Sacrificials remains make it hard to forget
Where you come from
The stools of your eyes
Serve to realize fame, choose again
And Rovermans' refrain of the sacrilege recluse
For the loss of a horse
With the bowels and a tail of a rat
Come again, choose to go
The making of Andrei Tarkovsky’s STALKER (1979) has one of the most disturbing stories in cinema history.
The film was shot around abandoned industrial sites in Estonia, near a chemical plant that allegedly discharged toxic waste into the river. Sound designer Vladimir Sharun later claimed the crew were exposed to poisonous substances, with several developing allergic reactions.
Years later, three people closely associated with the production died of lung cancer: actor Anatoly Solonitsyn, Tarkovsky himself and his wife and assistant director Larisa Tarkovskaya.
Sharun believed their deaths were connected to the filming locations, although this has never been scientifically proven.
A film about a mysterious, contaminated Zone, with a production history almost as unsettling as the world it created.
FROM AN INTERVIEW WITH JOE BRAINARD
AW: What’s your favorite color?
JB: Red.
AW: Why?
JB: I wouldn’t miss the chance to say “red” for one thing. I’d say “red” even if it weren’t my favorite color.
AW: What if everyone said “red”?
JB: I think everyone should say “red.”