Silent Running (1972)

Director:

Douglas Trumbull

Writers:

Deric Washburn (written by) &
Michael Cimino (written by) ...
(more)

Release Date:

10 March 1972 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

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

Plot:

The loner crew member of a spaceship harbouring Earth's last nature reserves goes renegade when he is...

Plot Keywords:

Forest | Murder | Space | Robot | Nuclear Weapon

Awards:

1 nomination

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
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Joseph Campanella	...	Neal - Berkshire' Captain (voice) (uncredited)
Roy Engel	...	Anderson (voice) (uncredited)

Directed by
Douglas Trumbull

Writing credits
Deric Washburn		(written by) &
Michael Cimino		(written by) (as Mike Cimino) and
Steven Bochco		(written by) (as Steve Bochco)

Produced by
Michael Gruskoff	....	producer
Marty Hornstein	....	associate producer (as Martin Hornstein)
Douglas Trumbull	....	producer

Original Music by
Peter Schickele

Cinematography by
Charles F. Wheeler

Film Editing by
Aaron Stell

Set Decoration by
Frank Lombardo		(as Francisco Lombardo)

Makeup Department
Dick Dawson	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Marty Hornstein	....	production manager (as Martin Hornstein)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Brad H. Aronson	....	assistant director (as Brad Aronson)

Sound Department
Charles T. Knight	....	sound (as Charles Knight)
John H. Newman	....	sound editor
Richard Portman	....	sound re-recordist

Special Effects by
Vernon Archer	....	special effects
Richard O. Helmer	....	special effects
R.L. Helmer	....	special effects
Marlin Jones	....	special effects
James Rugg	....	special effects
Gerald Endler	....	mechanical effects (uncredited)

Visual Effects by
Richard Alexander	....	special designer
John Baumbach	....	special designer
Jim Dow	....	creator: drone units (as James Dow)
John Dykstra	....	special photographic effects
Paul Kraus	....	creator: drone units
Leland McLemore	....	special designer
Gary Richards	....	special designer
Robert Shepherd	....	special designer (as Bob Shepherd)
William Shourt	....	special designer (as Bill Shourt)
Wayne Smith	....	special designer
Don Trumbull	....	creator: drone units
Douglas Trumbull	....	special photographic effects
Richard Yuricich	....	special photographic effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Bill Bohny	....	assistant camera
Jim Hoover	....	assistant camera
Dick Johnson	....	camera operator
Harry Sundby	....	special lighting effects

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Ann Vidor	....	wardrobe advisor

Music Department
Peter Schickele	....	conductor

Other crew
Joseph Byrd	....	special electronic consultant
Winfield Chitister	....	technical advisor (as Chief Winfield Chitister-BMCM USN Ret.)
Richard Foy	....	titles consultant
George McCart	....	technical advisor
Tom Piskura	....	video consultant
Ray Quiroz	....	script supervisor (as Raymond Quiroz)

Production Companies

• Universal Pictures
• Trumbull/Gruskoff Productions (as Douglas Trumbull-Michael Gruskoff Productions)

Distributors

• Universal Pictures (1972) (USA) (theatrical)
• Paramount Films de España (1973) (Spain) (theatrical)
• National Broadcasting Company (NBC) (1974) (USA) (TV) (broadcast premiere)
• MCA/Universal Home Video (1992) (USA) (VHS)
• Image Entertainment (1998) (USA) (DVD)
• Universal Studios Home Video (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• Universal Pictures Benelux (2003) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Cinéma International Corporation (CIC) (1972) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Umbrella Entertainment (2008) (Australia) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Video Associates  promotions
• American Airlines  our most sincere thanks to
• AMF  our most sincere thanks to (as AMF Incorporated)
• American Optical Company  our most sincere thanks to
• Concord Communications Systems  our most sincere thanks to
• Dow Chemical Company  our most sincere thanks to
• Duro-Test  our most sincere thanks to
• Fairchild, Republic Division  our most sincere thanks to
• Kasper Instruments  our most sincere thanks to
• Polaroid  our most sincere thanks to
• Rapistan  our most sincere thanks to
• Scientific Products  our most sincere thanks to
• Spacelabs  our most sincere thanks to
• Tektronix  our most sincere thanks to
• Thetford  our most sincere thanks to
• Division Sperry Rand Corporation  our most sincere thanks to (as Univac Division, Sperry Rand Corporation)
• U.S. Forest Service  our most sincere thanks to (as The United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service)
• Ritek Digital Studios  DVD authoring and encoding

Also Known As:

Running Silent (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

89 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Mono (35 mm prints) (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Canada:PG (Ontario) | Australia:PG | Norway:12 | Sweden:15 | UK:U | USA:G | West Germany:12 | Singapore:PG | Canada:PG

Filming Locations:

Aircraft Hanger, Van Nuys Airport - 6590 Hayvenhurst Avenue, Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

Some of the actual corporate logos visible throughout the movie include (but are not limited to) Dow Chemical, Coca-Cola, AMF, American Airlines, Rockwell International, and Ditch Witch. Most of the logos can be seen on the storage modules in the main cargo deck. The Ditch Witch can be seen digging the hole to bury Keenan.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Lowell is playing pool the robot is dropping the balls into the center pocket. There are two small air lines connected to the ball gripper. The camera cuts to a wider shot and you can see the robot has set the ball gripper on the table. The airlines have somehow disconnected themselves. It picks up the nine ball rack with its main gripper and drops it off on the table. It then picks up the ball gripper. There are no air lines connected to the ball gripper at this moment. The movie briefly cuts to back to Lowell while the robot retrieves the first ball. When it returns you can clearly see the air lines have been reconnected to the ball gripper.

Quotes:

Freeman Lowell: [following other astronauts carrying out orders to destroy the forests] Hey, wait a minute, wait a minute... I don't think you guys understand what this means, please don't blow up the domes.
Andy Wolf: [laughing] Which ones going first?
Marty Barker: Lets hit four first.
Freeman Lowell: But they're not disposable!
John Keenan: We don't have any choice Lowell.
Freeman Lowell: [pleading] But they're not replaceable!

Movie Connections:

Edited into "Battlestar Galactica: The Magnificent Warriors (#1.8)" (1978)

Soundtrack:

Silent Running

So good - please watch.

Maybe one of the most moving things about this film is the fact that the drones (small droids) give such powerful performances without ever being able to utter a word. Maybe a "nod" in some ways to the days of the silent movie. The environmental message is as powerful today as it was in 1972.

An extremely good yet brief film that I felt I had to comment upon it. Enjoyed the hippy theme tune as well just because it fitted right in. These types of film are rare but precious. I remember watching this as a child and it had an impact on me then so I thought I should revisit the piece 20 years later. Absolutely not disappointed.