Stalker is a 1979 Soviet science fiction film directed by Andrei Tarkovsky, loosely based on the novel Roadside Picnic by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, who also wrote the screenplay. It follows a guide known as the Stalker leading two clients, a writer and a scientist, into a mysterious restricted area called the Zone, at the center of which lies a room said to grant a visitor's innermost wish. Shot largely in long, slow takes and made under famously difficult production conditions that required reshooting much of the film, it is regarded as one of Tarkovsky's major works and a landmark of philosophical science fiction cinema.
Facts
Classification
Original Language AwardPrize of the Ecumenical Jury (Cannes) 1 AwardFantasporto Audience Jury Award (Special Mention) 1 Release Year FAQs
How closely does the film Stalker follow the novel Roadside Picnic?
Very loosely. Tarkovsky said in 1979 that it shares little with the novel beyond the words Stalker and Zone.
Only loosely. The Strugatsky brothers wrote the screenplay and the film is based on their 1972 novel, but the film departs considerably from it. According to a 1979 interview with Andrei Tarkovsky, the film has basically nothing in common with the novel except for the two words Stalker and Zone. In the novel, stalker was a common nickname for men who illegally prospected for alien artefacts in the Zone, and the film turns the word into a title for a professional guide.
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Source Wikipedia: Stalker (1979 film)
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Source Wikipedia: Stalker (1979 film)
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1. Wikipedia: Stalker (1979 film)
Infobox, Released
25 May 1979
Infobox, Country
Soviet Union
Stalker, Description, original language
Stalker is a 1979 Soviet science fiction film directed by Andrei Tarkovsky, loosely based on the novel Roadside Picnic by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, who also wrote the screenplay.
Wikipedia Accolades section (ecumenical-jury), checked 2026-09-27
The film was awarded the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury at the 1980 Cannes Film Festival
Wikipedia Accolades section (fantasporto), checked 2026-09-27
the Audience Jury Award - Special Mention at Fantasporto
In Medium: Film, Article lead sentence
Stalker (%5B%5BWikipedia%3ATemplates+for+discussion%2FLog%2F2025+April+17%23Template%3ALang-rus%5D%5D{}</noinclude>Russian: Сталкер, IPA: [ˈstaɫkʲɪr]) is a 1979 Soviet science fantasy film directed by Andrei Tarkovsky with a screenplay written by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, loosely based on their 1972 novel Roadside Picnic.
Created By: Andrei Tarkovsky, Article lead sentence
Stalker (%5B%5BWikipedia%3ATemplates+for+discussion%2FLog%2F2025+April+17%23Template%3ALang-rus%5D%5D{}</noinclude>Russian: Сталкер, IPA: [ˈstaɫkʲɪr]) is a 1979 Soviet science fantasy film directed by Andrei Tarkovsky with a screenplay written by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, loosely based on their 1972 novel Roadside Picnic.
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