Recently Watched Films

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 adg211288 wrote:

I enjoyed this a little more but I'd still say it's not a great movie by any stretch of the imagination. It's also made in that same plodding along way as Solaris. Might be better drama if in English to be honest. These are the first times subtitled movies have made me wish that. I normally don't notice once a movie gets me engrossed within it. These just left me wondering why I wasn't just reading a book. #8 movie of all time on RYM? Fuck no. And considering that this was a movie I'd been excited to see for a long time now, I'm bitterly disappointed by it. 

Is this plodding pace and little plot a Russian thing? Or just this director? I don't think I'm going to touch any of this man's work ever again after these two. 

Dragging up an old post here. It's been nearly a year since I watched this movie that I didn't like.

So why the hell am I still thinking about it at least every other week?

When I watched it last year, the quality was rather shit.

Picture looked more like this, but not even in HD (these images won't hotlink, sorry):

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film5/blu-ray_reviews_73/stalker_blu-ray_/960__stalker_04_blu-ray__blu-ray_.jpg

The same shot on the Criterion release looks like this:

http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film6/blu-ray_reviews_76/stalker_blu-ray_/960__stalker_05_blu-ray__blu-ray_.jpg

Shocking difference IMO.

I don't care for slow films in general. Some just click, most just bore. This was one of the latter when I watched it last year. And the crap picture meant I wasn't even appreciating the long take shots and was overall definitely a distraction in hindsight.

So, to those here who like the movie (I think someone even said it was their favourite movie), do you honestly think that, if I were to buy the Criterion blu-ray, that an improved picture would change my mind? Or will it be a case of boring me once, will bore me again?