Silent Running

Summary

“Now dig a hole for him. Make it seven feet long and three feet wide.”

In 1972, legendary visual effects artist Douglas Trumbull was given a modest budget to make a science fiction film he had developed called Silent Running. Trumbull had worked on effects sequences in the classic Stanley Kubrick film 2001: A Space Odyssey, and a low budget film called Easy Rider had blown open the doors to the studios to fund small projects. The total budget for the film was $1 million. Silent Running was one of five projects that were funded similarly by the studios (the most famous of which was George Lucas’s American Graffiti.)  Considering that the film takes place in outer space, it is probably the most ambitious of the modestly budgeted films. Upon its release, Silent Running was received pretty well critically, but the studios did not put much of their weight behind promoting the film with hopes that word of mouth would find it an audience. Without a proper ad campaign, Silent Running died in the cinemas. Luckily, it has been rediscovered over the years. The film has grown in people’s estimation because nearly fifty years later its themes still resonate.

In outer space, the Valley Forge spaceship carries four crew members and a few large domes that house the last specimens of the flora and fauna from Earth. Inside the domes, forestry and small animals live in harmony and safety. The caretaker for the vegetation in these domes is Freeman Lowell (Bruce Dern.) Freeman is different from the other three astronauts – John (Cliff Potts,) Marty (Ron Baker,) and Andy (Jesse Vint.) While those three are happy to goof around on the  miniature ATVs inside the facility and eat the processed food that the on deck system prepares for them, Freeman takes his responsibilities seriously and grows his own food. He relishes the taste of real food. Freeman is more of a loner than the others on board, who primarily just want the mission to end so they can return home. While they are gathered together for their mission briefing, the announcement comes through that Earth command would like for the men onboard the Valley Forge to separate out the domes from the ship and use their atomic weapons to nuke the domes before returning home. Freeman sees this action as madness and the forests as irreplaceable. When the time comes for the destruction of a dome, Freeman attacks Andy before he can complete the task. Andy injures Freeman’s leg, but Freeman manages to kill Andy. Freeman returns to the main bridge and separates out the dome holding John and Marty. Their dome explodes from their nuclear charge. Freeman finds himself alone with three droids that he names Huey, Louis, and Dewey. He radios back to Earth and misleads them with the hope that they will assume he has been destroyed. He pivots his ship towards Saturn and begins a melancholy trek with hopes of saving the dome.

Silent Running is a unique science fiction film. The film’s ecological preservation theme sets it apart from the other films in the genre. This ideology has not diminished in the years since Silent Running was made, which helps the film to feel relevant while films like Logan’s Run feel dated. The film relies heavily on the acting chops of Bruce Dern who basically is a one-man show for two thirds of the film. Dern is an incredibly adept actor, who I believe should have won the Best Actor award for his turn in Alexander Payne’s Nebraska. Dern is a true chameleon who is just as capable of playing villains in Westerns as he is at playing the sensitive role of Freeman Lowell. The difference between those roles and his work here is that Bruce Dern in reality is reported to be a compassionate and lovely man. He was able to infuse the role of Freeman with more of his actual personality than some roles. How many films manage to make a discussion between an astronaut and a silent droid emotionally fulfilling? 

I don’t think that Silent Running would have been a success without a perfect pairing between actor and director. Douglas Trumbull’s career is marked with successes in the visual effects realm (2001: A Space Odyssey, Blade Runner, Close Encounters of the Third Kind,) but unfortunately he did not fully pursue his career as a director. This is because when he made his 1983 film Brainstorm, lead actress Natalie Wood died near the end of principal photography in an accident that is still shrouded in mystery. The ensuing battle between MGM and Trumbull left the director vowing to never direct another Hollywood film. It’s a shame that we didn’t get to see him create more films. He charted an alternative path by working on the merging of technology and cinema for amusement park rides including directing Back to the Future: The Ride. I have seen that ride in person as a kid, and can confirm that it was great.

One of the most impressive aspects of Silent Running is the production values given the budget. The film was essentially shot in two places – an abandoned aircraft carrier that they were able to rent inexpensively, and what is describes as basically a large garage. Trumbull worked on the design of the droids and, inspired by the film Freaks, utilized amputees as actors inside the droid costumes. The effect is impressive. The set design, while it does not rival any of the amazing elements in 2001: A Space Odyssey, is well done and looks far more expensive than it was. It is also worth mentioning that the effects shots of the Valley Forge in space look really cool still, utilizing some of the processes that Turnbull mastered under Kubrick. The filmmaking within the confines of the budget shows exactly how good Trumbull was at solving problems.

One of the reasons that I think people like myself are drawn to the film is that the movie has a melancholy quality to it. Freeman is forced to reckon with the hard choices he made to save the forestry, and with the ensuing loneliness. The film has a beautiful score by Peter Schickele that fits the ecological and melancholy aspects of the film well. Joan Baez also lends her voice to a song that is played a couple times. The Baez song dates the film a little bit in my opinion.

Overall – Silent Running is an interesting and enjoyable science fiction film with a fantastic lead performance from the great Bruce Dern.

Video

Presented in 1.85:1 aspect ratio with an MPEG-4 AVC Encoded image, the presentation is sourced from a new 2K transfer done by Arrow Video and it looks great.  Here is what the booklet states:

“Silent Running has been exclusively restored by Arrow Films and is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 with mono audio. 

The original 35mm camera negative was scanned in 4K resolution at EFilm, Burbank. The film was graded and restores in 2K at R3Store Studios in London. Grading was approved by Director Douglas Turnbull.”

Silent Running never matches the visual brilliance of 2001: A Space Odyssey, but it is incredibly impressive what was accomplished on a million dollar budget. The effects shots of the Valley Forge in space look great and the cinematography by Charles F. Wheeler helps the film to feel grounded in reality. The new 2K transfer for this release is the best this film has looked and should please fans that have been holding onto their 2002 DVD.

Audio

The audio presentation on Silent Running is well done. The original mono mix was remastered from the original sound negatives at NBC Universal. Dialogue is clear and the score by Peter Schickele sounded great coming through my system. I did not notice any hiss. 

Supplements:

–        Audio commentary by critics Kim Newman and Barry Forshaw

–        Audio commentary by Douglas Trumbull and actor Bruce Dern – this is an enjoyable commentary track that was originally featured on the 2002 DVD. The actor and director discuss numerous aspects of how the film was made and memories from on the set.

–        Isolated music and effects track

–        No Turning Back – film music historian Jeff Bond discusses the film’s score and its interesting qualities.

–        First Run – this is a fantastic new visual essay by writer and filmmaker Jon Spira that shows how much Silent Running’s screenplay changed over time. The reenactments of the other scripts are really interesting. Check this one out.

–        The Making of Silent Running – this archival 1972 on-set documentary is well made and features a lot of good behind-the-scenes footage.

–        Silent Running by Douglas Trumbull – in this archival interview, the film’s director goes into great detail about the financing of the film, and how the film’s final script was cobbled together from ideas from two treatments.

–        Douglas Trumbull: Then and Now – in this archival interview, Trumbull discusses his work in technology in the years after Brainscan.

–        A Conversation with Bruce Dern – in this archival interview with Bruce Dern, the actor discusses how Trumbull was in his estimation one of two true geniuses he had worked with – the other being Hitchcock.

–        Theatrical trailer

–        Behind-the-scenes Gallery

Overall Scores:

Video – 4.5/5

Audio – 4.5/5

Supplements – 4.5/5

Overall – 4.5/5

Silent Running is a classic science fiction film that has stood the test of time thanks to its ecological themes, melancholy script, and a terrific performance by Bruce Dern. Director (and visual effects pioneer) Douglas Trumbull did an excellent job of presenting his unique vision within the constraints of a million dollar budget. Arrow Video have done fans a service by bringing the film to Blu-ray with a very healthy looking 2K presentation from a new 4K scan and some fantastic supplemental features. Fans of the film will be pleased to have it in a definitive edition. Highly recommended.