Silent Running

1972

Silent Running

Critics Consensus

No consensus yet.

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Silent Running Photos

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Movie Info

After the end of all botanical life on Earth, ecologist Freeman Lowell (Bruce Dern) maintains a greenhouse on a space station in order to preserve various plants for future generations. Assisted by three robots and a small human crew, Lowell rebels when he is ordered to destroy the greenhouse in favor of carrying cargo, a decision that puts him at odds with everyone but his mechanical companions. Lowell and his robots are forced to do anything necessary to keep their invaluable greenery alive.

Rating:

G (violence)
Genre:

Action & Adventure, Drama, Science Fiction & Fantasy
Directed By:

Douglas Trumbull
Written By:

Deric Washburn, Steven Bochco
In Theaters:

Jan 1, 1972 wide
On Disc/Streaming:

Oct 10, 2000
Runtime:

90 minutes
Studio:

MCA Universal Home Video

Cast

Bruce Dern
as Freeman Lowell

Jesse Vint
as Keenan

Cliff Potts
as Wolf

Ron Rifkin
as Barker

Mark Persons
as Drone

Cheryl Sparks

Steve Brown
as Drone

View All

Critic Reviews for Silent Running

All Critics (27) | Top Critics (5) | Fresh (18) | Rotten (9)

The production lacks much dramatic credibility and often teeters on the edge of the ludicrous.

June 4, 2007 | Full Review…

Variety Staff
Variety
Top Critic
The film is enjoyable for its intimacy, seriousness, and intelligent character work, virtues not perpetuated by the subsequent new wave.

June 4, 2007 | Full Review…

Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader
Top Critic
A wonderful film.

June 24, 2006 | Full Review…

Derek Adams
Time Out
Top Critic
Silent Running is no jerry-built science fiction film, but it's a little too simple-minded to be consistently entertaining.

May 9, 2005 | Rating: 2.5/5 | Full Review…

Vincent Canby
New York Times
Top Critic
A movie out of the ordinary - especially if you like science fiction.

October 23, 2004 | Rating: 4/4 | Full Review…

Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic
Among the most intelligent and entertaining sci-fi films of the 1970.

March 2, 2012 | Full Review…

Film4
Suffers from age, but Trumbull's vision still glows, as does terrific Bruce Dern in practically solo turn.

March 14, 2009 | Rating: 4/5

Steve Crum
Video-Reviewmaster.com
Visual effects pioneer Douglas Trumbull (notable for his work on 2001: A Space Odyssey, Blade Runner and Close Encounters of the Third Kind), made his directorial debut with this eco-themed sci-fi classic

September 18, 2008 | Full Review…

Andrew L. Urban
Urban Cinefile
The movie has a great premise, but the execution doesn't live up to the potential.

June 16, 2008 | Full Review…

Luke Y. Thompson
LYTRules.com
Silent Running concentrates heavily on special effects, resulting in some stunning imagery. Dern gives an engaging, against-type performance, though the script is stretched out very thin to support a feature-length film.

June 4, 2007 | Rating: 3.5/4 | Full Review…

TV Guide
Embora obviamente datado e piegas em alguns momentos (as seqncias musicais so constrangedoras), desperta algumas boas indagaes filosficas que se tornam bem mais interessantes que as discusses ecolgicas que o filme pretende provocar.

November 15, 2006 | Rating: 4/5

Pablo Villaça
Cinema em Cena
Quote not available.

November 6, 2005 | Rating: 4/5

Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

View All Critic Reviews (27)

Audience Reviews for Silent Running

Aug 12, 2015

Ma Earth can no longer grow food after we pollute the bejesus out of her and so we build a greenhouse in space to preserve the idea of growing food. "Ahhh, its only a knucklehead idea anyway. What were we thinking? We got synthetic food, don't we? Close it up!" Bruce Dern is the idealist who fights the powers-that-be in this not-too-far-from-hippie sci-fi horror story. The action's okay is all. There's terrible bits of Joan Baez singing that'll make you put the work end of a shotgun in your mouth. Eh.

Kevin M. W Super Reviewer
Feb 07, 2015

not too preachy considering it's obviously spawn of the hippy flower power era. a very intense, slighty unhinged portrayal from bruce dern

Sanity Assassin ! Super Reviewer
Jan 07, 2014

Silent Running is an entertaining and exhilarating Sci Fi classic with a great cast and a good story. The film is quite engaging, and the effects are well done and like 2001 before it, have influenced the genre. Bruce Dern is great in the lead role, and this ranks up there as one of the finest examples of 1970's Sci Fi. Of course Star Wars would reinvent the genre altogether, but you simply can't deny that Silent Running broke ground in terms of effects. Though not a perfect film, Silent Running will certainly please genre fans. The idea behind its story is quite simple, but the execution is well done, and it would later set the stage for future genre films. Dern like I said is good here, and he holds things together. If you're expecting an action packed thrilled ride, you'll be disappointed. This is more of a Sci Fi drama, but it it's quite entertaining nonetheless. Silent Running is a must watch for genre fans, or anyone looking for a classic Sci Fi film that has a well structured story. Enjoyable, but slow paced, Silent Running is one of those films that you need a few viewings to get into. The film stands out as a great genre film, one that helped shape the genre for what it is. Even if it's not a great movie, it's still a Sci Fi classic for what it helps achieve in terms of ideas and concepts in the genre. Sure, it may be tedious at times, but it definitely is worth seeing if you love this genre of film.

Alex r Super Reviewer
Apr 15, 2013

A good thematic approach to sci-fi, handled with superb special effects and a strong lead performance (which is pretty much the only performance of the movie) that just gets uncredibly preachy and cheesy when it didn't need to. It's also overly long and pointless at times, when it should've been the opposite. The desperation of the lead doesn't really come across as often as it should've but all in all, a solid effort.

Francisco G Super Reviewer