Stalker by Andrei Tarkovsky
Ranked 3 of 8 drama films by recommenders
Praised as a fabulous, philosophical art film. Main caveat: it is very slow, and can baffle viewers who have not read the book.
Praised as a fabulous, philosophical art film. Main caveat: it is very slow, and can baffle viewers who have not read the book.
9 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 9
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 8 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 9 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 8 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Acclaimed as a fabulous, amazing film
“It's a fabulous film but presumably completely baffling to anyone who hasn't read the book”
Comment from 10 May 2026 in “Movies Are Too Long” “I definitely recommend Stalker as an amazing film.”
Comment from 23 Dec 2025 in “Terrence Malick's Disciples” “I love the movie though, it's one of my favorites.”
Comment from 10 Oct 2026 in “AI Is Throwing a Roadside Picnic” Deep philosophical art film
“rather watch an art film like stalker instead of these absolute meandering snooze fests”
Comment from 1 Feb 2026 in “The Film Students Who Can No Longer Sit Through Films” “the film takes it to a whole other philosophical level”
Comment from 4 Jun 2026 in “A Man Who Reads Books for a Living (One Every Two Days)” Strong among Tarkovsky's films
“Stalker and Solaris (Not Cloonie, the Russian version) are also great.”
Comment from 23 Oct 2026 in “Every AI model has the same "controversial" take on humans” “The Tarkovsky film wasn't bad either”
Comment from 30 Sep 2026 in “Ask HN: What are you reading?”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Very slow pacing
“I love some of Tarkovsky, but some of it is very slow e.g. Nostalgia and Stalker.”
Comment from 31 Jan 2026 in “The Film Students Who Can No Longer Sit Through Films” Baffling without having read the book
“It's a fabulous film but presumably completely baffling to anyone who hasn't read the book”
Comment from 10 May 2026 in “Movies Are Too Long”
Other drama films people recommend
The four most recommended other drama films, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Shawshank Redemption | 18 | 8 | 69% | 5 | — | Approved |
| Good Will Hunting | 10 | 5 | 67% | 3 | — | — |
| Stalker by Andrei TarkovskyThis page | 9 | 0 | 100% | 8 | — | — |
| The Lives of Others | 8 | 0 | 100% | 6 | — | — |
| Margin Call | 7 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | — |
What people said
8 of the 9 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Stalker and Solaris (Not Cloonie, the Russian version) are also great.”
“I love the movie though, it's one of my favorites.”
“The Tarkovsky film wasn't bad either”
“the film takes it to a whole other philosophical level”
“It's a fabulous film but presumably completely baffling to anyone who hasn't read the book”
“rather watch an art film like stalker instead of these absolute meandering snooze fests”
“I love some of Tarkovsky, but some of it is very slow e.g. Nostalgia and Stalker.”
“I definitely recommend Stalker as an amazing film.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.