Independent Films, Film Profiles

Silent Running

Silent Running is a 1972 ecologically-themed science fiction film, directed by Douglas Trumbull, who had previously worked as a special effects supervisor on such science fiction films as 2001: A Space Odyssey and The Andromeda Strain.Silent Running depicts a future in which all plant life on Earth has been made extinct, except for a few specimens preserved in space in greenhouse domes. When orders come from Earth to jettison and destroy the domes, the ship's botanist (Bruce Dern) rebels, and opts instead to send the last dome into deep space to save the remaining plants and animals. In addition to Dern, the film starred Cliff Potts, Ron Rifkin and Jesse Vint.The movie depicts a future in which all plant life on Earth has been made extinct. Only a few specimens have been preserved just outside the orbit of Saturn, in enormous, greenhouse-like geodesic domes attached to a fleet of American Airlines "Space Freighters". Freeman Lowell (Bruce Dern) is one of four crewmen aboard the Valley Forge, one of the 2,000 metre-long freighters, and is the resident botanist and ecologist who preserves the forests for their eventual return to Earth, and the reforestation of the planet. Lowell spends most of his time in the forests, cultivating the plant and animal life.When orders come from Earth to jettison and destroy the domes (with nuclear charges), and return the freighters to commercial service, Lowell opts instead to save the last remaining forests. After four of the six domes on the Valley Forge are jettisoned and destroyed, Lowell kills one of his crewmates in a struggle, which leaves his right leg seriously injured. Nevertheless, he is able to prevent the destruction of one of the remaining domes. Lowell traps the other two crewmen in the other remaining dome, which he then jettisons and destroys. Enlisting the aid of the ship's three service robots (drones), which he eventually names Huey, Dewey, and Louie, Lowell stages a fake premature explosion as a ruse, and sends the Valley Forge careening away from the space freighter fleet, towards Saturn, in an attempt to hijack the ship and flee with the last forest dome. Injured and alone with the three drones, Lowell reprograms them to perform surgery on his leg.Still in communication with the rest of the fleet, Lowell is informed that the Valley Forge is on a collision course with Saturn's rings, and there is nothing he can do to stop the catastrophic event. The ship will likely be destroyed. With communications failing due to the distance now between the Valley Forge and the rest of the fleet, the ship passes through the rings of Saturn. The three drones are outside the ship on maintenance duty, when Drone 3 is blown away from the ship, leaving two remaining drones. The ship, and the precious dome, emerge undamaged on the other side of the rings.Now alone, Lowell and the drones set out into deep space to maintain the forest. With boredom and the lack of company building up, Lowell tries to make the drones more like individuals by teaching them to plant trees and play poker. When Lowell's conscience sets in, he instructs the drones to bury the crewman he killed in the dome. With thoughts of the human toll he has taken to save the last forest, Lowell is horrified when he realises that his forest is dying. After weeks alone in space, the Berkshire, a sister ship, locates the freighter and informs Lowell that he must jettison the dome. Lowell realises that what was killing the forest was the lack of sunlight, and he wires up several banks of lights. Realising that his murders will be uncovered, Lowell jettisons the last dome to safety, and arms nuclear charges to destroy himself and his spacecraft, thus ensuring the preservation of the last dome. The final scene shows a well-lit forest greenhouse drifting into deep space.