A Look Back at 1989: 'Silent Running' - A College Student's Review

I originally wrote this movie review for the Diversions section of the Miami-Dade Community College - South Campus student newspaper in March of 1989. Silent Running was being screened by the Campus Student Activities Department as part of a science fiction film series. It was published on March 9, 1989. 

'Silent Running' is science fiction with a message

Alex Diaz-Granados
Staff Writer
It is the 21st Century. After centuries of ecological mismanagement, Earth has been defoliated, the average temperature of the planet is 75 degrees and many species of plants and animals are quickly becoming extinct.  

Out in deep space, a fleet of American Airlines space arks contains the few surviving specimens of Earth fauna and flora, carefully preserved in perfectly reconstructed ecosystems.

Silent Running, director Douglas Trumbull's vision of the future, is a fascinating film which deals with the deterioration of the environment and the ultimate sacrifice a human can make - voluntary solitude.

In Trumbull's "answer to 2001: A Space Odyssey,"  Bruce Dern plays Lowell, a botanist aboard the USS Valley Forge, a man who is devoted to his ecosystems.

Lowell spends much of his time "as one" with the animals and plants under his care, seemingly detached from his shipmates Wolf (Cliff Potts), Barker (Ron Rifkin) and Keenan (Jesse Vint). 

All goes well until "the brass" orders the ark fleet to return to Earth and jettison the ecosystems into deep space.

Lowell, a sort of space-going Green Peace environmental activist who eats fruits and vegetables instead of the synthetic food concentrates preferred by his shipmates, goes crazy when he hears the orders and jettisons sections of the Valley Forge, killing his mates.

Alone except for the denizens of his ecosystem and three robots (which he names Huey, Dewey, and Louie), Lowell and the Valley Forge set off toward the edge of the solar system and interstellar space.

Silent Running is, on the whole, an above-average science fiction film, with beautifully photographed special effects. Particularly stunning is Trumbull's depiction of Saturn's rings, based on unused material for 2001 (Trumbull was assistant director for that film). 

However, the film is not without its weaknesses. The pro-ecology "message" is not delivered as subtly as it could have been, and the "Space 60s" songs by folk singer Joan Baez are a bit grating. 

Nevertheless, the screenplay by Deric Washburn, Michael (The Deer Hunter) Cimino and Steven (L.A. Law) Bochco is for the most part interesting and contains occasional gems like the scene where Lowell teaches the robots how to play poker.

Silent Running is being shown in Room 2114 at 7:30 p.m, as part of the science fiction film series. Admission is free. 

Rating: Worth Seeing