IMDb > Silent Running (1972)
Silent Running
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Silent Running (1972) More at IMDbPro »


Overview

User Rating:
6.8/10   6,768 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 1% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Douglas Trumbull
Writers:
Deric Washburn (written by) &
Michael Cimino (written by) ...
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Contact:
View company contact information for Silent Running on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
10 March 1972 (USA) more
Genre:
Adventure | Drama | Sci-Fi more
Tagline:
Amazing companions on an incredible adventure... that journeys beyond imagination! more
Plot:
The loner crew member of a spaceship harbouring Earth's last nature reserves goes renegade when he is... more | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
1 nomination more
User Comments:
SILENT RUNNING (Douglas Trumbull, 1971) *** more (145 total)

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)
Bruce Dern ... Freeman Lowell

Cliff Potts ... John Keenan

Ron Rifkin ... Marty Barker

Jesse Vint ... Andy Wolf
Mark Persons ... Drone 2 - Huey
Steven Brown ... Drone
Cheryl Sparks ... Drone 1 - Dewey
Larry Whisenhunt ... Drone
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Additional Details

Also Known As:
Running Silent (USA) (working title)
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Runtime:
89 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Mono (35 mm prints) (Westrex Recording System)

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Douglas Trumbull says that he learned how to be a director while working on this film, as he had no training or experience in the job. more
Goofs:
Factual errors: When Freeman is on an EVA line inspecting the destroyed Louie, he is wearing a lightweight blue flight suit, a thin helmet, and no life support/oxygen system. This is insufficient to protect him from the vacuum of space. more
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. more
Movie Connections:
Featured in "Six Feet Under: Making Love Work (#3.6)" (2003) more
Soundtrack:
Rejoice in the Sun more

FAQ

Are there people inside the "Drones?"
more
16 out of 27 people found the following comment useful.
SILENT RUNNING (Douglas Trumbull, 1971) ***, 13 October 2004
Author: MARIO GAUCI (marrod@melita.com) from Naxxar, Malta

Made in the wake of both 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968; the ultimate space opera) and EASY RIDER (1969; the era's biggest 'sleeper' hit), SILENT RUNNING was given the go-ahead by the executives at Universal – in an attempt to recapture the momentum of those two films – who even allowed special-effects wizard Douglas Trumbull to make his directorial debut, and this with unprecedented artistic freedom.

The film is a visual treat, featuring marvelous if unassuming special effects, though Trumbull manages to keep the technology firmly under control – it is all so simple but still very impressive (even more so in view of the budget). Bruce Dern is appropriately cast as the film's eco-friendly hero. Joan Baez's two songs are very much of the time, and yet add quite a lot of humanity to the 'outer space' events. The film's sets (an unused aircraft carrier conveniently converted into a spaceship!) are also notable. However, the film's most endearing elements are the two almost-human 'drones', Huey and Dewey, which contribute to some amusing and even touching interplay with Dern; they were an obvious influence on C-3P0 and R2-D2 from from the STAR WARS films.

Still, I found the film to be somewhat plodding - especially since Dern is, for most of the time, the only human being on screen. In the end, SILENT RUNNING is a pretty good film, and a deserved cult item, but not a classic in the strict sense of the word. That said, it is a whole lot better than the only other feature film Trumbull directed, the dull and overblown BRAINSTORM (1983).

Universal's SE DVD is so packed with extras, it's almost too much: even so, there's actually little repetition throughout the lengthy documentary, numerous interviews and Trumbull's and Dern's joint commentary - and, all in all, it serves as irrefutable proof of the importance and worth (as in experience-enhancing capabilities) of DVD bonus material. While I was not overwhelmed when watching the film proper, after going through the mass of supplements on offer here I had a new-found admiration for what Trumbull intended - and actually makes me look forward to a more open-minded second viewing!

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I can't believe so many people take this movie so seriously craig-809
saddest film buggerlugs
Did anyone else LOL when ... mjm23
A lot of you guys are missing the point. mrjoelabs
Has anyone mentioned that... jb52unc
If a remake happens, which director/actors? Solar-Rain
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