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:

This film is considered by many scholars to be the first environmentalist film.

Goofs:

Continuity: In all the forest domes, entry to the forest is shown to be through a tunnel in the rim of the dome. However, no connection of this kind can be seen in any of the exterior shots of the domes. Moreover, when the domes are jettisoned, the shots of the pylons connecting the domes to the ship reveal barely enough room for the ejection system engines. There does not seem to be any kind of connection which would indicate an access tunnel.

Quotes:

Anderson: On this first day of a new century we humbly beg forgiveness and dedicate these last forests of our once beautiful nation to the hope that they will one day return and grace our foul earth. Until that day may God bless these gardens and the brave men who care for them.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Empire of Dreams: The Story of the 'Star Wars' Trilogy (2004) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Silent Running

The memory cheats, but it's still an important movie

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.