Silent Running

Silent Running is one of the best science-fiction films of the 1970s. The film was directed by Douglas Trumbull, who had previously worked as a special effects supervisor on such science fiction films as 2001: A Space Odyssey and The Andromeda Strain. A small ensemble cast includes Bruce Dern, Cliff Potts, Ron Rifkin and Jesse Vint.

The environmental message of this film was ground breaking at the time and is just as relevant today as thirty years ago. The film is not your usual run of the mill Sci-Fi blast them up and it is the poignant and touching storyline that makes it still as popular as ever.

Due to its age the effects are not stunning but all the ships have been built by hand and the genre is better for it.

The story is about a huge Biodome spaceship called ‘Valley Forge’ run by Dern’s character (Lowell). The ship is made up of enormous greenhouse-like geodesic domes and contains samples of all the plant and animal life left from the Earth. To help run the ship there are three little independent robots that are nicknamed Huey, Dewey, and Louie and are enlisted by Lowell in his plan to save the domes from destruction.

Cinema release 1972

Certificate U

Available on DVD