O Cosmonauta Perdido (1972)

In a future where all flora is extinct on Earth, an astronaut is given orders to destroy the last of Earth's botany, kept in a greenhouse aboard a spacecraft.

Director:

Douglas Trumbull

Writers:

Deric Washburn, Michael Cimino (as Mike Cimino)

Stars:

Bruce Dern, Cliff Potts, Ron Rifkin

1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Bruce Dern	...	Freeman Lowell
Cliff Potts	...	John Keenan
Ron Rifkin	...	Marty Barker
Jesse Vint	...	Andy Wolf
Mark Persons	...	the Drone
Steven Brown	...	the Drone
Cheryl Sparks	...	the Drone
Larry Whisenhunt	...	the Drone

Storyline

In a future Earth barren of all flora and fauna, the planet's ecosystems exist only in large pods attached to spacecraft. When word comes in that the pods are to be jettisoned into space and destroyed, most of the crew of the Valley Forge rejoice at the prospect of going home. Not so for botanist Freeman Lowell, who loves the forest and its creatures. He kills his colleagues taking the ship deep into space. Alone on the craft with his only companions being three small robots, Lowell revels in joys of nature. When colleagues appear to "rescue" him, he realizes he has only one option available to him.

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Plot Keywords:

male protagonist | dying words | death | psychotronic film | aerial camera shot | 

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Taglines:

Earth's last battle will be fought in space.

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Genres:

Drama | Sci-Fi

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Did You Know?

Trivia

This movie follows the same basic outline of another environmental movie, Ark (1970). The earth's environment has been devastated. One lone scientist is trying to preserve samples of plant and wildlife under a dome. He comes under attack and the dome is destroyed.

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Goofs

In the finale, the detonator held by Lowell has a misspelled label "Nuclear Detornator."

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Quotes

Freeman Lowell: Just sit down and shut up! Sit down, sit down, sit down! Shut up and leave me alone, all of you. Let me eat.

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Alternate Versions

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!").

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Connections

Featured in Cinemacabre TV Trailers (1993)

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Soundtracks

Silent Running
Lyrics by Diane Lampert
Music by Peter Schickele
Performed by Joan Baez

User Reviews

Appreciate the flowers and trees while you still can.

The directorial debut of visual FX wizard Douglas Trumbull, Silent Running looks great (FX legend John Dykstra also cut his teeth on this film): the film benefits from nifty photographic effects, wonderfully detailed models, and an authentic look and feel that pre-dates the lived-in realism of Alien. But this ecological sci-fi isn't just about the visuals: it carries a heartfelt message that, while clearly a product of the hippy generation, still rings true today, as the human race continues to mine the Earth of its resources, destroying the planet in the process.

Bruce Dern stars as Freeman Lowell, crewman on deep space craft Valley Forge, one of several ships tasked with protecting the last of Earth's flora and fauna (the plants and wildlife on Earth having died out due to pollution and climate change). Lowell is the only person who actually cares about what happens to the ship's forests, and so when instructions are given to jettison the bio-domes and destroy them, he rebels, killing his fellow crew members and steering the Valley Forge into uncharted space. With the help of three lovable droids, nicknamed Huey, Dewey, and Louie, Lowell tends to the plants and animals, but experiences further problems that threaten the existence of his precious cargo.

Even though Lowell is a murderer, one cannot blame him for taking extreme action, the man driven to kill to protect that which is most important to him, the plants signifying beauty and imagination, which has all but been lost back on Earth. Anyone who appreciates the wonder of nature and wildlife will be rooting for the man as he desperately tries to save the last vestiges of the natural world against all odds. As he does so, he strikes up a touching relationship with his mechanical helpers, his only company in the darkness of space, and when the droids become lost or damaged, it is truly heart-breaking. The finale, in which Lowell must make the ultimate sacrifice in order to guarantee that life continues (with droid Dewey as gardener), is poignant, lump-in-the-throat stuff indeed.

8/10. Even Joan Baez's hippy folk songs work.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 January 1980 (Portugal)

Also Known As:

O Cosmonauta Perdido

Filming Locations:

Aircraft Hanger, Southwest Aviation Center, Van Nuys Airport - 16425 Hart Street, Van Nuys, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$1,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Trumbull/Gruskoff Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

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

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1