Silent Running (1972)

Simply A Masterpiece

It's complicated... I really like the directing, acting and writing but, there are issues with the way it's shot that I just can't deny. As much as I love the storytelling and the fantastic performance but, there are also certain scenes that didn't need to exist.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

There is something undeniably appealing about the art direction of Silent Running. Its Apple-Esque set design is simple, white and functional, and the spaceship crew in 70s Formula One style boiler suits completes the effect. Bruce Dern gives an interesting performance and the film begins with real verve and good humour. Dern is given the con for the rest of the proceedings and the story of an uncomplicated man faced with awesome, uncomplicated situation is made quite well, and entertainingly. His beloved eco-system in the end is nothing without people and although there is an inevitability to this, it is enjoyable to watch it unfold. The special effects are never tiresome, nor dated, and there is an interesting poignance about a future civilisation that underpins the story.

"Silent Running" is an appealing, unusual sci-fi tale set in deep space. Bruce Dern plays astronaut Freeman Lowell, who's been working on a project for the past eight years: maintain the last of the flora and fauna scavenged from a devastated Planet Earth, inside huge geodesic domes. One day he gets the orders from his bosses to terminate the project and head home. Unfortunately, this idea doesn't appeal to Freeman, and he mutinies.The film is not subtle about its love-and-respect-for-Mother-Nature, "save the planet" mentality, but it's quite an affecting story no matter what. Lowell does some things one can't exactly condone, but you do understand the man. Thanks to a powerhouse performance by Mr. Dern, you can still sympathize with the man and be moved by his loneliness and social awkwardness. True enough that a story like this would seem like a pretty hard sell to studios, even 43 years ago, since there are no female characters and the main person isn't all that noble.Special effects veteran Douglas Trumbull, renowned for his work on "2001: A Space Odyssey", obviously has a real affinity for creating interesting environments and striking visuals. He uses these visuals just as much as any dialogue in telling the story, which is a pretty entertaining one; it was scripted by Deric Washburn, Michael Cimino, and Steven Bochko. The effects are nicely done, and those robot characters - referred to here as drones - do have some personality, and are highly endearing, if not as memorable as, say, R2-D2 from "Star Wars".The songs, by Joan Baez, and score, composed and conducted by Peter Schickele, are lovely.Cliff Potts, Ron Rifkin, and Jesse Vint are all fun as Lowells' younger, more carefree associates, but after a while only Dern remains as the sole human presence on screen. His performance has to rank as one of his all time best.Overall, watching this one is a fairly potent experience, and it does stick with you once it's over.Eight out of 10.

(60%) An offbeat ecological space movie staring the great Bruce Dern on fine form playing a somewhat deranged character which is truly something you don't see that often in family friendly movies such as this; although his actions are at least understandable given the circumstances. This, despite it being not being a widely known about film, does have a quality feel to it. The model spaceship effects featured hasn't dated about half as much as computer based effects less than half as old. While robots Huey, Dewey, and Louie are very cute, despite the fact that it would take them about two years to get from one end of the ship to the other with those little legs. If you can put up with the 70's folk music soundtrack, a slowish place, and a very unsubtle message, then this is something worth tracking down, and it's a refreshing change to something such as Star wars.

Despite being a little dated and hokey at times, SILENT RUNNING was an enjoyable sci-fi film with some incredible visual effects. From the effects maestro behind 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY comes a story about future Earth where all of the surviving plants are being cared for in modules far out in space. However, the order comes back that the crew needs to destroy all of the remaining flora and the caretaker, Lowell (Bruce Dern), decides to take matters into his own hands. Aside from the visual effects, which is the biggest thing this film has going for it, I will give credit to Bruce Dern for being a likable and somewhat charismatic lead, although I don't think he was quite up to task of carrying most of the film by himself. He had a certain humanity and earthiness that played well against the wordless drones that he interacts with. The other human cast members also did a good job, but they weren't really in it long enough for them to register too much as characters. As I said before, the visual effects were excellent. There were quite a few exterior space shots of the ships that I thought gave Star Wars a run for its money. There was also some decent production design on the ship interior. However, I do think that the film is a little dated. The songs were a little hokey and I didn't care for them too much. Also, the pro-environment message was laid on a little too broadly and came off as a little silly at times. Still, it is nice to see how far we've come considering that this came out towards the beginning of that movement. Overall, I wasn't particularly bored by this film, but it wasn't exactly riveting either. Bruce Dern is a capable lead, but the real star of the film is the effects. Recommended if you're a fan of old-school sci-fi.