Evengyny Thanks for the memories!

Dirtylogy It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Staci Frederick Blistering performances.

autephecs Watched this after getting onto a scifi kick this past week and reading many recommendations for Silent Running, with a some reviewers stating its as good or even better than 2001.Bad move, this movie is cringy AF right from the opening credits. The FX are the only interesting thing happening here. The praise for this film's delivery of its message must be coming from some very simple minds that do not get embarrassed watching poorly written and overacted scenes conveying simplistic ideas as if they are so deep, man. No scifi aliens here, but plenty of alienation for viewers such as myself.

shakercoola There is something undeniably appealing about the art direction of Silent Running. Its Apple-Esque set design is simple, white and functional, and the spaceship crew in 70s Formula One style boiler suits completes the effect. Bruce Dern gives an interesting performance and the film begins with real verve and good humour. Dern is given the con for the rest of the proceedings and the story of an uncomplicated man faced with awesome, uncomplicated situation is made quite well, and entertainingly. His beloved eco-system in the end is nothing without people and although there is an inevitability to this, it is enjoyable to watch it unfold. The special effects are never tiresome, nor dated, and there is an interesting poignance about a future civilisation that underpins the story.

brchthethird Despite being a little dated and hokey at times, SILENT RUNNING was an enjoyable sci-fi film with some incredible visual effects. From the effects maestro behind 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY comes a story about future Earth where all of the surviving plants are being cared for in modules far out in space. However, the order comes back that the crew needs to destroy all of the remaining flora and the caretaker, Lowell (Bruce Dern), decides to take matters into his own hands. Aside from the visual effects, which is the biggest thing this film has going for it, I will give credit to Bruce Dern for being a likable and somewhat charismatic lead, although I don't think he was quite up to task of carrying most of the film by himself. He had a certain humanity and earthiness that played well against the wordless drones that he interacts with. The other human cast members also did a good job, but they weren't really in it long enough for them to register too much as characters. As I said before, the visual effects were excellent. There were quite a few exterior space shots of the ships that I thought gave Star Wars a run for its money. There was also some decent production design on the ship interior. However, I do think that the film is a little dated. The songs were a little hokey and I didn't care for them too much. Also, the pro-environment message was laid on a little too broadly and came off as a little silly at times. Still, it is nice to see how far we've come considering that this came out towards the beginning of that movement. Overall, I wasn't particularly bored by this film, but it wasn't exactly riveting either. Bruce Dern is a capable lead, but the real star of the film is the effects. Recommended if you're a fan of old-school sci-fi.

Mr-Fusion Up until Sam Rockwell's performance in "Moon", "Silent Running" had to be the de facto movie about isolation in deep space. Bruce Dern is a man on the raggedy edge, moving from disbelief to utter deflation, with melancholy and borderline madness in between. He runs the gamut, and the whole thing sits on his capable shoulders. And the film's message - one that's thankfully not delivered with a sledgehammer - is less a sermon than a plea for action. Earth is dried out and overpopulated, but it's not too late. We can still preserve our future. We can't just plug in and give up. And even though the ending's a bleak one, that message is so earnestly conveyed that the movie still retains its power even 40 years later. It's such a simple tale, but hits home in a profound way. Dern believed in the material, and it shows.7/10