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    Silent Running

    • 19721972
    • GG
    • 1h 29min
    IMDb RATING
    6.7/10
    27K
    YOUR RATING
    POPULARITY
    3,824
    2,197
    • Cast & crew
    • User reviews
    • Trivia
    • IMDbPro
    Silent Running (1972)
    Watch {VideoTitle}
    Trailer2:53
    2 Videos
    82 Photos
    DramaSci-Fi

    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.
    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.
    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.
    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.
    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
      • Steven Bochco
    • Stars
      • Bruce Dern
      • Cliff Potts
      • Ron Rifkin
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Douglas Trumbull
    • Writers
      • Deric Washburn
      • Michael Cimino
      • Steven Bochco
    • Stars
      • Bruce Dern
      • Cliff Potts
      • Ron Rifkin
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 251User reviews
    • 122Critic reviews
    • 67Metascore
  • See production, box office & company info
    • Awards
      • 2 nominations

    Videos2

    Trailer
    Trailer 2:53
    Trailer
    Trailers From Hell - Silent Running w/Edgar Wright
    Featurette 3:04
    Trailers From Hell - Silent Running w/Edgar Wright

    Photos82

    Bruce Dern in Silent Running (1972)
    Silent Running (1972)
    Silent Running (1972)
    Silent Running (1972)
    Bruce Dern in Silent Running (1972)
    Bruce Dern in Silent Running (1972)
    Silent Running (1972)
    Bruce Dern in Silent Running (1972)
    Silent Running (1972)
    Bruce Dern and Ron Rifkin in Silent Running (1972)
    Silent Running (1972)
    Bruce Dern in Silent Running (1972)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Bruce Dern
    Bruce Dern
    • Freeman Lowellas Freeman Lowell
    Cliff Potts
    Cliff Potts
    • John Keenanas John Keenan
    Ron Rifkin
    Ron Rifkin
    • Marty Barkeras Marty Barker
    Jesse Vint
    Jesse Vint
    • Andy Wolfas Andy Wolf
    Mark Persons
    • the Droneas the Drone
    Steven Brown
    • the Droneas the Drone
    Cheryl Sparks
    • the Droneas the Drone
    Larry Whisenhunt
    • the Droneas the Drone
    Joseph Campanella
    Joseph Campanella
    • Neal - Berkshire' Captainas Neal - Berkshire' Captain
    • (voice)
    • (uncredited)
    Roy Engel
    Roy Engel
    • Andersonas Anderson
    • (voice)
    • (uncredited)
    • Director
      • Douglas Trumbull
    • Writers
      • Deric Washburn
      • Michael Cimino
      • Steven Bochco
    • All cast & crew
    See production, box office, & company info

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    Storyline

    Edit
    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. —garykmcd
    greenhouserobotspacecraftecosystembotanist166 more
    • Plot summary
    • Plot synopsis
    • Taglines
      • The day the last flower died on earth this incredible mission began
    • Genres
      • Drama
      • Sci-Fi
    • Certificate
      • G
    • Parents guide

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The decommissioned Essex-class aircraft carrier "Valley Forge," a veteran of Korea and Vietnam, served as the interior of the space freighter "Valley Forge." The flight control area and hangar deck of the carrier were modified and painted to represent the space freighter in the film. The carrier was scrapped after filming was complete.
    • Goofs
      In the finale, the detonator held by Lowell has a misspelled label "Nuclear Detornator."
    • Quotes

      Freeman Lowell: It calls back a time when there were flowers all over the Earth... and there were valleys. And there were plains of tall green grass that you could lie down in - you could go to sleep in. And there were blue skies, and there was fresh air... and there were things growing all over the place, not just in some domed enclosures blasted some millions of miles out in to space.

    • 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!").
    • Connections
      Edited into The Making of 'Silent Running' (1974)
    • Soundtracks
      Silent Running
      Lyrics by Diane Lampert

      Music by Peter Schickele

      Performed by Joan Baez

    User reviews251

    Review
    Top review
    In a category by itself
    This film doesn't hit you over the head with million-dollar special effects. It doesn't contain action scenes every two seconds for the easily distracted. It just rips your heart out, and makes you think long after the movie is over. It is about isolation, alienation, lost causes, and the inevitable future. In short, it is a genuine science fiction film, not a gunfight covered with techno-glitz and special effects calling itself science fiction. Star Wars is great science fantasy, but the essence of science fiction is about what could happen, and is happening, and by the end of the film we have the disturbing feeling that it is a prediction of the future that will happen without intervention.

    The feelings of sadness and hope this film evokes are inextricably linked in this film, right up until the end. If you rent this movie, you will be haunted by its images long after you have forgotten other films.

    Ten out of ten stars; from the writing, directing and acting, right down to the three robot drones (Huey, Dewey and Louie), there is nothing to fault with in this film.
    helpful•194
    44
    • mercuryix
    • Dec 7, 2001

    FAQ1

    • Are there people inside the "Drones?"

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • March 10, 1972 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Running Silent
    • Filming locations
      • USS Valley Forge CV-45 Aircraft Carrier, Long Beach Naval Shipyard - Ocean Boulevard & Navy Way, Long Beach, California, USA
    • Production companies
      • Universal Pictures
      • Trumbull/Gruskoff Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $1,000,000 (estimated)
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 29min
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

    Related news

    ‘2001’ VFX Guru Douglas Trumbull on Why CGI Hasn’t Outpaced the Visual Effects of Kubrick’s Film
    ‘2001’ VFX Guru Douglas Trumbull on Why CGI Hasn’t Outpaced the Visual Effects of Kubrick’s Film
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