Rating: 
Summary: Classic SF of the early 70s
Review: Long a favorite of mine, this DVD version is very good. If nothing else, it shows how the cultural climate of the times finds its way into a movie. The "Making of" feature is almost worth the price itself. Find out why the ship is named "Valley Forge", and how they made those little robots work. While many slam the Joan Baez songs, I think they are the essence of the movie and convey the feelings of the time in which the movie was made. In fact, I held back one star because they don't include the songs "Rejoice in the Sun" and "Silent Running" as separate cuts and the soundtrack album is long out of print.
Rating:
Summary: Very unique if a little faded
Review: It's a Nice film. The new edition DVD is a big improvement. Some of the commentary is very interesting, as there's a lot more to talk about in the way each shot is made with old optical effects, rather than saying "Here's Joe; he and this computer here is how we made the whole movie".The other content is a bit light.
Rating: 
Summary: Great effects, good message, terrible movie
Review: I wanted to like this movie. I really did. The effects were incredibly good (except for those oscilliscope screens, what was up with that?!), especially considering the year it was made. I also sympathised with the main character, Lowell, and his motivations. I thought that the opening conflict between Freeman Lowell and the other crewmembers had real potential, unfortunately, the story was terrible. It also didn't help that the science was all wrong, what with artificial gravity, nuclear explosions in space with no effect on nearby objects, nuclear devices about the size of a Foster's beer can, etc. etc. The dialogue was passable, but to say that the story was flat would be an understatement. There was no character development. There was no plot development. The one "mystery" of the whole movie was incredibly obvious and also scientifically incorrect (as was the solution) and Lowell's motivation was never investigated, explained or developed. To those who would claim that this is the "best science fiction movie ever" are you judging the movie by its message or its execution?
Rating: 
Summary: More of a cult comedy than a cult classic
Review: The number of reviews calling this movie a "scifi classic" and a "masterpiece with a message" is truly dumbfounding. Ok, it does have a few strengths... the special effects and sets are quite well done, the mood is relaxed and the droids are actually kind of cute... but the bad just totally overshadows the good... First, Bruce Dern's character is not at all likable and his dialoge is irritatingly bad. He sounds like a whiny, adolescent boy... and acts like it, right down to the tantrums, mood swings and fits of violence. You quickly realize that you're not watching a sane, distinguished scientist, but rather a boy scout who never grew up. Second, nothing is done to ground the movie's basic notion in believability. Why can't the forests stay on Earth in preserves? Who in the world would pay billions to save the forests when, apparently, no one cares for them on Earth? Why are there only 4 people onboard this huge space freighter? Other bad points:
Music - It is laughably folksongish. It's bad enough when it's just instrumental, but the 3 or 4 times when it breaks into verse could drive a sane person to suicide.
Character Development - Very little to speak of... unless you consider Freeman Lowell's increasing insanity to be character development.
Plot confusion - There are a few places where poor editing or whatnot makes the story hard to follow. Expect to do some rewinding while you're watching. Now, on a more positive note...
This movie is so funny in its seriousness that you'll be unable to stop laughing. Silent Running is, hands down, the funniest movie not meant to be funny that I've ever seen. From seeing Freeman Lowell whine and pout early on to going postal like a cross-circuited droid, just about every scene is hilarious, and I mean that with the utmost seriousness. Every time that I recall the final scene with the droid carefully watering the plant with a flower-nosed bucket, I lose my composure and bust up with laughter. The movie was worth watching just for the endless laugh that that one scene gave me. It's really too bad that this movie IS so bad. The general idea and style of direction could've made into a pretty good movie. As it is, though, it's utterly spoiled by heavy-handed hippy propaganda. I think that it backfired on its makers, though, because it unwittingly paints the radical environmentalist as a madman more concerned with plants than humans, willing to murder human lives to protect insensate plants. That, in itself, is rather funny, but it also smudges the reputation of all reasonable scientists and environmentalists. If you're so deadly serious that none of what I've said sounds funny or bad, you'll love the movie; otherwise, rent this one for the laughs.
Rating: 
Summary: The only Sci-fi movie to work on the human emotion!
Review: This movie is just excellent, and I'm writing this review after just seeing it for the first time, thirty years after its first release. The movie is about a fleet of space shuttles on their way to transplant homemade forests somewhere in the galaxy. Each ship is outfitted with three greenhouses, they call "forests". The movie focuses on only one of the crews. On one of the ships we are taken into the lives of four men assembled as the crew to the 'Vally Forge'. Three of the men are young and naive, and can only think about getting back home to earth; they are the tech-generation, and care nothing about preserving wildlife. One of the crew members on the other hand is a head botanist and is very much in love with nature; always taking meticulus care of his "forests" in his priest-like robe. This man is played by actor Bruce Dern, who does a very fine job indeed. In the beginning there are lots of scenes of intellectual and often angry debates on the importance of preserving nature, conducted by Dern's character, and lots of backlashes by the other crew members. Both parties make compelling arguments, and we are never, as an audience, led to believe that either of the parties is the enemy. Unfortunately the officials back home have decided to abort the fleet's mission; not only calling it off, but also ordering all of the ships to release the greenhouses and destroy them in outer space. Of course as you know, this decision angers Dern's character. We see one particular scene of him caring for one of his forests as his ship and the others are releasing thier greenhouses one by one and detonating them right before his face and ears. Just before his fellow crew men release the last one--the one he's in--he stands up and defiantly says "No!". And, as you guessed, he prevents them from destroying the last one by murdering them. The way in which he kills them wasn't choreograhped to make him appear to be sick and twisted; in fact it does just the opposite. As an audience we are made to feel that what he did was a just thing. Not only this, but Dern's character also shows emotion later in the movie as he is ordering the ship's droids to bury one of the men. He orders the droids from a tv monitor to stop so he can say 'something', and right when he gives them the order to put the dirt over the man he breaks out in a very believable cry, that almost brings tears to your eyes. This movie is very unpredictable. I kept expecting one of the crew members to still be alive and then proceed to go after Dern's character. Instead we watch as Dern is wobbling around on a cut leg, and repeatedly lying to the operator on the radio, saying that the ship has malfunctioned; anything to make them go away and leave him. Eventually they do, and now we must see how Dern is going to live up there all alone. Another thing about this movie that reflects human emotion is when we see Dern's character trying to reprogram the three work droids on the ship, getting them to help work in the forest, and even teaching them to play poker, so he can have someone to play with. So as you can see, even as a quiet botanist Dern's character is still plagued with the desire to have contact with another individual. The relationship he creates between himself and the droids is sometimes hokey, but at other times humanly-depressing and sad. The model and set design in this movie was also great; perhaps because they were designed by the same man who designed for "2001: A Space Odessy"! The ending of this film is also surprising and a little emotional. If you havent seen "Silent Running", then you've never seen an experience, because that's exactly what this is!
Rating:
Summary: There's a reason I found this one in the bargain bin.
Review: Although the set designs were very good, the characterisation and plot were woeful. Bruce Dern's character is hardly sympathetic; he comes across as more loony than heroic. The robots in the moive are laughable; this is Toho studio territory you begin to enter when you see these guys. Any minute now, some rubber monster will zoom by the space portal. What kind of a story takes itself seriously when it plays happy Joan Baez (that's right, she did the soundtrack to this) music after our protagonist has done everyone on his ship in? Oh, I'm sorry, it's a movie about redemption, because he feels sorry about it later on. But then, since he has murdered in the name of the planet and his bio-ships, or whatever they were called, when he tries to redeem his murderous act he ends up selling his green philosophy up the river. No, wait, maybe it's an anti-technology get back to our roots movie . . . set in the future, set in outer space, aboard floating biospheres, serviced by robots. The movie's point is not unusual, and certainly not ahead of its time. There are plenty of save the earth extremists around today-just move to places like Boulder, Colorado and you can hear all the diatribe you want about how we're the seed of Satan for murdering the planet. Instead of Joan Baez, you'll probably end up with Joan Osborne or Sheryll Crow.
Rating:
Summary: Finding foresters
Review: Freeman Lowell (Bruce Dern) and crew are in charge of taking care of the last remaining forests. These forests are a conservation project in space. Aside from my cat (some cats will eat the oddest things), Lowell seems to be the only one to enjoy fresh cantaloupe. There rest of mankind prefers ersatz food. The are three cuties Huey, Dewey, and Louie. They are robots; however you feel sorrier for them when they get hurt or worse, than you do for those insensitive humans who think that going home to their families is more important than watching unnecessary plants. So bury your personal problems like Lowell and get on with the important stuff like saving the forest.
This message in a bottle story is worth watching periodically to keep a perspective on what is important. Paper or plastic. Just bring a lot of Kleenex.
Rating:
Summary: Will leave you crying
Review: Everytime I watch this movie, I have nightmares. The senerio is so eerily close to where we are today. I cry everytime Bruce does what he needs to do. The first time I saw the film was on TV. It stuck with me for weeks. Now, everytime I see it, I get angry, scared, sad, and depressed. Powerful stuff, considering that I now know how it ends. Bravo for Bruce Dern, what a performance. PS: As far as a propaganda film goes, I think that depends on your point of view.
Rating:
Summary: A Rare, Gentle speculative Sci-Fi
Review: This belongs to that rare genre SPECULATIVE sci-fi, where what is depicted could soon take place. Silent Running refers to an earth in future without the sound of birds due to the absence of forests and most other vegetative life, as much as it refers to the soundlessness of outer space. Here we have a tract for the foresight needed to maintain not only our earth as a healthy planet, but a place that would then encourage healthy people, both physically and socially. While Bruce Dern gives one of his characteristic performances of an off kilter individual, he succeeds in obtaining the sympathy of the viewer for a return to a verdant earth, from the sterile and dessicated environs of ships in space. When his three shipmates are willing to obey orders to destroy the ship and return to a barren earth of artificial food and air, Bruce's character finds the unforseen will to do the unthinkable. His solid performance is one in a long line of distinctive portrayals. Still, it is really the three little robots: "Huey, Dewey, and Loui" who steal the show in clever asides and moments of pathos, even for these very 'human' machines. One of the great blessings of this film is that it does not beat one over the head with strident sound, nor do the special effects, which are excellent, ever take over the story. You feel the desperation of Bruce's character and yet you understand the dillema the crew faces as the orders come down. I was taken with the scene where the three antagonists of crewmen berate Lowell, Bruce's protagonist, for bringing into their quarters a real cantelope, which the other three fellows call "stinking!", this a vivid way of demonstrating the alienation that people can attain when too long removed from the nuture of our earth as is paralleled in many of the urban 'jungles' of today. As our society becomes more and more urbanized and divorced from the goodness of God's earth, we too often find the natural odors of earth unpleasant, while we come to regard artificialy conditioned air as 'natural.' While the movie is very entertaining on the strictly visual level, it is more a cautionary tale about how we could mess up our earth and our futures if we don't pay attention to the false hopes of technology, in company with human greed. The tug-at-your-heartstrings ending will disappoint some, but realists will acknowledge it ruefully. The gardeners among us may smile at the desperate attempts to provide light for the forest in the end, but no one will go away without a greater appreciation of just how ingenious and precious is ALL life on earth, vegatable or otherwise. To be sure, the true God, our Creator, will never allow the situation depicted here to develop, for He "... did not created the [Earth] simply for nothing ..." (Isaiah 45:18) and that He will "bring to ruin those ruining the earth." (Rev. 11:18) Yet, before that day shortly arrives, one can enjoy this blend of sleek science fiction with the gentle theme of reverence for God's creation, all against a melodious musical background.
Rating:
Summary: Touching message.
Review: This is one of my all time favorite scifi/pro-environment movies. Bruce Dern rocks. It has great robots.
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