Synopsis
Near a gray and unnamed city is the Zone, a place guarded by barbed wire and soldiers, and where the normal laws of physics are victim to frequent anomalies. A stalker guides two men into the Zone, specifically to an area in which deep-seated desires are granted.
Key facts
Cast
Alisa Freyndlikh, Aleksandr Kaydanovskiy, Anatoliy Solonitsyn, Mykola Hrynko, Natalya Abramova, Faime Jurno, Evgeniy Kostin, Raimo Rendi
Original language
Russian
First release
May 25, 1979 (Soviet Union)
Production companies
Mosfilm
Based on
Roadside Picnic
Filming locations
Tallinn
Crew
Screenplay
Andrei Tarkovsky, Arkadiy Strugatskiy, Boris Strugatskiy
Producer
Aleksandra Demidova
Cinematography
Aleksandr Knyazhinsky, Leonid Kalashnikov
Editing
Lyudmila Feiginova
Music
Eduard Artemyev
Trailer
Stills
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to write one.
Festival History
- Gáldar International Film Festival - FIC Gáldar 2026
- OffScreen Film Festival 2021 - ECO-HORROR & CLIMATE FICTION
- Octopus Film Festival 2019 - Postapokalipsa
- Trieste Science+Fiction Festival 2018 - Classix
- Trieste Science+Fiction Festival 2007 generic - Focus Russia
Releases & classifications
| Theatrical | Soviet Union | May 25, 1979 |
| Theatrical | Netherlands | April 17, 1980 |
| Theatrical | Soviet Union | May 19, 1980 |
| Theatrical | Finland | August 15, 1980 |
| Theatrical | Belgium | November 13, 1980 |
| Theatrical | United Kingdom | December 2, 1980 |
| Theatrical | Italy | December 24, 1980 |
| Theatrical | Brazil | December 26, 1980 |
| Theatrical | Italy | January 30, 1981 |
| Theatrical | Sweden | April 13, 1981 |
| Theatrical | Ireland | April 17, 1981 |
| Theatrical | Germany | May 1, 1981 |
| Theatrical | Denmark | August 24, 1981 |
| Theatrical | Argentina | November 12, 1981 |
| Theatrical | France | November 18, 1981 |
| Theatrical | Uruguay | August 8, 1984 |
| Theatrical | Spain | November 5, 1984 |
| Television | Germany | April 17, 1987 |
| Television | Turkey | September 27, 1991 |
| Theatrical | Czech Republic | April 15, 1999 |
| Theatrical | United Kingdom | March 11, 2005 |
| Theatrical | France | September 2, 2009 |
| Theatrical | United States | January 17, 2014 |
| Theatrical | France | June 8, 2016 |
| Theatrical | United States | May 5, 2017 |
| Theatrical | France | July 5, 2017 |
| Theatrical | Netherlands | October 4, 2018 |
| Classification | Germany | 12 |
| Classification | United Kingdom | PG |
Versions & editions
| Home video | United Kingdom | August 17, 1991 |
| Home video | United Kingdom | January 21, 2002 |
| Home video | Canada | October 15, 2002 |
| Home video | Mexico | October 15, 2002 |
| Home video | Slovakia | March 11, 2006 |
| Home video | Brazil | January 1, 2010 |
| Home video | Russia | January 11, 2011 |
| Home video | Netherlands | August 22, 2016 |
| Home video | United Kingdom | September 22, 2016 |
| Home video | United Kingdom | July 24, 2017 |
Full credits
| Director | Andrei Tarkovsky |
| Cast | Alisa Freyndlikh (Stalker's Wife), Aleksandr Kaydanovskiy (Stalker), Anatoliy Solonitsyn (Writer), Mykola Hrynko (Professor), Natalya Abramova (Marta), Faime Jurno (Writer's Companion), Evgeniy Kostin (Lyuger, Owner of Cafe), Raimo Rendi (Police Patrol), Vladimir Zamanskiy (Professor's Telephone Interlocutor (voice) (uncredited)) |
| Screenplay | Andrei Tarkovsky, Arkadiy Strugatskiy, Boris Strugatskiy |
| Producer | Aleksandra Demidova |
| Cinematography | Aleksandr Knyazhinsky, Leonid Kalashnikov |
| Editing | Lyudmila Feiginova |
| Music | Eduard Artemyev |
| Production design | Aleksan, Aleksandr Boym, Andrei Tarkovsky |
| Sound | Vladlen Sharun |
| Costumes | Nelli Fomina |
Additional data: TMDB.
Source: Wikidata (CC0-1.0)
Source: Cinémathèque québécoise, linked catalogue data (CC BY 4.0)
