Silent Running [Blu-ray]

Overview

Bruce Dern stars as the caretaker of a greenhouse located on a group of space stations that are sent into orbit. The Earth has been stripped clean of foliage, and the greenhouse contains the last remaining greenery from the planet. Dern's staff includes three human beings and a trio of endearing robots named Huey, Dewey, and Louie. When word arrives, from the powers that be, that the greenhouse is to be destroyed (the space station is more valuable to man when hauling cargo and not "preserving the ecology of the universe"), Dern decides to ignore the order. He also decides to go it alone, "circle the wagons" with his robots, and fend off all outside attempts to eliminate his ecological paradise. Special-effects maven Douglas Trumbull directs, Michael Cimino was one of the screenwriters, and Peter "PDQ Bach" Schickele wrote the musical score.

Product Details

Release Date:	04/07/2015
UPC:	0025192231421
Original Release:	1972
Rating:	G
Source:	STUDIO DISTRIBUTION SERVS LLC
Presentation:	[Wide Screen]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo, DTS 5.1-Channel Surround Sound]
Language:	English
Time:	1:30:00
Sales rank:	17,282

Special Features

The making of Silent Running; Silent Running by Douglas Trumbull; A conversation with Bruce Dern; Douglas Trumbull: then and now; Feature commentary with director Douglas Trumbull and star Bruce Dern; Theatrical trailer

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Bruce Dern	Lowell
Jesse Vint	Keenan
Cliff Potts	Wolf
Ron Rifkin	Barker
Mark Persons	Drone
Cheryl Sparks	Actor
Larry Whisenhunt	un drone
Joseph Campanella	Neal - Berkshire' Captain
Roy Engel	Anderson
Steve Brown	Drone
The Drones	Actor
Peter Schickele	Conductor,Composer
Joan Baez	Performer,Composer

Technical Credits

Deric Washburn

Michael Cimino

Steven Bochco

Douglas Trumbull	Director,Producer,Special Effects
Deric Washburn	Screenwriter
Michael Cimino	Screenwriter
Steven Bochco	Screenwriter
Michael Gruskoff	Producer
Richard Portman	Sound Effects,Sound/Sound Designer
Richard Yuricich	Special Effects
Richard Helmer	Special Effects
R.L. Helmer	Special Effects
James Rugg	Special Effects
Marlin Jones	Special Effects
Vernon Archer	Special Effects
John Dykstra	Special Effects
Charles D. Knight	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

Blending science fiction with hippiedom, Silent Running (1971) is very much of its early '70s moment, even as its cautions about the environment remain timely. In his directorial debut, Douglas Trumbull skillfully integrates his premier special effects into a story about the glory, beauty, and fragility of nature, as Bruce Dern's long-haired, robe-clad ecologist stakes his life and space station on defending the last remaining ecosystem from a corporate edict to destroy it and use the ship for commerce. Bonding with anthropomorphized androids and tending his space-bound Eden to the strains of Joan Baez songs, Dern's Lowell is a testament to the need for free thought, green living, and firm convictions, no matter the cost. Trumbull's juxtaposition of adorable animals and lush plants with the soulless ship and astronauts carrying them speaks to the devastating effects of complacency. One of a cluster of early '70s dystopian science fiction films that began with Trumbull and with Stanley Kubrick's masterwork 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Silent Running's vistas and message still attract fans.

All Movie Guide - Lucia Bozzola