liner notes booklet with an essay by critic Mark Le Fanu. For many, myself included, this represents the Blu-ray release of the year to date. I am 'blown away' by this presentation. I only have the screener disc sat present but can't wait to have the complete package in my hands. Our highest recommendation! *** ADDITION: Artificial Eye - Region 'B' Blu-ray - August 2016: Curzon / Artificial Eye provide another two-Blu-ray package for one of their new Tarkovsky film-to-1080P release - one disc for the feature a second for the extras. Stalker seems to be from a Films Sans Frontières source (who have released their own, English-friendly Blu-ray version HERE)
and it looks radically different from the DVDs (see the title captures below.) It looks quite soft and the print has speckles and small marks. General consensus is that the a/v quality is sub-par - and underachieving from people's hopes. A shame. The audio too is rather scratchy and inferior. We can only hope for a better release down the road - hopefully Criterion! *** ADDITION: MK2 (May 2005) - The MK2 is an exact duplicate of the AE/RusCiCo. It comes in a slim digipak without sleeve. At present this is the definitive edition - so buy the AE or the MK2 - whichever you find least expensive. **** ADDITION: Spectrum (October 2004) - Not much to say, the Spectrum is NTSC and has the same problems as the Image Entertainment. It also has the same extras, but its big failing is only having the 5.1 audio and no option for the original mono. The Spectrum may have slightly better contrast than the Image Entertainment. It differs in that it offers Korean subtitles and some pretty cool appearing menus. In actuality they are not as nice as the animated RusCiCo ones. Stick with the PAL edition. |
Comments: |
I suppose it is appropriate and justified to get overly sensitive about the slight details of the work of such a great artist as Andrei Tarkovsky. It somehow relates to his own cinematic attention to minute detail - the painstaking way he created his visions. The original 'Stalker' DVD released by RusCiCo (The Russian Cinema Council) had a remix of the original mono bumping it to a 5.1 surround soundtrack. RusCiCo did not include the mono track in their original release. For many obvious reasons this was totally unacceptable to his fans and those concerned with the integrity of art. This AE, Image and MK2 discs however, includes both tracks so that the listener can choose. I can state for myself that this difference makes it almost like two entirely different films. In piecing together the puzzle of a film of this nature, every minute detail is intricate to the expression. Tarkovsky and his legion of fans were certainly aware of this, but obviously RusCiCo were not. Once familiar with the grandeur of this film, it becomes infinitely fascinating to flip back and forth on the fly between soundtracks. I am actually happy that the alternate remix soundtrack is included for my curiosity sake. It adds to the depth of this DVD.
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The image quality of these DVDs is by no means perfect, but in my opinion it is very good and blows away my VHS copy. I love journeying through the extras. I was especially fond of the manner in which the short film, "Memory" on Disc 1 was developed. It is EXTREMELY "Stalker"- like in its camera and sound, moving between black + white and color images. All three (MK2, AE and Image) issues are identical to the second Ruscico (with optional mono) release in every way apart from the DVD labels and box artwork (and two are PAL and the other unconverted NTSC). As mentioned the first Ruscico release should be avoided as it lacks the original mono soundtrack. Looking at the times, once again the NTSC version has not been properly converted from its PAL source. The PAL editions are slightly sharper and less cropped and is the choice for best image. All other aspects of the discs are the same. |
(Spectrum -Region 3- NTSC LEFT vs. Image/AE/MK2 - RIGHT)
DVD Menus are the exact same in the Image Entertainment, Artificial Eye and MK2 editions
Disc 1 |
Disc 1 |
Disc 2 | Disc 2 |
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From the 5:34 short film entitled "Memory" about Tarkovsky childhood home. An extra on Disc 1 of all four editions.
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Artificial Eye
- Region 'B' - Blu-ray
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Artificial Eye - Region 'B' - Second Blu-ray
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Criterion - Region 'A' - Blu-ray
CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
Subtitle Sample
1) Artificial Eye - Region 'B' - Blu-ray TOP 2) Criterion - Region 'A' / 'B' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
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Screen Captures
1) MK2 - Region 0 - PAL TOP 2) Spectrum - Region 3- NTSC - SECOND3) Image Entertainment/RusCiCo Region 0 DVD THIRD 4) Artificial Eye/RusCiCo - Region 0 - PAL FOURTH 5) Artificial Eye - Region 'B' - Blu-ray FIFTH 6) Criterion - Region 'A' / 'B' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
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1) MK2 - Region 0 - PAL TOP 2) Spectrum - Region 3- NTSC - SECOND3) Image Entertainment/RusCiCo Region 0 DVD THIRD 4) Artificial Eye/RusCiCo - Region 0 - PAL FOURTH 5) Artificial Eye - Region 'B' - Blu-ray FIFTH 6) Criterion - Region 'A' / 'B' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
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1) MK2 - Region 0 - PAL TOP 2) Spectrum - Region 3- NTSC - SECOND3) Image Entertainment/RusCiCo Region 0 DVD THIRD 4) Artificial Eye/RusCiCo - Region 0 - PAL FOURTH 5) Artificial Eye - Region 'B' - Blu-ray FIFTH 6) Criterion - Region 'A' / 'B' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
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More Blu-ray Captures
1) Artificial Eye - Region 'B' - Blu-ray TOP 2) Criterion - Region 'A' / 'B' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
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1) Artificial Eye - Region 'B' - Blu-ray TOP 2) Criterion - Region 'A' / 'B' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
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1) Artificial Eye - Region 'B' - Blu-ray TOP 2) Criterion - Region 'A' / 'B' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
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1) Artificial Eye - Region 'B' - Blu-ray TOP 2) Criterion - Region 'A' / 'B' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
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1) Artificial Eye - Region 'B' - Blu-ray TOP 2) Criterion - Region 'A' / 'B' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
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1) Artificial Eye - Region 'B' - Blu-ray TOP 2) Criterion - Region 'A' / 'B' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
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1) Artificial Eye - Region 'B' - Blu-ray TOP 2) Criterion - Region 'A' / 'B' - Blu-ray BOTTOM
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Box Covers |
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Distribution |
MK2 (France) Region 0 - PAL |
Spectrum Entertainment Region 3 - NTSC ( Korea ) |
Image Entertainment/ RuCiCo Region 0 - NTSC ( North America ) |
Artificial Eye Region 0 - PAL |
Also available in the UK on Blu-ray from Criterion, one week later: | |
Artificial Eye (UK) Region 'B' - Blu-ray |
Criterion Region 'A' / 'B' - Blu-ray Spine # 888 |