Silent Running | Rotten Tomatoes

Silent Running

G

Released Mar 10, 1972

1h 29m

Sci-Fi

List

71%

Tomatometer

35 Reviews

66%

Audience Score

5,000+ Ratings

After the end of all botanical life on Earth, ecologist Freeman Lowell (Bruce Dern) maintains a greenhouse on a space station in order to preserve various plants for future generations. Assisted by three robots and a small human crew, Lowell rebels when he is ordered to destroy the greenhouse in favor of carrying cargo, a decision that puts him at odds with everyone but his mechanical companions. Lowell and his robots are forced to do anything necessary to keep their invaluable greenery alive.

Read More

Read Less

Watch on Fandango at Home

Buy Now

Fandango at Home

Prime Video

Rent Silent Running on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, or buy it on Fandango at Home, Prime Video.

Critics Consensus

It doesn't fulfill the potential of its ambitious themes, butSilent Running stands as a decidedly unique type of sci-fi journey marked by intimate character work and a melancholic mood.

Read Critics Reviews

Wael Khairy

RogerEbert.com

...more relevant today than it was back in 1972

Mar 2, 2023

Full Review

Sara Michelle Fetters

MovieFreak.com

Douglas Trumball's Silent Running is a flawed classic, but that still makes it a classic.

Rated: 3.5/4

Jan 8, 2021

Full Review

Variety Staff

Variety

The production lacks much dramatic credibility and often teeters on the edge of the ludicrous.

Jun 4, 2007

Full Review

John Fleming

Starburst

It is brilliantly illustrated but the storyline and dramatic structure are fatally weak.

Jul 22, 2022

Full Review

Luke Buckmaster

Flicks (AU, NZ, UK)

rumbull makes the colour and detail of the simple, exquisite things in that garden—its lush green foliage for instance, and the oranges, yellows and pinks of flowers—pop and glow by contrasting them against the vast black emptiness of space

Jun 27, 2022

Full Review

Dennis Harvey

48 Hills

It’s a sardonic, eventually grisly fable of a rich, powerful clan whose despoiling of the pristine countryside draws a visitor in disguise delivering vengeance on behalf of Mother Nature herself.

Apr 18, 2022

Full Review

Read all reviews

Audience Member

Space is silent but one can still be running things in the vast reaches of it Bruce Dern is Freeman Lowell, a botanist in the distant future that operates an artificial garden after all botanical life on earth has ended He maintains all the plants on this space station for future generations Lowell also has 3 robots that help him but are also good company However, things start to turn sour after he gets word from officials that he has to destroy everything he's worked for to store cargo Lowell rebels and maybe even starts to lose his sanity favoring the green garden instead of human life He and his mechanical assistants will do anything to keep things the way they are Do people have better things to do than worry about the forests, who's gonna take care of the vegetation for future generations, is it not too late to change things on Earth? It's true nobody cares if there's nothing left including war, disease, poverty much less everybody be the same The film has its pre-Star Wars feel to it from the model space stations to the intricate-detailed sets to the robot mechanics but also the closeted vibe of 'Alien' Human ingenuity and space paranoia blend together, isolation can sneak up on someone who's passionate about continuing the hard work Dern is a terrific solo lead and I love those little adorable drone robots Yes some viewers will be bored with the second half with Dern just moseying around by himself and this doesn't take full advantage of its ambitious themes But he's good at being a man dedicated to his purpose when it almost seems fully hopeless on this particular sci-fi journey The songs in this are beautiful and fully of tragic grace featuring intimate character work with a melancholic enough mood Very thoughtful and somber

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/11/24

Full Review

WP S

I've seen this movie many many times …it was way ahead of its time and Bruce Dern was probably the best he's ever been acting wise for this roll. Not only are effects amazingly well done for 1971 -1972 when it was shot, it's the story line that gets you in the end. This comes from a kinder gentler time in which a movie was allowed to progress and develop to fruition with you and your intellect. This movie was a big part of me in 1972 I was 9 and I've watched it through most of my life at different intervals.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/04/24

Full Review

Audience Member

Space is silent but one can still be running things in the vast reaches of it Bruce Dern is Freeman Lowell, a botanist in the distant future that operates an artificial garden after all botanical life on earth has ended He maintains all the plants on this space station for future generations Lowell also has 3 robots that help him but are also good company However, things start to turn sour after he gets word from officials that he has to destroy everything he's worked for to store cargo Lowell rebels and maybe even starts to lose his sanity favoring the green garden instead of human life He and his mechanical assistants will do anything to keep things the way they are Do people have better things to do than worry about the forests, who's gonna take care of the vegetation for future generations, is it not too late to change things on Earth? It's true nobody cares if there's nothing left including war, disease, poverty much less everybody be the same The film has its pre-Star Wars feel to it from the model space stations to the intricate-detailed sets to the robot mechanics but also the closeted vibe of 'Alien' Human ingenuity and space paranoia blend together, isolation can sneak up on someone who's passionate about continuing the hard work Dern is a terrific solo lead and I love those little adorable drone robots Yes some viewers will be bored with the second half with Dern just moseying around by himself and this doesn't take full advantage of its ambitious themes But he's good at being a man dedicated to his purpose when it almost seems fully hopeless on this particular sci-fi journey The songs in this are beautiful and fully of tragic grace featuring intimate character work with a melancholic enough mood Very thoughtful and somber

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/11/23

Full Review

Jared D

At a time (2023) in which we find ourselves at odds with our own over-production and destruction of our natural environments, a movie such as this strikes at the (slightly goofy yet not un-serious) emotion of protecting what is left of mother nature, and if it were in our hands to do so, would we not kill to preserve life itself ?

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/11/23

Full Review

Stphane O

This was bad. Good ideas, but badly driven. Never goes deep enough. Bad actor. Far from being exploited adequately. Could have been good, in the proper hands. Oh, by the way, yes, plants need sunlight to stay alive.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

12/18/22

Full Review

ian d

50 years after the release and we are dealing with ecological points the movie has passed. One of the plot points that was not clear enough was the reason to destroy the orbiting forest habitats and the small slip up in the science that became the ultimate save in the end. The exploration on the use of the droids (pre Star Wars) was ahead of its time. Silent Running could make for a remake or series given the right treatment, plenty of plot ideas about.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Post a rating

Douglas Trumbull

Director

Bruce Dern

Freeman Lowell

Cliff Potts

John Keenan

Ron Rifkin

Marty Barker

Jesse Vint

Andy Wolf

Steven Brown

Drone

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

Silent Running: Official Clip - Running Over Huey

3:11

Silent Running: Official Clip - Saying Goodbye

1:25

Silent Running: Official Clip - Through Saturn's Rings

2:54

Silent Running: Official Clip - Burying the Body

2:26

Silent Running: Official Clip - Rejoice In The Sun

2:10

Silent Running: Official Clip - Robots Play Poker

2:42

Silent Running: Official Clips - Silent Running

2:01

Silent Running: Official Clip - Killing the Crew

2:21

Silent Running: Official Clip - Saving the Forest

1:31

Silent Running: Official Clip - Robotic Surgery

2:28

View more videos

63%

41%

King Kong Escapes

76%

53%

Escape From the Planet of the Apes

17%

28%

When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth

86%

45%

Marooned

92%

89%

2001: A Space Odyssey

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

View more photos

Synopsis

After the end of all botanical life on Earth, ecologist Freeman Lowell (Bruce Dern) maintains a greenhouse on a space station in order to preserve various plants for future generations. Assisted by three robots and a small human crew, Lowell rebels when he is ordered to destroy the greenhouse in favor of carrying cargo, a decision that puts him at odds with everyone but his mechanical companions. Lowell and his robots are forced to do anything necessary to keep their invaluable greenery alive.

Director: Douglas Trumbull
Producer: Michael Gruskoff
Distributor: Universal Pictures
Production Co: Universal/Universal Int
Rating: G
Genre: Sci-Fi
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 10, 1972, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 18, 2014
Runtime: 1h 29m

Most Popular at Home Now