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Silent Running [DVD] [1972]
 
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Silent Running [DVD] [1972]

DVD ~ Bruce Dern
4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
RRP: £9.99
Price: £3.97 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Customers buy this item with Logan's Run [DVD] [1976] DVD ~ Michael York

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  • This item: Silent Running [DVD] [1972] DVD ~ Bruce Dern

    In stock.
    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
    This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

  • Logan's Run [DVD] [1976] DVD ~ Michael York

    In stock.
    Dispatched from and sold by Amazon.co.uk.
    This item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions

Product details

  • Actors: Bruce Dern, Cliff Potts, Ron Rifkin, Jesse Vint, Mark Persons
  • Directors: Douglas Trumbull
  • Writers: Deric Washburn, Michael Cimino, Steven Bochco
  • Producers: Douglas Trumbull, Marty Hornstein, Michael Gruskoff
  • Format: PAL
  • Language English
  • Subtitles: English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish
  • Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
  • Number of discs: 1
  • Classification: U
  • Studio: Uca
  • DVD Release Date: 3 Nov 2008
  • Run Time: 86 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (30 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B00005UWQT
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 1,349 in DVD (See Bestsellers in DVD)

    Popular in this category:

    #71 in  DVD > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Science Fiction

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Reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review

After creating many of the innovative special effects for 2001: A Space Odyssey, Douglas Trumbull tried his hand at directing, and 1971's Silent Running marked an impressive debut. (In addition to creating the visual effects for Close Encounters of the Third Kind and directing 1983's Brainstorm, Trumbull later turned to the creation of high-tech cinematic amusement park rides.) One of the best science-fiction films of the 1970s, Silent Running stars Bruce Dern as Freeman Lowell, a nature-loving crewmember aboard the Valley Forge, a gigantic spaceship in a small fleet that carries the last surviving forests of the Earth, which has fallen victim to overpopulation and ecological neglect.

Freeman's name reflects his nonconformist philosophy, which runs counter to the prevailing recklessness of his three ill-fated crewmates, who are eager to jettison their precious payload and return to the bleakness of Earth. Before they can sabotage the forests, Freeman does what he must, and spends the remainder of his mission with three robotic "drones" as his only companions, struggling to maintain his sanity in the vastness of space. Dern is superb in this memorable role, representing the lost soul of humankind as well as the back-to-nature youth movement of the 1960s and the pre-Watergate era. (Appropriately, Joan Baez sings the film's theme song.) A rare science-fiction film that combines bold adventure with passionate social conscience, Silent Running will remain relevant as long as the Earth is threatened by the ravages of human carelessness. --Jeff Shannon, Amazon.com



Special Features

English
Region 2
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Customer Reviews

30 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.4 out of 5 stars (30 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
45 of 45 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Charming, naive, thought provoking and poignant, 14 Sep 2003
By A Customer
These are just some of the words you can use to describe this wonderful film. Although it's now thirty years since original release it is anachronistic neither in terms of story nor special effects, and one could argue even more relevant three decades later with America's reluctance to sign the Kyoto Treaty.
For ME it has all the hallmarks of what great art SHOULD contain; a relevance to one's life and the abilty to challenge psychologically and philosophically on a number of levels. Indeed lasting eighty minutes and with only one speaking protagonist for eighty percent of it's duration, much is left implicit for the viewer to interpret. The plot of the film is simple. Cut forward to a time in the future when overpopulation and pollution of the environment has forced the last remaining forests to be moved into outer space on craft orbiting Saturn, until such time that earth is ready to replant. The craft are inhabited by four men, three of which exemplify the socially ordered and homogenous population back on earth, the other Freeman Lowell (played to perfection by Bruce Dern) being more cerebral and less bovine. After eight years they receive an order to destroy the forests and return the craft to commercial service. To save one of these forests Lowell has to murder the other three crewmembers and resign himself to a life of enforced exile without human company. Alone in space, save for two robots for company, Lowell has ample time to reflect on his actions in a way similar to Raskolnikov in "Crime and Punishment". It is also gives an insight into the psychology of isolation and alienation. The answer being for me that some HUMAN contact (even though the robots have more character and humanity than Lowell's previous crewmates), even of the lowest common denominator is necessary for mental 'health'. This is reflected in the sad ending. The DVD version of the film offers nothing more than the tape version other than a dodgy trailer for the film pre-release circa 1972 and language choice. As a footnote look out for an early example of brand/product placing! Enjoy!
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21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Compulsory viewing, 3 Mar 2001
By A Customer
This review is from: Silent Running [VHS] [1972] (VHS Tape)
30 years on, this movie is still powerful and poignant. The environmental message is just as important today as it was in the 70's.

You won't see aliens zooming around and firing lasers at each other, and the only explosions are disturbing images as the very last forests are destroyed forever. This is an emotional film, which goes far deeper than most SF either before or since. The story is about people, not flashy special effects, and must surely be considered a classic.

I cannot imagine any sensible viewer coming away from this movie without pausing to consider its deeper message, which is still highly relevant today.

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135 of 154 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Worthy but inconceivable, 20 Feb 2006
By Sally-Anne "mynameissally" (Leicestershire, United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)   
A fleet of space ships carrying the precious cargo of Earth's plant biodiversity has been sent into space because humans have caused some sort of ecological catastrophe and no vegetation will grow there any more. At the point when the ships are somewhere in the vicinity of Saturn, they receive an order from Earth, not just to abandon the biological cargo stored in the 3 geodesic domes per ship, but to jettison and then nuke the domes and then return home. It's not clear why they had to be sent so far from Earth, why the plants couldn't have been housed in geodesic domes on Earth (since humanity is still apparently able to live there), why it was necessary to blow the domes up in addition to abandoning them or how it was possible for human life to continue on Earth in the absence of any vegetation. The crews of the ships are all eager to follow the orders and return. All except for Lowell, who is the only person in the entire crew with any sense of mission. He cares about everything but himself. The rest of the crew care about nothing but themselves. He's obviously going to have to do something drastic if any of Earth's riches are to survive. It's not at all clear how the whole crew of this space armada (apart from Lowell) could have been recruited to do a really important job that none of them care in the slightest about. Even though none of this made any sense to me whatsoever, I was still drawn in. I identified with Lowell, knew what he would have to do long before the insane order to destroy the cargo was received, shared his hopes and sorrows. Daft really. The little drones: 1, 2 and 3 he named Huey, Dewey and Lewey, even though Lewey had already been lost in space before the naming. I tired to work out why these little fellas were so endearing. They didn't even speak. They moved a bit like human toddlers. The thing was, Lowell cared about them, sympathised with them, treated them as people. Everything mattered to him. Whereas he cared about the plants and animals in his forest dome, jungle dome and desert dome, the other crew didn't care about any of it.

There's an emphatic message in the film. The scenario painted by the film is pretty incoherent but the exaggerated mindlessness of all the crew except for the one rational individual, shouted the message loud and clear so the nonsensical situation couldn't drown it out: "Some things, like our ecological environment, are vitally important and too many of us are too self-obsessed to see or care what is happening or indeed do anything to ensure that the worst doesn't happen. One person alone can't save the world in opposition to an uncaring society. It takes planning, co-operation and commitment to preserve and heal a damaged environment." Well, that's what it said to me anyway. I would have enjoyed it more if the actual story had made more sense though.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars An environmental version of "2001"
Douglas Trumbull is probably better known for his special effects work than as a director- he oversaw the special effects on films including "2001: A Space Odyssey" and "Star... Read more
Published 9 days ago by Mr. Stuart Bruce

5.0 out of 5 stars Silent Running : Review
Love and peace. The survival of nature and the products of 'mother earth' (Lovelock comes to mind). Read more
Published 1 month ago by Geckess

4.0 out of 5 stars still pertinent today, and ripe for a remake
It's funny how 70's dystopian film making remains so appealing. For one thing many films from this period manage to be both genre movies, though often remaining outside the box of... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Sebastian Palmer

3.0 out of 5 stars Environmentalism in space
This is a quite original film, taking place aboard an enormous space ship that houses gardens with plants from Earth. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Markus Gossas

4.0 out of 5 stars Amazing film.
Glad to have bought this film, I haven't seen in over 15 years. Great environmentally political story line. Typical of the era, but still relevant.
Published 3 months ago by S. Barnes

5.0 out of 5 stars The path less travelled.
If you like your Sci fi to be more than lasers and star flighters, you've got to see this film. It's awsome and Bruce plays a fantastic part. Read more
Published 3 months ago by P. Aldam

5.0 out of 5 stars Silent running
I find the film naive, but it gets the point over of what happens to people when it destroys the forests; it becomes dehumanised, at the same time trying to justify its actions in... Read more
Published 5 months ago by Kevin A. Lazenby

5.0 out of 5 stars Silent Running
Remember seeing this film years ago and after walle came out. I had to find it again. It's a great film
Published 7 months ago by John B. Massie

3.0 out of 5 stars Nice idea but needed much tighter scripting
I watched Silent Running knowing that it was not an action film based in space, and not expecting the special effects to be remarkable because of the decade it was made. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Guy72277

5.0 out of 5 stars A superb watch!
If you just want to know if this film is worth buying/watching or not, without enduring copious notes in the process, the answer is a resounding "YES!!! Read more
Published 12 months ago by Spelling Queen

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