[.ca] Silent Running (Widescreen)

From Amazon.com:
After creating many of the innovative special effects for 2001: A Space Odyssey, Douglas Trumbull tried his hand at directing, and 1971's Silent Running marked an impressive debut. (In addition to creating the visual effects for Close Encounters of the Third Kind and directing 1983's Brainstorm, Trumbull later turned to the creation of high-tech cinematic amusement park rides.) One of the best science fiction films of the 1970s, Silent Running stars Bruce Dern as Freeman Lowell, a nature-loving crewmember aboard the Valley Forge, a gigantic spaceship in a small fleet that carries the last surviving forests of the Earth, which has fallen victim to overpopulation and ecological neglect. Freeman's name reflects his nonconformist philosophy, which runs counter to the prevailing recklessness of his three ill-fated crewmates, who are eager to jettison their precious payload and return to the bleakness of Earth. Before they can sabotage the forests, Freeman does what he must, and spends the remainder of his mission with three robotic "drones" as his only companions, struggling to maintain his sanity in the vastness of space. Dern is superb in this memorable role, representing the lost soul of humankind as well as the back-to-nature youth movement of the 1960s and the pre-Watergate era. (Appropriately, Joan Baez sings the film's theme song.) A rare science fiction film that combines bold adventure with passionate social conscience, Silent Running will remain relevant as long as the Earth is threatened by the ravages of human carelessness. --Jeff Shannon

Douglas Trumbull's Underappreciated SF Classic:
On an overtechnologized and defoliated Earth of the future, the ecosystem has been carelessly destroyed by humans and the only remaining wilderness environs are grudgingly looked after by astronauts on massive domed spaceships. The vitamins, minerals, and such required to sustain human life can be easily synthesized in laboratories, so the folks on Earth are becoming increasingly apathetic about the need to sustain the circumgyrating greenhouses. When the inevitable order to scrap the project and destroy the orbiting flora and fauna finally comes through, Freeman Lowell (Bruce Dern), the only astronaut in the project who truly cares about the plants and animals, violently rebels and places upon himself the responsibility of protecting the last vestiges of Earth's non-human life. But just how far will he go to ensure that he's successful in his self-imposed calling? 1972's SILENT RUNNING marks the directorial debut of FX wizard Douglas Trumbull, probably best known for his FX work on Stanley Kubrick's 1968 sci-fi epic 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY. Though the skeleton was given flesh by writers Deric Washburn , Michael Cimino, and Steven Bochco, the underlying structure of the plot is Trumbull's. In light of his work with Kubrick, it is interesting that Trumbull would come up with an idea such as that for SILENT RUNNING, as it makes it seem as if he felt that the only way he could demonstrate that he is more than just an FX man was to create a film that is the thematic opposite of the one featuring his best known FX work. Kubrik's opus tells a story that celebrates mankind's intellectual evolution and subsequent technological advancements, whereas Trumbull's brainchild embraces the ideals of 1960's counter-culture ecology movement and implies that technological advancement is conducted irresponsibly and consequently pollutes the environment and wrecks the Earth. The plot of SILENT RUNNING is a bit slow at times, but the film is never dull or boring. And in the role of the good-intentioned but increasingly psychotic Lowell, Dern turns in one of his most intense and most memorable performances. Due to its anti-technology and pro-environmentalist theme, however, many critics have panned SILENT RUNNING as a '60s throwback in which Trumbull tries to milk emotions from the last vestiges of the pro-ecology hippies, often citing the fact that '60s folk singer Joan Baez performs some of the film's music as proof of their theory. But this is really an unfair evaluation. Environmentalist themes have been a long tradition in science fiction, with a future dystopia used to illustrate what might happen if present society continues being ecologically apathetic. And SILENT RUNNING isn't the only classic SF film from the '70s built around such a theme. Other SF films of the era also express concern about man's effect on nature--NO BLADE OF GRASS (1970), Z.P.G. (1972), SOYLENT GREEN (1973), and PROPHECY (1979) to name just a few. So it's more likely that Trumbull, a science-fiction fan himself, simply chose a traditional SF theme that appealed to his own ideals and tastes. The DVD from Universal offers a good digital transfer of the film in anamorphic widescreen. Also included are some pretty cool bonus features, not the least of which are the original made-for-tv featurette on the making of the film and an interesting feature commentary with Trumbull and Dern. No true fans of SF will want to miss the opportunity to include this film in their DVD collections.

A Bold Attempt with Fatal Touches:
I must say I actually applauded Douglas Trumball for making this film, and upon it's release, it made an impact with audiences, but I never cared for it as entertainment or as serious science fiction. Today, the short-lived "ecology movement", green flags and all, is long gone, and this film is now is a seriously dated curio of it's time. There are some terrific things to be said about this film... and there are some intelligent reviews of it that I agree with... however there are some fatal touches that make this a dated piece, and that make it difficult to watch today. First of all, Bruce Dern's unappealing character is a stereotypical "hippie". He is a classic "passive-agressive" person... at one moment "loving and peaceful" and the next minute he is angry, pissed off, not in control of his emotions. He is certainly difficult for me to empathize with, since he reminds me of many "do-gooders" I have known who are unpredictable and untrustworthy and have a "hidden agenda" besides "peace and love". Dern plays this part to perfection, but its not something comfortable to watch for 2 hours. I have seen this film 2 or 3 times and each time I just wanted a chance to stuff something in his mouth to shut him up. Secondly, the soundtrack of Joan Baez singing her folk tunes in space is just too limited for the scope of the visuals and destroys the impact of the powerful message the film tries to convey about "saving the planet". Her passive, slightly off-key and limited-ranged vocals do not marry well to the scenes of space, stars, planets and infinity. It does not work on any level... either then or now. Finally, the most fatal flaw of this film is that as the plants begin to die... our hero panics and says he has no clue why. Forgetting about the space ship leaving the solar system and the gigantic glass domes leaving solar rays, he suddenly "realizes" that plants need SUN. What kind of ecological genius is this guy? Well, the robots are clever and cute, the sets are impressive, the early scenes with the "friendly" plants are nice and the special effects are first rate for their day.... and we get to see Saturn's rings in the movies for the first time looking relatively authentic. It's certainly not as bad as a few reviewers have said, and sci-fi fans should see it, but there are far better sci-fi films out there.... and better ones that deal with the rape of our ecosystem.

tell them all they love will die, tell them why, in the sun:
I recently purchased this DVD, and viewed the film again after a break of many years. There is little if anything of a critical nature that I could add to the excellent comments of darkgenius (see below). I did not see the character of Freeman Lowell as quite the fanatic that he did - which surprised me, because that *is* how I remembered him from my previous viewings, many years ago. If we lived in the ecologically monstrous era of the film, yet saw with the vision of a man of today (as Lowell does), I imagine many of us would exhibit more outrage than he does. In fact, I think the indifference of his co-workers astonishes - or perhaps appalls - me more than Lowell's personal involvement. This is a very moving film. Evil is usually depicted in film in much more immediate and dramatic manifestations than one usually encounters in real life. CS Lewis has made the observation that all evil is ultimately banal. Indeed, true evil often passes before us completely unnoticed as such - in the civil servant who shows a bias for someone of her own race; in the policeman who gets joy out of bullying members of the public; in landlords and banks that use ignorance and intimidation to exact unwarranted concessions from a dispirited public; and so on. In Silent Running, the last forests on Earth have been shot into space. There is no room for them anymore, but they are being preserved. Anyone of mature years knows how this kind of thing would come about in real life, and how it would end. It would come about because some political group wanted the forest land for some other purpose; and, not having the courage to simply destroy the forests openly -- perhaps not even wanting to do so, initially -- they suggest that this last great ecological heritage be preserved in space against the day when forests are again convenient. They might even weep, saying that the cost didn't matter because the forests were irreplaceable. And it would be done. But: "out of sight, out of mind." It would only be a few years before the expense of maintaining these forests in space would be deemed unjustifiable. And then the order to abandon them would come. This is the way many societal evils actually come about. Silent Running shows us what depths of depravity are implicit in this common principle of human behavior. The sorrow conveyed by this film is intensified by the representation of the victims as children. Lowell himself is naïve, thinking that recall and re-establishment of the forests is just around the corner. The drones are diminutive, awkward in their movements, and *trusting*; this last is demonstrated at a couple of points in the film, where it is evident that they are uncertain, look to Lowell for guidance, then go on about their tasks. Don't overlook the watering can. And there is the song, "Rejoice in the Sun," sung by Joan Baez. We identify with these children. We feel the anguish of their loss as our own. I venture to say that if you were to show this film to a group of your acquaintances, the ones who wept would prove the best friends.

One of the best space-based movies ever!:
I first saw this on late-night television in the early 70's, and it has remained one of my favourite movies of all time. In addition to "2001: A Space Odyssey", I believe that it is one of the best space movies ever made. Like "2001", the special effects (models in those days) still hold up very well, amazing considering the budget. Even "Star Wars" with a much higher budget looks no better. Many reviews point out their dislike for the pace of the film, the music, or the 'hippie' message. If anything, I thought these to be strengths, and very relevant today. 35 years after the making of this movie, we are finally starting to truly be concerned about our Earth's ability to survive, even more than the green revolution of the 70's, and I have continued to re-play this movie regularly for its ultimately positive message, despite a typical 70's downer story and ending.

B-o-o-oring:
I'm watching the film now on cable and I'm having trouble staying awake. How did a psycho like Lowell ever get assigned to an important project? How long can a soliloquy last? The main ingredient this movie is lacking is logic.