Silent Running Movie Information

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Movie Information

Overall Rank: 4141

Average Rating: 2.7/4

# of Ratings: 42

Theatrical Release Date: 03/10/1972

Language: English

Genre: Adventure, Drama

MPAA Rating: G

Director: Douglas Trumbull

Actors: Bruce Dern, Cliff Potts, Ron Rifkin, Jesse Vint, Mark Persons, Cheryl Sparks

Plot: This is an old-school sci-fi flick from the 1970s. The story involves a series of spaceships carrying and preserving various ecosystems from earth, waiting for the day when they can return and repopulate the polluted planet. A crew member (Bruce Dern) from one of the ships becomes attached to the forest ecosystem, and is chooses to defend it when the program is canceled and the order comes to destroy the preserved ecosystems.

Alex - wrote on 01/15/2009

I give it 2.5 stars because this came before star wars, before R2 D2. Great special effects for the time, great robot interaction (did this influence Lucas?), and interesting plot. But, it tries to be too much like 2001 with terrible music.

MovieMike
Director

A True Sci-Fi Classic

MovieMike - wrote on 12/22/2011

OK, you’ve run out of ideas for NetFlix selections, or maybe you’ve got an Amazon.com gift card burning a hole in your pocket… My suggestion? How about a classic sci-fi DVD? The title I have in mind is the 1972 movie, ‘Silent Running’. While certainly no award winner or box office titan, I think this particular film is still remarkable for a number of reasons.

Preceded by a more notable film, Stanley Kubrick’s ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’(1968), ‘Silent Running’ is a more traditional sci-fi drama directed (and produced) by Doug Trumbull. Mr. Trumbull also served as special effects photographic supervisor on the ‘2001’ project and expanded on those special effects for ‘Silent Running’. ‘So, big deal’, you might think – actually, in that era it was. There …

Yojimbo
Movie God

"Silent running" by Yojimbo

Yojimbo - wrote on 12/17/2011

An overpopulated and industrialised Earth has decided to shoot what's left of the planet's greenery into space (for reasons unexplained) but when the powers that be decide to terminate the program and nuke the ships (for reasons unexplained) one lone space-hippy decides to intervene. Silent Running is a very well meaning but ultimately very naive piece of film making. It's directed by one of the greats of special effects and as a director, he makes a great special effects guy, leaving the story completely unfocussed beyond the initial concept and the characterisation simplistic to the point of being cartoony. The visuals have a quaint nostalgia about them and the most likeable characters are essentially plastic boxes on legs but it really doesn't go anywhere beyond the "destroying nature …

Drive-In Massacre
Producer

2001: A Space Odyssey goes to Sesame Street.

Drive-In Massacre - wrote on 05/21/2011

As corny as it is - character/writing/political message wise. I'm not talking about special fx. I hate when people's view on a movie is diminished when they see special effects, even though those were the BEST THEY COULD DO AT THE TIME AND THEY SHOULD TAKE THEM FOR WHAT THEY ARE! - and the fact that Joan Baez's deeply unfitting and ungodly annoying music is in it, I somehow found this movie very charming and fun.

It's kind of like 2001: A Space Odyssey goes to Sesame Street. It's really, really dated and not in a good way either. It is just so 70's, from the choices of color, (what was with the use of that disgusting orange that seems to pop up everywhere in that decade?)costume, and mentality.

Even with all of these criticisms that I have, I still really like it. Bruce Dern …