• News
  • Film and TV
  • Music
  • Tech
  • Features
  • Celebrity
  • Politics
  • Weird
  • Community
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content
Sinister story behind ‘greatest film of all time’ which killed its director, his wife, and the leading man

Home> Film & TV> News

Published 12:13 4 Dec 2023 GMT

Sinister story behind ‘greatest film of all time’ which killed its director, his wife, and the leading man

The sinister film has an unbelievable theory behind it as to why its director tragically died.

Callum Jones

Callum Jones

A movie labelled as the 'greatest of all time' has a rather sinister story behind it, as it's said to have killed its director, his wife, and the leading star.

We've heard some pretty shocking stories surrounding different types of films over the years, but this particular one surely tops the lot.

Putting your life and limb at risk for art is nothing new, but it truly is something different to give up your life for purely entertainment purposes.

Advert

The film has a real sinister story behind it.
Youtube / Film at Lincoln Center

Some of the more outlandish examples include Renaissance painters being exposed to toxic chemicals used in their oil paint and more recently David Blaine's downright weird stunts, such as spending 44 days in a glass box above the Thames.

But for the film Stalker, director Andrei Tarkovsky may have paid the ultimate price of all.

Set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, the film sees the titular 'Stalker' guiding people through a zone which has been rendered uninhabitable.

Advert

Tarkovsky chose an industry-ravaged section of Estonia to shoot the film after an earthquake made the original location in Tajikistan impossible to shoot in.

Released in 1979, Tarkovsky died seven years later in 1986.

Sound recordist Vladimir Sharun has since said he believes that the deaths of Tarkovsky, his wife Larissa and actor Anatoly Solonitsyn were linked to the toxic environment they were working in.

Advert

In 2001, he said: “We were shooting near Tallinn in the area around the small river Jägala with a half-functioning hydroelectric station. Up the river was a chemical plant and it poured out poisonous liquids downstream.

"There is even this shot in Stalker: snow falling in the summer and white foam floating down the river. In fact it was some horrible poison.”

He added: “Many women in our crew got allergic reactions on their faces. Tarkovsky died from cancer of the right bronchial tube. And Tolya Solonitsyn too.

YouTube / Film at Lincoln Center

Advert

"That it was all connected to the location shooting for Stalker became clear to me when Larisa Tarkovskaya died from the same illness in Paris."

It should be worth nothing that the deaths being attributed to the poisoned river is only Sharun's theory, as it's never been confirmed if the deaths were indeed linked to the harsh surroundings while filming the movie.

Stalker has since become viewed as a hugely important piece of Soviet cinema, and is regularly included on lists of the greatest films of all time.

Whether the film did contribute the deaths or not, it raises some interesting questions about how far people are willing to go to create their art.

Featured Image Credit: Film at Lincoln Center

Topics: Film and TV, World News

Callum Jones
Callum Jones

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

17 mins ago
4 hours ago
6 hours ago
  • 17 mins ago

    Netflix viewers gripped by little known 100% mini-series as they binge for 8.3 million hours

    The series was praised for its 'unique' ending

    Film & TV
  • 4 hours ago

    Cult classic film removed from Disney+ over controversial scene that had it banned from TV

    The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) has long expressed its concerns about the scene in the 1989 movie

    Film & TV
  • 6 hours ago

    Netflix viewers urge Ozark fans to add 'absolute must-see series' to their watchlist

    Fans of the well-loved show starring Jason Bateman are being told to watch another series on Netflix

    Film & TV
  • 6 hours ago

    Vin Diesel hints Paul Walker could be in upcoming Fast and Furious movie and it's left fans very divided

    He's desperate to reunite Dom and Brian

    Film & TV
  • Rebel Ridge director made ‘gruesome’ horror film which had viewers ‘almost throwing up’ you can watch for free
  • Apple TV's 'excellent' new film was shot entirely on iPhone and is available to stream for free online
  • 'Gut wrenching' film on Netflix has viewers 'sobbing' over horrific true story
  • Heartbreaking story of lead actor who was only paid $300 for film that made $90,000,000