Silent Running (1972)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Douglas Trumbull

Writers:

Deric Washburn (written by) &
Michael Cimino (written by) ...

Release Date:

10 March 1972 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

Amazing companions on an incredible adventure... that journeys beyond imagination!

Plot:

The loner crew member of a spaceship harbouring Earth's last nature reserves goes renegade when he is...

Plot Keywords:

Forest | Murder | Space | Robot | Futuristic

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Bruce Dern	...	Freeman Lowell
Cliff Potts	...	John Keenan
Ron Rifkin	...	Marty Barker
Jesse Vint	...	Andy Wolf
Mark Persons	...	Drone 2 - Huey
Steven Brown	...	Drone
Cheryl Sparks	...	Drone 1 - Dewey
Larry Whisenhunt	...	Drone

Also Known As:

Running Silent (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Mono (35 mm prints) (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | Australia:PG | Norway:12 | Sweden:15 | UK:U | USA:G | West Germany:12 | Singapore:PG | Canada:PG

Filming Locations:

Aircraft Hanger, Van Nuys Airport - 6590 Hayvenhurst Avenue, Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

In the Italian version, the three drones are named after "Paperino", "Paperone" and "Paperina" ("Donald Duck", "Uncle Scrooge" and "Daisy Duck") because calling them "Qui", "Quo" and "Qua" ("Huey", "Dewey", "Louie") would have been cacophonous: "Vieni qui, Qui!" ("Come here, Huey!").

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: During the second Joan Baez song there is a brief shot of the Valley Forge traveling in space, but it is turned around and traveling backward.

Quotes:

Freeman Lowell: [after Huey and Dewey botch a simple planting of a tree in the dome] Well, that's pitiful. Pitiful! That's exactly the opposite of what it's supposed to be.
Drone 1: [Squeaks with indignity]

Movie Connections:

Featured in 'Silent Running': By Director Douglas Trumbull (2002) (V)

Soundtrack:

Silent Running

Not just special effects, but a poignant question: what would YOU do?

Recently someone asked me what was the best sci-fi movie I'd ever seen. "Best"? On what basis -- story, acting, special effects? Generally one would usually choose one of the high-tech, high-priced, superstar biggies.

But I had to say "Silent Running." Oh, it has special effects all right, and I think they're good enough for the purpose; I certainly felt the cramped dimness of the station against the vast implacability of space. Maybe you'd say it doesn't have enough action, surprises, or gore. But maybe this story doesn't need them.

Then why is it my nomination? Because when it was over, I had to turn off the TV -- couldn't let its mood and memory be violated by a late-nite commercial -- and just quietly weep for its poignancy. Anything less (or more) would have denied it the respect it deserved.

If you must, watch it as just more fodder for your entertainment urge. But if your soul is deeper than that... if you can, as Bruce Dern does, put yourself in the place of a character who so cares about the earth and its place in the cosmos ... you'll appreciate the eloquent statement of this film and the way it's presented.

A man, not a god. But if it were you, if you were there... would you, COULD YOU do what he did?