4 Star

An Eco-Warrior in Space.

Douglas Trumbull (Brainstorm) cut his Sci-Fi teeth creating effects on 2001: A Space Odyssey, he used what he learned to make his directorial début with this eco-based Sci-Fi classic, an oddball film then /and now but still a great watch especially with all the Special Features (See Below). Just wondering if SpaceX has anything planned.

On Earth, everywhere you go, the temperature is 75 degrees. Everything is the same; all the people are exactly the same. Now, what kind of life is that?

Earth has paid the price of Global warming and in a last ditched effort to save some of the planet’s flora and fauna, American Airlines sends seven of its commercial spaceships to be covered in geodesic domes, to create the perfect environments that no longer exist on planet Earth. We are onboard the Valley Forge, manned by a crew of four, the ecologist/botanist Freeman Lowell (Bruce Dern, The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre, The Driver), and company men John Keenman (Cliff Potts, Cry for Me, Billy, Desperate Voyage), Marty Barker (Ron Rifkin, The Big Fix, JFK), and Andy Wolf (Jesse Vint, Little Big Man, Earthquake). Also on board are three small maintenance robots (Mark Persons, Steven Brown, Cheryl Sparks, Larry Whisenhunt).

Lowell wants to spend his time in the domes growing produce, and planting new trees, while the others are bored after being onboard for six months, with another six months to go, so their boredom spills into Lowell’s chill time. The others look at Lowell as a throwback, eating food from dirt.

It calls back a time when there were flowers all over the Earth… and there were valleys. And there were plains of tall green grass that you could lie down in – you could go to sleep in. And there were blue skies, and there was fresh air… and there were things growing all over the place, not just in some domed enclosures blasted some millions of miles out in to space.

One day, Anderson’s (Roy Engel, Skyjacked, When the Legends Die) voice comes over the radio, for some reason you’re coming home, jettison the domes and nuke them and get the ships back into commercial use. There are cheers from three of the crew, but not from Lowell. As sister ship, The Berkshire starts nuking its forests, Lowell still tends his plants, trees and small animals. Until John drives up to set the charge in his dome.

You can’t blow up this forest.

This is where Lowell takes control and John doesn’t get to blow up his forest. What can he do about his other two crew? And how can he keep the last forest alive?

You know, when I was a kid, I put a note into a bottle, and it had my name and address on it. And then I threw the bottle into the ocean. And I never knew if anybody ever found it.

Silent Running may pull a cord today more than it did back in the 20th century. A great package to add to your classic Sci-Fi collection. Plus, it is nearly Christmas, so could be the perfect present for the one you love.

Silent Running 4K UHD Limited Edition Steelbook is a Zavvi Exclusive

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

• Brand new 4K restoration by Arrow Films from the original camera negative

• 4K (2160p) UHD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)

• Original lossless mono audio

• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

• Audio commentary by critics Kim Newman and Barry Forshaw

• Original audio commentary by Douglas Trumbull and actor Bruce Dern

• Isolated music and effects track

• No Turning Back – an interview with film music historian Jeff Bond on the film’s score

• First Run – a visual essay by writer and filmmaker Jon Spira exploring the evolution of Silent Running’s screenplay

• The Making of Silent Running – an archival 1972 on-set documentary

• Silent Running by Douglas Trumbull and Douglas Trumbull: Then and Now – two archival interviews with the film’s director

• A Conversation with Bruce Dern – an archival interview with the film’s lead actor

• Theatrical trailer

• Extensive behind-the-scenes gallery

• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Arik Roper

FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring writing on the film by Barry Forshaw and Peter Tonguette