Rhinoplasty, Stalker.

[Dave Monroe]

I've actually cleared out a forthcoming weekend so I
can claim the experience of having seen both
Tarkovsky's Solaris and his Stalker back-to-back on
the big screen.  I've both on video, but have only
seen Solaris screened before.  Both films one needs to
be trapped with to reall pay attention to, I think.

A friend once described Stalker to me as an alleged
science fiction film in which bunch of guys crossing a
field for nearly three hours and whose most  elaborate
special effect was a mirror.  Mind you, this was a
recommendation (at least insofar as I was concerned).

So I told another friend to get it for the video store
she managed.  Of course, it took little time for the
complaints to come rolling in--my favorite: "I can't
think this slow"--and, of course, it wasn't much
longer before I received a few complaints of my own.  

Maniacal laughter (not mine) followed when I pointed
out that I hadn't actually yet seen the film.  I mean,
my plan was, the store pays for the movie, then
someone tapes it for me.  It was only later that I
realized I'd already read the book on which it was
based.  After I'd seen the film.  Well after ...

By the way, my understanding is that Tarkovsky
actually shot a rather more "straight" adaptation of
Roadside Picnic, only to have something go
disastrously wrong in processing the negative.  Shot
the whole thing again on what little-to-nothing was
left of the budget.

In the meantime, rumor is James Cameron (Aliens; 
Terminators 1, 2 and, apparently forthcoming, 3; 
Titanic) is considering a Solaris of his own.  On the
one hand, would be nice to see Lem's, er, "visuals"
actually visualized as perhaps only CGI can do it,
but, I mean, really, James Cameron--yeesh ...


--- KXX4493553 at aol.com wrote:
> I saw "Stalker"  a long time ago - but I can
> remember that there several 
> times an atomic power station appears in the
> background - it was Tschernobyl.
> 
> Kurt-Werner Pörtner
>  


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