Andrei Tarkovsky iPad2 Sketch

Andrei Tarkovsky Time Pressure iPad2 Sketch

Alexander Kaidanovsky as Stalker in Andrei Tarkovsky's masterpiece film Stalker

Andrei Tarkovsky discussing the color grading on his final film, The Sacrifice (from his hospital bed), with Sven Nykvist.

Margarita Terekhova as Maria in Andrei Tarkovsky's Mirror

Andrei Tarkovsky

Andrei Tarkovsky Eyes cast down, a quiet time for reflection in the rain.

Kris Kelvin back home again looking at his father through the window in Andrei Tarkovsky's Solaris (1972)

Andrei Tarkovsky at Tonino Guerra's in Italy.

Andrei Tarkovsky's Stalker: "One of our Professors is missing!" Part 2

At this point Writer and Stalker walk out of the entrance that Professor and Writer were lying down in front of a little while ago. It's also the same spot that Stalker and Writer just walked by and Professor wasn't there when they did! The following conversation ensues:
Writer: Look! What is it? How could it be?
Stalker: I already explained.
Writer: What did you explain?
Stalker: It's the Zone, don't you understand? Let's go quick. It's...
Writer: There he is!
Professor: I'm certainly grateful to you that you...but...
Stalker: How did you get here?
Professor: Mostly I had to crawl up here on all fours.
Stalker: Incredible. How did you manage to overtake us?
Professor: What do you mean, "overtake"? I came back here for the knapsack.
Writer now notices the nut hanging: And how has our nut gotten here?
Stalker: Oh my God, that's...the trap! Porcupine put this nut here on purpose. How could the Zone let us through? Oh God, I'm not going to take one more step until...I don't like it. That's it! We rest! But keep off this nut, just in case. Sorry, but I thought that Professor won't be able to make it. (coughing) You see, I...I never know beforehand what kind of people I'm taking with me. Everything gets clear only here, when it's too late.
And now a classic exchange between Writer and Professor.
Writer: What's important is that Professor's bag with his underwear is safe.
Professor: Don't stick your nose in someone's underwear if you don't understand it.
See? Was I wrong? Classic.
Writer: What is there to understand? Binomial theorem?
Some psychological abysses! You have a bad reputation at your institute. They don't give you money for an expedition. So you decide to pack a knapsack full of manometers and other shit...penetrate the Zone illegally...and put all these miracles to an algebra test. No one in the world has ever heard of the Zone. So we'll work a sure sensation! The television, fans raving and bringing laurel wreaths. Here our Professor appears, all in white, and declares: "Mene-Mene, tekel, uprasin." Everyone gaping and shouting: "He deserves a Nobel Prize!"
During this scene we first see the black dog as he approaches through a shallow stream towards the camera.
Professor: You lousy scribbler, a homespun psychoanalyst. You're only good for painting walls in public toilets, you blabbermouth.
Writer: No good. Too sluggish. You don't know how to do it.
Professor: All right. I'm going to get a Nobel Prize. and what are you after? Want to bless mankind with the pearls of your purchased inspiration?
Writer: I don't care a damn about mankind. Of all your mankind I'm interested only in one man - myself. Whether I'm worth anything or I'm just shit like others.
Professor: And if you find out that you're really...
Writer: You know, Mr. Einstein, I have no wish to argue with you. Truth is born of argument, damn it! (not sure who says that line)
Writer: Listen, Chingachgook...You've brought here many people.
Stalker: Not as many as I would like. (that is an interesting comment)
Writer: That's not the point. Why did they come here? What did they want?
Stalker: Happiness, I guess.
Writer: Yes, but what kind of happiness?
Stalker: People don't like to speak about their innermost feelings. And it's neither yours nor mine business.
Writer: In any case, you've been lucky. As for me, I haven't seen one happy man in my life.
Stalker: Me neither. They return from the room and I lead them back, and we never see each other again. It's not that wishes come true immediately. (another interesting comment)
Writer: Have you ever wished to use this room yourself?
 Stalker: I'm fine as I am.
During this part we have shifted between black and white and color a few times. After the above comment by Stalker we go back to black and white (I'm sorry, it is actually sepia) and we see the dog again as he walks up to where Stalker is lying down and sits down with him.

Next Post: Revelations

Ivan from Andrei Tarkovsky's Ivan's Childhood

Andrei Tarkovsky iPad2 Sketch

Margarita Terekhova in Andrei Tarkovsky’s Mirror

Andrei Tarkovsky having fun on the set of The Sacrifice

Andrei Tarkovsky at Tonino Guerra’s house in Italy

Tarkovsky in Italy

Erland Josephson as Alexander talking to Maria (the witch) in Andrei Tarkovsky’s The Sacrifice

Andrei Tarkovsky’s Stalker: Dream or Reality?

Berton’s long drive back in Andrei Tarkovsky’s Solaris (1972)

Writer's Lament Andrei Tarkovsky's Stalker

Andrei Tarkovsky on the set of The Sacrifice (Offret)

Andrei Tarkovsky filming The Sacrifice (by request)

The mysterious woman from Andrei Tarkovsky's Mirror

Andrei Tarkovsky Sketch (by request) Waiting in the rain..

Misunderstood. Andrei Tarkovsky on the set of The Sacrifice

Intensity of Andrei Tarkovsky

Andrei Tarkovsky Sketch (by request)

Andrei Tarkovsky on the Set of Mirror Sketch (by request)

Andrei Tarkovsky on the Set of Mirror Sketch (by request)

Andrei Tarkovsky in Italy

Andrei Tarkovsky iPad2 Sketch

Directed by Tarkovsky Documentary sketch (by request)

Russia, Past and Present: Moscow Rooftop Views

Russia, Past and Present: Moscow Rooftop Views

Andrei Tarkovsky on the Set of Stalker Sketch (by request)

Andrei Tarkovsky’s Stalker: "One of our Professors is missing!"

Stalker comes back out the entrance towards the camera. Once again he is looking down again but this time he holds a nut out and drops it. After a few seconds we hear it splash into some water below. Although we don't see it. He then has Writer shimmy over to the left and tells him to go up these stairs. This whole sequence is going to make you nuts (pun intended) because the different directions they're going in and their movements along different paths just makes no sense spatially. But we do know that the Zone is constantly changing which can account for things that don't seem right. Stalker turns around and asks Professor where he is even though Professor is right there looking at Stalker.  When Stalker starts moving we can see Professor move up behind him. Even though Stalker told Writer to go up the ladder, Stalker goes down the ladder as he approaches it. Stalker is still being very careful as he moves but this time when he looks down the camera cuts away to a shot of a river. This could be what Stalker sees but we can't see where Stalker is in relationship to the river. We are never shown how things are visually connected in this film but once again the sound can give you many clues. Before the shot of the river cuts away we can hear footsteps and movement from the next shot. And once again Stalker and Writer are standing together even though Writer went up and Stalker went down. Now watch. As Writer begins to move to the right we hear water dripping and the sound of someone walking through water but we can't be sure where it's coming from. Writer then walks by the area where he and the Professor were lying down a little while ago. There is the white bag and there is the nut hanging! And now we pan by several  hanging lights that go by making a weird metallic sound and now we see water falling but can still hear distinct water drips. As the camera continues to pan we come right up to Writer who seems very confused and as we still pan to the right Writer bumps into stalker. After a little jovial water discussion and some  more weird sounds, Writer realizes Professor is missing. Stalker wants to know how that could be since Professor was right behind Writer the whole time. But we know that  Stalker was behind Writer the whole time. Stalker says Professor must have gone back for his knapsack and there is nothing they can do. Professor will never make it back.

Next Post Andrei Tarkovsky's Stalker: "One of our Professors is missing!" Part 2

Andrei Tarkovsky Sketch (by request)

Andrei Tarkovsky Sketch (by request)

Andrei Tarkovsky's Stalker: "Let's get metaphysical....metaphysical." Part 2

During this voiceover, we cut to Stalker exiting the far side of the building whose entranceway we saw him in at the beginning of the scene. By the way, it is hard to tell what position Stalker and the other two guys are in relative to each other. I love this next part. As stalker exits the building, facing us, he is being extremely careful and cautious. We can’t see why though at this point. We can’t even see his feet or the narrow ledge he is moving sideways across. Look at Stalkers face. He’s hugging his back to the wall and constantly looking down. He must be pretty high up. As the voiceover ends, listen how the sound returns revealing Stalkers breathing, his footsteps and the sound of water dripping and splashing. Stalker now enters a circular opening that seems empty until Professor and Writer enter from the right. Why didn't Stalker go that way also? Why did he take the long, hard way around? At this point Professor trips big time! See? Now there seems to be some confusion. Stalker wants to continue on but Professor thought he called them over just to show them something and as a result he didn't bring his knapsack and wants to go back and get it. Oh, come on Professor! Even I know Stalker is not going to let him go back for it. It is impossible! Professor is becoming a little unraveled: “I can’t do without my knapsack!” Writer wants to know if Professor’s knapsack has diamonds in it and then suggests The Room will give him anything he wants so why worry about it. Professor then wants to know how much further it is to The Room to which Stalker replies: “If you go straight, about 200 meters, but there’s no going straight here.”

Next post: Andrei Tarkovsky’s Stalker:  "One of our Professors is missing!"

Andrei Tarkovsky on the set of Stalker iPad2 Sketch

The Professor and Writer from Andrei Tarkovsky's Stalker

Andrei Tarkovsky's Stalker: "Let's get metaphysical....metaphysical."

At this point the movie transitions to Part 2.  This is because all the footage they shot so far was shot on a bad batch of film which was not caught until developing.  So with half the money spent Tarkovsky came up with the idea of two parts so he could receive more money to continue the film.  I think this little transition shows part of the original film and you can see this in the difference in quality from what we've watched so far.  At this point we see Stalker just inside of a building looking out and motioning Writer and Professor to join him.  Apparently Writer and Professor are taking some kind of a nap and Writer complains that they have to get up again and it seems like Stalker will be preaching to them again.  Notice the bag next to Writer and also the nut tied to a cloth hanging in the entranceway behind Writer and Professor.  Just as Writer turns to get up you hear a big splash and the scene cuts to a shot looking straight down into what looks like the surface of water in some kind of well.   This first reminds me of the surface of the moon if it was constantly moving and changing.  What I like about this scene is that the water is so textured and always in motion that it's almost hypnotic.  It looks incredible.  We now hear a voice over by Stalker, "Let everything that's been planned come true. Let them believe. And let them have a laugh at their passions. Because what they call passion actually is not some emotional energy, but just the friction between their souls and the outside world. And most important, let them believe in themselves. Let them be helpless like children, because weakness is a great thing, and strength is nothing. When a man is just born, he is weak and flexible, when he dies, he is hard and insensitive. When a tree is growing, it's tender and pliant, but when it's dry and hard, it dies. Hardness and strength are death's companions. Pliancy and weakness are expressions of the freshness of being. Because what has hardened will never win."   Almost all the lines spoken here can be found in the documentary A Poet in the Cinema in response to the interviewers questions.  Most of the dialogue in Tarkovsky's movies are built around his own philosophies and ideas.

Next Post: Andrei Tarkovsky's Stalker:  "Let's get metaphysical....metaphysical." Part 2

Andrei Tarkovsky on the set of Stalker (by request)

Andrei Tarkovsky on the set of Stalker iPad2 Sketch

Andrei Tarkovsky's Stalker: Who said That? Part 2

Stalker and Professor each think the other one said: "Stop! Don't move!" They both deny it. When we cut back to Writer, notice where he is standing. He was a good five feet in front of that tree when he heard the voice but now he's behind it again in the same position he was before he started walking up to the building. Did all that really happen? Why would he move back again after being told not to? Now Writer walks back to where Stalker and Professor are and asks why they told him to stop. When they say they didn't, Writer says: "Who the hell knows..." Professor then offers this explanation: "You're smart, Mister Shakespeare. To go straight ahead is scary, to go back is embarrassing. So you gave yourself a command. Fear has made you come to your senses." This annoys Writer, who starts to protest but Stalker tells them both to stop it! Writer then brings up the fact that Stalker dumped out his liquor. Stalker is frustrated and tells them to stop it again.  "The Zone is a very complicated system...of traps, and they're all deadly. I don't know what's going on here in the absence of people, but the moment someone shows up, everything comes into motion. Old traps disappear and new ones emerge. Safe spots become impassable. Now your path is easy , now it's hopelessly involved. That's the Zone. It may even seem capricious. But it is what we've made it with our condition. It happened that people had to stop halfway and go back. Some of them even died on the very threshold of the room. But everything that's going on here depends not on the Zone, but on us!" Think about that. That is a  very powerful statement that may or may not suggest that the Zone is what you might think it is. Does the Zone adapt to who is in it? Does the Zone exploit the hidden truths we all have deep down inside us? Writer asks "So it let's the good ones pass and kills the bad ones?" Stalker replies: " I don't know. I think it let's those pass who...have lost all hope. Not good or bad, but wretched people. But even the most wretched will die if they don't know how to behave. You have been lucky, it just warned you." Well, I guess that's all the Professor needed to hear because he announces that he will just wait here until Stalker and Writer come back, made happy. Stalker says this would be impossible despite the fact that Professor has a little lunch packed for himself. Stalker says they all must go or he's calling off the trip and will bring them back home. Writer then asks Professor if he has come to his senses prompting Professor to tell Stalker to go ahead and throw his nut.

Next post: "Let's get metaphysical.. metaphysical.. "

Tarkovsky (1985) Trying to make sense of it all… Filming Sacrifice. iPad2 sketch.

Tarkovsky Visiting Tonino Guerra in Italy

Andrei Tarkovsky's Stalker: Who said That?

The sound of Writer walking up to this building is amazing. Every sound is amplified and slightly distorted. Watch  as Writer slowly approaches the out of focus entrance ahead. Tension builds with each step Writer takes. Then an insect flies near Writer as he looks back and then forward again. The camera lingers for a brief moment and then releases the tension by cutting to a view from inside the building looking out at Writer. A few things have happened here. We went from slow motion back to normal again. (Normal motion?) We went from Writer nearly filling the frame to Writer looking small and insignificant in his surroundings. We, the viewers, are now placed inside this building that everyone is trying to get to. Writer then wipes his forehead with his hand still at a normal frame rate. As soon as Writer starts walking again, the wind picks up and we are back to slow motion again for a brief moment. Then a mysterious clattering is heard! Like something with rattling bones scurrying back into a dark corner. Then a voice: "Stop. Don't move!" Tarkovsky then pulls the camera way back into the room suddenly as we hear a brief chorus of voices. We can see the walls of the entrance from inside and just before the scene cuts away, Tarkovsky  pulls a fast one. For a brief second, what looks like a veil  or spider web drops down from the top right of the screen. It happens so fast you can barely notice it and then the camera cuts away. What is it? Why does he have it there? This is why I love Tarkovsky films! This is why I can't sleep at night. Andrei Tarkovsky's films make you think. His films make you wonder. They make you ask: "Why?

Next Post: Andrei Tarkovsky's Stalker: Who said That? Part 2

Traveler: Andrei Tarkovsky iPad2 Sketch

Andrei Tarkovsky During the Filming of the Sacrifice

Andrei Tarkovsky iPad2 Sketch

Andrei Tarkovsky drawing from my ipad2

Andrei Tarkovsky iPad2 Sketch

Gorchakov’s third, and finally successful, attempt to place the candle on the ledge in the movie Nostalghia. iPad2 Sketch

Andrei Tarkovsky's Stalker: I guess I will wait for you here until you come back, made happy. -Professor