korfhage@UCLA-ATS.ARPA (03/22/84)
From: Willard Korfhage <korfhage@UCLA-ATS.ARPA> I see by a movie schedule that "Stalker" and "Solaris" (Soviet films by director Andrei Tarkoysky) will be appearing out here. Does anyone have comments about these? Stalker was mentioned some time ago in SFL, but I can't get at the old SFL volumes and look it up. Thanks, Willard Korfhage korfhage@ucla-ats
wombat@uicsl.UUCP (03/26/84)
#R:sri-arpa:-18700:uicsl:10700092:000:1150 uicsl!wombat Mar 25 23:39:00 1984 *Stalker* -- Well, I remember going to see this one evening last summer. I remember being incredibly bored throughout most of the movie. But I also find that there are quite a few things about it that still stand out in my mind. It's taken from the Strugatskys' *Roadside Picnic*, which I haven't read, and I have the impression that the book is involved with the aliens who stop by Earth for a picnic, while the film focuses on how "The Zone" where the picnic was held affects the lives of the people who live near it. There are some neat things in the film, but there are also some losers. There are too many scenes that are held far, far too long. But I'm not sorry I saw it, even though I couldn't wait for the thing to end while I was watching it (if I'd ever walked out of a movie, it would have been either *Stalker* or *Days of Heaven*). If you are prepared for a long movie about "ordinary" people exploring alien leftovers, and don't mind waiting a few days or weeks or months to appreciate what you've seen, go see it. If not, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom will be out in a few months. Wombat ihnp4!uiucdcs!uicsl!wombat
davidk@dartvax.UUCP (David C. Kovar) (03/27/84)
"Roadside Picnic" is NOT about aliens picnicing on Earth, it is
about the effects of The Zone on the inhabitants of the area. One
character, a scientist, likens the Zone to an alien picnic area.
What would the remains of a human picnic site look like to a
less advanced race than ours? It is a superb book, even though the
translation from Russian leaves something to be desired at times.
--
David C. Kovar
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