“CONSERVATION IN SPACE”

By Raymond Benson

When Silent Running was released in 1972 as a somewhat “experimental” venture from Universal Pictures, a studio that had decided to give a handful of new filmmakers a million dollars each to make whatever they wanted, it flew under the radar of most folks who weren’t into science fiction. After all, it was a tough challenge to come up with anything to compete with 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), which was still playing on second and third runs around the world. Silent Running did okay at the box office, but it wasn’t a runaway hit.

Nevertheless, Running, which was directed by one of 2001’s visual effects supervisors, Douglas Trumbull (it was his debut as a director), became a cult movie that has played revival houses and did good business on home video years later in multiple formats.

Now, the excellent outfit Arrow Video has released an outstanding Blu-ray presentation of the film, and it is cause to re-examine this unique, oddball little gem. In retrospect, after 48 years, Silent Running has many positive elements that warrant it as a “must-see,” and yet there are indeed flaws that perhaps stand out more today than they ever did in the past.

The screenplay is credited to three men. Deric Washburn (who later penned The Deer Hunter) and Michael Cimino (!) (who later directed The Deer Hunter, here credited as “Mike” Cimino) wrote the first few drafts of the script. Then Steven Bochco (who later was a huge success in television with shows like Hill Street Blues and NYPD Blue, here credited as “Steve” Bochco), came in to polish/re-write. Thus, there is some excellent pedigree in the screenplay, and yet this is perhaps where Silent Running has the most problems.

Sometime in the future, plant life is extinct on earth, so American Airlines (American Airlines??) has outfitted several spaceships to carry domes of “forests” into space to cultivate them with the intention that one day they will return and repopulate the planet with vegetation and the wildlife that goes with it. These spacecrafts are orbiting near Saturn and are manned by a small crew of four. On one ship, the Valley Forge, Freeman Lowell (Bruce Dern in an early starring role) takes the job seriously. He is a conservationist, loves taking care of the plants and animals, and wants to protect them at all costs. His three crew members (played by Cliff Potts, Ron Rifkin, and Jesse Vint) are jerks who could care less about the domed forests—they just want to go home. When the orders come through for the crews to destroy the domes and return to earth, Lowell, well, becomes incensed and sabotages this plan to save at least one dome. Assisting Lowell are three “drones” (robots) named Huey, Dewey, and Louie. What happens next would be a spoiler—let’s just say things don’t work out quite how Lowell envisions.

The three drones are portrayed by four bilateral amputee actors—Mark Persons, Cheryl Sparks, Steven Brown, and Larry Whisenhunt—and they absolutely steal the movie. Even inside the small, R2D2-like enclosures, they manage to convey emotions and feelings. They communicate with Lowell, and much of the wonder of the film is centered around the three drones.

The visual effects are marvelous. After all, Trumbull is at the helm, and he oversaw the effects with none other than John Dykstra and Richard Yuricich, who went on to oversee the visual effects of the likes of Star Wars, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Blade Runner, etc. While the budget didn’t allow for the Grade-A perfect effects of 2001, Running’s effects are darned good, certainly the landmark of science fiction that appeared between the releases of 2001 and Star Wars.

The drawbacks include the decidedly weak story and its logic. Why are the ships all the way out at Saturn? Couldn’t they be orbiting earth, allowing for a quick return? What wiped out the plant life on earth? Why does American Airlines decide to scrap the mission? Who made the boneheaded decision not to re-cultivate the earth? Isn’t that, well, essential, to sustain all life?

The casting of Bruce Dern is also unfortunate. He’s a terrific actor, but his character and the manic intensity in which he plays it ultimately makes him unsympathetic. His actions in the story—especially regarding his fellow crewmembers—do him no favors with the audience. In the end, it’s difficult to be on his side, even though he is perhaps “doing the right thing.” Alas, the way he goes about it is simply the wrong thing.

Finally, the early-70s conservation theme coupled with songs sung by folk artist Joan Baez in the movie infuse it with something of a “hippie” vibe. Does it seem out of place today? Perhaps.

Arrow’s Blu-ray, however, is top-notch. The new 2K restoration is approved by Trumbull for the release and comes with two audio commentary tracks—one new one with critics Kim Newman and Barry Forshaw, and an earlier one by Douglas Trumbull and Bruce Dern. There is an isolated music and effects track, which is welcome because of the marvelous score by Peter Schickele (the man behind P.D.Q. Bach!) and the Baez songs. There are also optional English subtitles for the hard of hearing.

Supplements abound. New to the disk is an interview with film music historian Jeff Bond on the score, and a superb visual essay by writer/filmmaker Jon Spira that explores the evolution of the screenplay. Archival supplements from previous home video releases include a 1972 on-set documentary on the making of the movie, two archival features on Trumbull and the film, an interview with Dern, and the theatrical trailer. The first pressing of the release comes with a beautifully illustrated collectors’ booklet with text by Barry Forshaw and Peter Tonguette. The jewel case features a reversible sleeve with original poster and newly commissioned artwork by Arik Roper.

Despite its flaws, Silent Running is a fascinating look at what Hollywood was doing in the early 1970s regarding the little-touched genre of science fiction, and Arrow’s release is an aficionado’s dream.

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