Silent Running (1972)

[Scott]

SILENT RUNNING (1972) - Sci-Fi film that stars Bruce Dern on a forest space station. The last existing forest. After 8 years of caring for the space forest the government orders the crew to destroy them with nukes. They don't really explain why except by means of the crew and their artificial food satisfactions. The film leans on the good film category as long as you don't notice the silly robot surgery where Dern gets his leg sown up or if he talks to his robot friend one more time. It's an enviromental space film with some decent 70's special effects. The best part was the space buggy race.

(7 out of 10 Stars) It was different. That's why I gave it 7 Stars.

[Allhallowsday]

SILENT RUNNING is such a sad and overlooked movie.  One can see why it was not a hit, but it is definitely a must see, offering a bleak view, it leaves us only with the option to think and act in our own time.  I think your rating is fair and accurate.   

[ghouck]

I remember it used to play one a year in the late 70's/early 80's on some Cleveland TV station, on one of their late friday night shows. They made a fairly big deal of it, it seems like it was one of their pet movies (The Abominable Dr. Phibes was another of their pet movies IIRC). I liked it, but it is rather overshadowed by movies these days. I read somewhere that one or more of the robots were controlled from inside by a double-amputee.
I would call 7 out of 10 a fair rating also, and wouldn't blame a person for going a little lower even. I haven't seen it in quite a while, but IIRC, it seemed to point out that corporations would stop doing the right thing the instant they could make money doing something else, but that may just be how it was explained to me when I was a kid.
I remember some buggy race/crash that I always thought was cool. .

[Gerry]

I've always liked this one.  The robots Huey, Dewey and Louie are nicely done.  Bruce Dern finally gets a good guy role.  The music hasn't dated very well, but hey you can't have it all.

[trekgeezer]

Hughey, Dewey, and Louie were portrayed by amputees.

[The Burgomaster]

This is one of those movies that I always seemed to catch 10 or 15 minutes of when it played on network TV.  I still haven't seen the whole thing . . . just bits and pieces.

[Raffine]

...and songs by Joan Baez!

Even several years before Kubrick's 2001, movies set in outer space tended to be very serious and dry. 
It really is amazing how STAR WARS made outer space "fun" again.

[Ometiklan]

Could this movie be the Inspiration for Mystery Science Theater 3000?
A Guy and His 2 bots trapped on A Spaceship.....after the 3rd bot gets destroyed of course.

[ulthar]

I love this movie.  The scenes of Dern running stand out in my memory.  It's been years since I've seen it.