History Film / STALKER

* PrefersRocksToPillows: Stalker clearly feels amiss and awkward in his domestic civilian life, and spends the first part of the film downcast and mostly silent compared to Writer and Professor. Upon reaching the Zone, his markedly raised mood, excitement, and increased talkativity quickly makes clear that he feels much more at home there, strange, unpredictable, and dangerous as the Zone might be.

* PrefersRocksToPillows: Stalker clearly feels amiss and awkward in his domestic civilian life, and spends the first part of the film downcast and mostly silent compared to Writer and Professor. Upon reaching the Zone, his markedly raised mood and excitement quickly makes clear that he feels more at home there, strange, unpredictable, and dangerous as the Zone might be.

* PrefersRocksToPillows: Stalker clearly feels amiss and awkward in his civilian life, and spends the first part of the film downcast and mostly silent compared to Writer and Professor. Upon reaching the Zone, his markedly raised mood and excitement quickly makes clear that he feels more at home there, strange and unpredictable.

* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: It's generally left pretty ambiguous as to whether The Zone really does have all the fantastical qualities that Stalker claims (primarily since all the characters opt not to enter The Room when they finally reach it.)
** The last scene offers a perfect encapsulation of this: A glass slowly slides across a table; it could be the Stalker's daughter using telekinesis, or just vibrations from passing traffic.

* CoolCar: The three charge the gates in a Series II 88" Land Rover.

* IronicNickname: The "dry tunnel" has a large waterfall and is flooded.

''Stalker'', or ''СТАЛКЕР'' in the original Russian, is a 1979 Creator/AndreiTarkovsky ScienceFiction film shot in UsefulNotes/{{Estonia}}. It is an adaptation (albeit a very loose one) of the Creator/StrugatskyBrothers' earlier science-fiction story ''Literature/RoadsidePicnic'', of which they wrote the script.

''Stalker'', or ''СТАЛКЕР'' in the original Russian, is a 1979 Creator/AndreiTarkovsky ScienceFiction film shot in UsefulNotes/{{Estonia}}. It is an adaptation (albeit a very loose one) by the Creator/StrugatskyBrothers of their earlier science-fiction story ''Literature/RoadsidePicnic''.

* BookEnds: Played with; The film begins with the shot of a glass moving on a table due to the vibration from an offscreen passing train. The film ends with Monkey watching glasses move across a table, but only before the train goes by.

* Book-Ends: Played with; The film begins with the shot of a glass moving on a table due to the vibration from an offscreen passing train. The film ends with Monkey watching glasses move across a table, but only before the train goes by.

* Book-ends: Played with; The film begins with the shot of a glass moving on a table due to the vibration from an offscreen passing train. The film ends with Monkey watching glasses move across a table, but only before the train goes by.

* Bookends: Played with; The film begins with the shot of a glass moving on a table due to the vibration from an offscreen passing train. The film ends with Monkey watching glasses move across a table, but only before the train goes by.

* GainaxEnding: The significance of the final shot, with Monkey using her psychokinetic abilities to push some glasses off a table as a train roars by the apartment and shakes it, has long been one of the major points of debate regarding this film[[note]]Creator/ArthurCClarke said it redeemed the entire film, in his opinion[[/note]]

* BaldOfAwesome: Stalker has a convict's buzz cut.

* ArtShift: From sepia in the town to color in The Zone--although interestingly, the Stalker's crippled [[spoiler:and telekinetic]] daughter "Monkey" is always shot in color for her scenes, which are in the town.

* ArtShift: From sepia in the town to color in The Zone--although interestingly, the Stalker's cripped and telekinetic daughter "Monkey" is always shot in color for her scenes, which are in the town.

* DeliberatelyMonochrome: Like other Tarkovsky films. The monochromatic / sepia town scenes contrast with the colorful Zone.

* OhCrap: Writer decides to go off on his own until a disembodied voice actually it's The Zone shouts at him to "Stop right where you are!"

* FollowTheLeader: The critical reception of ''Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey'' may have factored into the creation of ''Film/{{Solaris|1972}}'' and this film.

* MacGuffin: The Professor's backpack. At first his attachment to it makes him look like a cosseted old man, but in fact he needs it because it contains the bomb he stole from the other scientists.

->''A film about three men walking through the wooded territory, two of which are mostly calm, and the third is constantly afraid of something.''
-->--A popular recap of unknown origin.

* DrivenToSuicide: Porcupine.

* EldritchLocation: The Zone in all its incarnations (book, film, and game) is a sterling example of this trope.

* ArtShift: From sepia in the town to color in The Zone.

* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: It's generally left pretty ambiguous as to whether The Zone really does have all the fantastical qualities that Stalker claims [[spoiler:(primarily since all the characters opt not to enter The Room when they finally reach it.)]]
** The last scene offers a perfect encapsulation of this: [[spoiler:A glass slowly slides across a table; it could be the Stalker's daughter using telekinesis, or just vibrations from passing traffic]].

* NukeEm: [[spoiler:The Professor wants to destroy the Room using his nuclear bomb to prevent it from being used ForTheEvulz. However, he [[AvertedTrope gives up the plan]] and disassembles the bomb after the Writer has a revelation about the Room]].

* OhCrap: Writer decides to go off on his own until a disembodied voice [[spoiler:actually it's The Zone]] shouts at him to "Stop right where you are!"

* SceneryPorn: Almost anywhere inside The Zone, the [[spoiler:exploded tanks, artillery, and incinerated corpses of the armies sent to surround The Zone]] notwithstanding.

* WonderChild: Monkey [[spoiler:appears to have telekinetic powers.]]