Rating: 
Summary: Trumbull's follow-up to 2001. Dark, sad and brilliant.
Review: "Silent Running" marks special effects master Douglas Trumbull's directorial debut. Filmed four short years after completing the effects for Kubrick's masterpiece "2001", Trumbull decided to branch out on his own, attempting to repeat Kubrick's success with another intellegent, literate special effects tour-de-force. What he has created is a dark, often sad and pathetic view of man's future. Set in 2072, we are shown a future where man has utterly distroyed the Earth's plant and animal life, preserving the last fragile reminents in large domes attached to space freighters traveling out beyond the orbit of Jupiter. This sad beginning takes an even darker turn when the crews of the spacecraft are ordered to jettison the domes and blow them up so that they can return to their normal duties. Earth, we are told, no longer cares. But on one ship the plants and animals find a chamipon in Freeman Lowell (Bruce Dern) who soon takes over the ship and runs away in a desperate effort to save some small portion of Earth's beauty. What follows is a sensitive, often disturbing account of one man's decent into obsession while preserving the past in a future that no longer has any place for it, and the steps he's willing to take to literally keep his dream alive.Not nearly as emotionally distant and obscure as "2001", this film should be viewed within the context of the time period in which it was created. In the early 1970's America was caught up in a sudden fear that our mishandeling of the Earth's environment was leading us to the very same sad state of self-distruction that Trumbull depicts in this film. To many Americans this disturbing future seemed all to real. "Silent Running" is Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring" and every Greenpeace member's nightmare made real, and through the wizardry of Trumbull's special effects, completely believable. Was it over-reaction? In hindsight perhaps. But the warning it brings is not to be taken lightly. And if this film has become dated is it because we feel more secure about our grandchildren's future, or are we simply caring less? Note: This DVD release marks the first time this visual classic has been avilable in its full wide-screen format. Throw away any old pan and scannned copies you may have had. This is the only way to watch "Silent Running". A welcome addition to any science fiction library, and long, long overdue.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant
Review: I first saw this film as a young boy and loved it. However I have been unable to buy the video as it is no longer "in print ?" here. Luckily my video is able to play NTSC videos so I will shortly be purchasing a copy at long last. It is a classic and a must for every serious collector of sci-fi films.
Rating: 
Summary: Class Act All the Way!
Review: First, let me say that this film is dated, and not the best ever made. That being said, by all means see this film! It is intellegent, thought-provoking, and surprising. It is not a noisy action-fest like so many sci-fi movies have become these days. A friend of mine disagrees with me over the sanity of Dern's character, which surprised me because I thought my view of it was obvious. Not too many films have such a wide-ranging allowance for the viewer to interpret the film their own way. "2001" comes to mind. Not many others. By the way, this film introduced believeable 'droids five years before "Star Wars", but nobody seems to mention this picture when talking about such topics. Get yourself a copy. You won't regret it.
Rating:
Summary: Solid film with slow pacing and outstanding plotline
Review: Good movie for serious science fiction fans who enjoy an intelligent and realistic view of the future. Dern does an outstanding acting job and plays his part with that extra dimension of sincerity.
Rating:
Summary: Tearjerking eyeful, but great flick!
Review: I saw this movie when I was ten or so and it made me cry for hours afterward. The thought that some guy would risk everything to save one of the last forest in the universe touched me deep inside. It wasn't the best Sci-Fi film out there but it definently worth watching. Bring tissue.
Rating:
Summary: This is what Science Fiction should be
Review: Silent Running is one of my all-time favorite films. Not because it had the best acting, special effects or Action, but because it tells a story of a possible future in a realistic manner. This film along with Solyent Green, Farenheit 451 , 1984 and Metropolis make up my list of the classics of real science fiction as it should be. The acting might need work, but the concepts depicted make you think about what the future could be if we don't pay attention.
Rating:
Summary: Heart aching, eye watering look at man's possible destiny
Review: Ever wonder what the future holds for mankind at the rate we're going? For a movie made in 1972, this seems to me a frightening glimpse into a future we don't want to see. Are we really that far from something like this? Storyline... excellent!!! Special effects...WOW!!! Not some dumb space "shootemup". Along with Planet of The Apes, and FEW others, this is a movie for people who really THINK about our actions and the future consequences.
Rating: 
Summary: A movie for space hippies.
Review: This movie was made with the 1970's counterculture in mind. An eco-science fiction film, Bruce Dern plays an ecological nut-case who present viewers with the fears that our world will end if we don't take care of it. The robots are cool, effects decent, but the songs by Joan Baez are horrible, and have no place in this film.
Rating:
Summary: One of the top 10 best Science Fictions
Review: Set in a future where all the earths wild life has been move into space until such time as the earth can agin support them, Silent Running is one of best science fiction files of all time. Bruce Dern plays the part of the last forester tending the remaining ecosystems each enclosed in giant domes of glass. Dern is the only one of the crew that really cares what happens to the cargo of earths last wild life. When the company that owns the ships that are carring the environmental pods gets permission from the government to dump the domes and destroy them using nuclear charges, Dern character snaps and kills the other crew members and tries to save the pods on one the ships. While the human crew is gone Dern's character is not alone. The ship has three service droids hue, due, and lue. The robots are realistic and the interplay of Dern's character, a man cut off from all the rest of humanity and the droids simple machines that seem so much more is very moving. In the end Dern must give up everything in order to save his beloved forest. This movie was made for a very low budget but your wouldn't know in by what you see on the screen. The movie is very moving and has a haunting musical score. While not what you would call an enviormentalist myself this movie is very moving and makes one ask if we are not giving up to much for our technology. END
Rating:
Summary: Save the Forest
Review: Set in the far future aboard the spaceship "Valley Forge", Bruce Dern and three fellow astronauts maintain the huge vessel and the forests that it contains with the help of three ingeniously rendered robots. The robots are so convincing that they steal the show, but they remain classic depictions that are on par with Robby from "Forbidden Planet" and the droids of "Star Wars". This is a sad story with a strong ecological message, "Silent Running" is a visual treat with outstanding special effects and a very realistically-depicted "Valley Forge" spaceship. A production note: Trumbull had use of the decommissioned naval aircraft carrier "Valley Forge" before it was scrapped and he was able to modify many of it's vast interiors for use in the movie, all to good effect.
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