The film "Stalker" with Alexander Kaidanovsky in the title role is one of the most famous and beloved by the audience works of film director Andrei Tarkovsky. However, not everyone knows that a favorite film has an equally famous literary source.
The fantastic film "Stalker" was filmed in 1979 at the "Mosfilm" studio. The script for the film was written by the famous Soviet science fiction writers, the brothers Boris and Arkady Strugatsky. The script was based on their own novel "Roadside Picnic", published in 1972.
Film "Stalker"
In the film, the action takes place in a small town near the anomalous zone. People left her, she is under the protection of the authorities. According to legends, in the zone, in one of the abandoned houses, there is a Room that makes wishes come true. But getting into it is very difficult, the zone is deadly for people.
Nevertheless, it is attended by individual enthusiasts - stalkers. This is the name of the main character of the film, other characters also have no names, only nicknames. The Stalker is hired to travel to the Room by the Writer and the Professor. At the same time, the Professor secretly carries with him a compact nuclear charge, intending to blow up the Room. He believes that her very existence is a threat, since one day she can fulfill someone's desire that can lead to the death of humanity.
The path to the Room is very dangerous, the Stalker knows that there is one obstacle - the "meat grinder", which cannot be avoided, every time it takes someone's life. However, this time all three manage to reach the Room alive. It is there that the Stalker learns that the Professor wants to destroy the Room. Stalker says that you cannot take away from people the last thing they have - hope. As a result, the Professor dismantles the nuclear charge, all three return.
Roadside Picnic novel
In the novel, the zone was formed after an alien civilization visited Earth. Stalkers carry various artifacts from it - this type of activity is very dangerous, but it brings good income. The analogue of the Room in the novel is the Golden Ball, which grants wishes. It lies in a sandy quarry, on the way to it there is also a "meat grinder".
The main character of the novel is the stalker Redrick Schuhart. He knows the legend of the Golden Ball, but does not believe in it. One day he pulls out of the zone Burbridge Vulture - an elderly stalker who has no moral principles. Burbridge accidentally got his feet into the "jelly" - a kind of substance that softens bones. Realizing that he made a fatal mistake, he asks Shewhart to get him out, promising to tell about where the Golden Ball is. As a result, the Vulture's legs are amputated to the knees, but he remains alive. Now he hopes to get back to the Golden Ball and get his legs back.
It is Burbridge who tells Shewhart that it is impossible to bypass the "meat grinder" without someone's death. He advises him to take someone with him to the zone, otherwise one cannot pass by the "meat grinder". And Shewhart takes Vulture's son, young Archie, who also wants to become a stalker. All the way to the Golden Ball, Shewhart tries not to look at Archie, convincing himself that this is just a “talking master key”. He needs to get to Shara to ask for health for his daughter - she was born different from all children, this is a direct consequence of his frequent visits to the Zone.
Shewhart and Archie reach the quarry. The Golden Ball is already visible - Archie runs to him, rejoicing and shouting - "Happiness for all for free!" Shewhart does not look at him, he knows that the young man is about to die. Archie dies in the "meat grinder", Shewhart already calmly goes to the Golden Ball. Here comes the most difficult moment - it is very difficult to ask for something, knowing that it is paid for by someone's life.
Problem of choice
Despite significant plot differences, the main characters of the film and the book face the same problem of moral choice. The choice has been made, but how correct is it? Nobody can say that. Interestingly, at the request of Tarkovsky, the Strugatsky brothers rewrote the script of the film several times, achieving the drama the director needed.
