Tarkovsky and the Strugatskii brothers: The prehistory of Stalker

This article recreates, step-by-step and in great detail, the story of turning Roadside Picnic into Stalker, from the first to the last version of the script by the Strugatskii brothers, in their painstakingly close collaboration with the director Andrei Tarkovsky. The article is partly based on archival sources and private correspondence, hitherto unavailable in the West. The author’s unique position – he was an assistant director on Stalker – affords additional insight.