A real enigma of a film. It never tries to explain its many mysteries; it leaves it to the viewer to sort out what it's all supposed to mean. It's extremely slow -- sometimes tediously so -- but it never feels like a waste of time. It makes some very unusual and interesting points about faith -- not just religious faith, but faith in oneself, faith in the world, faith in the future, faith in anything.

I was initially surprised at the lack of any real resolutions, but maybe I was just too interested to discover what the Zone and the Room really were capable of than on the journey of discovery and spiritual change the main characters go through. Has a wonderful sense of foreboding, the long takes and the locations used are simply perfect. Watching this movie was such a unique experience... tense, thought-provoking, depressing and enchanting all at once. Deserves, no, demands a rewatch.

A good premise, but it's so fucking slow. Very well directed and good direction of art and cinematography. But just that does not make a good at all, in my opinion.

As perfect as cinema can get.

As an audio-visual experience, it's unparalleled, and its premise is interesting. Its slow, contemplative pace and the visuals and sounds make it an absorbing experience, but at times Stalker lingers on an environment or a concept for too long, breaking the dream-like state it previously induced. Regardless, if you can make it through all 25 hours, Stalker will make an impact on you - if not for its philosophical musings, for the environments it immerses you in.

A glorious compendium of faith. An incredibly dense masterpiece with a truly infinite wealth of possibilities. There is never an end to a film by Tarkovsky; they're so uniquely haunting and beautiful that you take them with you into real life. Damn if it isn't my favorite movie ever.

On my second viewing I had read Sculpting in Time twice prior to seeing it and you definitely notice a lot of reoccurring themes, thoughts and ideas - even the use of singular words. Still I must say that I have few, very few minor - minor gripes with it. Lovely electronic score and his tactfulness for sounds and their different nuances really comes through.

The pacing is very slow but the crafting of the scenes, in particular the sound is so clever and exaggerated it jumps out so boldly. The characters and philosophy formed almost constantly create intrigue and clearly the dialogue is very interesting. It's slow and methodical and I felt the first few and the last few scenes weren't necessary but perhaps I just don't understand them.

Long slow pretentious and boring

best movie ever - end of review.

Saw it again 5 years after the first time, felt like a totally new film. This time the girls (Stalker's wife & daughter) seemed to hold the key. Looking forward to watching it in 5 more years and having my mind blown again.

Stalker may have some of the most impressive cinematography that I have ever seen. Quite literally, this is a moving canvas by a phenomenal artist. The story wasn't as jaw dropping as the visuals, but its tough to fault the film for that in this case.

Slow and deliberate yet never boring.

This was my intro to Tarkovsky, and I definitely need to explore his work further. However, I didn't find myself as lured into the world as much as others have, like there was always a wall preventing me from connecting to it on a deeper level. I did enjoy it though, and I love the "sci-fi in script only" aspect (much like like Alphaville). Displays the majesty of decay like no other film.