Silent Running

"Amazing companions on an incredible adventure... that journeys beyond imagination!"

1972 1h 29m EN

😐

6.4

MID

🍅

71%

FRESH

👌

METACRITIC

⭐

6.6

IMDB

★6.4TMDB · 670🍅71%Rotten Tomatoes●67Metacritic★6.6IMDB · 32,381

Science FictionAdventureDrama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

After the entire flora goes extinct, ecologist Lowell maintains a greenhouse aboard a space station for the future with his android companions. However, he rebels after being ordered to destroy the greenhouse in favor of carrying cargo, a decision that puts him at odds with everyone but his mechanical companions.

“Amazing companions on an incredible adventure... that journeys beyond imagination!”

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Cast

Bruce Dern
Freeman Lowell
Cliff Potts
John Keenan
Ron Rifkin
Marty Barker
Jesse Vint
Andy Wolf
Mark Persons
Grey Drone #1 “Dewey”
Steven Brown
Orange Drone #2 “Huey”
Cheryl Sparks
Orange Drone #2 “Huey”
Larry Whisenhunt
Green Drone #3 “Louie”

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Douglas Trumbull
Writers: Deric Washburn, Michael Cimino, Steven Bochco
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

89 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Shot for just $1.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

54 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Douglas Trumbull, shot by Charles F. Wheeler. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Peter Schickele. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Aaron Stell shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Bruce Dern and Cliff Potts and Ron Rifkin carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Amazing companions on an incredible adventure... that journeys beyond imagination!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Douglas Trumbull directs. Charles F. Wheeler behind the camera. Peter Schickele scores. Aaron Stell cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

189 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Shot for just $1.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
354 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
4Directed by Douglas Trumbull, shot by Charles F. Wheeler. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Peter Schickele. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Aaron Stell shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Bruce Dern and Cliff Potts and Ron Rifkin carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Amazing companions on an incredible adventure... that journeys beyond imagination!".
9IMDB entry: tt0067756 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 20 themes, including "dystopia", "sunlight", "space travel", "saturn".

The technical file

Cinematography: Charles F. Wheeler
Original score: Peter Schickele
Editing: Aaron Stell
Makeup / hair: Dick Dawson
Runtime: 89 min · 1h 29m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $1,000,000
Original language: EN
Certification (US): G
IMDB: Silent Running (1972)
Rotten Tomatoes: 71% 🍅 Fresh
Metacritic: 67/100
IMDB rating: 6.6/10 · 32,381 votes
MPAA: G

Awards

2 nominations total

Also by

Douglas Trumbull

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

DanDare2017-06-16
★ 5/10
Silent Running features another unhinged performance from Bruce Dern. He plays Freeman Lowell, a scientists aboard a spaceship looking after the only remaining examples of Earth's plant life as it heads off to Saturn. Lowell has become attached to the eco-system in the spaceship and less with his crew mates who he kills when they receive orders to destroy the plant life. On his own, alienated, staving off madness, all Lowell has are three droids for company and then his plants start to die as they get less sunlight as the craft nears Saturn. Douglas Trumbull in some ways has directed a low fi science fiction film, in some ways the interior sets reminded me of a television series from the early 1970s. It also contains some folk songs to accompany its environmental message.
drystyx2023-04-03
★ 7/10
This was a thoughtful sci-fi story. Bruce Dern appears as a bit of a deranged scientist in what may be his most likable role ever, which says a lot about the roles he has played. He is a caring scientist, except he kills all his companions in a spacecraft. Well, can he still be likable? He has a motivation for doing this which is more than the motivation for his other villains. Here, he means to save plant life for Earth. His companions didn't even understand the need to save plant life, which tells you about the horrible times they live in. All this happens fairly early in the film. Afterwards, his companions are robots whom he empathizes with as if they are human beings. Earth has decided to destroy all plant life, so in essence, he plays a hero/villain, hard to tell. But does he manage to salvage something for humanity?
CinemaSerf2023-05-28
★ 5/10
A botanist (Bruce Dern) on a deep space mission tries to stop the corporate machine from destroying his small "forest" aboard his inter-planetary freighter. When his shipmates decide to implement the order he takes matters into his own hands. It is vaguely portentous of events yet to come - and has a poignancy about not knowing what you've lost until you haven't got it any more. It's the first film I recall seeing where there are droids - in this case, drones - Huey, Dewey (Louie has broken) that are given some semblance of personality and they do inject some much needed bursts of humour into this rather slow-moving sci fi story. It certainly has a message (climate change, warming etc.), but after a while it becomes quite laboured and slows down to a snail's pace before quite an abrupt ending. Interesting, but no classic...