| Photos (see all 15 | slideshow) |
| 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) | |
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| The Black Hole | Sunshine | Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home | Moonraker | Lost in Space |
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Watching Silent Running for the second time, many years later, I was amazed how different it was from my recollection. I remembered a story with a slight environmental message, cute robots that talked and a totally sympathetic lead character played slightly woodenly by Bruce Dern.
Seen again, the green message ISN'T subtle, the robots DON'T talk, and far from wholly sympathetic, Dern plays a man suffering a complete nervous breakdown. Not only that, but it has an incongruous, jarring soundtrack by Joan Baez.
So, it was a different film to how I'd remembered, but perhaps someway the better. Dern is far from wooden, and gives the performance of a lifetime. Even though this performance was overlooked for an Oscar nomination, it is still remarkable that the film was made at all. Can you imagine pitching this film to a Hollywood exec of the 90's?
"There's this guy who's in his late thirties who looks after a forest in space. There's no love interest, instead the guy is lonely, a little nerdy, socially inept, and kills all his friends in cold blood. The remainder of the film hangs not on tension but on whether or not his plants whither. Oh, and some robots help him out, but they might be psychotic, too".
As a result, Silent Running is utterly unique, and even if not judged as the best sf film ever made, it is certainly one of the most important.